Living With Autism: Day 38

Carson has been so playful and full of smiles today!!!

Living With Autism: Day 37

We went to the campground at the lake today. Carson had a lot of fun. He really liked the camp fire. It seemed to be calming to him. He enjoyed pushing Maddy in the stroller. He was very happy today and smiled A LOT!!!

Living With Autism: Day 36

Carson had his 4 year checkup today. He was diagnosed with ADHD which didn't come as a shock. Children with Autism usually have some form of adhd. It is manageable for now and it's not interfering with his focus at school.

The doctor told us that he hasn't found a medication yet that works well for kids on the spectrum because stimulant medications are what is prescribed for ADHD. Stimulants and autism don't go together. Most of the time these medications will have the opposite effect.

I think we have him on the right track and medication free! As you can see in the pictures below, Carson has been very calm lately. He is doing just fine!

Living With Autism: Day 35

One of Carson's goals this quarter is to touch his toes with NVI — non verbal imitation. He is doing well with it but still needs prompting.

Carson has a difficult time comprehending what is said to him. He understands a few key words but not full sentences.
He now understands come here, take off shoes, pull up pants and a few others.

With NVI we say to Carson "do this" and then we do what we want him to imitate. We usually will have to prompt him a few times until he gets it on his own.

The picture below is of Carson clapping when I said "do this"

Living With Autism: Day 34

Carson has had his ipad time limited at school. When he gets home he likes to make up for lost time...

Living With Autism: Day 33

Carson is back to his usual self now that we discontinued the medicine. He is back to his playful happy self :)

Living With Autism: Day 32

Carson used his ipad to request to go potty 3 times today!!!

Living With Autism: Day 31

We took the kids to get fall pictures done today. Carson is very difficult to photograph because he doesn't sit still and he doesn't look at the camera. The girl that did the pictures is a friend of mine from high school and she did an amazing job! She was so patient and she got some great shots of Carson. I was very happy!!!

Living With Autism: Day 30

Carson went on his first pony ride today. He loved it! We are going to look into getting him into horseback lessons.

Living With Autism: Day 29

Carson has been wanting to chew on things today. He stopped doing this month's ago. Sometimes past behaviors come back and then go away again. He seems to chew when he is stressed. He hasn't used any of his chew tubes. He just wants to chew his clothes. We are hoping this won't last long.

Living With Autism: Day 28

Carson has had a few rough days adjusting to his medicine. He has had awful crying spells and he isn't eating or sleeping.
The school called today and said he had been crying all day. I picked him up early. He has been calm and relaxed most of the afternoon but we have decided to discontinue the medicine and take a different approach. He has an appointment next week with his pediatrician so we will go from there.
The pictures below are of him this afternoon and evening. The crying has subsided for now...

Living With Autism: Day 27

Today is Day 5 of Carson's new medication. We switched it to bedtime instead of mornings to see if he will be less groggy during the day. He is very happy and more alert already :)

Living With Autism: Day 26

Carson having some ipad time with Daddy

Living With Autism: Day 25

The past few weeks we have been considering bringing Carson to see a psychiatrist to be evaluated for ADHD. He is in constant movement and won't sit still longer than a few minutes. We decided to make the appointment and we went last week. The doctor told us ADHD is difficult to diagnose in children with Autism because the symptoms are so similar. He suggested a medication to calm Carson and said time will tell if he has ADHD. We had a very hard time with this decision. We want to do anything and everything we can to help Carson. The thought of him being on medicine is heartbreaking. We never wanted to go this route but we decided we would give it a try. Our biggest fear is the medicine will make him zombie like. If we see that happening we will discontinue it. We gave him his first dose on Saturday. Today is day 3 and he has done nothing but sleep all day for 3 days! We were told this might happen and not to be worried. He missed school today and will miss it again tomorrow. We won't send him back until we see he isn't going to sleep all day. These past few days have been very scary! Seeing him sedated and so lethargic has been awful. I hope that part ends soon and we start seeing benefits. The pics below is what he's been like for 3 days!

Living With Autism: Day 24

Happy boy at the park doing what he loves most!!!

Living With Autism: Day 23

Carson having a gluten free peanut butter & jelly sandwich, his favorite!!!

Living With Autism: Day 22

Carson doing a floor puzzle. He is so focused and attentive when doing puzzles.

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Living With Autism: Day 21

Carson has been very playful today. He has been interacting with Madison a lot more and with other children as well. He wants to play but he still doesn't quite know how to play with other kids. He can be rough but he doesn't mean to be. He doesn't know his own strength but he will get there.

Living With Autism: Day 20

After a long day Carson was exhausted. He curled up on the couch with me to watch TV and we both fell asleep. Moments like these are what life is all about!

Living With Autism: Day 19

Carson loves crunchy foods and he especially likes to eat ice cubes. He was eating them so often that I was worried he would chip a tooth. We bought a snow cone maker and now we give him shaved ice. He loves it and gets so excited when I get it out. Simple things like this make him so happy.

Living With Autism: Day 18

Carson is on a gluten and dairy free diet. This diet is recommended for children with Autism because it reduces the symptoms of autism and improves speech, behavior and sleep patterns. The diet is known as the GFCF diet and it has benefited Carson tremendously. We have to buy food for him at a specialty store and it is expensive but worth it. Gluten is found in pasta, breads, cereals, crackers, pancakes, etc. It's in just about everything! Carson is a very picky eater as it is so it's very difficult to find things he will eat. He loves french toast and eats it everyday for breakfast and sometimes for dinner. The pictures below are of breakfast this morning

Living With Autism: Day 17

Carson has 2 weighted vests that he wears occasionally. The benefit of these vests is to help him focus and feel calm. The weights are comforting and makes him feel secure. Wearing the vest has been compared to a hug. Carson likes wearing his and it does seem to focus him. The vest is only meant to be worn a short period of time. If Carson wears it often and for a long time it isn't as effective because his body will adjust to it. He brings it to us sometimes when he wants to wear it. He uses it more at school than home. The pictures below are of Carson wearing the vest.

Living With Autism: Day 16

Carson has been so happy today! Full of smiles and giggles. We went out for lunch and he was so good. His new love is horses. He got a new toy horse at the gift shop at cracker barrel and he hasn't let go of it since!