September 2013 Update

Carson is doing well. School is going great and he is doing so well. He is blowing kisses now and waving again. He can identify his nose, mouth, eyes and ears. This is a big accomplishment. We have been working on this since he started speech therapy when he was just 2 years old. We are having some issues with his hyperactivity and we tried adderall but quickly discontinued it because it made Carson very irritable. Stimulants don't work well with children with Autism so we are going to keep him off of medicine for now and try something else when he's older. Another obstacle we are having is getting him poop trained. He does great on the potty and rarely has accidents but he will not poop on the potty. He waits until he is alone in his room with a diaper on then poops. The problem is he doesn't wait for us to change him. He will take the diaper off which results in a big mess. We have to find a solution for this but just haven't yet. That is our biggest challenge right now. Overall he is doing great and making new sounds everyday. He is doing excellent in speech therapy and occupational therapy. We are very happy with his progress!

 

Happy 5th Birthday Carson!!

5 years ago today at 4 :12pm we welcomed our first baby into the world, Carson Ryan. We had no idea how our lives were going to change!! Carson has brought us so much joy and happiness!

 

 

 

August 2013 Update

July was a busy month and I didn't get a chance to post an update. Carson became a big brother again to a baby brother. He is adjusting well to the new baby but had a hard time when I was in the hospital. He doesn't have a lot of interest in the baby but sometimes he will smile at him and touch his face.

Carson will be turning 5 this month. It's a little bittersweet because he should be starting kindergarten this year. This is another big milestone we are missing. It makes me sad but I'm happy he is at Step by Step. He has moved back to the old location and he is doing well with the change. The first few days were difficult but he seems happy to be at school again.

He is doing well on the medication to help him sleep at night. It has been confirmed that he has ADHD in addition to autism so we have an appointment this week to discuss medications for ADHD. He is so hyperactive and just can't sit still so we are hoping we can find a medication that will work for him.

Meltdowns have been minimal but they happen the most when he gets over tired or when we are somewhere new. We try really hard to keep his routine and surroundings the same to avoid him getting stressed.

Overall he is doing great and continues to progress everyday. Still no words but we aren't giving up hope that one day they will come. We just take it one day at a time and try to focus on the things he can do instead of the things he can't.

 

June 2013 Update

So much to update on this month. Carson is doing well but having some minor challenges with all of the changes that have occurred. He has changed schools. Well actually his school has changed locations but he is still at Step by Step Academy. The new facility is really awesome with an indoor play area and pool.

He starts special needs swim lessons on Friday and we are so excited for that. He loves water!!

Our Science Museum had a Autism Day last weekend that we brought Carson to. He had so much fun and loved the water play and the space exhibit. There are a few pictures at the bottom of this post.

We found a psychologist that specializes in autism and autism behaviors. We have an appointment at the end of the month. We are very excited to talk to him and hear what he recommends. The medication we have him on now isn't working. It's supposed to help him sleep but he is still waking several times a night. We are hoping to find a medication that not only helps him sleep but helps his adhd as well.

Carson will become a big brother again in just a few weeks. We are worried about how he will adjust to a new baby in the house. He did ok when his sister was born so we will see and hope for the best.

Overall, he is doing fairly well. We are keeping him busy between school, speech therapy, occupational therapy and swim lessons. His schedule is very full but he has summer break the first week of July so we have some fun things planned for the week.

 

May 2013 update

Carson is doing fairly well but still having some challenges. He is not sleeping well. We give him melatonin at bedtime to help him fall asleep. It helped him for about 6 months but has become less effective. His problem now is staying asleep. He wakes several times a night and when he is awake he is completely destructive. He tears his room apart and we have had to remove most of the furniture from his room.
We took him to the doctor and we have started him on a low dose of clonidine to help him sleep. He has been on it now for 10 days and we have already had to increase the dose once. We go back next week to discuss other options. He has been extremely irritable since starting the medication so we just aren't sure it's the right thing for him.
We have an appointment at the end of June to bring him to a psychiatrist and we will then explore further options as far as medication is concerned.
He is doing great in school and is continuing to meet all of his goals! He has become more social and affectionate. He gives the best hugs and loves physical contact. Many children with Autism do not like to be touched but this is not the case with Carson. He loves hugs and seeks deep pressure.
He has started Occupational Therapy once again. He goes once a week for an hour and he loves it!! Some of the things he is working on is eating and expanding his food choices. His therapist is trying to get him to try new things. He is also going to be working on muscle strengthening.
He also is back in speech therapy once a week and he is doing so well. His speech therapist is incredible and it's amazing how far he has come with her. He is making new sounds all of the time and trying so hard to talk. We still have hope that one day it will all click and he will talk.
Overall he is doing great!! We are very happy with the progress he has made and we are excited to watch him progress further!

 

 

Speech Therapy

Carson has a new therapist and she is wonderful!! He loves her and she is incredible with him!! He goes to her once a week for 45 mins. He loves the therapy swing. She uses this to calm him and to get him to focus and be more attentive. It works great and is very soothing to him. This picture is from his session last week...

 

April 2013 Update

Carson has been doing great and has adjusted well to the changes at school. He has a new speech therapist that is wonderful. She is so good with him and he loves her. I am so happy to see this because the last one he had just didn't mesh well with him at all. He is making so many sounds and he is saying a few words but we aren't sure if they are actual functional words or just sounds. He says Baby a lot and Mama and it sounds like he has been trying to say Thank You. We went on Vacation during his spring break from school and he did so well out of his familiar surroundings and routine. We had a few rough moments but overall he did great! He is starting to interact with us more and he has been so affectionate and loves to give big bear hugs. He smiles so much and giggles all of the time. He is a happy little boy and that is so great to see because there was a time when he was so frustrated and upset all of the time. He is making huge improvements all of the time and while he still has many struggles he is getting there one day at a time...

 

Autism Awareness Day

It's April which means it's Autism Awareness month and today April 2nd is Autism Awareness Day!! We are going to wear blue today to support our little guy and all of the other children and adults that have autism. Light it up blue for Autism!!

 

 

March 2013 Update

Carson is doing great! His school has transitioned to more of a preschool feel and so far Carson is doing great with it. He is doing more group activities but still focusing on his individual goals.

Today I experienced a wonderful moment with Carson. He was upset and crying and he held out his arms to me and said "mama mama mama" I have been waiting a very long time for a moment like this. He is making huge improvements everyday and I am so proud of him!!

 

 

Improvements

Carson has been doing well and is having fewer meltdowns. We increased his melatonin and it seems to be helping sometimes. He still wakes up several times a night a few nights a week. His grandmother made him a weighted blanket so we will try that and see if it helps. He has been having some pretty bad meltdowns that seem to come on suddenly without warning. We still haven't figured out the cause of them and perhaps we never will. It's heartbreaking to see him so upset and there is very little we can do to comfort him. He has seemed more content in the afternoons and evenings after school and has been playing so well. He likes to find a corner to play in and once he does he is so happy with his animal toys. I love to see this! He has started to become interested in books again. He likes books with pictures of animals. He especially loves zebras, giraffes and lions. They are his three favorites!!!

 

 

Sleepless Nights

We started giving Carson melatonin at night to help him sleep. It's so hard for him to settle down and fall asleep. He used to be in bed for hours before he would finally fall asleep. The melatonin has made a huge difference! However, he wakes up almost every night at 3am and he is wide awake. He is hyper and so so so loud!!! He doesn't cry but just yells so loudly. His sisters room is just across the hall and he sometimes wakes her up. I go upstairs to his room and attempt to lay with him. I will tell him it's still night time and he needs to lay down and go back to sleep. I tell him to be quiet and close his eyes. He looks at me blankly and gets louder. He is so unreachable. He doesn't comprehend anything I say. I eventually leave his room and he stands at his open door yelling louder and louder. At this point every one in the house is awake. This is becoming an every night occurrence. I don't know what to do or how to get through to him. I don't know how to parent a child that doesn't understand anything I say to him. Things were going so well for awhile and now it's like we are back to the beginning. All I can do is pray for strength and patience and hope that this too shall pass...

 

Finally...

Carson has finally settled down and has become calmer again. Being out of his routine is getting more difficult for him. Now that he is back to school he is much happier and more content :)

 

 

This too shall pass...

Carson had an awful morning again. He woke up really crabby and when it was time for breakfast he had a really bad meltdown. This has been a pattern for several days. Today he almost pushed our flat screen tv off the entertainment center. We don't know what's going on or what is making him so upset. I am missing his smile! I hope this ends soon...

 

 

New Year

It's a new year and maybe I can make it a resolution to update regularly again. Things have been going well. Carson is doing good and making so many new sounds. We are remaining hopeful that he will one day become verbal. He is now in Speech Therapy again and on the waiting list for OT. Right now he is on Christmas break from school and he has had a very difficult time with change of routine. He has had several meltdowns and they are lasting longer and longer. Nothing calms him down or makes him happy. We can't take him anywhere because when we do he had awful fits. This is all new to us because in the past he has always been great in public places. We just wish we could get inside his head and know what's upsetting him so much. He goes back to school in 4 days and hopefully then things will get better. Until then we have to find ways to survive and get through each day as peacefully as possible.