April 2014

An update on Carson...

He is doing better than great!! We can't believe the progress he has made in just a year. He is much happier, he is sleeping better, eating better and just a happy little boy. He is communicating so well and even saying a few words!!!!! It's unbelievable! He is doing great in school and great in Speech Therapy and Occupational Therapy.

He is working on identifying objects at school and in Speech. It's amazing because his receptive language has developed finally. We say to him "Carson show me a Cow" and he will point to a picture of a Cow. This is a big step because for so long he was not able to do this because he didn't comprehend what we were saying. It's so wonderful that he is now understanding what we say to him. For instance, he now understands and follows directions. We can tell him to go get his shoes and he will. We can tell him its time for a snack and he will go to the table. This is just a big step forward and so wonderful and I think this contributes to him being so much happier because now he understands us and we are starting to understand him!

He is working on a lot of fine motor skills in Occupational Therapy such as zipping his coat, buttoning his pants, picking objects up with tweezers. It's amazing that when he started he couldn't even jump with both feet off the ground and now he is not only jumping but bouncing on balls and learning to ride a bike!

He is currently going through re evaluation through our school district for kindergarten. However, he will still stay at the school he is at now. We aren't interested in mainstreaming him now or ever. We love his school and want him to stay there as long as he can. Although he is doing so well he would struggle horribly in a typical school. We are very happy with his placement at Step By Step.

The Summer program at his school has been cut so he will be home with us this summer. I have mixed feelings on this. It will be great to have him home but I'm very concerned about him regressing and the transition back to school in the Fall might be very difficult on him. He started Step By Step just a few days after he turned 3 and has gone every single day aside from holiday breaks so it will be a big change for him. He will still attend therapies twice a week and we will keep busy with our regular summer activities. He really enjoys going to the lake and spending time on his grandparents boat and in their camper so we will be doing that a lot. He loves the water so I'm sure we will be swimming a lot this summer! We also have a trip planned to King's Island, an amusement park, he will love that!

We are very happy with how far Carson has come. A year ago I would have never thought we would be where we are today. He has overcome so much and has become so much happier. There was a time when he was just miserable all of the time because he couldn't communicate. He amazes us so much.

With all of the great things he has accomplished there are also setbacks. 2 weeks ago we had to bring him to the ER because he ate glass!!! That was very scary but all turned out fine and xrays showed that he had very little pieces in his stomach so he was able to pass them naturally. He is always eating things he isn't supposed to eat so this is a constant battle. He likes to eat leaves, sand, rocks, and anything wood. We are hoping he will eventually grow out of this but its a big part of Autism so he may not. We just have to constantly watch him and make sure he isn't putting things in his mouth.

We are still trying to poop train him and that is still a struggle. He still will not poop on the potty. When he was in the ER and had xrays the doctor told us he is so backed up with weeks worth of poop. She told us this is a very common problem with children on the spectrum because they tend to hold it in and it can cause a lot of problems and could lead to surgery if he doesn't get all of that out. We have been giving him miralax and its been working but still no poop on the potty but as long as he is actually pooping we are happy.

We will always have setbacks and that doesn't discourage us. We just focus on all of the great things he has accomplished and instead of worrying about what he can't do we focus on what he can do and what he has overcome. We celebrate the little things because to us and to him they are very big things.

 

 

 

 

 

January 2014

I haven't updated in a few months. Carson is doing great!! School is going well and therapies are going very well. He is waving, pointing and blowing kisses. He is signing "more", "all done", "eat", and "thank you". He is starting to identify his facial features. We have been working on this since he was 2!! He is also saying a few words and repeating sounds and an occasional word. He says mama, dada, no, go, yeah, night night. He doesn't say anything consistently but he is using words finally!! We have stopped the GFCF diet and giving him whatever he wants. I haven't noticed any differences yet. We only have him taking a sleep aid every night and nothing else. His focus seems great and his teachers say he is doing great and his hyperactivity has slowed way down. We took him to disney World earlier this month and he loved it. We have never seen him so happy and have never seen him smile so much. It was amazing and almost like he was a typical child without autism. He loved the rides and smiled from ear to ear the entire time. Disney is very accommodating to children with special needs. We were issued a disability pass and a sticker on his stroller. We didn't have to wait in a single line. We were able to get right on and we were able to keep him in his stroller until he got on the ride. We were allowed to bring his stroller into restraunts and other indoor attractions that strollers aren't allowed. He feels secure in his stroller and it keeps him calm. When he is out of it and walking he gets overwhelmed and will not walk. The stroller was a must and we couldn't have had a better experience. Seeing the excitement and happiness on his face was so wonderful especially coming from a child who rarely shows any emotion. We felt so connected to him at Disney. During the rides he would hold our hands, make eye contact, grab our faces and kiss us!! It was just amazing and we can't wait to bring him back!!

 

 

 

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!