September to Remember

What a difference a year makes! In 2009, September brought with it even more reasons to celebrate Evan's progress.

After a fantastic summer, we were keeping our fingers crossed for a smooth transition back to school. Last year's first day of school was one of the saddest days ever. So there was no direction to go but up. Evan met his new teacher, Ms. Kelley, and seemed excited about going back to school. Sure enough, on the first day, he barely even said goodbye. He marched right into the classroom with a huge smile on his face. Major relief! He absolutely loved his new teacher and Ms. Josefa, his wonderful teacher from camp, worked with his class as well. This year we decided to have a shadow work with Evan once a week. This way there would be a skilled professional that could help Evan focus, guide appropriate social interactions, gather data on behaviors and work with his teachers. Ms. Aileen has been a great addition and instrumental in Evan's success at school. Every single day he makes a beeline for his classroom and I have to beg for a quick kiss goodbye.

Towards the end of the month I noticed Evan making better eye contact and asking more questions. He turned another little corner and it was great to see. When I picked him up from school his teacher said he looked at her and asked, "Ms. Kelley can I sit in your lap?" Later that week I took Evan to get his four-year check up with his pediatrician. While in the waiting room, Evan noticed a boy a little older than him tossing a small stuffed animal up in the air. He watched with a smile for a few minutes and then hopped off the chair and said, with his arms outstretched, "Throw it to me!" I couldn't believe he initiated play - with a stranger no less! They laughed and tossed the stuffed animal around until Evan's name was called.

A few days later, when I came to pick up Evan from school, I got a wonderful surprise. Ms. Kelley said Evan played hide and seek with a friend during recess. I think I stood there with my jaw unhinged for a few seconds too long, but I just couldn't believe it! His teacher said he had been interacting a little more on the playground, but this was a HUGE step. His shadow, Ms. Aileen, now knew what children were more open to playing with Evan and she would be able to help initiate games like hide and seek. At home, Evan was beginning to interact with his sister more. They were starting to play by chasing each other around the kitchen or playing with her dolls. Evan also interacted more by bossing her around. We would see Lia walk into the playroom and hear Evan say, "Lia go play with something else." Now that is what a brother and sister are supposed to sound like.

Since Evan was little he has mostly been attached to his pillows, diving underneath them every night when it's time to go to sleep. There have been a few stuffed animals that have managed to stick around. Every so often I would ask Evan to give them names, but he never would. I knew it was a very open-ended question that would take some thought and imagination. But little kids are supposed to carry around their tattered teddy bears with silly lovey dovey names! So I never gave up asking. On September 22nd it happened. After reading some books at bedtime, I picked up Evan's teddy bear with the brown silken fur given to him by his Grandmother when he was a baby. "What's his name?" I asked. Evan looked at the bear and paused. I saw the wheels turning and couldn't wait to hear what he was going to say because I could tell he was trying to come up with something. At that point I would have taken anything! If he had said Pooper Scooper I would have made a plaque with Pooper Scooper's name and birthday and treasured it forever. Evan looked up at me, smiled and said, "Huggy." A lovey dovey and totally appropriate teddy bear name that he came up with all by himself...and it was much sweeter than Pooper Scooper.

Summer of Change

This Summer was a wonderful time where Evan progressed leaps and bounds. It was amazing to see him evolve and change over such a short period of time. It is hard to say what exactly triggered such a noticeable change because there were too many altered variables. Maybe it was one thing or a combination of everything, but whatever it was worked wonders.

We enrolled Evan in camp at his school to keep some consistency in his schedule and allow him to spend more time working on socialization with his peers. This would be the first time he would be going to a different classroom with new teachers. We set up a meeting beforehand which helped with the transition. The first few days he wanted an extra hug when saying goodbye, but was pretty much OK with the whole thing. Whew- major relief. He ended up having a great time at camp and his shadow facilitated lots of interactions with his classmates. He also really liked his teacher, Ms. Josefa, who was very loving and understanding of Evan's needs. At the end of the session they had a show in the auditorium. Evan had been doing the duck dance at home a lot, so I was anticipating more participation than previous shows. My husband and I were in for a shock. The kid hammed it up the whole time! Following along, singing the songs, dancing, laughing and speaking some lines- he had such a good time up there! Teachers and parents stopped us afterward to tell us what a great job he did and how it looked like he was having the best time on stage. He stood out for a very different reason this time.

Evan had been in OT and Speech for a while, but I was starting to thing it might be time to give therapy a little kick in the butt. When June came around and both his therapists were going to be out for a number of weeks, I decided it was a sign to make the move. We switched to a small private practice and met his two amazing new therapists on July 9th. They were both energetic, warm and knowledgeable in their respective fields. I was worried making the transition would be difficult for Evan, but he took to them immediately. Previously, he always wanted me to stay in the room with him. Now he waved goodbye and went off with a smile. It was great to see he was so comfortable and sitting in the waiting room gave me lots of time to catch up on the stack of books that was gathering dust on my nightstand.

One thing that had to have been a major component in Evan's progress was the addition of a social skills class. The small three-student class met once a week for two hours. The instructors implemented ABA therapy and encouraged lots of participation through circle time, games, music, art and other activities. Evan especially loved the weekly show and tell segment.

There was yet another addition to Evan's busy schedule. My friend introduced me to a young woman who was looking for work as a babysitter. She was a student who had worked quite a bit with children on the spectrum and who successfully implemented Play Therapy in her work. Play Therapy (also known as Floortime or Greenspan Method) is where the therapy is focused on the child's interests and emotions and problem solving and social topics are brought up through interaction and play. After meeting Lauren, I knew Evan would be drawn to her bubbly and fun personality. She came once a week and spent two hours playing with Evan. After a few weeks I couldn't believe what I was seeing. He would abandoned his beloved computer games at the mention of Lauren's arrival. They would ensconce themselves in the playroom where they must have played with every toy there. She would be on the floor with him, playing and asking questions and Evan would be completely engaged. He played with her in a way that I had never seen before. They would make up games, be imaginative together and Evan wouldn't lose interest for a second. Evan would laugh his way through those two hours every week.

On July 18th, Evan turned another corner. I knew the Asperger's cloud had lifted a little more when he told me he wanted breakfast and asked what I was making him. He was just a little more engaged and interactive. He was making more observations and asking more questions. It was another building block and we were so excited to revel in his progress.