About a month or so ago, I did a Motivation Monday post on Why I Run? If you are new and want to find out, you can read it HERE. The jist- it has a lot to do with my oldest son Peyton (3) who was recently diagnosed with Autism. Recently we have been struggling some and having some really hard days, one in particular. I don't feel like rehashing it all, but lucky for you I did rant post about it on my other blog, so if you really want to, you can read about it HERE. Look at all this external reading you could do, just pretend it is SSR at school.
Anyways, I just wanted to share how things are going for us now. We are learning more and more through his therapies. He definitely seeks out sensory input which causes him to be loud, violent (not just toward others but himself), and super adventurous. To compensate we are supposed to do lots of rough play. This means he definitely does not like being pent up in the house all day. In order to help with both this and his social skills (which are severely lacking) we are putting him into our school district's special ed preschool. We feel like this will be good for him in so many ways. Just getting to a playground everyday will be great, but he will get to work on interacting with other kids and following rules, plus work on his fine motor skills. In addition to this I also want to get him into gymnastics once a week and possibly get a membership to our local children's museum. Of course, this is all quickly adding up, luckily the preschool is free and they are helping us get help with the therapy costs, but Peyton is getting expensive. I really feel for those who have conditions so much worse than this and have to pay thousands a month instead of just hundreds. So now we are on the lookout for new jobs, but don't want to go to far if possible (perfect to be picky in this economy!)
But that is the technical crap, now onto the wonderful side of things. Peyton is communicating better than ever! Sure most of it is still echolalia, but some of it is rehearsed Peyton! With the scrub brush we have been using, we can even get him to calm down enough to cuddle with us occasionally! And he loves our outings. Just this weekend we went to a Pumpkin patch/ corn maze that had a ton of activities for kids, and we spent almost the whole time doing the kids hay maze. He loved the freedom to just run around, and he actually figured out how to get out of there by himself! I will leave you with a few pictures from our weekend!
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| Grandma needed a photo |
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| Family Photo |
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| The Hay Mazers! All my sisters, and all the grandbabies minus the newest. |
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| Our other son, Brady, and Me (he's just happy to be there!) |
Oh, and in true running related news, I have to get out there and run tonight! I have tons of new stuff from giveaways and upcoming reviews to try out and I need to hit the open road to do it! Plus, I am just going crazy not running. Never, ever thought I would be saying that! So, dang the knees and Hello streets of Chehalis! How bad can one run be on them anyways?
Don't forget to enter our giveaway for Chrissy's Knee High Socks Here! 3 people will be sporting 3 new pairs!
13 comments:
Sounds like you are handling Peyton's care really well! My sons are always up for rough play.
Just read the backround story a little and I just wanted to send you a big hug. Sounds like you are definitely doing all the right things to help him, which hopefully will help you too!
Looks like you had a great time at the pumpkin patch! And hope that run goes well tonight!
I'm glad things are going well for you guys and Peyton. It sounds like things are coming together for you all. The pumpkin farm looks so fun! We have one too that we need to get to soon!
I am on a charity riding team, this year I went on Ride for Autism. Somethings when I ride, at the time, I dont know why I am riding for a charity, but usually not long afterwards I find out why I did that charity ride. Thanks for sharing.
Research and be his champion (as you are doing). Everyone's needs are different. I have a son that is ADHD and one that is AD with serious dyslexia. It is very easy to lose them without hard work on everyone's part, but typically it all works out.
Good luck!
i cant tell you how much improvement we saw in haley once we got her into preschool. her social skills improved tremendously and her sensory issues started getting a TON better. i think all the interaction really takes her mind off things. isnt it strange how the mind works??? good luck with the run tonight...i have a test run tomorrow for my knees....hope both of our knees cooperate!!!!
You are such a strong mom. I worked in an autistic classroom in college. being a mom in general is draining but when you add special needs on top, it can be more than overwhelming. Sounds like he is making incredible gains. be encouraged. hang in there!!! You are an awesome mom.
Good for you that you found a way to help him out early. Keep up the good work.
Sounds like you are doing a great job of coming up with new strategies to help Peyton. Pre-school will be great for him. I worked in a special ed preschool room for a year and it was so wonderful! You'll be able to get a lot of new strategies by collaborting with the teacher and the rest of the IEP team members. Be sure and be an active member of the IEP team and give your input and let them know what your hopes and goals are for Peyton so that those can be focused and worked on.
happy to hear things are going well
That's great to hear that Peyton's school is helping him so much, and you all look so happy in the photos!
I'm glad to hear that things with Peyton are progressing and you are learning more ways to interact with him. That is awesome!
The pumpkin patch looks like it was a lot of fun! I can't wait to take our boys there!
I am headed over to the family blog to catch up. I'll be praying for loads of energy and strong broad shoulders as you move forward armed with knowledge as to the best ways to support your family (in every definiton of that word!)
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