A jam-packed day!

Yesterday, we hit the Columbus Zoo! We had lots of fun! Last summer it would have been a little different. There were alot of indoor exhibits with loud noises, drastic temperature changes, stinky smells and were very dark. We hit them all, and Matthew only got scared in one and asked to go home. He didn't love them all, but tolerated them. It was great! And...thanks to Dramamine, we had a most enjoyable drive that didn't include any clean up or changes of clothing. Whew. That in itself was a huge accomplishment!

Outside the bear exhibit. Matthew had ENOUGH of riding in the stroller! He really did well though, it was a long day! There weren't many people around, so we just let him run for awhile after this.

While we were eating lunch, we listened to this lion roar. One of the females answered back from the other side of the enclosure and he lifted his head and listened intently. It was very cool! I wonder what they were saying to each other? lol!

At the petting zoo. Matthew would look at this goat and say, "It's not a cow." Apparently he thought Gary and I may be confused since it was black and white! ;)

This pair of goats were fast asleep. The tan one made a very weird snoring noise and his bottom teeth were always showing. They were so content until Matthew sat on the tan goat - I couldn't get to him fast enough to stop him! The goat just got up and left. Matthew's friends, Jack and Annie have a wonderful Golden Retriever named Fletcher who doesn't mind when Matthew lays all over him, so I think thats what Matthew was thinking of! He's pretty fearless when it comes to animals - I can't wait to go to Rolling Ridge this summer where we can actually feed them!

The bigger reason we went to Columbus yesterday was to follow up with Matthew's Neurologist, Dr Emily in the afternoon. At Matthew's initial diagostic appointment 9 months ago, she was quite concerned with his speech. The first question she asked was how many words are now in his vocabulary and after a pause, I told her that he's doing 4 and 5 word sentences. She was very pleased - and didn't seem concerned with his echolalic speech. (parroting what is said to him). She asked basic things like does he know his numbers? colors? shapes? letters? We were able to answer "Yes" to all of that stuff and Matthew said the alphabet backwards for her and she took our word for it that he can count to 100. ;) She told us to keep doing what we're doing and Matthew gave her a hug and blew her kisses when we left.

She had a few minor concerns about things that we are working on right now with him, but we don't need to contact her or see her again unless he regresses or we have other major concerns. We have a few details to work out about it all yet, but I must say, as much as I've come to appreciate Dr Emily, I hope I never see her again! :) Matthew still has 1 Doctor in Columbus who keeps much closer tabs on his development - maybe we can get rid of him too! I think I might be getting ahead of myself on that one...

Dr Emily sees follow ups in the afternoon and does diagnostic appointments in the morning. My heart hurt for the parents who had their little ones there yesterday morning and heard heart-breaking news like we did 9 months ago. On our drive home I commented on the vastly different tone of this appointment and how GREAT we felt when we left this time. This is not the journey I would have picked, but it is, in fact, the one we are on, and God has been and continues to be faithful!

What a good day!

Autism and its symptoms

Matthew was diagnosed with Autism this past June. A few times before this, his behavior would make that word pop up in my mind which I would quickly stuff down and rationalize. Our family Dr had a few concerns and suggested that I get him screened to rule out Autism. Well, I cried for about a week or so, and then made THE phone call. More than 1 person who work with Matthew have asked me "How in the world did he get diagnosed so young, because his symptoms are so mild." One of Matthew's specialists also to me that when they get a referral for a child as young as Matthew, they get top priority because there is so much more time to work with them - and to be honest, there brains are more "moldable" at this young age. WOW! I credit our good 'ole small town family physician with the insight to recognize symptoms as Matthew's young age. Thanks Dr V!






The word Autism is so broad and to be honest, vague. No 2 children/people with Autism are alike so intervention/treatment must be tailored to each individuals needs. There are 3 basic components to Autism and Matthew has a little bit of all 3.






The components are (as I understand them):



1. Repetitive Play/Behavior - Matthew does have repetitive play, and it is more pronounced when we are out and about. So at church, at other's homes, the Drs office, anywhere he hasn't been before, he tends to want his "comfort" toys (letters and puzzles) until he is at ease. Sometimes it only takes a few minutes, sometimes several visits - it all depends. Matthew also has repetitive behavior. One example is "stimming". Stimming is self stimulatory behavior which many, if not all of us have to some degree. Some examples are biting fingernails, drumming fingers, bouncing a leg, etc. In Matthew's case, his most prominent stim is stiffening his posture. We're working on that - interrupting it when we can by scooping him up for hugs or something else that interrupts it.





2. Language Delay - Matthew has made HUGE progress in this expressive language. He talks constantly and communicates his wants and needs very well. He repeats alot of what we say back to us. While we are thrilled with his talking so much, we want him to have more useful speech. So, we're trying to help him by coaching him what to say in response to us. For instance when someone asks: "How are you?" he often repeats the phrase back to them and we coach him to say "I'm great!". His receptive language (understanding what is said TO him) is good. He is tested as slightly behind most kids his age, but he is constantly improving.





3. Social/Emotional Delay - This is a hard one to explain and I feel like I'm typing too much already! This includes things like imitation, imaginative play, eye contact, pointing and showing things of interest to others and affection. Matthew is slow to imitate motions/movements, but does do it. His imaginative play is just beginning to emerge, with lots of modeling from us. He makes good eye contact, which he sometimes makes us work a bit to get :) and has always been very affectionate. As far as showing things of interest to us, he has always done that. I hear the words "Look Mommy!" alot these days!





So, those are the components that Drs look for when screening children for Autism. As part of his Autism, Matthew has a number of sensory issues. He can have some strong reactions to noises, he hates to ride on elevators and is afraid to get on playground equipment, just to name a few. His Occupational Therapist is working with him to address these sensory issues.





If you are still reading this, I'm impressed! There's a lot of rambling in this post. :) And, I could go on and on when it comes to talking about my little boy!





I've leave you with a few pics from out trip to the zoo last month.

Feeding the ducks with Mommy.

Ring, stim, repeat...

Currently, my very favorite picture of him.

Hope this works - I'm not very good with pictures!

Love to all,
Cindy