A work of art...

Ryan loves his blanket that grandma at the beach made. Dylan loves his too! Thank you grandma for the special, one of a kind blankies.

Tonight Yom Kippur begins for us so our pre-sunset service feast included Chinese food and ice cream! Ryan was thrilled!

Side note, Ryan takes his first field trip for the year. Thursday the class is heading to the local fire station. Ryan is going to freak out! I'm hoping u can jam over to go with them after Dylan gets out of school. Story of my life, going from one thing to another!

Until next time. :)

Time to play catch up!

I really have no idea where the time has gone. There has just been so much going on that I completely avoided sitting down and blogging. Forgive me if I repeat anything from previous blogs, but lets be honest, I'm sure we've both forgotten what those mentioned.

A random picture of  Ryan when he fell asleep while watching Shark Week with me. He seriously looks like he has a mustache in this picture. Hilarious!

Ryan has visited the dentist and has had 5 cavities filled and 1 sealed. We have a bill almost $600 to prove it but I'm sure these pictures will suffice as evidence of our visits. Ryan has had a total of three visits and he has been amazing at all three! I am so proud of him! He had very few melt downs and we were able to get the cavities treated without sedation, which assumed we were going to definitely need... oh ye of little faith! In a nutshell, we are still working with Ryan on his personal hygiene because he hates brushing his teeth, washing his hair, potty training... We are making progress and we are determined to brush his teeth wither or not he likes it... Again I mention the $600...

I was tempted to ask if they could leave the lead vest on Ryan if he got too upset but we never needed it. The weighted vest is a good tool to help Ryan stay grounded.

A sensory avoider moment... protecting himself from the tools the dentist is sure to use.

Ryan getting his teeth cleaned. The cool shades are provided by the dentist's office because the lights are so bright. I wish my dentist provided those for me so I could nap while he cleaned my teeth. If that's even possible.

Here Ryan and daddy sit awaiting the first appointment.

Moving on, Ryan also has successfully attended a birthday party with little freak out sessions. Thankfully it was a small birthday party and I am close with the mom who threw the party so she was very understanding when Ryan insisted on shoving his hand in the cake. And a fellow attender was shocked that Ryan was special needs since he seemed to be doing so well. (Oddly enough that's a great compliment). Ryan, of course, was bored with the idea of playing WITH the other kids so he eventually wondered off to entertain himself. He at least acknowledged that there were other kids there. He even took a couple whacks at the pinata, although I was the one who fought the other kids for the candy.... on Ryan's behalf of course... I swear!

Here Ryan models one of the party favors from the birthday party.

This isn't really too much of a milestone but it is a significant difference in behavior. Originally when we would play with Ryan he had little interest in washing hands or being clean. He avoided touch pretty much at all costs. He did not like his face wiped and he hated light touch. It was a nightmare trying to keep him clean. Here is a picture of Ryan finger painting. He now not only stands being cleaned up but he even asks to wash his hands. Before he would have jumped out of the chair, ran around avoiding me at all costs and touched everything in his path with his blue hands! Just a little note of how far we've come.

On another note, it's a miracle that Ryan is actually willing and enjoys taking pictures now! He has always been so difficult to photograph because he is always on the move. I probably have a million blurry pictures of him and few where you actually see his face. He still isn't the easiest kid to take pictures of but he is far from the hardest. So we end up with gems like this one that I could just look at all day long! Isn't my husband cute? Ryan certainly gets his good looks from him!

As much as Ryan has grown he is still the same little boy with the amazingly detailed imagination. Daddy caught an awesome picture of Ryan playing with some leaves outside. He was pretending they were airplanes and I'm assuming he eventually had a dog fight between the two airplanes, as he often does, and they eventually ended up being smashed into a million pieces. Quickly replaced by a set of new leaves and another dog fight proceeds.

On a random note, with all the sensory diet still being part of our daily routine, Ryan ends up sleeping in the most random spots and in the most uncomfortable looking positions. This one isn't too bad, but it was too cute not to share. We're still working on the potty training and in his effort to avoid it, he passed out.

And in very exciting news, Ryan got his first every haircut. A genuine, wash and cute in a salon! Although daddy ended up touching it up and fixing it to his liking later, it was a huge success. Ryan was awesome! He didn't flinch, didn't freak out! It was shocking!!! He didn't mind the little sheet they use to keep the hair off you and he didn't complain about the hair on his neck while it was being cute. This is a big deal people!

On an academic note, Ryan is drawing faces!!! On his own he did the below drawing. This is in part to the new school year that has started. I was amazed he successfully completed a circle let alone an entire face! My little boy is getting smarter by the day! Ryan is also actively trying to color in the lines! The effort is highly concentrated though it doesn't last long and ends in scribbles all over the page. I did actually get proof he tries though as you can see in the picture below! Ryan was also so excited to go back to school. Every time we drove by school during the summer he would yell for me to "tun rit" to go to the school despite needing to actually turn left to get there and the fact that it was summer and school was out. Silly boy.

A quick pause from the coloring session to make a funny face to the camera.

 

 

Ryan's amazing teacher, Mrs. Christianne. 

Ryan's favorite little guy, Luke.

First days of school were a whirlwind of excitement. He loved the new toys and the new room set up!

During the summer we went on a couple hikes. Ryan absolutely loves being outside. He loves to run and get dirty and explore. He makes toys out of anything he finds and he has no reservations about exploring, despite my warnings of stickers, bees, ants, spiders and the like! It's a beautiful thing to see my son happy after being so frustrated for so long. Running and hiking will probably be a good outlet for him!

And, since it's 1:45am, I better wrap this up and end on a sane note instead of trying to recapture the last several months in one post. I will be better at updating this, I know I always say that. I will continue to backtrack until I see fit along with updating on current events. Should be much easier if I just stay on top of it. Fingers crossed... but before I leave, I give you random pictures of Ryan sleeping because some are flat out funny and weird while others are too precious not to share.

Until next time.

Sneeky Lil Ryan...

Ryan kept asking for something in the pantry and I had told him to hold on. I ran down stairs to fetch something (I can't remember what) and I came back up to find this little munchkin taking matters into his own hands... Guess mommy took to long. Ironically enough, he has a pattern of doing this because later that day he asked for vitamins. I was, again, down stairs (this time getting ready) and he took matters into his own hands, again. He got a dining table chair, drug it to the fridge, climbed up, got all 3 of the kids vitamin jugs and came down insisting I give him his vitamins NOW.... He sure was proud of himself. What a cutie, I just couldn't be mad.

A great article about a SPD kid!!!

Play Quietly—Autistic Children and Music - Greenbelt, MD Patch http://greenbelt.patch.com/articles/play-quietly-autistic-children-and-music

I love the symphony idea for the kids!

Pictures and Special Thank Yous

One of the aids from Ryan's class got some great pictures of Ryan when they were working on the Mother's day collage. I just love them so much!! Rachel, you are awesome and thank you so much for sending them to me! 

Since starting preschool, Ryan has grown so much! He no longer bangs his head on the floor, he's talking more, and he is all around a more balanced kid. He still has lessons to learn, but compared to the nightmare we were living before, this is much more enjoyable! Now, don't get me wrong, it's work and it takes a lot more effort on our part to provide the outlets Ryan needs to stay balanced. The joy and ease comes in having those resources available to turn to. Whereas before it was as if I were trying to fit a round peg into a square hole. 

All the traditional approaches of parenting and discipline don't generally work for a special needs kid. I think it's safe to say that for all special needs, but what do I know... Needless to say, assuming Ryan understood or was acting out of complete defiance every time discipline was in order was a real problem. For a balanced kid, running into the street is a given and when they make the mistake of doing it anyway, discipline is in order for their well being. In Ryan's case, a swift kick in the butt isn't always the answer. He doesn't fully grasp danger, pain, fear, and all other results of running into traffic. This is just one example (and a fresh one at that. When I picked him up yesterday from school he flirted with the idea of running into the street). 

I say all that to say I am grateful for the progress he has made. It seems just a short time ago that he barely made eye contact, never answered to his name, and hardly spoke more than one word answers. I couldn't have believed this little boy could progress as fast as he has if it weren't for the great people who have believed in him (maybe even more then I did at times). Michelle, his OT, has been a life saver! She always helps me stay focused on what needs to be addressed. She reminds me that Ryan is just another kid that needs boundaries and love. She truly has helped me to enjoy this journey of discovering my little boy. I joke with her that I will be bringing Ryan until he is 18!! 

Christianne, Ryan's teacher, has become a friend and a great support for me. She works so hard to genuinely understand what Ryan needs as if he were her only student. I am grateful for her words of encouragement and I am overjoyed at the discovery of a new friend! She has accomplished milestones with Ryan that I thought were at least a year from possible! I can't imagine leaving my special boy with anyone else on a day to day basis! I am so happy we have another year together. Thank you so much Christianne! 

I am grateful for my husband, who manages to reach Ryan no matter how upset he is. It's almost like Ermes can read Ryan's mind. It's always been that way even before the diagnosis. It is always a joy to see those two play together and enjoy each other's company! It makes my world complete. No one understands Ryan as much as daddy does and for that I am eternally grateful! God truly knew what he was doing when he gifted Ryan to us! Ryan really makes Ermes' life complete! 

There is someone who has been there for me from the beginning, and I need to thank her! Wende, if it weren't for you I would never even had Ryan tested. Thank you Josiah! I love you little man! Wende has encouraged me from day 1! I know no one takes pride in Ryan's progress as much as Wende does!! Ryan will always hold a special place in Wende's heart. Thank you Wende, I love you!! 

Now, if you're reading this and are offended that I didn't write something special for you... get over it. I'm only kidding.. a little. There will always be people who help you more than others and in this case some people have directly impacted Ryan's journey. I guess the theme of this blog is more about Ryan's progress than it is about my emotional support system.  And there are of course more than just the people I named that have been an asset to this journey (I could really write a novel). Please know that if you know me, really know me, then know I love you! I couldn't have survived (at least remained sane) without all of your love and support. Sometimes honor is due to people who really make themselves available and truly give of themselves. I am open to takers who want to prove themselves by babysitting ;) Just kidding. I guess if it bothers you that I didn't write something just know that's a great sign of how much you love us and how much you care, and in some ways I should write something for you too...but that will have to wait for another post because it's time to pick up Dylan from school.