Mason update - Fall 2015

It's been a good fall for Mason. We are finally finding a groove with our schedule.

He has a busy schedule:

Monday his new nanny (an OT student) watches him from 6:30-9am then she brings him to ABA (applied behavior analysis therapy) with therapist Zoe from 9am-12:15pm. Then my mom picks him up, feeds him lunch, and drops him off at his preschool. I pick him up at 3:15pm.

Tuesday my mom watches him from 6:30-9am then drops him off at ABA with therapist Erin from 9am-12pm. Aunt Erin picks him up from ABA and feeds/watches him until 2:15pm. Then Zach picks him up and brings him to occupational and speech therapy sessions at Family Tree until 4:15pm. 

Wednesday my mom watches him from 6:30-9am then she brings him to ABA with therapist Zoe from 9am-12:15pm. Then Zach picks him up, feeds him lunch, and drops him off at his preschool. I pick him up at 3:15pm.

Thursday his nanny watches him from 6:30-9am then she brings him to ABA with therapist Erin from 9am-12pm. Then my dad picks him up, feeds him lunch, and drops him off at his preschool. I pick him up at 3:15pm.

Friday his nanny watches him from 6:30-9am then she brings him to ABA with therapist Zoe from 9am-12pm. Then my dad picks him up, feeds him lunch, and drops him off at his preschool. I pick him up at 3:15pm.

As you can tell, it takes a village!! We are thankful for all the people who help us get Mason to all his therapies and school. 

ABA has been going awesome! They send us videos of his sessions weekly, so we can see what they do. The goal is to increase or decrease targeted behavior by rewards (food or praise). There are MANY different skills they are working on at once then they mark if he does the skill correctly and how often he does it correctly. They are working on having him label colors, body parts, animals, etc. They also work on him making certain sounds, requesting items, and follow commands (like give, put in box, sit down, turning to his name, etc). These are all skills that neurotypical kids just naturally pick up on and learn by watching, but kids with autism learn so differently. He has two new therapists this fall who seem to be great. The one that video tapes the seasons is so wonderful and bonds so well with Mason. It's fun to see him enjoy working with her. It's definitely still feels awkward for me to watch. It's fast paced repeating a request and giving a reward. I think it's just awkward because it's much different that how we are used to watching kids learn, but he is making progress! I am so proud of how much Mason has learned so quickly! At his review with his BCBA (person in charge of his therapists), she said that she is impressed at how quickly Mason learns his skills. She added that as she has worked with Mason longer now, she knows how to motivate and teach him more. If he wasn't learning a skill, she knew they had to adapt how they taught it because he is smart enough to get it quickly. He has also retained every skill that he has ever learned there. She said that is rare. It feels good that others can see how smart and special our Mason is. I appreciated that she adapted the programs to fit Mason instead of making him fit into a box. This week they told us that they started new programs/skills, and he has already mastered out of some.

School has been going great as well. He has his same teacher and room as last year, which made the transition smooth. He really loves his teacher and therapists a lot. It's fun to watch him get excited to see them. We had his iep last month where he is continuing to make goals with communication, social skills, and physical therapy. They are working on having him communicate what he wants in various settings. The physical therapist also sent us to an orthotics specialist because of his toe walking. The tendons in his legs are tight, and they don't want them to be so tight that he loses range of motion in his foot/ankle. We are waiting to hear back from the specialist right now. At school, he does so many fun activities whether it's young athletes, playing in the sensory room, doing crafts, working on playing side by side with other kids in his room, playing outside, and so much more. Overall, I think he's had a great start to the year.

We decided to continue with his speech and occupational therapy sessions at Family Tree even though Mason has to miss one day of school a week. We were super sad because his OT left, but he has been doing well with his new OT. His speech therapist there is amazing as well. She has a skill of being able to push Mason to do new skills without completely having him meltdown. And if he does completely meltdown, she pushes him to get past it and continue on. Zach has been taking Mason to most of these sessions since his job let him leave early on Tuesdays. Besides the fact that his therapists there work great with Mason, Zach and I love being a part of his sessions. I think we have learned soooo much about sensory integration, apraxia/dyspraxia, autism, and so much more from his therapists. We have also seen how they work with Mason, so we can apply it at home. This is absolutely invaluable knowledge for us!! While ABA and school have been really helpful for Mason to grow, we can't go with him and learn along with him. What I have learned while being a part of the sessions is not something an autism parent class or reading online could teach me. I think it's important for parents to be directly involved in the therapy process somehow to know how to work with your kid with autism.

The last big update about Mason is that we are applying for a Paws With A Cause autism

Service dog. I had to apply to get the application, which we are working on completing right now. It can be a 2 year process to get a dog, but we are sooooo excited about what a service dog could do for Mason! We have already seen benefits from our cats, so I know a service dog could help so much more. Whether it's helping with transitions, adjusting to new locations, or helping maintain emotional regulation, having that constant, calming presence would be helpful for Mason. Another reason it would help is with Mason's potential wandering. We have our eye on Mason pretty much every moment, but at times that's not always possible. If Mason would ever get out of our house or sight, he doesn't always turn to his name and has no concept of potential dangers. The other night we were in our backyard. I ran into the house for a minute then checked back outside, but he had figured out how to open the gate. I ran out to look for him, and he was already in a neighbors backyard five houses down. He has almost figured out how to open the deadbolts on our house doors as well. As he gets older, it's one of my big concerns. Hopefully a service dog can be beneficial for him in all these areas.

Hopefully Mason continues to grow and enjoy his therapy and school.

A letter to my Mason on his 4th birthday

To my dearest Mason on the eve of your 4th birthday,

As I start cleaning for your birthday, I have so many thoughts about you and that I want to share with you! I think of the first moments of your life. I think of the indescribable love that was born with you. I think of your laugh and smile which can light up a room.

Then suddenly I get angry because I think of your autism. It's taken away your voice. I don't even know what you want for your birthday party. I don't know what gifts you want. I don't know who you want to come. I don't know where you want to go. I don't know what cake you want. I don't know what you want to wear. I don't know what you want to do. 

Autism given you more to overcome than any 4 year old should have to worry about. You have to deal with hours of therapy. You have to deal with more stress physically and emotionally than many have dealt with in their lifetimes. You have to deal with a body that doesn't always respond to what your brain wants it to do. You have to deal with the sadness you feel after your body reacts by hitting your mom when you're overwhelmed. You have to deal with learning completely differently than the norm. You have to deal with people who don't understand you or think less of you, which may make them fear you. You have to deal with sensory needs that make it difficult for you to calm yourself or focus on what you want. You have to deal with your body or brain that doesn't allow you to get the sleep you need for the day. You have to deal with the dyspraxia that doesn't allow your body to do what you want. You have to deal with a limited ability to communicate, which affects every single moment and relationship in your life. And sadly, you have to deal with so much more than I can even list off the top of my head.

Sometimes I think of what I would do if I had to deal with everything you dealt with for one day. I can't even imagine how I would deal. All I know is that I would probably not be smiling as much as you do.

And as I clean for your party thinking all these thoughts, I start to wallow in self-pity. Then I hear you giggling to Mickey and repeating all those words from the show. I realize that you don't wallow and feel sorry for yourself. You deal with everything autism has thrown at you. You have more strength and courage than anyone I know...and you don't even know it. You just deal with it. If you deal with it, I can deal with celebrating your 4th birthday by giving you what I figure you want because I know you even though you don't have a voice yet.

For your birthday, you have a kitty cake that you loved, you watched a Mickey Mouse, you got gifts of trains/puzzles/marble run/scooter/train table, you will get to climb & go downs slides at a play place in the morning, and most importantly, you will be surrounded by people who love you unconditionally.

I write this to you because I see the way you deal with all of your obstacles and are gaining steps in overcoming them. That will bring you to a day where I believe you will be able to read this and be able to talk to me about the day you turned four. The day where you inspired me to have even half the strength that you have. My Mason, you are amazing. Happy 4th birthday to you.

Love,

Momma