Talking... er.... Reading the PHONE....

I cannot bypass posting this one ;)

We use reading/spelling/numbers as rewards around here all the time. Ask me how to get my 18 month old to do something & I have NO IDEA --- but DS will do almost anything for stated rewards.

I was talking to his Memaw on the phone last night. I tried to get him to talk and he directly told me, 'No'.

A few minutes later, he came back. 'My turn.'

'Ok, talk to Memaw, but no numbers'

As he put the phone up to his ear, he was looking as hard as he could out through his peripheral vision to see those numbers as it went past his face. He couldn't stand it after about 2 seconds and, before even saying hello, had the phone back down and started reading it.

We went through a series of giggles as he TRIED to read and I redirected. Finally I said, 'enough, no you can't talk if you're going to read it, all done'.

He left for a few minutes.

'My turn', again.

'Ok. You can talk, but NO numbers. You could say.... hello. how are you? what are you doing? I love you. Bye Bye. But NO looking at numbers.'

He got a sneaky grin on his face, 'OK!'

"hellohowareyouwhatareyoudoingIloveyouByeBye....... '

*looking at numbers*

Memaw and I could not contain our laughter for nearly 5 minutes. OH MY! Well, he DID say everything I suggested. The reward system is working SO WELL. HA!!

Urinal Update

Who knew I'd ever have 2 posts about a urinal... ha!

Well, all my hopes and dreams were crushed tonight. Not really, but teacher #1 and I were rehashing how hilarious last night's bathroom festivities were and I found out that she wasn't talking about the URINAL.... she was just talking about him standing at the potty. No bother, he's never done that at home either.

She reenacted [at dinner] in full how much too TALL he was to go pee-pee standing on the stool. And how much too short he was to go standing on the floor. Let me just tell you - watching a 30 something lady reenact a boy potty scene AT DINNER was enough to put me over the edge.

Anyway, tonight, teacher #2 took him potty. Of course, he told them YES he needed to go (this is almost always his answer). I am picturing his pants and diaper in the floor of the bathroom - thrown wherever they came off. Complete with naked bottom, Teacher #2 is helping & he doesn't REALLY have to pee. So, she says that he is holding the little thing, "Come on pee pee, Come on pee pee, Come on pee pee" because it is just not acceptable to GO to the bathroom and NOT pee. She said that finally he dribbled a TINY bit and then reached towards the water to touch it before she stopped him.

Ahh.... I guess my potty stories are JUST beginning. I do, however, think that if there are other kids going potty at his school, he's going to pick this up QUICK!

I got to watch him get in line from the playground and walk in so good. He got out of line a couple times, but listened very attentively when teacher #1 told them to get back in line.

VBS night 2 - went well! Theme: Urine....er....I mean.... The life of Peter

Good times!!

The Urinal

Last night was DS's first night in 'big boy' VBS. I was SO busy with setup, etc... I didn't have time to remember to freak out (I know that was from you, Lord, thank you!). Prior to this week (seemingly the busiest I've had in 3 years) I was quite concerned about transitions and how DS would do moving from class to class with his peers. I had planned to talk to one of his teachers to make sure they knew to keep a close eye and maybe discuss a couple key issues. I never did that. I still hesitate on that. I want him to have the opportunity to reach ANY potential possible, and I'm so afraid that someone who does not understand 'the label' will treat him differently. It is just ONE week. Not a whole school year.

So, I settled on asking a couple of the teachers how he did and testing waters on whether I needed to step in at the end of the night.

Our night began: All the kids get a sticker for identification. I wrote 'diaper' on his so they'd know that he is not potty trained [because for whatever reason I figured all the other 3 year olds would be, but it's a young class and not all of them are]. I am a 'guide' for the 4 year olds, so I was right there as we all gathered in the big room. DS Teacher #1 came over and asked me about the 'diaper' note and I stated above. She asked if he needed to go potty at all that night, and I stated that he is not actively training and he is welcome to go, but will need a lot of help.

Low and behold if that boy didn't GO with everyone else, walk in, take off his pants, pee IN THE URINAL with a 'couple of dribbles', somehow get his pants back on (maybe help??), and went back to class. Hey now, I was supposed to be there for his first URINAL experience....

My BIG BOY did so good. Of course, the FIRST time they thought he went to the potty, he was just there for moral support watching another boy and then clapping in congrats that he went pee-pee. I wonder what that poor kid thought. LOL Bet he's not used to an audience.

Other than that, the only comment I got from a teacher was that he purposely threw his napkin on the floor at one point. I don't know what that was about, but I'll take it.

Night #1. Success.

Now, let's see how much night 2 changes & how he does with that. Worried mommy has higher hopes for tonight.

The art of Storytelling....

I had the sweetest evening with my little boy.

We had another hard/long day yesterday. We spent an hour at a well visit for Baby sis (everything is good, & just one shot), then we headed to spend 5 hours at church working on props for VBS. Both kids really enjoyed themselves, but DS would not nap. He got really wound up and by the time we were home, he was just off the wall, talking gibberish, and not listening.

I knew that this was in part from the long day, in part still recovering from two long weekends, and in part from our routine being flipped upside-down.

I got baby sis in bed, and then headed to work on him. He was NOT having it!!! I left him to get his PJ's and instead of getting 'Pajama shirt and pants', he brought me 4 regular shirts. Then, when I walked in his room, I found the entire contents of BOTH drawers and the cabinet on the floor. UGH!

So, I took him to the livingroom and we wrote out some social stories about our day. I would write most of the sentance, "Today was fun. First, mommy fixed _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _" and then leave the rest as a fill in the blank for him. He thoroughly enjoyed going back over our day this way, but he wasn't winding down.

Then, he sat on my lap and layed his head on my chest (like he NEVER does). I said, "Why don't you let Mommy just tell you stories tonight instead of reading". I proceeded to tell him what I could remember of stories like The Three Little Bears, and Rumplestilskin (because i thought he would like the silly name, and then I remembered what a horrible story it is, so I left out big parts). He was laying so still and he was SO intently listening, I just kept telling him one after another. Finally, I started asking him questions. He actually processed parts of these stories with NO book & rattled answers back off to me with precision.

Then, I said, "Would you like to tell Mommy a story? Maybe a story about a fish"

And he said, "Once upon a time, there was a fish. Fish was swimming in water. The End."

And I responded, "How about a story about a Farmer and his animals"

And he said, "Noah and Ark. Animals in the boat. The End."

And I said, "What about Jonah and the Whale? Can you tell Mommy that story?"

And he said, "Whale swimming in the water. The End."

I think I would have sat there until midnight going back and forth if Dad hadn't walked in.

It was so sweet. He sat still. He layed his head on my chest. It was just a regular little conversation. I'm telling you, I needed that this week. He is so awesome.

Thank you God for victories like this. I KNOW that you allow us to walk through the fire sometimes so we can see what is on the other side and KNOW that YOU have provided it for us.

Joy, Trials, Patience, Wisdom.....

I began my day today reading James 1:1-5

I KNOW that when I am obedient to read HIS word, it will be used. Most of the time, it relates to someone else; an encouraging word, a conversation, etc... but when I read about Joy in the midst of Trials.... I should ALWAYS know that it is going to be a day testing of my faith.

We went to church this morning to work on some props for VBS. There were several other kids there. Pretty much we had the hall to ourselves; the kids had a TV, lots of toys, and space to roam. I thought to myself, "Here's the perfect opportunity to give DS a little social interaction."

Everyone always tells me how great he does with other kids. But all I saw was him sitting in a corner reading. Then, he ran up and down the halls. Then, he played with the doors on all the car toys, then he swung a hockey stick around the room with no awareness of the other kids. He never interacted. Not once. The other 6 kids had toys thrown from here to yonder & he MIGHT have put his hands on 3. To boot, he wouldn't listen to ME either. He's been better about that.

Then, he was with the babysitter (and sis) for a few hours while I went to the dentist. He was pretty good for that, other than a diaper change outburst (which ended up being a problem because he wanted to go potty - but he already WENT in his diaper, so he couldn't and he doesn't do well when he already has something in his head).

As soon as I got home, we had to eat. He has refused breakfast today. Only ate Peanut Butter for lunch, and basically refused dinner too.

Then we left for a meeting (which I knew I should have kept the kids home for instead of going, but we went anyway). Baby sis ran like a crazed animal for 2 hours & DS just sat there. 1 hour with the Study Bible. 5 min's, again with the doors on toys. A little running/circle time. Then, the rest of probably 40 minutes played with a calculator.

Am I just noticing it more? Are we just in more circumstances where I see it? Is he just getting older and I'm seeing the delays more? Is he having a hard week?

Yeah. Hard Day. Everyone has them. I know.

God.... today..... I will need YOUR wisdom to perfect that JOY in my heart. I am imperfect. My first reaction is to cower into a ball of tears. But I know that YOU know the bigger picture, what YOU created him for, that he will be just fine. That he is your child. I just need YOUR wisdom to comfort me in that tonight.

IEP Goals in more detail

GOALS: (i will list one from each category, since there are well over 25 total) They explained to me that goals can be academic or functional. All of DS are functional.

SelfCare/Safety: Request somethign to eat or drink during mealtimes and/or at other appropriate times, at least 2-3 times across each week of services. (other goals about toileting, washing, and safety)

Emotional (Regulation): Choose from two acceptable options for responding to an identified emotion a) when choices are presented visually by an adult b) by using a visual choice system on his own, for at least 3 of 5 situations when his emotional state is limiting or preventing him from engaging in activities. (other goals about identifying emotions, redirection)

Social: Verbally initiate a social interaction with a) an adult b) a peer, during at least 1 of 3 informal group situations (i.e. snack or mealtime, play session, recess, etc.) (other goals about following directions, turn taking, participation in cooperative play, response to frustration, attention)

Play/Independance: Maintain engagement with an adult-directed hands-on acticity (craft, construction, game, etc.) for a) 5 minutes b) 10 minutes or until complete, with no more than two individual redirections, for at least 3 of 5 opportunities. (other goals about following directions, choices, transitions, problem solving, redirection)

Language: Answer fact-based "wh" and "yes/no" questions regarding a)current activities adn routines b) information requiring recall for at least 4 of 5 consecutive opportunities across settings. (other goals about pronoun reversal, using verbs, maintaining conversation, following directions)