Rat, tat, tat, tat, chk, chk, chk, chk, chk, chk, chk, chk…Ahhh…all else in the house is quiet, but my pounding head is still not at peace since Jackson is not allowed to nap in order to protect the sanctity of nighttime sleep. Two packaged strips of fruit leather are madly flailing against the edge of the coffee table. Jackson’s arms are a blur. With incredible precision and endurance, he whips those fruit strips like his life depends on it. And I am faced with a decision: do I allow him to be lost in this repetitive movement, known in the autism community as flapping or stimming (Self Stimulatory Behavior)? Continue reading “Hidden Potential”
Victory in the bathroom
Three days ago, Jackson entered the bathroom on his own initiative, grabbed his potty seat, and placed it on the potty while singing in a soft, whispery voice, “Jackson put your poopies in the potty.” He proceeded to take the advice of Mommy’s soft-rock ballad created in a moment of desperation during our weekend “Potty Party” over a month ago. Continue reading “Victory in the bathroom”
Following directions through the haze of autism
We’ve worked long and hard at getting Jackson to connect with us and figured out several things that are rewarding and motivating. We feel like we’ve laid a great groundwork for getting Jackson to follow directions. This has turned out to be a bigger challenge than I ever imagined.
Reality began sinking in one day about a year ago when I looked up and saw that Jackson had left a trail of at least ten strawberry tops winding across the living room carpet. Not wanting to miss a teachable moment, I decided to have him pick each one up and feed it to the guinea pigs. Cleaning up and connecting with pets at the same time! Whoo hoo! Continue reading “Following directions through the haze of autism”
Sleepless in Oregon
After three nights of waking up at 3am or earlier, Jackson slept from 9pm to 7am this morning. That’s truly beautiful. No middle of the night arm-scratching for Jason, no flipping and flopping out on the couch with mom listening to his favorite Chris Tomlin music set for the tenth time. But still…we’ve come a long way. Continue reading “Sleepless in Oregon”
Following his lead, building bridges in the world of autism
“Following his lead” I shook my head as I stared at the page in front of me. I was sitting in a parent training class at Jackson’s school desperately looking for a new way to progress with Jackson at home. I had thought, “I’m a great parent and a natural teacher, I can do this.” But after months of frustrating non-interactions, I realized I needed a new strategy. So here I was, hoping to gain some new secret insights on how to convince Jackson that words are valuable for getting what you want, and interacting with your family is way more fun than flipping around your sister’s matching Valentine’s socks. Continue reading “Following his lead, building bridges in the world of autism”