Yeah, He's Clapping

Two years ago my best friend gave me the video cassette set of Your Baby Can Read. I really wanted to test it with Jaden, but the Dr. who made the series recommended that the baby watch no other tv programs. That proved hard me to do because I have 3 other children who have favorite shows that they watch.

Anyway, for about a month we've been playing the starter video for Jaden. He really likes it! When he hears the music, his eyes are just glued onto to the tv. One of the words that they go over in the video is "clap." And Jaden has started clapping. That's tremendous for me because anytime I try to get him to clap, he takes my hands and clap my hands. He never used to clap his hand himself. I must say also that they started doing "clap hands" in his ABA program as well.

The next gesture I would love to see him do is to wave hi and bye. His not waving and clapping was an early indication to me that we may need to seek help.

Triumph Over Autism Bilingually

Over at my Spanish Lesson Plans for Children blog, I wrote about the struggle I'm having on whether or not to teach my Jaden Spanish. I had mentioned that the school he's going to recommended that we speak English only with him.

Here's an encouraging article about a girl who talks when the doctors said she wouldn't, but she's bilingual! Read on Triumph over Autism

The parents used a therapy call the Son-Rise Programme. I decided to look more into this therapy and found that it's very similar to Floortime. Over the next few posts I will put up information about Floortime. This method of therapy seems like something we can learn to do at home. Right now Jaden get ABA (applied behavior analysis) for 2 hours at home and 2 hours at school.

AOL Article: Research Suggests Children Can Recover from Autism

All things are possible with God.

Here's an article I happened upon about children recovering from autism. I believe all things are possible and it's a good reminder to never give up hope. It's not easy when you're living it day to day and not seeing results...but results come from the inside out. It's in there.
Research suggests children can recover from autism

CHICAGO -Leo Lytel was diagnosed with autism as a toddler. But by age 9 he had overcome the disorder. His progress is part of a growing body of research that suggests at least 10 percent of children with autism can "recover" from it — most of them after undergoing years of intensive behavioral therapy.

Skeptics question the phenomenon, but University of Connecticut psychology professor Deborah Fein is among those convinced it's real.

She presented research this week at an autism conference in Chicago that included 20 children who, according to rigorous analysis, got a correct diagnosis but years later were no longer considered autistic.

Among them was Leo, a boy in Washington, D.C., who once made no eye contact, who echoed words said to him and often spun around in circles — all classic autism symptoms. Now he is an articulate, social third-grader. His mother, Jayne Lytel, says his teachers call Leo a leader.
The study, funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, involves children ages 9 to 18.

Autism researcher Geraldine Dawson, chief science officer of the advocacy group Autism Speaks, called Fein's research a breakthrough. (Read more)

DVD Teaches Autistic Kids Meaning of a Smile

Another interesting article about more ways to help autistic children. I haven't looked into purchasing this dvd yet, but if you've tried it or plan to, let me know how it's going for you.


DVD teaches autistic kids what a smile means
By Maria Cheng, Associated Press

LONDON — It wasn't until Jude met Jenny that the 3-year-old autistic boy understood what happy people look like. Jenny, a green trolley car with a human face, had a furrowed brow when her wheel buckled and she got stuck on a track. But after being rescued by friends, she smiled broadly — and that's when something clicked for little Jude Baines.

"It was revelatory," his mother, Caron Freeborn told AP Television News in Cambridge, England. Before watching the video, Jude didn't understand what emotions were and never noticed the expressions on people's faces, even those of his parents or younger brother.

Jenny's adventures are part of a DVD for autistic children released this week in the United States called The Transporters.

The DVD teaches autistic children how to recognize emotions like happiness, anger and sadness through the exploits of vehicles including a train, a ferry, and a cable car.

(Read more)

*As this post gets old, the source of this article may be archived or removed.

Healing for Autism

Just wanted to share this website called Healing for Autism about a mother who's son was healed of autism. She tells an inspirational account about how persistent faith in Jesus and prayer produced the breakthrough in her son's life.

When Toddlers Point a Lot...

Jaden is mastering many skills: problem solving, twisting lids on and off, appropriate play with his sisters. We're still working with him on clapping and pointing. Here's an interesting article on why toddlers learning how to point is so important.

When Toddlers Point a Lot, More Words Will Follow

Don't just talk to your toddler - gesture, too. Pointing, waving bye-bye and other natural gestures seem to boost a budding vocabulary.

Scientists found those tots who could convey more meaning with gestures at age 14 months went on to have a richer vocabulary as they prepared to start kindergarten. And intriguingly, whether a family is poor or middle class plays a role, the researchers report Friday.

Anyone who's ever watched a tot perform the arms-raised "pick me up now" demand knows that youngsters figure out how to communicate well before they can talk. Gesturing also seems to be an important precursor to forming sentences, as children start combining one word plus a gesture for a second word. (Read More)

*As this post becomes old, the source of this article may be archived or removed.

Looking for a Preschool (CPSE)

Even though Jaden ages out of Early Intervention (EI) in December, I've started looking at preschools to send him because I would want him to start in September. I hear so many conflicting reports about whether or not a school will hold a spot for him.

I've heard it depends on the school whether or not they will hold a spot. I've heard that no school will hold a spot because they will be losing money. So, I just want us to be ready for September.

Jaden Started an ABA School

Jaden started home-based therapies in October. He gets it 3-4 hours/5 days a week. I was very apprehensive about sending him to a school. At the time he wasn't even 2 years old. But at the suggestions of the therapists, I decided to look into it. One school never got back to me. Another school just happened to have a student aging out in December, so Jaden was ushered in rather quickly.

He started the school in January, for 2 hours in the morning/5 days a week. It's a school where the focus is ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis)--a style of teaching using a series of trials to shape desired behavior or response. Skills are broken into small components and taught to child through a system of reinforcement. I've been driving him there (again apprehensive about sending him on a bus.) But after observing how the bus and attendants operates, I decided to sign him up. The service hasn't started yet, so that's a new experience for us to look forward to.

Jaden's non-verbal communication is developing. His eye contact is very good. He points sometimes. And also exciting is he sits in a chair at the table for longer periods.

We stopped putting him in his Baby Tenda feeding table recently. Actually, he broke it up. So we had to deal with him always being up and on the go. At first, we would put his waffles on the table and he used to pick it up and eat on the go. Now we can tell him to "sit, sit quietly" and he will sit himself in the chair and eat his food until it's done. He sits better now than his sisters did when they were his age.

We're happy with how Jaden's progressing.