Whew! What a week!

We have had an insane week- that is for sure. Swim lessons have started. Nate LOVES being there. Taking part in the group games and activities is rough (same a s Little Gym), but he enjoys every second of the slides and running under a water sprinkler.

We had our 2 day start-up with Children's Hospital IBI here at the house. It went really well and I think we have a great team. Nate will certainly have his ups and downs, but it will be good for him I think. I think 5-6 hours a day of WORK for any 2 1/2 year old would be exhausting!

Nate's biomed test results are still trickling in. We received his yeast test which shows his yeast and bacterial counts are off the charts high. We all assumed that. The normal range for a certain kind of bacteria is 0-150, with the median being 75. Nate's is 862, which is more than 10 times the average. We are counting the days til our next doc appt so we can start medication to remove the yeast and bacteria as well as starting probiaotics. Along with that comes the worst news of all. We have to remove sugar from his diet, almost completely. This includes all natural forms of sugar (fruit) and starch that his body is transforming into sugar. UGH! This doesn't leave a whole lot left for the ol' dinner table. Most veggies he can have, although he won't touch them. He is eating ground beef and ground turkey though, so it is SOMETHING I guess. He won't starve.

ABA is underway!

We are up to 15 hours this week of ABA(5 days a week) and we will increase to 20 in the next 2 weeks. What can I say about it? So far, so good! He seems to like his therapists. They are all so very different from each other and have very different approaches with Nate, while still being consistant. Nate has been coming to the table with ease to "work" on puzzles, sorting, object labeling, simple commands(stand up), and imitation (touch your head).

Nate has also started picking up a new sign!! He is tapping the back of his hand for "stack" (as in blocks). If he continues I will be sure to get it on video. He has kept up with "please" and "more". When Nate gets frustrated he just starts signing "please" and "more" frantically because that is the only way he feels he can express himself!! It is quite sad actually. we are anxious to get him some more "words" so he can express his little wants and needs.

AUTISM:THE MUSICAL

Wow. This was so touching. Aaron and I watched it tonight- of course I cried through the whole thing, but that's nothing new.

What a sad, sweet, realistic, down-to-earth, view of Autism. Aaron and I fell in love with Wyatt and we also see a lot of Nate in all the different kids they featured. I just want to run upstairs and hug my little man in his bed.

Go buy or rent this--it is an amazing documentary.

making plans for change...

This week has been crazy busy with making plans. We are about halfway through our school evaluations to creat Nate's IEP. We took Nate to what will be his new classroom so he could meet his new teacher. I think she is great. It takes more than just great teaching skills- special needs teachers have the BIGGEST hearts. I was amazed watching all that she undertakes on a daily basis. Wow. We are very comforatable sending him there- and we are prepared for the incredibly hard first few months until a routine is established. He will be going 4 days a week for appx 2.5 hours. We also got to meet a little boy who will be one of Nate's 4 classmates next year. He appeared to be at approximately the same "level" as Nate, but he was verbal and of course Nate, is not. That is going to account for 90% of the frustration I am sure...

We are trudging ahead with Nate's ABA setup....and I do mean trudging. It is slow going trying to get everything up and running. Our students are hanging in there with us so far though, so that is a plus.

We are still trying to sort out our ST and OT options for Summer and into Fall. Nate won't have a free minute, poor guy. Let's hope we are making the right decisions for our little guy.