Everything Zema: This and That

My it has been quite awhile since I updated.

Henry is basically healthy and happy as always! At his recent check up (2 year – HOLY COW!) he was somewhere in the 90^th percentile for height and 25^th percentile for weight. He is crazy active and clever, always getting into everything. He enjoys rearranging the silverware drawer, hiding various items in very weird places, building with duplos, playing outside, and “Mater’s Tales.” If he can get into it he will and if he can’t he will figure out a way. He can now get out of his bed, climb to the top of his tall dresser, open childproof bottles, lock and unlock the doors, and absolutely loves baking and cooking. Yet he still can’t really talk. He is a bundle of energy and fun for sure!

I'm two!

I love my Duplos.

Mini play-dohs fit perfectly in toilet paper tubes. . . .

Robbie is still showing steady improvement. Thanks to the few consults we’ve had with an ABA therapist he is now using words to communicate!!! I cannot express how wonderful this is and how much easier it makes life. He is still quite limited in what he says and in remembering to use them consistently but it is worlds better than just a few months ago when he used none at all to communicate!

At the beginning of the year we wanted to start Applied Behavioral Analysis. (ABA is typically administered one on one, in a program that is customized to the individual. It involves breaking down learning tasks into small steps, and teaching them over and over in a reinforcing way until they are mastered. It is the best-researched and most effective current treatment for autism, experts say.) At that point we could not afford it (read crazy-expensive) and had to figure out how to pay for it. Praise God for an intelligent husband and perseverance. We got Robbie on a new insurance and now we will be paying less over all even with the many many hours of therapy we will be having. So we start ABA tomorrow! We have worked 4 or 5 times with an ABA consultant and saw amazing progress just for those few hour long sessions so I am extremely hopeful that this will see a great improvement in him all around. It is typical for an autistic kid to start off with 30-40 hours of ABA a week. No, that is not a typo. Fortunately Robbie is high-functioning enough that the maximum recommendation for him was 10 hours a week, we were able to procure 9 hours a week. It will be spread out 3 hours a day 3 days a week, with another day having his OT and ST. It typically lasts 2-4 years with intensity decreasing as you go. Another good thing is that ABA is in home. His therapist will be teaching Chet and I how to “run the program” consistently at home and away. That is all I know at this point. I really have no clue what to expect so I guess I will try and update when I have a better idea. All I do know is that it will be a HUGE adjustment for our family and part of me is dreading it. I am ecstatic, freaked out, worried, hopeful, fearful, happy and much more.

Enjoying a bonfire with cousins.

Color matching with bugs.

On another note, we are still on the waiting list for the Feeding Difficulties Center. We have an eval appointment in April and then hopefully, not too long after that, will get into the program. He is now on all table food purees but not trying solids yet. I have been slack in the attempts.