Meeting the Educator and Speech Therapist

Today I met with the speech therapist who was very uplifting.  She will focus on Paxon's verbal and communication skills.  We will try different methods to achieve this.  We will be putting sounds with our everyday routines, such as unzippering an item, we make a zzzzziiiiiippppp sound as we are doing it.  When we bounce a ball, we say BOUNCE, BOUNCE, BOUNCE, as the ball is bouncing.  We are also going to work on his eating habits, maybe introducing new foods and how to do it.  We have maybe discovered in doing so, that his snack table is the best place to place new foods there and see what he does.  When in the highchair, Paxon just throws food on the floor when he is not familiar with it, versus on his snack table, he will leave it there, but come back to it maybe trying it.  We will introduce some sign language and pictures to identify certain objects.  All of this will have meaning and a purpose with his therapy, us as parents are learning as well, and will have to follow through and be consistant in all methods.  Since we now have a feel for what we need to do, we will begin our therapy and hopefully make progress as the weeks roll by.  Until next time...........

First In-House Evaluation and Family Plan 5/22

Paxon had his first in-house evaluation yesterday, and we had our family plan discussed on how to move forward.  We had a teacher, speech pathologist and our early intervention contact person come and give Paxon an evaluation similar to the one he had a CHOP.  They brought toys and played with him to see what he could and could not do.  Since he was already diagnosed for Autism, this was a step to make sure that all of his care will be properly funded.  They have set up a plan for us, his family, to help teach him and reach our goals we would like for Paxon.  Goals such as being able to communicate with us in a way we can understand.  Something as simple as pointing a finger at an object to let us know he wants it, or playing with a specific toy for the purpose it was made.  We will be taking "baby steps" and taking it one day at a time, but we will do whatever it takes.  His first therapy session will take place within the next 2 weeks, a teacher and speech therapist will be here at the house once weekly.  I will post his progress with that session...until then.....

Hearing Test 5/17

Well, Paxon passed his hearing test with flying colors!  At least we know his hearing is not an issue for the speech delay he has.  We are very anxious for next week's first in-house therapy session.  We will at least know what to expect and what we need to do to help Paxon progress.  He has actually done some things that he hasn't done before.  For instance, when he wants water in his cup, he now BRINGS the cup to you and hands it to you to fill it up!  WOW, he never did that and has done it repeatedly for the past week.  We are very happy that he is taking some steps that are positive :)  I will post about the Tuesday session when completed.  Until then.

First Therapy Coordinator Meeting 5/3

The meeting went well with our therapy coordinator yesterday, she was very helpful and gave us A LOT of information.  Paxon will have a hearing test on May 17th and his first in-home meeting with the teachers as well as a speech therapist is May 22nd.  They will come to the house and do an evaluation and decide how many times a week they will come.  The usual is once a week, but they will be teaching us also to work with him throughout the week, this is a learning experience for us as well.  We will be taught exercises and things to do with Paxon to ensure he is getting therapy around the clock every day. We have taken the first step and will continue to make sure Paxon will have all the help he needs and that this journey will be a good one!

The Diagnosis: 4/26/12

Yesterday, my husband and I traveled to Philadelphia to have the results of Paxon's evaluation from the week prior.  I must say, my nerves were a mess!  I am not going to kid everyone, we knew he had a problem, we just weren't ready to hear it.  After we sat down with the physicians and specialists, they told us our son is diagnosed with Autism.  I was frozen, then I started thinking, my baby, my son that I love more than life itself, could not be.  Then looking at my husband, I broke down.  I couldn't keep it in, and I just let it out.  They comforted me to say that, if I didn't react this way, they would be concerned.  It was OK to let it out.  As they continued on with the results, I realized our whole life is going to change.  We will still have our every day routines, our life, but it will become more complicated.  We will need family and friend's support, because everyone that interacts with Paxon and spends time with him; will be a part of his therapy.  We are calling today to start the Early Intervention ball rolling, so that he can start his therapy and be on the right path to helping him put all his pieces together.  I look forward to posting his progress AND our progress as we go through this challenge together, as a family.