Amazing ABA therapy

Many have heard of the wonders ABA therapy does for Autistic children. Applied Behavior Analysis teaches social, motor and verbal behaviors as well as reasoning skills. It reinforces what we've been told by the experts- Autistic children don't "pick up" knowledge and social behaviors the way other children do. I have had my first ABA training session and Robbie and I sat down yesterday to "do some work". The first 20 minutes was very difficult- getting and keeping him on task. The ABA therapist at his school suggested the game perfection. I knew this would be a piece of cake for Robbie- as far as putting the pieces in the correct spot. He's always been really good with that. The surprising part was he loved waiting for the timer to pop the pieces out. It's loud and a little scary (for me at least). Robbie loved it. The reward for finishing the game was hearing the pop. Who knew. I'm interested in talking to the ABA therapist next week to get a little more knowledge on why this game is so good.- will keep everyone updated.
Another surprise was on the computer. Robbie loves the nickelodeon website. They have great matching games. We played a new game yesterday. Dora's Christmas adventure. The first round it asks to pick out the square from a variety of shapes. Next - pick the yellow oval, next pick the red circle with stripes. Robbie got 80% correct. We played 4 times. I was amazed. The struggle for him was pointing to the item on the screen. He put his nose to it- his mouth, his tongue. He looks at it - but getting him to point is difficult. We'll work on it- I'm was just really happy to see he knows the answers. Unlocking his ability to communicate is the key.

Holiday Stress

Often parents in the autism community joke that we have become more religious during the holiday season: we pray our children will behave while we are visiting relatives, we pray they will show interest in their gifts (and not just the ribbon), we pray they will sit at the dinner table, we pray they won't hit the relative who tries to kiss them, and above all, we pray that we will have the strength to politely ignore the judgments passed upon us and our 'misbehaving' children.

This is a quote I pulled off of the Autism Speaks newsletter because it is so accurate. Will the holidays be too overwhelming or hopefully pleasantly relaxing. I also relate to this quote because it makes me think about those who have an Autistic or special needs children. How can you tell if someone has a special needs child? Look into their eyes and see the tears that well up as they speak about their child. Look at the bags under their eyes and additional stress signs across their face. I have been thinking about this quite a lot lately as I think about those I know with Autistic children. The surgeon I used to call on for work- who always looked exhausted, distracted and distant. The Nurse at one of my accounts who frequently has tears so close to falling down her face. The mother in my neighborhood who can't have a conversation because she is literally chasing her son to keep him safe. My husband who has been is a pillar of strength but struggles to keep the tears back as well. And myself as I look in the mirror at the dark circles under my eyes from lack of sleep and worry. While we look forward to the holidays my thoughts and prayers are for us all. We simply want what every parent wants. A child who is excited and awed by Santa Claus and Christmas. Who gets everything he wants- even when he can not yet ask us. Who can survive without major meltdowns and sleepless nights. Is that too much to ask??