Summer is in full swing and Robbie is busy with "summer school" which consists of 2 hours of ABA and 30 minutes of speech or OT in the morning and 2 additional hours of ABA at home in the afternoons 3 days a week. As expected the home based therapy has been going really well- less distractions, and the school based programs have been touch and go. Lately the hardest behavior to handle is the hitting and kicking. Robbie does not like to hear no- as any child would. For Robbie- there are 3 strikes against him. He is a boy. He is a toddler. He is Autistic. For me the greatest challenge has become his size and strength. He is big for his age and very strong. This means- it hurts when he hits and kicks. The bruises on my legs and the shoe mark on my husband's back are the proof. The good thing is he is talking more and asking for more. However many times what he is asking for is not what he wants. Usually we can figure it out- but not always. Our ABA therapist had recommended we start collecting pictures of objects he may want. They use this in the classroom he will be attending in the fall. The reinforcement of the visual cue and verbal cue help. For example- sometimes he asks for a Popsicle but really wants a lollipop. He may ask for blue core ( from the movie Astro Boy) but means a Popsicle. However if you show him the Popsicles with out the box ( where the picture is) he may say no. It is frustrating for him and for us. We continue to work with him and add additional hours of ABA and silently pray for results.