Of Trampolines, Swing Sets and Lack of Therapy

We lucked out and inheirited a big trampoline and a swing set for our yard from our next door neighbors who just moved. Ben is a happy camper now. The big tramp is so much fun! Rob and I like to jump on it too. Been a little annoyed lately since I've been unable to get any therapists to call me back so Ben can start speech and OT, but one finally called two days ago and he's going for an evaluation on Wednesday, and might be able to start in a therapy group on Friday. Ben could really use some structure. I've been giving him some time doing ABA with me and playing, but sometimes he's more resistant to me that he is with a therapist, so I think it'll be good to have someone else to work with him. I also put an inquiry out on Craigs List to find some to help with the ABA a few hours a week and I immediately received a reply from a woman with a masters degree in special ed, who is a stay at home mom herself with a special needs daughter. Talk about luck! So I'll be meeting with her next week and hopefully that works out for the rest of the summer at least. Ben saw a psychologist last week and she said Ben might benefit from one of the ADD drugs, like Adderoll or Stratera. So we'll go to the doctor about that in the near future and see what she thinks. Ben's moods have been better lately, but I've taken him off Primal Defense. I think it was just too strong for our little guy. More later. Gotta go clean up breakfast. :-)

Go Spokane Indians!

Went to our first minor league baseball game here in Spokane, the Spokane Indians Vs. the Yakima Bears. I think the Indians lost, but we left after the 4th inning so I can't be sure until I look it up on the net. It was getting late and past the kids bedtime. Ben did great! He actually seemed to enjoy the game more than the girls. He was happy and rocked whenever the music played. He also liked the airplanes flying overhead. Ben's kind of into planes now, an there certainly are enough of them around here. I'm really starting to like Spokane now, it's got a certain kind of charm. I think it will be a fine place to live for a few years. This is my first experience even being in the Pacific Northwest. It's very open and the cities are more rural outside of Spokane, of course. I really like Idaho too. Couer D'Alene is beautiful! Lots of lakes, mountains, and pine trees. The base is great too, and so far, I've only met very friendly people. Speaking of people, I met with Ben's Special Ed teacher last week and we had a tour of the girls' and Ben's new school on base. It's only a couple of years old, so all the facilities are very new looking. My impression is that they're going to try to put Ben into a Kindergarten class with an aide, for at least part of the day. Now I'm not opposed to that, but Ben is a handful, as I'm sure they'll soon find out. So I have a feeling they may end up putting him in the Self contained class for the majority of the time. Registration isn't until the 3rd week of August, anyway. Spitting still his main preoccupation, but he is getting quite good at helping me with the laundry (sorting, putting it in, taking it out, etc) and doesn't spit when he's helping. I just wish he had more to occupy him and I'm sure the spitting would decrease. He has tons of toys, but isn't that interested in them without a grown up leading the playtime. I'll keep plugging away and post in a few days.

More From Washington

Well, I don't have a lot of good news to report, but I do have a little bit. Ben has learned how to shake and nod his head for no and yes. He does this in response to almost any question that he understands, and though he isn't perfect about getting the sign he actually means, he's pretty good. He's actually been doing this for about a month now, since I worked on it, but it's something. I've started a new probiotic called Primal Defense. It's supposed to be the best there is for autistic kids, but it does have some casesin and gluten in it from what I can tell. It's only been a few days so far, and nothing really to report. Ben's spitting is as bad now as it ever has been, perhaps even worse. I guess he's bored. I'm at the point now where the only thing I can do is ignore it. Pretend he's not doing it. Otherwise I'm constantly yelling at him, and that's not healthy for either of us. I want to get our little learning sessions back, but I tried the other day and was met with much resistance. It just shows me how far I've let him slide. He just spit on all his puzzles, on the picture cards, sometimes he just lets the spit hang around his mouth, dropping it and slurping it back in. I know if I asked I would probably be told to just work through it and not to let him get out of doing what I asked by spitting on everything. So that's what I'm going to do. Potty training is on the horizon, looming over me, but as of right now, I can't even really think about it yet.