9.17.2007

ABA Therapy

Holden gets 3 hours of ABA per week through early steps. His behavior analyst comes on Mondays & Wednesdays.

Today was a good day. He said "eat", or .... more like "eeeeeat" 5-7 times when he wanted raisins. (He loves loves loves raisins) He was more affectionate today. He climbed up in her lap and wanted her to hold him, and hug him. Funny kid. He's definitely become more social. Maybe not with kids yet, but with adults. And that's a beginning.

He was a bit "stimmy" today. But, I think that has to do with his dad being gone (again, for work), and I screwed up his nighttime routine last night. Tonight, I know better! So, we'll see how he does tomorrow. His behavior analyst stopped the stimming once today and he was easily redirected. He has this thing now. He throws - well, more like drops, things off of anything. For ex: he'll take puzzle pieces and get up on the couch and drop them one by one onto the floor. Pick them up. Repeat. So, really, it's anything that has a lot of pieces. Pieces of the perfection game, he does the same thing. If he's not dropping things off an "edge" of something, he's hiding them and sitting on them, or finding them again. I can't figure out if it's a sensory issue, or just a repetitive/stimming thing. If we can figure out how to redirect him to a different activity (if it is sensory) where he gets the same input, we would. Thing is, I can't figure out if it's visual...or tactile. I think it's tactile. He's not watching the pieces fall. He's just letting them go. I think it's the feeling of having something in his hands, and then not. He's very touchy-stimulated. Rough surfaces, etc. I thought about getting a piece of sand paper and keeping it handy, so that when he rubs on the walls, or starts to stim, maybe I can redirect him to the sand paper and see if that helps? Anyway. It's all a guessing game at this point.

The second time she stopped the stimming with puzzle pieces, he cried. He laid on the floor and cried - for 6 minutes. It felt like an eternity. She says that 6 minutes is nothing really. That "typical" 2 yr olds tantrum for much longer than that, on average.

And, on top of everything, like I said - last night, I screwed with his routine, so he didn't go to sleep till 10pm. I have a feeling by the time the last little "fit" happened today around 11am, he was ready for a nap - on top of everything else.

We went to the park today and he just loves to swing. I love him to swing because I love the look on his face. His smile. His dimples. And, most importantly, the eye contact he gives me. I can really SEE him when he looks at me ... if that makes sense.

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