Spinning

Conlan's latest thing has been spinning objects. Objects range from pennies and other coins to lids, toys, foam letters. I think he even tried to spin a shoe once. He's good too. His favorite item seems to be lids from water and soda bottles. A couple weeks ago, Heather gave him a couple pennies and a plate to occupy him in the car. He loved it! Now we try to keep a plate or other flat-surfaced object in the car and a few coins handy. While we were still in Arizona, we got him one of those toys that spin when you push the handle down. He loved that toy even then - I wonder where it is now.

Hi, My Name is Emily

At the park the other day, a girl the same age as Conlan came up to him. She introduced herself and asked his name. I don't think he even noticed her as he continued spinning rocks and babbled, possibly in response to her query.  Not receiving a response, she continued on her way a little perplexed that he didn't want to play with her. Talking with her mom later, I found out they are both in first grade at the same elementary. I'm surprised Emily didn't already recognize him. Supposedly Conlan's class does interact with the neurotypical kids his age on a regular basis. Maybe we should push for more integration.

Snow days

School was closed on Tuesday because the forecast said it was supposed to snow a lot. It did snow quite a bit, but nowhere near what would have canceled school where I grew up. Then, of course, the next day was also canceled so that the roads could get cleared. The school district canceled for a third day, for reasons undisclosed. I think the temperature was too low, about 5 degrees at 6 AM. Thankfully, work was also closed on Tuesday, and on Wednesday, I could telecommute or take leave. Thursday, I wasn't feeling well so took a sick day. Three days off of school for just 4-6 inches of snow! It's ridiculous to me. Conlan hasn't had a full week of school since before Christmas break. And now, instead of getting President's Day off of school, they have to make it up and go to school that day. I hope they don't cancel any more days since more will have to be made up after school gets out in June.

Anyway, Tuesday evening, we finally ventured out into the snow. I'm so glad we got Conlan those snow boots a couple months ago. At first he protested the extra layer of clothing. We even had to hold his hands while we got suited up so he wouldn't strip down. Finally outside, we had lots of fun making snow angels, throwing snow at each other, and making fresh tracks. Hardly anyone had ventured out all day. We made our way over to the park. It's fun sliding down a slide full of snow! Shortly after getting to the park, a girl, her mom, and their dog came to join in the fun. We made some more snow angels, got to know them and had more fun. Conlan squealed at the sight of the dog. He kept putting himself between the owner and the dog so that he'd get all tangled up, squealing and laughing the whole time. This kid needs a dog!

All I Want for Christmas is an EEG?

About a month ago, Conlan lost his first tooth. Well, not exactly, he lost his first tooth without hitting his head on the bathtub. A couple weeks later he lost another. Both times he was very calm and "asked" us to take out his tooth. And just in time for Christmas!

Christmas for Conlan has always been a little different. He doesn't quite get that there are presents for him beneath the wrapping paper. Or maybe he doesn't understand gifts and possession. He is so used to playing with whatever is available. He doesn't seem to have any wishes. He's content to bounce around, watch a little of "Signing Time", or play with things as simple as a cardboard box. Much to our annoyance, he could throw an empty 2-liter bottle onto the hardwood floor for hours squealing with glee the whole time.

So what do you get an autistic 6 year old? His two front teeth! We got some stuff mainly from the dollar store. We also got him an alphabet puzzle floor mat and a tactile spiky ball. He loves puzzles and always plays with the floor mats at other people's houses. I think his favorite toy is the helicopter blade thingy that is spun off of a helical-shaped stick. The blades quickly ascend to the ceiling when purged off of the stick and even glow in the dark. He loved unrolling the Chinese yo-yo's too.

His brother had a blast opening most of the toys, even Conlan's. The video below shows his reaction at first seeing what Santa had brought.





Sadly, all the fun and games quickly came to an end the next morning. He had an appointment with the neurologist to get a portable EEG attached to his head. It was quite an experience for all of us. The technician did an amazing job attaching all the electrodes and wrapping his head so he wouldn't tear it off. A few weeks from now, we get to visit the neurologist again to look at the data and see if they find out anything. I sure hope it was worth the sleepless night as we monitored him both to make sure it stayed attached and to record any mini seizures (none noticed) or other anomalous activity. He was very happy to get it off the next morning and even more excited to be treated with pancakes from Denny's for tolerating the bandage for almost 24 hours. Good for you Conlan!

Sick

The poor guy has been sick for a few days. The school called on Thursday saying he had a slight temperature. So we let him go to bed early and kept him home on Friday. He slept most of the following few days and nights. It's so different for him to be sleeping so much. He never takes a nap! Then on Saturday, he threw up a couple times because he wouldn't cough and ate very little. Monday were declared snow days by both my work and his school. This helped him (and us) get more rest. Since he wasn't feeling very well, he got lazy. He stopped using the bathroom and wet his bed almost every night. He even wet his pants a couple times during the day. He was doing so well with his potty training. He never needed us to take him to the bathroom unless we were in public. He did everything on his own and only needed help to clean up the messy ones. So we're back to closely monitoring his bathroom breaks and their frequency. We really hope that once he gets feeling better, he'll get back to independently taking care of business.
He was so tired that he fell asleep at the bottom of the stairs.
After a couple days of being stuck inside and seeing the snow fall all morning, he just begged to go outside. And he had lots of fun. Since then, he loves walking on the crisp snow, crunching it much like he likes the sound of the leaves underfoot.

Communication

Conlan is still nonvocal and struggles with using PECS and sign language. BUT he is very vocal and does communicate.  A friend sent me the picture below, and it reminded me of Conlan. I am very grateful that Conlan likes hugs and kisses. He doesn't give them himself very often, but when he does, I cherish them.

Just last night after saying prayers and singing to him, he started giggling, came towards me and kissed me on my lips. His kisses are far from normal; he basically touches his wide-open mouth to my lips. Lately, he has been practicing different facial expressions with the frustrated/concerned look being his favorite. His eyes are so intense, I wonder what goes on inside that cute little head of his. When he wants something, he usually takes us to it (if he can't get it himself). When he's hungry, he wines. When he's tired, he giggles a lot or just lies down. When he wants to go outside, he takes us to the door and moves our hands toward the doorknob and deadbolt. His "yes" is a chuckle of sorts.

Autumn

Autumn is here. With it comes unpredictable weather, candy, leaves, and other changes.  Conlan has been doing great in school. I can't believe the first quarter is already finished. His teacher and aides love him and are grateful to have him in their small class of five pupils.

After a couple weeks of trying to potty-train him, the school finally got on board after convening an IEP meeting. He had made lots of progress but even more when he was doing it at school too. Except for wiping afterwards and washing his hands, he does everything on his own.  The only problem we have had is when we are in public. So we are teaching him to communicate to us his need(s). At home, he just goes when he needs to. He's so independent! It's great.

Lately, he has had trouble falling asleep after we put him down. For a while he would just stay in bed after we read scriptures, prayed, sang a song, tucked him in, and turned out the lights. The past month or so, he acts real tired as we're doing the whole routine. But after the lights are out, he gets up, squeals, and giggles like crazy. I say "crazy", because it drives us crazy! We started laying with him, making sure he fell asleep, but then he'd just wait until we had conked out and then get up, waking us up. It can be so frustrating! Last night, I dozed off three times before I left the room out of frustration. I'm just glad there are two of us, one can take over for the other when it's too much. I am grateful though, for I have become much better at using conscious discipline.

A few days ago, Heather noticed him playing with one of his front teeth. Sure enough, we checked yesterday and found out it's loose. I wonder how he'll handle losing it!  Ever since the bathtub incident, I've wondered how old he'd be when his adult teeth would come in. It's going to be different when that missing tooth knocked out by the bathtub is filled in.