Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Friday, July 16, 2010
A Fish is Born!
This week we began our swim lessons for the summer and Jude has loved every minute of it. We learned how to blow bubbles in the water, which he has practiced with perfection in the tub every night and we have learned how to kick and dunk our head underwater. We sing "ring around the rosie" and the when the ashes all fall down we go under water. I thought Jude might be scared but every time he came up for air he said "I want to do it again." We hope to practice this summer and move up the fish food chain from shrimp to guppy next summer.
Saturday, July 10, 2010
What It's Like to Have Autism
What It's Like to Have Autism This is one of the better articles I have read to date on what it is like to have autism and what we can do as caregivers to understand and help. I hope you take some time and read it.
Friday, July 2, 2010
Jude's Play Group
Jude just began a play group through the regional center and he gets to go once a week for an hour to play in a structured setting with a behavioral consultant and other children with special needs. So far our experience has been awesome!
Jude plays with another little guy his same age who has Down Sydrome. They work great together interacting for circle time, art projects and free play. Jude is able to demonstrate for him good language skills and following directions, while he shows Jude how to play with toys differently and how to interact with other kids. The teacher is wonderful and each week we are given something to work on. Jude loves it!
I have also gotten the opportunity to meet some other parents with children with special needs through this center and it has been an incredible experience to be surrounded with people who understand what it is like.
We are hoping this program will continue for the next six months and we have already seen some positive changes in Jude. I will continue to update everyone on things you could be doing with Jude and tips we get from the program.
This week we are working on turn taking. I invented a game we like to play which is,"I see" in the car. We take turns spotting different things we see on the ride. The game works best when it is clearly stated., "Mommy sees...a..,Jude's turn what do you see?" Jude replies and then you say, "great job or awesome and its Mommy's turn." Repeat as many times as you can get him to take turns. We also take turns as much as possible during the day to really put a strong emphasis on this skill and we are always looking for some good turn taking board games like GO FISHING which pairs matching with turn taking and other simple 3+ age appropriate games.
Jude plays with another little guy his same age who has Down Sydrome. They work great together interacting for circle time, art projects and free play. Jude is able to demonstrate for him good language skills and following directions, while he shows Jude how to play with toys differently and how to interact with other kids. The teacher is wonderful and each week we are given something to work on. Jude loves it!
I have also gotten the opportunity to meet some other parents with children with special needs through this center and it has been an incredible experience to be surrounded with people who understand what it is like.
We are hoping this program will continue for the next six months and we have already seen some positive changes in Jude. I will continue to update everyone on things you could be doing with Jude and tips we get from the program.
This week we are working on turn taking. I invented a game we like to play which is,"I see" in the car. We take turns spotting different things we see on the ride. The game works best when it is clearly stated., "Mommy sees...a..,Jude's turn what do you see?" Jude replies and then you say, "great job or awesome and its Mommy's turn." Repeat as many times as you can get him to take turns. We also take turns as much as possible during the day to really put a strong emphasis on this skill and we are always looking for some good turn taking board games like GO FISHING which pairs matching with turn taking and other simple 3+ age appropriate games.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
School Update
Jude attends two different schools right now and I thought it might be a good idea to update everyone on what they are and what the function of each one is.
The "Park"
This is Jude's current school and daycare, it is a full inclusion school and he has been attending it since last year, long before we got his diagnosis. Other than a music class Jude and I attended when he was younger, this was his first introduction in to a social setting with his peers. It took him several months to open up to everyone but now he talks with his classmates and teachers and loves to participate in all of the activities. We love all of his teachers and we thank them tremendously for all of their support and especially the POTTY TRAINING! Couldn't have done it without them. He is a Bumblebee right now but in September he will be graduating to his next class the Catipillars and he will continue to go each day in addition to attending his other pre-school through the School District.
School District
If February, Jude began pre-school through the school district in a Special Education class. The school year has ended for now, but we definitely saw a major improvement in his social skills and communication thanks in a large part to his teachers. In this program Jude also received occupational therapy and speech therapy. The primary focus of the program was to socialize with the other students in a structured setting of small group interactions as well as meet their individual I.E.P (Individual Education Plan) goals. So far Jude has met 4 out of 5 of his goals and he has until February to complete his 5th goal! Go Jude!
Because of his wonderful progress Jude became eligible to go to an inclusion pre-school through the school district for the next school year. It is a Head Start program so he will be grouped with 15 regular kids and 5 kids with IEP's (special education.) He will have his own special education teache, a special education aide and a regular teacher and aide. We toured his classroom several weeks ago and met with his teacher and we both fell instantly in love. His IEP goals will be met by including them in everyday activities with the general classroom and he will continue to get occupational therapy and speech therapy once a week. Although this is a change, we see it as a positive one. It is also a program which Jude will participate in for the next 2 years before he transitions in to Kindergarten.
This summer we will be working on some projects to increase his hand coordination. Please see our complete list that I have posted on the blog.
The "Park"
This is Jude's current school and daycare, it is a full inclusion school and he has been attending it since last year, long before we got his diagnosis. Other than a music class Jude and I attended when he was younger, this was his first introduction in to a social setting with his peers. It took him several months to open up to everyone but now he talks with his classmates and teachers and loves to participate in all of the activities. We love all of his teachers and we thank them tremendously for all of their support and especially the POTTY TRAINING! Couldn't have done it without them. He is a Bumblebee right now but in September he will be graduating to his next class the Catipillars and he will continue to go each day in addition to attending his other pre-school through the School District.
School District
If February, Jude began pre-school through the school district in a Special Education class. The school year has ended for now, but we definitely saw a major improvement in his social skills and communication thanks in a large part to his teachers. In this program Jude also received occupational therapy and speech therapy. The primary focus of the program was to socialize with the other students in a structured setting of small group interactions as well as meet their individual I.E.P (Individual Education Plan) goals. So far Jude has met 4 out of 5 of his goals and he has until February to complete his 5th goal! Go Jude!
Because of his wonderful progress Jude became eligible to go to an inclusion pre-school through the school district for the next school year. It is a Head Start program so he will be grouped with 15 regular kids and 5 kids with IEP's (special education.) He will have his own special education teache, a special education aide and a regular teacher and aide. We toured his classroom several weeks ago and met with his teacher and we both fell instantly in love. His IEP goals will be met by including them in everyday activities with the general classroom and he will continue to get occupational therapy and speech therapy once a week. Although this is a change, we see it as a positive one. It is also a program which Jude will participate in for the next 2 years before he transitions in to Kindergarten.
This summer we will be working on some projects to increase his hand coordination. Please see our complete list that I have posted on the blog.
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