2 . 5 . 10 . 12 . 15 . 31 .

JANUARY. 2009>

Happy New Year. We spent a few days at the lodge where we rent a cabin every year. The lodge has many dogs and cats running through it, so this was going to be a great test to see how Luke's allergies reacted. We were there for coffee for almost 2 hours on Wednesday morning, and Luke had NO ALLERGIC REACTION. It was amazing. Usually his nose starts running constantly after 10 minutes, and then his eyes start to itch and turn red. We spent another couple hours there later in the day and no reaction again. Wow. This is a result of the therapies of Dr. Wagstaff in Winfield. Absolutely amazing.

Luke has also started saying a few more words lately. I asked him if he wanted something the other day, and he SAID, "No". It was very cool. Also, this morning when I went into his bedroom, he said, right away, "Poo". He's still in diapers overnight (training begins next week). Joel's been saying "Poo" and pointing to his diapers lately, so that's where he must have learned this new (great?) word :).

January 5
Luke had a favourite book, "Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom" that we've read so many times (and he's learned the signs for the alphabet this way). I found a DVD of this book (animated with music) and bought it for him at Christmas. He loves it. Luke has NEVER watched a movie or DVD and barely looks at the TV. He tries sometimes, and will see a "car" on a commercial and, of course, still loves the music on the Weather Channel... but he has never sat through an entire video like he does with "Chicka, Chicka, Boom, Boom". I'm sure it's a combination of the familiarity, words on the screen, and the music. It's great... he now knows how to ask "I" "Want" "DVD" (in sign); or he says "More"... so I taught him how to hit the enter button twice to replay it.

I've just finished the book "Mother Warriors" by Jenny McCarthy and am very happy to finally read real stories of other mothers recovering their children from autism. The running theme is, of course, the damage that vaccinations have done to our children, and in more than one case has taken their lives. Jenny's website www.generationrescue.org is amazing and very informative. It even has a whole blurb on advice about what to do about vaccinating.

Started night toilet training today. Got him up when I first heard him (6:30am) and he was dry, so I know he can hold it all night. I think I really startled him onto the toilet (half asleep) so he wasn't quite prepared or awake enough to go; he finally went about an hour later. Most mornings he's got a wet diaper, but now I know it's just a matter of training him to get out of bed and go to the bathroom first thing. I'm going to let him wake up for awhile tomorrow before I go see him. Ahhh, yay... back to the pee and toilet talk.

Here are the few quirks yet that I recorded in May 2008, results are in bold:
> Luke is fascinated with the "chips" in the plates of our dishware; sometimes he's adamant about turning the plate so the "chip" can be close to him and he can touch it. If there isn't one on his plate, he'll pull daddy's or mommy's plate with a chip, closer to him. Doesn't do this anymore
> Luke is still uncertain about the garage door. We're trying to show him all kinds of garage doors using toys to help him over this fear. Is not afraid anymore
> Luke still will not pee on the toilet. Toilet-trained.
> Luke occasionally likes to drop things behind his bed or a chair. Still does this very occasionally
> Luke can still get quite upset and bang his head on the table "hard" when he's frustrated. Does not bang his head anymore.
> Luke still, on occasion, opens cupboard doors (kitchen and bathroom). Still does this and "puts things in the cupboards"... secret stashes everywhere :)
> Luke still loves tabs off pop and beer cans. Still likes them, but not as obsessively.
> Luke is still enamoured with lids of all kinds. Still likes them, but not as obsessively.
> Luke is very unsure of his own body (for example: when he tries to blow his nose, he dabs at his chin). He is not comfortable looking at himself in a mirror; we will be working with a mirror to help him recognize and learn more about his body awareness. Is much more aware of and comfortable with his body.
> Luke still will not bite into things. They need to be small enough to put into his mouth. He is learning to "break" chips and cookies into smaller bite-size pieces. He would bite into things for a few months, but has regressed again and insists on having everything in little pieces before he eats them.
> Luke still will not hold a cup. He insisted on the tallest glass cup which is too heavy for him to hold, so we purchased a tall clear plastic one and it does not seem to bother him that it's different. We will be trying to get him to hold the cup himself. He can hold any cup by himself, and drinks with a straw by himself.

New quirks:
> Luke still needs something in one hand (usually a small empty capsule from his supplements).
> Luke still doesn't talk.
> Luke still plays with cupboard doors.
> Luke is obsessive about having us clean his nose when he's upset or crying.
> Luke still does not jump freely.
> Luke is not toilet-trained at night.
> I still feed Luke (help him eat at every meal, except food he really, really likes. He will eat his snacks by himself, but meat, potatoes and vegetables I still need to help him out.)
> Luke still screeches.

January 10
I hate writing this part... one of our BIs is no longer working with Luke (Ms. M.) , and we are very sad to lose her. This is the strange autistic world of rotating women that come into our house and lives and hearts (and Luke's!) and then they're gone. It is what it is, and we continue to move forward. I can't believe how heart-broken I get and the tears I cry, but I guess I'm just overwhelmed at these amazing women who choose to work with these special children. I just want them all to know how much we deeply appreciate the time they spend with Luke. We've hired one new BI, Ms. E., who is young and sweet and will be a perfect fit to our team. We are still waiting for one more BI, and we look forward to a renewed enthusiasm for Luke's progress. Special thanks at this time to Ms. S. who is still with us!!!

***************************

Something's going on with Luke... all good things. I have not seen him "space out" for quite a few days now... he seems "on" all the time. Today I put aside Joel's snack on the kitchen counter upstairs because he was still sleeping, while Luke began eating his. In the basement, Joel woke up crying and crying (eye teeth are peeking through), and it took me a while to console him. The next thing I know Luke's handing Joel his snack... he got it from the kitchen counter, and came all the way downstairs (without me asking!). I was very proud of him.

Luke has started copying me! I often say "Hey" when I talk to him (when I catch him being naughty) and today (twice) he said something that sounded a lot like "Hey". Uh oh. Gotta really start watching what I say!

Also the other day, I was in the living room and I had something that needed to go in recycling and something that needed to go into the garbage and I asked Luke to do this for me (they are next to eachother in the kitchen upstairs)... and he did! This is a big deal that he can follow two commands at one request. Yay Luke.

Luke can now pull up his pants by himself when he goes to the washroom.

January 12
Just an advertisement for Dr. Bratt. She is doing a 2-day clinic for the Great Plains Laboratory March 27 & 28 with a discounted package rate for all pertinent tests for children diagnosed or suspected of being on the Autism Spectrum. I cannot emphasize enough how much the naturopathic treatment has changed Luke. Please find the money (some may be covered by your individual health plans). Click here for the poster; and click here for the detailed Word document. Email or call Dr. Bratt today to secure a spot asap!

By the way, Dave and I were utterly shocked this morning as Luke said "more" "toothpaste" "raspberries" and "vitamins". Pretty close approximations of the words... similar to the way Joel (20 months old) says them. This is going to be a very exciting year for speech! Yay!

January 15
Luke had not said many words lately. The breakthrough words seem to come and go. It's actually a little discouraging. Because he often screams in frustration, throws something in anger or grabs at me/my hand to get my attention, I've been constantly trying to teach him to say "Mommy" when he wants something, and then to sign or say a word. It's very frustrating. And he's still screeching from the Tomatis sessions which gets old fast. I'm more and more aware that Luke needs to be engaged all the time, but it seems like it's been a long time of just being at home without sessions (three cancellations again this week, and one position for a BI still waiting to be filled). It will all work out, of course, it's just hard to see the light when you're "in the thick of it".

On the plus side, it seems that Luke is completely out of diapers. He's been in underwear the last 3 nights with no accidents. I get him up when I hear him right away and put him on the toilet. He never goes... but goes about a half-hour later. Yesterday after pre-school he went to the bathroom all by himself (usually he has to "ask" or "let us know" that he has to go by using the sign of pointing to his nose). One baby out of diapers is something to celebrate!!!!

January 31
It's hard to remember what's new? I think because there's not much going on.... We spent an overnight at the "lodge" and Luke had no reaction to the pets, so his allergies are definitely gone.

He's been kissing me a lot (do I watch too many soap operas?!? haha). He wanted a kiss from the assistant in preschool today because the teacher was reading a cute valentine story about kissing.

He doesn't have any new words unfortunately, but he tries. He's had to be disciplined a lot lately for raising his hand to hit and for regular monkey business.

Last week he was quite sick with a stomach virus, so he missed out on sessions and preschool (and of course, the field trip), but he's bouncing back.

Luke's dad and I will be attending a conference at the end of the month on BioMedical healing of autism. It should be very interesting, and we're looking forward to an overnight as my folks will watch the boys. Our naturopath is one of the speakers.

Luke's been amazing at following commands. One day in our basement in the laundry room Joel had spilled detergent all over the floor. I asked Luke to get the broom for me, and he did! (had to go up two flights and bring the long broom all the way back down to me). He has also been bringing me my (big-sneaker) slippers without me asking. He's been telling me where he wants me to sit, pointing next to him wherever he is. His pointing is phenomenal... the women showed me how well he points by asking him "where's the trampoline?" and "where's your bedroom?" and he'll point in the general direction (this is one of the key signs of autism in a young baby... they don't point to anything). One day he was playing with Joel running up and down the hallway, and he grabbed him and pointed to the bedroom... as in "get in the bedroom and play with me now". Great interaction :).

He's been blowing little harmonicas and whistles and is starting feeble attempts at making the noises. It's really hard for him, but he's getting it. He's also learning the knock a little more aggressively (he's always been quite feeble with a lack of strength).

#