Milestones and Updates

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Alicia Cornell
Educational Consultant

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Milestones and Updates

Jun 8, 2005		While putting Nicolas to bed, Mommy noticed that his stuffed toy puppy dog was missing and asked if he wanted to go get it. He got his puppy but also managed to get a little truck too. Because he was taking a long time, Mommy came out to check on him. When he saw her, Nicolas held out his puppy with his right hand, but kept his left hand behind his back (where he was hiding the truck) and said, "Look! I found my puppy." Mommy asked, "What's in your other hand?" Nicolas started to pull out his truck hand, but realized he would be found out. So he extended his puppy hand toward her again and said, "I found my puppy." He is definitely starting to show typical five-year-old behavior!

Jun 3, 2005		In another bold move to face his fears, Nicolas voluntarily used the vacuum cleaner.

May 29, 2005		In another illustration of his understanding sequence of events, Nicolas finished Mommy's sentence as she explained the plans for the afternoon. At lunch she said, "You need to finish eating ..." Nicolas stepped in and said, "So we can go to the farm." Then he started to sing Old MacDonald Had a Farm.

May 28, 2005		Daddy had to leave before the boys' bedtime to go and take care of Grandma and Grandpa's dog because they were out of town. Daddy went to where Nicolas was playing to tell him where he was going. Understanding cause and effect and sequence of events is often a challenge for kids on the spectrum. However, Nicolas replied by saying goodbye, and then he said, "See you (in the) morning."

May 16, 2005		Mommy was reminding Nicolas about his upcoming cranio-sacral appointment. During several past appointments, he would move the therapists hands to his stomach, presumably because the light touch had some healing effect for him. During the discussion with Mommy about his upcoming appointment, Nicolas put his hand on his stomach and said, "Ms. Suzanne (will) make it all better."

May 10, 2005		Nicolas took a surprise hearing test today all by himself! He had a follow-up appointment with the ENT after undergoing a round of anti-biotics for an ear infection. Mommy didn't know he was to have a hearing test and all 3 boys went with her. So, without any practice, Nicolas took the hearing test while Mommy waited with his brothers. He followed all of the instructions so well that the audiologist was able to get an accurate assessment of his hearing.

Apr 25, 2005		Today Nicolas came into the kitchen to tell Mommy about his Thomas trains. "Come on, Mommy. Let me show you my really neat train tracks. Let's go!" Mommy followed him to the playroom. When they got there, Nicolas said, "See! Look at my train tracks. There's James and Gordon and we're going here and playing trains." How wonderful it was to witness such a burst of language!

Mar 15, 2005		Nicolas had his first appointment with the dentist. (This is often a huge nightmare for kids on the spectrum and for their parents.) We prepared for the event by reading a book about it several times, and Mommy gave him a pretend checkup. Nicolas did fabulously!!! No tears or screaming. No covering his ears. He received x-rays, flossing, brushing (with a typical toothbrush) and an examination, and he took it all in stride.

Mar 2, 2005		Nicolas began speech therapy again, this time to focus on articulation.

February, 2005		With his brother Matthew, Nicolas has been putting on impromptu puppet shows complete with their own dialogue.

Jan 29, 2005		During an episode of "Dora, the Explorer," Dora asked, "What is Boots' favorite food?" Nicolas replied, "Banana." (For anyone who does not know, Boots is a monkey.)

Jan 17, 2005		Nicolas had played hide and seek with adult help once or twice before. But today he his brother Matthew played without any assistance from anyone.

Jan 10, 2005		The telephone rang, and Nicolas noticed that Mommy was looking for it. He laughed and said, "It's up there!" indicating the place where she had last left it.

Dec 28, 2004		Nicolas successfully completed a hearing test without complaint! His ear, nose and throat specialist gave him a clean bill of health in this arena.

Dec 25, 2004		This Christmas was even better than last year for Nicolas. He was very interested in his gifts; we heard a lot of "Wow!" and "Cool!" that day. Days later when visiting relatives and friends, he talked about his gifts, and he remembered which ones were from Santa Claus.

Dec 13, 2004		Tests revealed that his yeast and Clostridia are declining toward more normal levels.

Nov 26, 2004		Today Nicolas proved that "Yes" is not his only answer to a yes/no question, and he did so with a complete sentence. His brother Matthew asked, "Is green your favorite color?" and Nicolas replied, "No. Blue is my favorite color."

Nov 18, 2004		True to his interest in numbers, Nicolas was able to recite his home telephone number today.

Nov 13, 2004		Nicolas read a book aloud to Daddy and Mommy for the first time! (In August, Daddy started doing phonics-based reading with him as a possible back-door approach to language development.)

Oct 24, 2004		Nicolas "shaved" with Daddy for the first time! (Before this, the sensation of shaving cream had proved too overwhelming for him.)

Oct 2, 2004		Nicolas started DMPS, a highly acclaimed chelation treatment to remove toxic metals from his body.

Sep 29, 2004		After getting ready for bed, Nicolas said, "Let's boogie, Mommy!" and started dancing.

Sep 21, 2004		Nicolas began cranio-sacral treatment, a light-touch therapy to facilitate motor coordination, sensory perception, range of motion and neuromuscular function.

Sep 18, 2004		Nicolas tattled for the first time. "Matthew did it. He pushed Joshua."

Sep 3, 2004		During his evening prayer, Nicolas concluded by thanking God "for giving us everything we need, for giving us everything we have," a phrase he has heard Daddy say many times before.

Aug 29, 2004		Nicolas muttered under his breath to himself about wanting to go outside after being told he could not.

Aug 21, 2004		Nicolas could be heard exclaiming great enthusiasm this morning as he turned on the hall light and shouted, "Ah ha! There it is!"

Jul 22, 2004		Nicolas' 5th birthday.

Jul 11, 2004		Nicolas asked, "Can we go in (our) red car, go to McDonald's, and have chicken nuggets and french fries?" This by far is the longest request he has ever made.

Jul 8, 2004		Nicolas has been playing the game Connect 4 with his therapists. Today he won twice. When his therapist asked him what happened he said, "I won." She then asked, "What did you win?" He said, "Connect 4." Before now, Nicolas had to be told that he had won a game.

Jun 18, 2004		At the end of the day, Daddy asked Nicolas what he did today. Nicolas gave a response he has never said before: "I don't know."

Jun 18, 2004		Nicolas has been working on early reading skills. But today he read some words for his therapist that he had never before worked on!

Jun 16, 2004		When told to brush his teeth and get ready for bed, Nicolas said, "I don't want (to) go (to) bed." (He had never said this without prompting, and he spoke instead of screaming or whining.)

Jun 11, 2004		Began vision therapy for tracking and for balancing frontal and peripheral vision.

Jun 9, 2004		Nicolas has never responded about the weather unless asked. However, when walking outside today, he said, "It's windy!"

Jun 7, 2004		Nicolas said, "I want (a) hug!" with no prompting.

Jun 1, 2004		Nicolas was able to move to part-time status (15 hours per week) in ABA therapy.

May 26, 2004		Mommy had been sick today but still needed to pick up Nicolas from the treatment center. Nicolas showed compassion as he does with greater frequency. After buckling him in his carseat, Mommy rested her head on his leg. Nicolas immediately reached out, began to rub her head saying, "Ahh". Then he said, "I love you, Mommy."

May, 2004		We began natural probiotics (beneficial bacteria) to combat Clostridia (bad bacteria) with the hopes of eventually healing his intestines.

Apr 17, 2004		Nicolas chose to play in a bounce house without any concerns about the noise. Once inside, he bounced over to see us and invited his brother to join him. He said, "Hi Matthew! (Do you) want (to) bounce with me?"

Apr 15, 2004		Nicolas gave his first complete sentence answer to a yes/no question. First he said, "I hear (an) airplane." Knowing the plane was in view, his Daddy asked, "Do you see one too?" Nicolas responded, "Yes. I see (an) airplane."

Apr 11, 2004		Nicolas danced and later invited one of his therapists to dance with him.

Apr 10, 2004		Nicolas played games with Grandpa. In one of the games, Grandpa pretended to be asleep and Nicolas said, "Wake up, Grandpa!" In the other game, Grandpa and two of the boys were pretending to be a train. Nicolas saw his youngest brother following behind and said, "Hurry up, Joshua!"

Apr 10, 2004		Nicolas rolled a ball with Matthew, but this time said, "Ready, set, go!" before each roll.

April, 2004		Began the Specific Carbohydrate Diet (SCD). You can check pecanbread.com to find more information about the diet.

April, 2004		Nicolas has been telling knock-knock jokes. He has also successfully been playing Candyland and other board games.

Mar 31, 2004		On the way to the treatment center, Nicolas asked his brother Matthew the question, "What did you say?" This is the first time he has ever given this type of response.

Mar 5, 2004		Nicolas distributed napkins at his brother's birthday party, with comments. He then carried on a conversation about his cake and ice cream preferences.

Feb 21, 2004		Nicolas learned how much fun it was to tickle his youngest brother Joshua.

Feb 15, 2004		Nicolas played with a duck puppet, making its mouth move while quacking.

Jan 2, 2004		Nicolas counted penguins at the aquarium and then gave a summary statement.

Dec 25, 2003		This was by far Nicolas' best Christmas ever! He was interested in unwrapping packages. He played with his toys appropriately. And he stayed engaged with the rest of the family. (None of that was true in 2002.)

Dec 22, 2003		Nicolas has been working on speaking in front of people he doesn't know very well. As part of a holiday celebration at the treatment center, he successfully spoke the line he had been preparing: "Here comes Santa! Ho, ho, ho!"

Dec 2, 2003		First successful potty venture. (This was part of the second round of attempts.)

Nov 30, 2003		We went with our cousins to our favorite science museum. Inside the building, Nicolas ran ahead (but not too far) and was motioning and saying, "Come on everybody."

Nov 26, 2003		Began second attempt at potty training.

Nov 24, 2003		Nicolas and his Dad were learning to articulate the words "very scary bear" while jumping on the trampoline. Then he got involved with his pony (stick horse). And Nicolas decided to be funny. (Humor is something that often escapes children on the spectrum.) He came back to the trampoline and decided it would be funny to say "very ... scary ... pony!" Daddy cracked up, and Nicolas laughed because he knew it was funny.

Nov 17, 2003		At bedtime, Mommy prayed with the boys. She prayed for a few things and then prompted Nicolas to pray. He started out "Thank you" and named Grandpa and Grandma, then his other grandparents. Then he launched into a list of his own with the names of his therapists and other children from the treatment center. When he knew he was done, he said, "In Jesus' name, Amen." It was an awesome moment!!!

Nov 9, 2003		We had lunch at one of our frequent department store stops. Nicolas saw his dad's taco and said, "I want (a) taco." He had been exposed to this word in ABA but had never used it in a sentence before now.

November, 2003		Began occupational therapy to improve on some very big deficits in his body movement and strength.

Oct 31, 2003		Nicolas has been shutting down if he receives the kind of loud praise he used to thrive on. Now he seems to function best when the response is quiet, even whispered. He has often demonstrated a sensitivity to sounds, and this may be another display of that.

Oct 30, 2003		Twice today Nicolas correctly responded with his age. The first time his mother asked and he said, "I'm four!". Later she told him her age; Nicolas said, "I'm four years old" and held up four fingers.

Oct 23, 2003		Initial allergy tests revealed he is highly allergic to mold, cottonwood, and ragweed. Tests also showed an intolerance to peanuts, corn, and potatoes.

Oct 22, 2003		Nicolas began making requests during therapy and even including his therapist's name in the request.

Oct 22, 2003		Nicolas and Matthew were playing "Ring Around the Rosy". When they finished, Matthew walked away, but Nicolas followed him and said, "Hold my hand, Matthew." So they continued the game. Nicolas had never been quite this aware of his brother during playtime.

Oct 22, 2003		While putting Nicolas to bed, he said, "Sleep in bed" to indicate he was tired.

Sep 2, 2003		Nicolas started ABA therapy full-time (30 hours per week) at the treatment center we selected, receiving 26 hours per week one-on-one with therapists and 4 hours per week in a supervised play date.

Aug 8, 2003		After receiving word about available ABA treatment, we ended Nicolas' enrollment in formal speech therapy upon the end of the summer session.

Jun 26, 2003		Nicolas was diagnosed with PDD-NOS. On the advice of the developmental pediatrician, we determined not to continue PPCD; instead we began researching treatment centers which could provide Applied Behavioral Analysis with the plan to start this therapy as soon as an opening became available.

Jun 13, 2003		Nicolas played "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" on the toy piano.

Jun 9, 2003		Nicolas said, "I want Papa" when we passed his grandparents' house.

May 30, 2003		The regular school year for PPCD ended and so did Nicolas' enrollment. The FAQs explain why we chose to discontinue using this service.

May 23, 2003		Began gluten-free diet.

May 19, 2003		Began casein-free diet.

March, 2003		We enrolled Nicolas in speech therapy to try and further address his language delay.

October, 2002		Nicolas enrolled in the Public Preschool for Children with Disabilities (PPCD) to address delays in language and some motor skills.