Deacon's TALKING!!!

It's been a billion years since I've written a blog, but I thought this post would be the most appropriate way to enter back into the world of blogging: our 4 year old Deacon is talking!!

"Happy Birthday"



"Audrina's Deacon's Girlfriend"



"Deacon Labeling"

ABA Therapy Update

I can't believe it has already been over a month since our first blog on Deacon's therapy. What's even more amazing are the changes we see from him daily.



So, what's he doing??




Where to start...

For the first time in over a year he is saying "dada"!!! (I couldn't be more thrilled for Brian)

He is now eating his meals in a booster seat at our dining room table, instead of strapped in a highchair.

He is able to make so many sounds there are too many to list!! He can even roll his r's, which I can't even do! At school yesterday he imitated the m sound 25 out of 26 trials!!

With the help of his therapist, who stayed at our house until after 11:00pm, he FINALLY transitioned into the room with Carson!! With this milestone, some other age appropriate ones followed, like escaping from his crib and opening the door to leave their bedroom...I now hear him on the monitor in the morning and by the time I make it into the living room, he is meeting me there!! So next step will be turning the crib into a toddler bed!

The biggest shift has been his ability to understand! Prior to therapy, I'm not sure that he knew anything we were saying to him. Deacon can now shake his head and play peek-a-boo on command. When I was pushing him on the swing the other day I asked if he would like to jump on the trampoline and he immediately jumped off the swing and walked over to it!! This morning I said "look at the baby" and he walked right up to Bennett!!

He can sign for "eat" and does it consistently. You can tell that he is so proud of himself each time he does because of the huge smile on his face.

His demeanor has changed to. He approaches everyone for play and will follow me around the house and tug on my clothes to be picked up. He gives at least one kiss almost every day (not on command, just when he wants to) and many of them have gone to Bennett and me. :)

The name of the therapy facility is "Reason for Hope" and couldn't describe it more accurately. For the first time in at least a year we truly do have reason for hope. Hope that he will communicate, even talk. Hope for him to be in mainstream classrooms. Hope that he can one day be an independent adult. I haven't slept this well in so long.

"And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort."

2 Corinthians 1:7

ABA Therapy

Deacon has been going to ABA therapy; today was his 7th day! We found a place accepted by our insurance, that is Christian-based, and about 30 minutes from our home. Deacon goes from 9:00 am- 3:00pm Monday-Thursday and 9:00 am- 1:00pm on Friday. The first half of the day is spent in a preschool setting with about five other kids in his class, then is one-on-one after lunch.

This was Deacon after his first day:
Each afternoon we are given two thorough reports about his day, one looks like this (I know it is kind of hard to read):
We also get his artwork, and although it is done hand-over-hand, it is much better than the artwork he brought home from daycare that you could tell the teacher completed all by herself.

To say these first few days have been amazing would be an understatement. They are miracle workers and worth every penny we are paying!

The most obvious change we have noticed is at mealtime. Example: The week before Deacon started therapy we ate dinner at a Mexican Restaurant. He takes a chips, eats one little nibble, then crushes the rest while throwing the crumbs below, along with his drink, silverware, etc. By the end of the meal we have learned to have clean up time under Deacon's high chair. Two and a half days into therapy we went out to eat again and were blown away by the drastic changes in his eating habits! He would take a bite of his food and hold it to his chest until he was ready for another bite, careful not to drop anything. When he was done eating or didn't like something he has tried he placed it nicely back on the plate or table! As we were leaving we looked under his highchair to find a half of a chip. That's it! Our carpet and car already look so much better without "Deacon droppings" all over!

The therapist has also been working on getting him to stay seated in a chair during class and lunch. He is now able to stay in his seat for meals and snacks at school! This is huge, because he is already tall for his age he will quickly look ridiculous squeezing in a highchair.

Another huge accomplishment is with mouthing objects. I don't know if I have mentioned his obsession with putting his mouth on everything... I could post a whole blog with pictures of him and his mouth where it shouldn't be. I think he started because of his vision problems; the mouth is more sensitive than hands, so allowed him to identify things easier. It has now turned into a "stem" where he is obsessive about it. His therapists are working hard on breaking the habit and although he hasn't completely stopped, it has decreased considerably.

Speaking of stems, he just started walking on his toes. His therapists said that once it becomes a habit it is very hard to break and suggested for us to buy him heavier tennis shoes instead of his sandals, so that it would be more difficult to walk that way. I told her that shoes have been an issue in the past, because of his vision he only likes wearing light shoes, but that we would give it a try. Deacon is now a sneaker-wearing kiddo and the toe-walking has stopped!

They are working on so many other goals with him as well, here are a few:
-language: receptive and expressive
-playing with a variety of toys appropriately
-interacting with peers
-increased eye contact

We can't wait to see what new "trick" he will come home with next!

*Thank you to everyone who has donated to help pay for his therapy, we will be forever indebted to you! I promise to post updates as often as possible so that you can see that your money went to great use.