Bright Eyes has begun a thing called Brain Gym which is kinesiology or something like this. Personally, I'm not completely up on how it works - only that the muscles of your body connect to your brain, and somehow by working specific muscles in particular exercises you can help your brain make connections which will help you.
That's all fine and dandy, but the thing I really want to share with you is that Bright Eyes has progressed in 3 sessions from not wanting to go in, not talking to the lady, not doing anything she asks, and not even letting her come near him, to being able to hop up on the table, let her touch him and follow her instructions such as 'push your feet', 'pull your toes', 'breathe in and bring your head up', 'no, not so much, just a little bit' etc.
It was amazing to watch him cooperate with her and even enjoy her company this week. I'm delighted.
His little friendship at preschool has continued. This morning when I arrived his buddy said, "Oh, you brought your Thomas again. I asked my mum for a Thomas and she said No no no. That's not fair." Bright Eyes agreed. "No, that's not fair."
Showing posts with label preschool. Show all posts
Showing posts with label preschool. Show all posts
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
I'll tell you when I'm ready to go
Today we had an interesting experience.
Bright Eyes did not want to go to preschool and did the whole scream and cry routine. He shut himself in his room, so I gave up and said, "We'll go later."
"I need to be by myself in my room," he said.
"Okay," I agreed.
Five minutes later I heard this: "You can come in now," so I went in and helped him come out with me. We started to talk gently about preschool and he said to me, "I'll tell you when I'm ready to go to preschool."
"Okay," I said. "Are you ready to go now?"
"No, not yet. I'm still patting the dog."
"How about we do 10 more pats and then we'll go," I suggested.
"20 more pats," he said.
"15," I negotiated.
After 15 pats, we went happily, and I mean really happily, to preschool. And he had a great day.
Bright Eyes did not want to go to preschool and did the whole scream and cry routine. He shut himself in his room, so I gave up and said, "We'll go later."
"I need to be by myself in my room," he said.
"Okay," I agreed.
Five minutes later I heard this: "You can come in now," so I went in and helped him come out with me. We started to talk gently about preschool and he said to me, "I'll tell you when I'm ready to go to preschool."
"Okay," I said. "Are you ready to go now?"
"No, not yet. I'm still patting the dog."
"How about we do 10 more pats and then we'll go," I suggested.
"20 more pats," he said.
"15," I negotiated.
After 15 pats, we went happily, and I mean really happily, to preschool. And he had a great day.
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Today's progress
I went back to the homeopath today. It was reassuring to see her. Bright Eyes did make a lot of progress under her up until I gave it up three months ago or so. He's on a new remedy, so we'll see how it goes.
I also did some focused RDI today after a bit of a break. I'll have a clip to show our consultant referring to parental resilience. I needed to be very calm today!
And... he went to preschool happily! Amazing. This time it is because of sheer bribery. The preschool staff have made him a 'treasure box' filled with cool stuff they know he'll like, including a brand-new Brum Toy, to play with only at preschool. Talk about an excited child! He practically ran through the door.
I also did some focused RDI today after a bit of a break. I'll have a clip to show our consultant referring to parental resilience. I needed to be very calm today!
And... he went to preschool happily! Amazing. This time it is because of sheer bribery. The preschool staff have made him a 'treasure box' filled with cool stuff they know he'll like, including a brand-new Brum Toy, to play with only at preschool. Talk about an excited child! He practically ran through the door.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Today
Preschool was much better today.
Apparently he settled himself, spent time with the children instead of apart from them, sat in a new spot at lunch and commented on the fact that he had the same sandwich as one of the other kids, and had no objections to doing activities and taking part. Yay! This is great.
Chat chat chat
With his constant rubbish-talk, I've gone to ignoring and humming when he tries to engage me in it. If he asks a real question or makes a statement or tries to look me in the face, I respond straight away.
It seems to have made a difference today. After a few unsuccessful attempts at making me answer questions about a TV show, he gave up and went elsewhere.
Try again tomorrow.
Apparently he settled himself, spent time with the children instead of apart from them, sat in a new spot at lunch and commented on the fact that he had the same sandwich as one of the other kids, and had no objections to doing activities and taking part. Yay! This is great.
Chat chat chat
With his constant rubbish-talk, I've gone to ignoring and humming when he tries to engage me in it. If he asks a real question or makes a statement or tries to look me in the face, I respond straight away.
It seems to have made a difference today. After a few unsuccessful attempts at making me answer questions about a TV show, he gave up and went elsewhere.
Try again tomorrow.
Friday, March 28, 2008
Preschool
Following my last post about Bright Eyes' not being happy to go to preschool...
This week the teacher of his class made him a fantastic folder, with about 10 pages full of photographs of Bright Eyes participating happily in games and play at preschool.
I popped it on the table at his seat for breakfast on the preschool day and he enjoyed looking at it. I could see his emotional memory show up on his face as he recalled events and feelings.
It was a great idea, and I think it made a difference that day! We'll try again next week and see what happens.
This week the teacher of his class made him a fantastic folder, with about 10 pages full of photographs of Bright Eyes participating happily in games and play at preschool.
I popped it on the table at his seat for breakfast on the preschool day and he enjoyed looking at it. I could see his emotional memory show up on his face as he recalled events and feelings.
It was a great idea, and I think it made a difference that day! We'll try again next week and see what happens.
Sunday, December 9, 2007
Carols chaos
Our town enjoys its annual Carols by the Lake, organised by the Lions Club. The way they attract a crowd is to invite every single group of children in the town that can sing a song or do a dance, and then watch their parents and grandparents roll up.
Bright Eyes' preschool and his sister's school choir were both asked to perform a couple of numbers, so I took all the children along to enjoy the concert.
The preschool was on first, and Bright Eyes was a star... sort of. Their first mistake was to put him near a microphone. He knows what they are, and he knows how to use them, so he spent the entire time making noises and saying 'Ssssh' into it. At one point he spontaneously introduced the next song, and he did all the 'Oys' at the right time, really loudly into the microphone at the end of the song lines.
The crowd thought he was hilarious. His sister thought he was embarrassing. I was torn between the two feelings. He was cute, sure, but I wished he could have even tried to sing along and do what everyone else was doing.
The honest truth? I think he was working the crowd! He knew they were laughing at him, and he liked the response and was angling for more.
(In the end, the excursion was a bit of a disaster. There were way too many flies and they were sticking to all of us, and Bright Eyes and his baby brother were getting more and more upset, so we left as soon as his sister's choir sang. I won't be taking them out alone again on a summer evening again for a while.)
Friday, October 26, 2007
Cute
Bright Eyes had a great day at preschool today. Lauren, a little five year old, who has taken him under her wing turned to him and said, "You're so cute Bright Eyes".
He looked at her and said, "Yes. You're cute too."
He looked at her and said, "Yes. You're cute too."
Friday, October 19, 2007
People and chocolate
When I arrived at preschool to pick him up today, Bright Eyes was happily sitting in a huge bin in the sandpit. He was up to his armpits in sand, with another little boy busy filling up the bin to completely cover him. The two of them were delighted with their progress together.
"Mum. Look at me. I'm in it. He's doing it," sang out Bright Eyes. We had a great laugh. (I wasn't laughing quite so much when I poured a cupful of sand out of his shoes later...)
He had a great social day today. I was delighted to see that lots of children said goodbye affectionately to him today. And I've noticed a couple of other good interactions with children in the last week.
We were in a playground this week and he saw a little boy about two and a half years old. I saw him look at the boy, point to my husband and say “My dad”. Then he pointed to me and said, “mum”. It was as if he was saying, “Hey, those are my parents.”
On another topic entirely...
In order to be less rushed in the morning, we are getting up ½ hr earlier so we all have more time to do what we need to. We also have time to do what I’m calling “Chocolate family jobs”.
So far, it’s just been unpacking the dishwasher. All five of us go to do it. Then afterwards, we all have a family hug together and get a small piece of chocolate.
Four out of five days Bright Eyes has not liked it but I got a little dump truck involved and put dishes in the back of the truck and zoomed it to him across the kitchen. Yesterday, he got up from breakfast saying, "Let's do chocolate jobs!!" and worked really hard.
"Mum. Look at me. I'm in it. He's doing it," sang out Bright Eyes. We had a great laugh. (I wasn't laughing quite so much when I poured a cupful of sand out of his shoes later...)
He had a great social day today. I was delighted to see that lots of children said goodbye affectionately to him today. And I've noticed a couple of other good interactions with children in the last week.
We were in a playground this week and he saw a little boy about two and a half years old. I saw him look at the boy, point to my husband and say “My dad”. Then he pointed to me and said, “mum”. It was as if he was saying, “Hey, those are my parents.”
On another topic entirely...
In order to be less rushed in the morning, we are getting up ½ hr earlier so we all have more time to do what we need to. We also have time to do what I’m calling “Chocolate family jobs”.
So far, it’s just been unpacking the dishwasher. All five of us go to do it. Then afterwards, we all have a family hug together and get a small piece of chocolate.
Four out of five days Bright Eyes has not liked it but I got a little dump truck involved and put dishes in the back of the truck and zoomed it to him across the kitchen. Yesterday, he got up from breakfast saying, "Let's do chocolate jobs!!" and worked really hard.
Friday, September 28, 2007
Biting
Calamity at preschool today. Bright Eyes bit another child! They were queuing up waiting for iceblocks and he just bit the kid in front of him on the back!
Why? Wouldn't have a clue! Maybe his mouth just got restless. He wasn't provoked or irritated. He's never bitten before.
The preschool teacher jumped on the situation immediately and told Bright Eyes in no uncertain terms that this was unacceptable and he was making Keiran sad. Bright Eyes got the message, head drooping and lips pouting. Apparently he said sorry to Keiran and that was that. No major damage done. There was a slight reprisal incident a little later when Keiran tried to bite him back in a fit of vengenance, but that was that.
There was a good thing to come out of it (even despite my intense embarrassment when told about it). Bright Eyes was very clear about what happened and remembered everything, including the reprisal attack, which he was most upset about!
"What did you do today?"
"Preschool. I bite. Keiran. Bright Eyes teeth marks. Keiran back. Pauline said "No. Keiran sad." Bright Eyes say sorry Keiran."
"What else happened?"
"Keiran bite Bright Eyes! He bit me. Ow. Bright Eyes have an ouchie."
Why? Wouldn't have a clue! Maybe his mouth just got restless. He wasn't provoked or irritated. He's never bitten before.
The preschool teacher jumped on the situation immediately and told Bright Eyes in no uncertain terms that this was unacceptable and he was making Keiran sad. Bright Eyes got the message, head drooping and lips pouting. Apparently he said sorry to Keiran and that was that. No major damage done. There was a slight reprisal incident a little later when Keiran tried to bite him back in a fit of vengenance, but that was that.
There was a good thing to come out of it (even despite my intense embarrassment when told about it). Bright Eyes was very clear about what happened and remembered everything, including the reprisal attack, which he was most upset about!
"What did you do today?"
"Preschool. I bite. Keiran. Bright Eyes teeth marks. Keiran back. Pauline said "No. Keiran sad." Bright Eyes say sorry Keiran."
"What else happened?"
"Keiran bite Bright Eyes! He bit me. Ow. Bright Eyes have an ouchie."
Friday, July 27, 2007
Preschool meeting
I had a meeting with the preschool today about Bright Eyes' progress.
In a nutshell, after the first two terms, everyone is very very happy.
Socially: He's enjoying people and relating to all the children and knows everyone's name. He's learning not to stand to close to people, and is asking other children for help if he needs it. Lots of the bigger girls take good care of him and play with him. (One little girl went home to tell her mother that she was so pleased that Campbell was doing well at something...)
Independence: He needs much less adult help in doing things like getting his lunch or his jacket. And in the last two days, he took himself to the toilet three times! Wow - toilet training might be possible!
Skills: He's definitely improving in his fine motor areas. At the beginning of preschool, he almost never used his hands at all except to hold objects (trains mostly) or match similar sized things up with each other. Now he's regularly painting and drawing (with encouragement), squishing playdough, and even beginnig to use scissors. Gross motor is good too. He follows along and does all the actions in the exercise times, whereas at the beginning he would do the first couple and then space out.
Group time: he loves stories and sits happily for the whole of group time. When he began, he needed to have a train or similar toy with him to keep him happy, but that's not necessary now.
Language: this is where he falls down. We agreed that he has delayed receptive language - in other words, he doesn't understand a lot of what we say to him. Correspondingly, his expressive language is stilted and still quite scripted. He mixes up his pronouns constantly, gives odd answers to questions and comes out with extraordinary things at strange times.
Our teacher knows that RDI does not focus on language skills per se. RDI follows the idea that if we do the work of reteaching the brain to relate correctly, the language should follow along. In any case, language is something that should be worked on secondary to the relationship skills.
She did ask, however, if we would consider going to a speech therapist at any point. I assured her that yes, probably we would end up at speech some time, but I'm not that worried about it just yet. Anyway, Bright Eyes name is down on the list for the public speechie at the local hospital, so it's a matter of waiting...
I asked them to be aware of their declarative language versus asking questions all the time, and to sometimes try to do without language altogether when relating to him. When I went to pick him up from the other room, I cleared my throat and Bright Eyes looked up immediately to see what was going on. The teacher saw me do it and understood what I was talking about.
Something that I have to start doing is to think about where he is going to go to school after next year (starting in January 2009 - the Australian school year is the calendar year for overseas readers.) That's a scary thought!
In a nutshell, after the first two terms, everyone is very very happy.
Socially: He's enjoying people and relating to all the children and knows everyone's name. He's learning not to stand to close to people, and is asking other children for help if he needs it. Lots of the bigger girls take good care of him and play with him. (One little girl went home to tell her mother that she was so pleased that Campbell was doing well at something...)
Independence: He needs much less adult help in doing things like getting his lunch or his jacket. And in the last two days, he took himself to the toilet three times! Wow - toilet training might be possible!
Skills: He's definitely improving in his fine motor areas. At the beginning of preschool, he almost never used his hands at all except to hold objects (trains mostly) or match similar sized things up with each other. Now he's regularly painting and drawing (with encouragement), squishing playdough, and even beginnig to use scissors. Gross motor is good too. He follows along and does all the actions in the exercise times, whereas at the beginning he would do the first couple and then space out.
Group time: he loves stories and sits happily for the whole of group time. When he began, he needed to have a train or similar toy with him to keep him happy, but that's not necessary now.
Language: this is where he falls down. We agreed that he has delayed receptive language - in other words, he doesn't understand a lot of what we say to him. Correspondingly, his expressive language is stilted and still quite scripted. He mixes up his pronouns constantly, gives odd answers to questions and comes out with extraordinary things at strange times.
Our teacher knows that RDI does not focus on language skills per se. RDI follows the idea that if we do the work of reteaching the brain to relate correctly, the language should follow along. In any case, language is something that should be worked on secondary to the relationship skills.
She did ask, however, if we would consider going to a speech therapist at any point. I assured her that yes, probably we would end up at speech some time, but I'm not that worried about it just yet. Anyway, Bright Eyes name is down on the list for the public speechie at the local hospital, so it's a matter of waiting...
I asked them to be aware of their declarative language versus asking questions all the time, and to sometimes try to do without language altogether when relating to him. When I went to pick him up from the other room, I cleared my throat and Bright Eyes looked up immediately to see what was going on. The teacher saw me do it and understood what I was talking about.
Something that I have to start doing is to think about where he is going to go to school after next year (starting in January 2009 - the Australian school year is the calendar year for overseas readers.) That's a scary thought!
Friday, May 25, 2007
A shot of optimism
I like hanging out at Bright Eyes' preschool. I feel a little bit suspicious sometimes as I take my time signing him in and out and walk around trying not to look too aimless.
The reason is that I like talking to the teachers about Bright Eyes. It gives me a little shot of optimism in my week to hear that he's been happy, that he's done a painting, that he's played well with the trains, or the toys or sat through the group time quietly.
I find it easy to get a bit depressed about him the rest of the week. Even with all his improvements, he's still a child on the autistic spectrum and I still have to fight him to go in and out the door, and work really hard in his RDI therapy. Life ain't normal, no matter how well he's doing.
So it's really good to chat with the teachers who have spent time with him, and who really seem to care about him. They have a 'communication book' in which they write down what he's been doing during his day, which helps me too. It's wonderful to 'share' him with lots of people who are enthusiastic about him.
The reason is that I like talking to the teachers about Bright Eyes. It gives me a little shot of optimism in my week to hear that he's been happy, that he's done a painting, that he's played well with the trains, or the toys or sat through the group time quietly.
I find it easy to get a bit depressed about him the rest of the week. Even with all his improvements, he's still a child on the autistic spectrum and I still have to fight him to go in and out the door, and work really hard in his RDI therapy. Life ain't normal, no matter how well he's doing.
So it's really good to chat with the teachers who have spent time with him, and who really seem to care about him. They have a 'communication book' in which they write down what he's been doing during his day, which helps me too. It's wonderful to 'share' him with lots of people who are enthusiastic about him.
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