Today Cade had an initial meeting with his Kindergarten teacher. I stayed in the room for a few minutes and then Cade and his teacher had some time to themselves to get to know each other a little. At the end of the meeting, I talked to the teacher briefly about the paleo diet and some of the accommodations we'll need to make for snack time, birthdays, and holiday parties. I explained the reason we're doing the diet is because we'd read about a high rate of stomach irritation and other food-based symptoms in kids with Autism. Her response was "So, he actually does have Autism? It must be very mild because I would never have guessed based our interactions just now". Granted, it was only about 15 minutes, but she asked lots of questions and Cade had appropriate answers. He attended to their conversation well and followed directions. I was so proud of him and it's good to hear someone else give us feedback that points to Cade's progress.
Monday, August 29, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
Camping, Part 1
Earlier this week, Cade went camping with his grandma, aunt, and cousins. He's done this before and had a good time, and this time we noticed a few steps forward.
A couple days before leaving, he was going to bed and being very clingy to me. I asked him what was wrong (not a question he can always answer well). Cade said that he was scared about camping because it would get dark and because he'd miss me. We were able to talk about having a light on at night so it wouldn't be too dark, about talking to his grandma if he was scared, and that he could call us and come home if he was really scared. This calmed him down and he started getting excited to go. I was impressed by his ability to tell me how he was feeling and why, as well as engage with me in some problem solving.
While camping, he had a great time with his cousins. He tried new things (swimming under water in a lake and going down a 20 ft. water slide) and shared his beloved ipad with his cousins very well. He got nervous one night, but grandma stayed with him until he fell asleep and he was fine. The next night, he came out of the camper and said "It's 8:00. Time for me to eat my nuts, watch a video, and relax." Communicating his routine and being able to follow it helped his anxiety a lot that night. When he came home he said, "Mom, I just ate my nuts and watched a video, and I wasn't scared!".
When he came home, we asked lots of questions, and he answered them mostly with answers that were pertinent to the question asked. We heard all about swimming in the lake, playing with his cousins, and toasting marshmallows. Oh, and of course all about the giant water slide ("I went down six times!!")
We'll all be camping together over Labor Day, so it will be nice to see first hand how he does and be in a new environment where we can evaluate progress.
Going into the wilderness,
Becky
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Measuring Up
We mentioned earlier that we'd post about what measures we're using regarding Cade's progress. Here's what we've come up with so far....
1. Questions and answers- Although Cade's language skills have improved significantly over the last three years, he still struggles with answering questions without visual cues. He often gets who, what, where, when, why, and how mixed up. He either doesn't understand and answer the question, or may answer the wrong question. Like answering a "what" question with a "who" answer. So we are looking for more consistency with his understanding and answers. In order to do this, we are being more intentional about asking him questions about his day or about recent events. So far, he seems to be answering a little more appropriately, but it's still hit and miss.
2. Conversation give and take- Most of us take for granted that conversation has give and take, that words and statements are " volleyed " back and forth between people. This has been a challenge for Cade. He may be able to attend to a conversation for one or two "volleys" but then is back off in his own world. Or, he will talk for quite a while, but has little interest in others' responses and sometimes is unwilling to allow others to contribute to the conversation. We are looking for him to be able to stay with a conversation for several " volleys ", and to follow more of the normal give and take in a conversation.
3. Eye contact - Eye contact with Cade is often minimal, infrequent, and short-lived. We are looking for the frequency and duration to increase. He is still needing some prompting to initiate it, but it does seem that duration is increasing.
4. Fine motor skills - I said to Cade's teacher at the end of the school year that it feels like we will be working on fine motor skills forever. He struggle with gripping a crayon or pencil correctly, making letters, and muscle fatigue. We currently have him coloring and practicing his letters almost every day. We keep one sheet per week, write the date on the top, and compare them to see if there is improvement. Cade is now holding the crayon/marker with the correct grip without needing verbal or physical prompts from us. His accuracy has improved as well. He is generally more willing to stick with it for a longer period of time, which seems to be helping strengthen those small hand and finger muscles.
5. Time on task- If an activity doesn't involve jumping, crashing, running, climbing, or some type of computer or video game, Cade has little interest. He likes fast paced, exciting activities. That's great and we're glad he's an active boy. It's just that not all of life can be fast paced and exciting, and he still needs to pay attention to the other stuff, too. We're not talking sit still and pay attention for half an hour at a time- we're talking sit or stand still at the table long enough to eat your food, pay attention when using the bathroom so we're not mopping the floor ten times a day, and make sure you're fully clothed before leaving the house. There has been improvement in this area. Cade is more able to attend to and follow verbal directions, stay with less exciting tasks longer, and be somewhat less impulsive.
So there you have it. These are not exactly "scientific", but we hope that they will be helpful in evaluating the benefit of this diet for Cade.
Paleo mom,
Becky
1. Questions and answers- Although Cade's language skills have improved significantly over the last three years, he still struggles with answering questions without visual cues. He often gets who, what, where, when, why, and how mixed up. He either doesn't understand and answer the question, or may answer the wrong question. Like answering a "what" question with a "who" answer. So we are looking for more consistency with his understanding and answers. In order to do this, we are being more intentional about asking him questions about his day or about recent events. So far, he seems to be answering a little more appropriately, but it's still hit and miss.
2. Conversation give and take- Most of us take for granted that conversation has give and take, that words and statements are " volleyed " back and forth between people. This has been a challenge for Cade. He may be able to attend to a conversation for one or two "volleys" but then is back off in his own world. Or, he will talk for quite a while, but has little interest in others' responses and sometimes is unwilling to allow others to contribute to the conversation. We are looking for him to be able to stay with a conversation for several " volleys ", and to follow more of the normal give and take in a conversation.
3. Eye contact - Eye contact with Cade is often minimal, infrequent, and short-lived. We are looking for the frequency and duration to increase. He is still needing some prompting to initiate it, but it does seem that duration is increasing.
4. Fine motor skills - I said to Cade's teacher at the end of the school year that it feels like we will be working on fine motor skills forever. He struggle with gripping a crayon or pencil correctly, making letters, and muscle fatigue. We currently have him coloring and practicing his letters almost every day. We keep one sheet per week, write the date on the top, and compare them to see if there is improvement. Cade is now holding the crayon/marker with the correct grip without needing verbal or physical prompts from us. His accuracy has improved as well. He is generally more willing to stick with it for a longer period of time, which seems to be helping strengthen those small hand and finger muscles.
5. Time on task- If an activity doesn't involve jumping, crashing, running, climbing, or some type of computer or video game, Cade has little interest. He likes fast paced, exciting activities. That's great and we're glad he's an active boy. It's just that not all of life can be fast paced and exciting, and he still needs to pay attention to the other stuff, too. We're not talking sit still and pay attention for half an hour at a time- we're talking sit or stand still at the table long enough to eat your food, pay attention when using the bathroom so we're not mopping the floor ten times a day, and make sure you're fully clothed before leaving the house. There has been improvement in this area. Cade is more able to attend to and follow verbal directions, stay with less exciting tasks longer, and be somewhat less impulsive.
So there you have it. These are not exactly "scientific", but we hope that they will be helpful in evaluating the benefit of this diet for Cade.
Paleo mom,
Becky
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