Its been a long time since I blogged. My original plan was to blog daily or at least weekly but life is crazy for me and well I always put so much on my plate. SO I am back and hoping to blog as much as possible but I don't plan to set a goal for it yet.
So new things in Cole's life: We moved to Forked River and started a new preschool. Its so much better then his last school and the only complaint i have is that its part time. He seems to love his teacher and aids. My mom is now living with us. Cole is now on yearly MRI's which could change to 2 yrs if next yr we have no change. We got to skip the VEEG this year which was great.We started sign language since he is still nonverbal and doing great. Cole started potty training which is one of the biggest news we have. I am just so proud of him. Also come this December he Cole will be a Big Brother. YAY.
Its amazing at how much Cole has grown this year and also how much he has accomplished that has made me so proud. Since moving we are now finally getting on a schedule which is making life a little easier for Cole and actually me too. He has therapy 3 times a week. He goes to OT, PT and Speech. All of his therapist are on board and are signing to Cole in hopes to get him to sign the words and communicate with all of us. We have about 10 signs right now and can put together 2 words so far. This was picked up in a matter of 2 weeks which amazed me. Soon he will out sign me if I don't keep practicing. Its amazing at what a child can pick up when he is eager to communicate. I just hope he is getting all the signs he needs to get his communication out. I still speak as I sign to him but all i get from Cole is his sign and sometimes some sounds. I have hope he will talk but just think he needs more time.
Cole's new school now has ABA, he is getting speech, was evaluated for PT and will get evaluated for OT next week. I went to his first IEP and got everything I asked for and more and on;y had to spend 10 mins with the team. I guess my only other complaint would be that I am still trying to figure out his speech therapist at school. She seems great when speaking to her but worry that its taking Cole so long to accept her. When he likes you he accepts you pretty fast so I am wondering what could be holding this relationship up. So hopefully I will get good progress soon from speech at school.
Cole's MRI this year showed no change and I have been assured that the White Matter Disease is really not a worry any more. Cole did great for his MRI and even seems happy when he was leaving the hospital. We spent a half a day and everything seemed to go fast. I am hoping that Cole will one day not have to get these done unless he has a problem that he can communicate to us.
Potty training was one of my happiest moments this year. I changed Cole's diaper and put him on the potty and seemed to take to it from there. We are still in pull ups but he will pull me to the bathroom to pee. He went from not interested at all to wanting to potty. I wish I could say we tried this or that but really it happened when Cole was ready. I am hoping to continue and by Christmas have him in underwear. That's actually a gift we are asking Santa for. I know its not fun but its something that he concord and I want him to get a gift for it.
Last but not least we are preparing Cole to be a big brother. I am not sure if he fully gets it yet but I am trying. This pregnancy has been harder then Cole's but this baby is acting like Cole did in womb. We are having a boy and Cole will have a playmate one day. I hope that he will love having a little brother. I often wonder how other autism parents handle having another baby. I know we decide to go for it because I didn't want Cole to be an only child. I was surprised to find out that we only have a 22% chance of this baby having Autism. I know people would wonder why I would take that chance but in all honest i love Cole autism and all. He has taught me to appreciate the small things in life. Something i wasn't doing. No matter what this baby ends up as I will love him just as much as Cole.
With that note until my next post. Enjoy life and appreciate the small things in life. Even small things should be celebrated.
