More Good News
More good news today. I got a call from the speech therapist and she’s dropped another patient who was failing to turn up to appointments. So Dan is in! It’s a good time too, Tuesday afternoons after his nap. I’m very excited.
Retraction
I’m starting to think I need to write a retraction about the WCH stuffing up the last time. Just the last time, though. All the other times were ligit, but I’m beginning to think the last one was a misunderstanding. When she talked about individual sessions I thought she meant that I attended alone. But now I believe she meant that Lachlan and I get to see a speech therapist alone for individual assessment. And the group sessions are for me and the other parents doing the program.
So, that said, I’ll move onto other news. In the last two days, both Lachlan and Daniel have been to see our speech therapist. Lachlan was assessed on Monday and the good news is that she sees no sign of autism in him. He does have a serious language delay and needs speech therapy ASAP. When she said this I asked her how we could get therapy when we were on a waiting list. She said that she would be able to bump another of her patients and fit us in fortnightly. Hooray!
After seeing Lachlan, she was keen to see Daniel as well. So much so that we went today during a cancellation. She immediately saw the difference between the two boys and gave us a lot of ideas on techniques to use with Daniel. We decided to keep the Friday appointments for Lachlan for now, hoping that we can give him a bit of a kick start and really get him moving forward. Then she’ll see Daniel again after she’s seen Lachlan a few times.
I’m feeling really happy now, though I’d be happier if she could see both the boys properly. I’m excited that we’re finally getting started and we’re going to get some much needed guidance. I’m also really excited about seeing some progress and maybe getting Lachlan to speak. It probably won’t happen for a while, but the idea of it is exciting nevertheless.
Good Stories
I never intended this blog to be such a gloomy thing, but our circumstances have lead me to use this forum as a vent for all my frustrations. However, I should remember that those who read it are getting a bit of an unbalanced view of our life. It’s not all doom and gloom, and we’re mostly pretty happy and have a really lovely time together. So I’ll endeavour to include more happy stories along with the rants. Starting now…
Today we went to the zoo for the first time, and I think the boys really enjoyed it. We were only there for about 1.5 hours, which was very expensive, but we were really scoping the place out to see how the boys would like it. Since they did, we’ll now look at getting a membership which will give us unlimited access for 12 months. The boys didn’t really react much to the animals, but Lachlan really enjoyed the freedom to run around a bit. We didn’t let Dan out of the pram this time, but I think when we go again, we’ll leave the pram behind. It’s a bit of a risk, but I think it’ll give us a safe environment to try and train the boys to stay with us and to follow our instructions. Better than in the streets or in a crowded shopping centre.
We will also have to work on the temper tantrums Lachlan throws when forced to get back in the car at the end of an outing. It’s also becoming more difficult to get him out of the car when we get home. That’s because he has a new found fascination for the driver’s seat, the steering wheel, the horn, the hazard lights, and all the buttons and leavers that are within reach. We got some pickies and video of him playing there today.
Lachlan Driving
Another thing Lachlan has started doing is helping me with the laundry. He climbs on the dryer (unlike Daniel, who climbs IN the dryer) and puts the clothes I hand him in the washing machine. He helps me put the soap in, and pushes the buttons to start the cycle. That’s the point I have to physically remove him because he keeps opening the lid to see inside, and the cycle stops every time he does that. The other day he even climbed over the washing machine and sat in the laundry sink. This only became a problem when he turned the tap on!
Both boys are getting very good at communicating, even though neither of them are using words. Today, when we were getting ready to go to the zoo, Lachlan picked up the signals and started getting very excited about going in the car. As I picked up my handbag, he grabbed my hand and started dragging me to the garage. He was very unimpressed when I put my bag down to go into the toilet. He complained loudly, grabbed my bag, and stood outside the toilet waiting for me to finish. He then handed me my bag and started dragging me to the door again.
The boys are also learning more about listening and bad behaviour. They mostly do as they’re told now when they’re told to sit down. And today I was forced to scold Daniel when he threw a tantrum over a toy. I was pleased to see that he got upset about getting told off. I was getting a bit worried that he didn’t really care about getting in trouble, because he’d be very hard to discipline if he didn’t get upset.
Daniel is still slightly obsessed with books and will hunt me down from one end of the house to the other to get me to read to him. He’ll then worm his way into my lap, no matter what I’m doing and then stares at me with those big blue eyes until I start reading. If I don’t start soon enough he’ll gently touch my face or my arm to get my attention.
One new thing about Dan is that his favourite game at the moment is hide and seek. In one version he hides in the cupboard in his bedroom and then opens the door to surprise (or be surprised by) Richard or me. He always gives himself away by giggling before he opens the door. He is so cute. In the other version of the game, either Richard or I hides in his room and surprises him when he comes around the corner. He then runs away laughing. We then move to a new location in the room (or not) and surprise him again when he comes back looking for us. Again, very cute. Lachlan also enjoys the game, but we have yet to figure out a way for us all to play together without fingers getting jammed in the cupboard doors.
Finally, just for the sake of it, Dan is now opening normal doors (not just his cupboard doors), and Lachlan is able to climb into his cot. It won’t be long till he can climb out too, though he is hindered by his sleeping bag. Richard and I are debating whether to change his cot over to a bed or whether we should leave it for a bit longer.
Covered In Boys
Getting The Story Straight
More news from the Womens and Childrens Hospital who seem to have a difficult time getting their story straight. At the end of May, after a five month wait we finally got Lachlan into see the infant development team. I think I posted about it at the time, it was the one where only one member of the team turned up. She, the occupational therapist, put Lachlan’s name down for some speech therapy even though he had yet to see a speech therapist. She figured it was easier to take his name off the list if necessary, than add it on. Then when we finally saw the speechie a month later she said that Lachlan wasn’t suitable for the therapy, and that he wasn’t eligible after being referred to disability SA.
So I was quite surprised to get a call the other day about the therapy. I was told he was eligible and it would require me to attend six sessions on my own at 12:45 (1hr) on Thursday afternoons, and four sessions with Lachlan at 9:30 (2.5hrs) the other Thursday mornings. After much toing and froing, we sorted out for Richard’s Dad to come by and help out on his day off. Now we’ve got the schedule, and it turns out that the solo sessions are at 9:30 and the sessions with Lachlan are at 12:45 – right when he’s supposed to be napping. Unfortunately, it seems like it’s the only opportunity we’re going to have for therapy for several months, so we’re going to take the chance while it’s there. Luckily, Lachlan is getting much better at coping without as much sleep, so hopefully we’ll get some benefit.
I just wish the WCH would get their act together, and put some effort into offering us solutions, plans and strategies. Instead they just offer us confusion, disparity and frustration.
On a brighter note, to prove that our lives aren’t all doom and gloom, I think I’ll go and upload some more pickies to the gallery.
OT For Lachlan
We took Lachlan to the OT today to get assessed. Basically, the therapist was quite confused by Lachlan and doesn’t quite know what’s going on with him. In summary he said the following…
• Physically, Lachlan is very strong with his only issues being his arm strength and his gait. However, his arm strength should improve with playing on the monkey bars at gymbaroo. His gait is apparently a bit wide and a bit immature, but it should fix itself too.
• Lachlan seems to be pretty organised as far as his motor planning goes. That means that when he makes a decision to do something he’s pretty good at executing it.
• The doc didn’t see too many problems with his fine motor skills that couldn’t be explained by lack of exposure.
• There were some signs of traits that might be considered autism-like, but the doc really wasn’t sure as there were plenty of signs that he isn’t autistic. For example, Lachlan tried to escape a number of times, and on one occassion the doc told me to let him go to see what he’d do. He went all the way out the door, down the stairs and into the street without looking for me. (The doc was following him.) This was a bit of a worry because the doc was hoping that he’d look for me and not go too far without me.
• The doc considered it imperative that Lachlan get into speech therapy as soon as possible. So much so that he called the speech therapist to try and get the boys bumped up the waiting list. He spoke to the speech therapist while I was there and we’re hoping to get Lachlan assessed in a couple of weeks. The doc thought that it was more important to get Lachlan into speech therapy than Daniel because he was more likely to get immediate benefit, whereas Dan will probably be in therapy for the long haul.
• Lachlan is going to get occupational therapy too. The doc thinks that he needs some sensory integration to help his concentration, and to help him learn to deal with unfamiliar situations without looking to escape all the time. The doc would like to get input from the speech therapist as well for exercises to do with Lachlan. The main focus of the OT will be to use the sensory integration to help facilitate the speech development.
So it was quite beneficial going and even though it’s going to be expensive for us we’re really optimistic about seeing some good results for Lachlan.
In other news, we have another nanny working as an emergency fill-in this week. She says she’s also interested in the permanent position so we’re thinking about offering her the spot. Apparently she has quite a bit of experience even though she’s pretty young, as her family has owned and operated childcare centres. She also has experience with working with twins and working with kids with autism. She seems pretty capable and confident so hopefully she won’t develop issues.
Also, the boys and I had a bit of fun last night. Richard had a work function so I attempted to bathe the boys and put them to bed on my own. The first challenge was getting them both into the bathroom and undressed. I did this by putting Lachlan in the bath while I fetched Daniel, but this was a mistake as it was impossible to stop Lachlan turning on the taps while I undressed Daniel. Once I had them in the shower it was okay but getting them out and dried was my next challenge. Dan came out first and I dried him off and put his cute little hoodie towel on while I got Lachlan out and dried. However, while I was wrestling with Lachlan, Dan crawled back into the shower and got his towel sopping wet. I finally got them both out of the bathroom only to start challenge number three. Cue some Benny Hill music as you imagine me running from one end of the house to the other chasing two mostly naked babies trying to herd them into the bedroom. The boys thought it was hilarious! Anyway, getting them dressed and ready for bed wasn’t any easier, but I managed and the boys went to sleep really well. It’s not something I’d like to try again for a while!
Finally, Lachlan has been doing really well with feeding himself breakfast. We’re still struggling with getting lunch and dinner for him, but it’s a start.
Stuff
I think I’m writing this to have a bit of a bitch because I’m tired and grumpy, but the reality is that things are mostly okay at the moment. Dan is having a break from therapy so that’s easing the pressure a little. Of course it would help if we could find a nanny.
The boys are also going to sleep quite well and we’ve reduced our stress by turning off their monitor so we don’t have to listen to them settling and stirring in their sleep. However Dan has failed to sleep through the night for about three weeks and consistently wakes at about four every morning. Sometimes he goes back to sleep on his own, and sometimes he ends up in our bed, but either way Richard and I are losing sleep every night.
Lachlan has also entered the terrible twos and I’m beginning to fear how bad it’s going to be since he is incapable of telling us what he wants. He can’t even say yes or no to simple questions. Then he hits and kicks and headbutts when he doesn’t get his way. I’m constantly scolding him about his behaviour which then leads to more outbursts and more scolding. We are all so miserable and cross much of the time.
Dan is also having behaviour issues, but in some ways it’s worse because he doesn’t really care (or understand?) when you tell him off. His method of expressing his rage, which doesn’t happen often yet, seems to be to scratch the target of his anger. It’s quite surprising and distressing when he does this. I’m really beginning to think I’m failing as a parent when I see this happening. Where do they learn that violence is such an effective way to hurt and upset people? They’ve never seen violence from us.
Anyway onto some good news. Lachlan had a bowl of cereal to himself this morning. Normally he shares Richard’s or my cheerios as well as having his weetbix, so this morning I gave him a bowl of his own. He did ok but needed some help scooping the food and I helped him drink the milk out of the bowl afterwards. Unfortunately this good behaviour was balanced by the fact that he tipped the bowl over and spilt the contents all over his table/ tray. Luckily he didn’t pour it all over himself and I could scoop most of it back into the bowl.
So I’ve made another resolution to try and put some finger food or normal food in front of him at every meal, even if he doesn’t eat it. Let’s see how long that lasts…
