emmett: 6 months post diagnosis.

It has been six months since Emmett was diagnosed with autism. I want to share with you all some of the progress he has made since then. This time has been stressful, busy, demanding, trying, but worth it. Matt and I have been putting our hearts, souls and as much patience as we can muster into the well-being and progress of our little boy. Of course, we also do this with Ethnie, but with Emmett it is much more intense and has to be constant; we can't let up for a second. He has been in therapy for about five months. His therapists are wonderful and have become his friends. We owe them so much!

^^^true that.

First, speech. This has been the area that we have seen the most improvement in. When Emmett was diagnosed he was using 3-4 word phrases to speak. Now he is making beautiful sentences and asking full questions. Many times the words are in the wrong order, but we can understand him and are so proud of him for making the effort. We can tell he is proud of himself too. Pronouns are still hard for him. He usually speaks in the third person. But he is doing awesome with verbs. He is also starting to use dialog with his toys and attempts to say family prayer, which is so fun to listen to.

We believe part of his recent progress with speech is from using his therapeutic listening system. This system was recommended by his OT. He has been using this system for 1 1/2 months and it is amazing. It has greatly increased his desire to get his words out.

^^^playing with the smart table at Children's.

^^^trying out the Wii.

Second, sensory progress. We have noticed improvement in his tolerance with touch/texture. Emmett has a hard time with messy play, or having anything stick to his hands or feet. He cannot stand the feeling of it. But he has been tolerating having his hands messy for a few minutes, where as before he would instantly get upset and start crying.

^^^playing with shaving cream.

^^^he wipes it on walls and furniture, but at least he's touching it. :)

^^^bubbles at the children's museum. I think he is more tolerant with bubbles and shaving cream because they aren't as "wet" feeling like paint or food.

Third, changes in routine/new experiences. Emmett has been doing really well with changes and transitions. We have been using a visual timer to let him know when an activity needs to end or change and he responds really well. We got our visual timer as an app on my phone and I would encourage any parent to get one! It has cute pictures and changes colors as the time ticks. 

We are most proud of Emmett's new change in starting preschool. He has been warming up to everything and cooperating with his teachers. He has recently started riding the bus home from school too! This was a huge step for him and we were blown away by how much he liked it.

^^big boy!

Emmett, 

I am so proud of you. You are smart, brave, and amazing. You are doing so well and I know things will only get better from here. You will never be on this journey alone; Ethnie, dad and I will always take every step with you. I am so lucky to be your mother and am so grateful to have you as my son. You are my buddy.

love- mom