Last time I wrote, we had just seen a pediatric neuro. Since then, we’ve seen a developmental therapist and even had the ADOS test. Same results. He doesn’t present as a child with autism, however he may eventually be diagnosed with a spectrum disorder. His apraxia is severe enough that it’s causing limitations on a lot of skills which could be misinterpreted as ASD. It’s going to be a “long, hard battle” but he will talk someday. That’s what they say….

I won’t lie. It’s really hard. Really, really hard. Other kids his age are having conversations and he can say about 4 words, and even those words aren’t clear. I am sure that others don’t even understand. On the bright side, receptively he’s doing great. He’s even somewhat potty trained. It took about 2 days only, he decided he wanted to do it himself and now he goes #1 in the potty all the time. #2….not sure how I’m going to get that going but hey, he conquered #1 in no time and I’m happy with that for now. We push him so hard, I’ll give him a bit of a break on that.

Luke’s little sis has become a wild child. She wants to do everything he does, she even banged her head for awhile because he did, so that was a fun stage. She turned 1 in June, is walking (on her own terms of course) and says a few words. Sadly she says as many as Luke, if not more. He loves her, she loves him, they chase each other around. I think since she’s become more mobile, Luke has been happier because he realizes she’s there to play with him. They’re really cute together.

It’s been recommended to us that Luke start pre-school and ABA. I don’t know which one terrifies me more. He will start school in October, we have the ABA consultation in a couple of weeks. The fact that he is unable to vocally express himself is causing more frustration and behavioral issues the older he gets. He know more and can’t express it, and it’s really tough on him. We started the picture exchange system and maybe that will help, but his patience is what may hinder that. I’m really anxious to see how he’ll do with ABA. I’m also anxious to see how we’ll pay for it.

This summer, the kids have been outside a ton, swings are their fave, Luke likes slides now and goes on his own. He jumps a lot now, thank you very much OT. Unfortunately we live in the midwest and the winters are brutal, so I’m really hoping there’s no regression from being in the house so much. I guess pre-school will help with that.

Luke does answer yes or no now, which helps tremendously with his frustration and patience. We ask a lot of questions, he’ll shake his head no or say “yeah”. I feel like he’s really come a long way in so many areas, but that stupid apraxia makes it so hard for him to do anything with his mouth.

This weekend we are taking him to see Thomas the Train in person…I hope he doesn’t hate it. I hate that I have to think that way, but it may be overwhelming. Hopefully he is in a good mood 🙂