Oh Hi There! It's been too long and I apologize! Most of my followers are family and friends, so you know what a year we've had, to sum it up this past year has been...well...crazy! We put our house on the market in January, and within four days it was sold. We searched endlessly trying to find a new home, and ended up a mile down the road. Jack started ABA therapy in February and we moved into our new house in the beginning of April; a transition I was so worried about for Jack, leaving his place of comfort. However, like many of the surprises he gives me daily, he didn't even blink an eye when we moved into what he calls "Sweet House". Not only did he handle it well, he also transitioned himself out of the crib and into the big boy bed, the same day we moved! It really was overwhelming for me and he did it all in stride. With only two months to get the house organized and ready, Jack's third Birthday came and went, summer flew by, the holidays were a blur and so here we are!
Jack is about to complete his first year of ABA Therapy, he now goes 5 days a week for 5 hours a day. The progress is nothing short of amazing. One of the biggest concerns with 17q12 microduplication is cognitive delays or learning disabilities, as of this moment this is definitely not a one of Jack's issues. He is progressing so quickly, that he is keeping his therapist on her toes, and she is constantly writing new programs for him to master. In less than a year Jack's diagnosis has gone from moderately autistic to high functioning. Although there are other children who are on the spectrum and have the same chromosome duplication, I recently re-read the related issues of someone with 17q12 duplication. Behavior issues; such as defiant, uncooperative, extremely demanding, Speech and Language delays, and Sleep problems are all common characteristics of 17q12, and it became clear to me that his chromosome duplication is the direct cause of his autism. Recently, I thought he doesn't have autism he is so going to "outgrow" of this, um ya no he's not, it is chromosome issue. However, its ok, because what is happening, is that he is being given that skills to cope with his behaviors, and his language was delayed not impaired and the behavior consultants are helping him learn to speak and understand how to use language. This video is the progress he has made in a year and a half...
Pretty amazing right! Although I loved his sweet little "foreign" language, it was also heartbreaking when he would tell me a 3 minute story and I could only understand 5-6 words at 2 and 1/2 years old.
We still experience a lot of behaviors but I feel like the are just more age appropriate behaviors compared to the 25 minute meltdowns 5-6 times a day, that we used to have. Although on occasion those long duration meltdowns do creep in, its maybe once a week or even less. And his behaviors at the center have decreased down to 10 minutes a day out of 5 hours and we even see days with zero behaviors. They are also working on his food issues. At an astounding 55lbs and 42" tall, its obvious Jack is a solid boy, but his all carb diet has me worried, especially since diabetes can be a trait with 17q12. So the center works on getting him to eat different foods, so far he is eating an apple and they just started working on carrots. It's amazing how this therapy works. Throughout ABA therapy practices, the main constant is "do this and you can have this" so for example "take a bite of this carrot and then you can have a bite of the pizza". The behaviors can be anywhere from refusal to a full blown meltdown, and carrots and pizza flying across the room. But in a matter of 2 weeks he now eats 3-4 carrots at lunch time!
We also decided not to put Jack in preschool this year, one because in September he really wasn't ready and two ABA therapy is like a preschool with intense one on one learning, so why would we interrupt that for preschool where its 20 to 1. Our goal is to start him in the fall.
So yes Progress, I am in Awe of the Progress! It's been an incredible year. There are so many hilarious stories to share, like the "Toddlers, the Art of Swearing", and "Bubbles...I want you, just kidding, get away from me". But I will save these for another time, and I promise it won't be so long this time! Until then...
Hugs from a Fellow Momma Warrior!
Em xoxo
Jack is about to complete his first year of ABA Therapy, he now goes 5 days a week for 5 hours a day. The progress is nothing short of amazing. One of the biggest concerns with 17q12 microduplication is cognitive delays or learning disabilities, as of this moment this is definitely not a one of Jack's issues. He is progressing so quickly, that he is keeping his therapist on her toes, and she is constantly writing new programs for him to master. In less than a year Jack's diagnosis has gone from moderately autistic to high functioning. Although there are other children who are on the spectrum and have the same chromosome duplication, I recently re-read the related issues of someone with 17q12 duplication. Behavior issues; such as defiant, uncooperative, extremely demanding, Speech and Language delays, and Sleep problems are all common characteristics of 17q12, and it became clear to me that his chromosome duplication is the direct cause of his autism. Recently, I thought he doesn't have autism he is so going to "outgrow" of this, um ya no he's not, it is chromosome issue. However, its ok, because what is happening, is that he is being given that skills to cope with his behaviors, and his language was delayed not impaired and the behavior consultants are helping him learn to speak and understand how to use language. This video is the progress he has made in a year and a half...
Pretty amazing right! Although I loved his sweet little "foreign" language, it was also heartbreaking when he would tell me a 3 minute story and I could only understand 5-6 words at 2 and 1/2 years old.
We still experience a lot of behaviors but I feel like the are just more age appropriate behaviors compared to the 25 minute meltdowns 5-6 times a day, that we used to have. Although on occasion those long duration meltdowns do creep in, its maybe once a week or even less. And his behaviors at the center have decreased down to 10 minutes a day out of 5 hours and we even see days with zero behaviors. They are also working on his food issues. At an astounding 55lbs and 42" tall, its obvious Jack is a solid boy, but his all carb diet has me worried, especially since diabetes can be a trait with 17q12. So the center works on getting him to eat different foods, so far he is eating an apple and they just started working on carrots. It's amazing how this therapy works. Throughout ABA therapy practices, the main constant is "do this and you can have this" so for example "take a bite of this carrot and then you can have a bite of the pizza". The behaviors can be anywhere from refusal to a full blown meltdown, and carrots and pizza flying across the room. But in a matter of 2 weeks he now eats 3-4 carrots at lunch time!
We also decided not to put Jack in preschool this year, one because in September he really wasn't ready and two ABA therapy is like a preschool with intense one on one learning, so why would we interrupt that for preschool where its 20 to 1. Our goal is to start him in the fall.
So yes Progress, I am in Awe of the Progress! It's been an incredible year. There are so many hilarious stories to share, like the "Toddlers, the Art of Swearing", and "Bubbles...I want you, just kidding, get away from me". But I will save these for another time, and I promise it won't be so long this time! Until then...
Hugs from a Fellow Momma Warrior!
Em xoxo
