I just wantted to update on Hobbes so I thought tha tit abit about speech so I put it in here. I will start with the OT. We have decided to do the brushing techique that the Ot suggested to calm him of his touching needs that he has. We are to do it every 2hrs/6x a day. The OThas also given us a chewing tube to stop Hobbes needs to chew everything. He seems to like that nad it does help him from chewing on the crib and DVDs. Zoee likes it as well! :lol: The Ot is also going to bring a weighed blanket to help calm Hobbes at night. It is to help depressurzie him. Hobbes has a need for blanket to always be on him or me and him. He coons himself in them. So I hope that it would work. So we are going to try alot of new things with him. I am going to start the brushing today.

As for speech, we are doing the pictures for communication. That is where we have picture of items that are around our house that HObbes sees everyday and uses. We also have taken pictures of the food that he eats. The pictures will go on the fridge or door of the rooms were the items are that he uses. When Hobbes wants something he will bring us the picture of the item and we can get that item for him. We will also say the word of the item to him. We are starting this now as well. I hope that it woks. My MIl has a problem with it. She thinks that we are trying not to get him to talk. :x by doing this. No it is not that, we are just tryiong to help him communicate better without the fruastration. Hobbes has been saying "YEAH". He saying it all the time and he can answers question that you ask. I know it is more echoing but it is still him responding. I asked him the other day if he was the pope, he answered YEAH! :lol:

We see the Child developement Clinic on the 4 of August to work more with him and hopefully get the speech that we need in for him. Well update more then!

Yay on the "yeah"!!! Those all sound like terrific ideas, Shannon. I can kind of understand your MIL's concerns about the pictures for Hobbes. You'd think that would just give him a crutch he can use instead of learning to talk. But I've read that kids who learn baby sign language actually start speaking sooner rather than relying on their signs and talking later.

Good luck!

Good luck, Shannon! Sounds like you have a lot of strategies to try.

Yeah, Hobbes! :)

I understand your MIL concerns, too, but she has to understand that Hobbes NEEDS to communicate and can not do it verbally at this point, so he the cards will help him in the short and long term to learn to communicate. We went through screaming and meltdowns with Walker when he did not have the ability to communicate and we did a lot of pictures and imaging with him and it worked. Walker's speech and language delay was different from Hobbes', but the frustration would have been the same. It is so much easier on you and your DH as well once you start to see some communication.

What a great bunch of ideas! Let us know how things work for you!

Leigh

Great stuff, Shannon! It never stops to amaze at how much Hobbes and Evan continue to be at the same stage with their speech. Evan "yeahs" everything now, too. We've started with a picture board, too. It's slow going at first. Try starting with just one picture and then a second one, so that he can choose between two items. Once he knows them well, add in another, and so on. That way it's not as overwhelming.

I'm really looking forward to hearing how the brushing goes!

Janette, itis great that he is saying YEAH! I was very glad to hear that Evan is doing the same as Hobbes. Thanks for the tip about the pictures. I had put the fridge ones on the fridge and Hobbes took them dowm. Then there was the battlee of the dog to get them back. :roll: :lol: So I am going to do one at a time! :D We started the brushing, itis slow to get Hobbes use to it. The first couple of times, he was fighting it so I have stopped for a day or two. I am going to retry today. I did find that he was fine for an hour then he got very moody and had little fits and crying speels very easy. Then He would sleep. So Maybe that is now it will work for him. :? we'll will see! The weight blanket is working okay. I put it on him yesterday for naptime and he went to sleep right away. But at night it is a little harder. So that is working 50%, not bad.

We heard from the nursery school and Hobbes will start on the September 7. They are looking for a worker for him now and wanted to know wha the was like. It is hard to explain Hobbes to anyone who does know him. they had some wonderful suggestion on how Hobbes when he starts can communicate on how his afternoon was at nursery. They would have a book that they will write in telling us how nad what Hobbes did. they suggested a camera so they can take pictures of fun events that they do so we can see the fun he is having. I am looking forward for him going now.
I have to vent a second about family. I was talking to my Brother last night and he think that the doctor are wrong about Hobbes and that he is just slow off the block and then he had made a joke about him. I didn't want to handle him or anyone who can't be supportive to me or Hobbes. It was hard coming to terms that Hobbes was a special needs child and it is hard to hear that type of stuff from family. LAst week he is saying Oh he thought that Hobbes was and now heis saying no he is not. An di am telling the doctor just tell me things! :x I think it is going to be best not to talk to him about Hobbes. Sorry I had to vent!

Oh Shannon...(((HUGS!!!))) I'm so sorry your brother is being so unsupportive of everything. It's hard enough when family members don't understand reflux, but 100x worse when family members are just plain cruel about and/or to a special needs child and his/her learning disability. I speak from the experience of having a GERDling and from the experience of the treatment that my learning disabled brother received from some of our cousins. I know how hard it is to come to terms with having a special needs child, and I hope that your brother will come around soon so that you can have his support!

It's interesting that Hobbes is fighting the brushing, as Evan does that with his proprioceptive activities--the joint compressions and the Benik vest, in particular. He's just fine doing them with his OT though, so I'm guessing that Hobbes may do those things more easily for someone else too. Having said that...It's hard, b/c we're the ones supposed to be doing this to our own sons.

We're still waiting to hear who will be assigned to Evan for nursery school, too. We don't know if someone will be there the whole time or not. I'm determined that they need to figure out how to change his pull-ups if the worker isn't there, though, as I really don't want to have to travel across town to do it myself...That's rediculous! I love the idea of a communication book and a camera. We've done both in the past, and I really miss it when we aren't.

I can not believe your family, Shannon! Come on over here and I will adopt you as my sister, ok? Ditto to what Janette said over family.

When we first had tests done and finally it was realized that Walker suffered from a severe speech and language delay my FIL indicated that he thought Walker suffered from shall we say a lack of intelligence as well. I was livid. When he was tested this spring and found to be above average for intelligence it was all I could do not to be petty and say "I told you so!" He still says things like "maybe one day Walker will be mainstream in school..."! He IS mainstream! He is going to a special speech and language school for half days next year and other than that his program is not altered.

I am going to look up the brushing thing. There is a post regarding the sensitivity issues by Savannah's Mom that I have to catch up on, too.

Interesting how the kids will balk with their Moms and allow others to do the therapy.

Wonderful that Hobbes and Evan will have someone to help them at school! It sounds like Hobbes has a great place to go to and that they are going to keep you informed. We had a communication book this year with Walker and it was good overall, depending on the teacher that wrote in it. He received a happy face for each of the 4 goals and for the most part it worked, but did put pressure on him that made it a rough go at times. It was nice to see how he was doing on a daily basis.

Leigh

It's interesting that Hobbes is fighting the brushing, as Evan does that with his proprioceptive activities--the joint compressions and the Benik vest, in particular. He's just fine doing them with his OT though, so I'm guessing that Hobbes may do those things more easily for someone else too. Having said that...It's hard, b/c we're the ones supposed to be doing this to our own sons.

I was able to dod the brushing last night as long as I was singing in a weird voices and My singing is not pretty to begin with! :lol: :oops: We did joint compression after the brushing. Janette, what is the Benik vest?Is that like a weigh blanket?

We're still waiting to hear who will be assigned to Evan for nursery school, too. We don't know if someone will be there the whole time or not. I'm determined that they need to figure out how to change his pull-ups if the worker isn't there, though, as I really don't want to have to travel across town to do it myself...That's rediculous! I love the idea of a communication book and a camera. We've done both in the past, and I really miss it when we aren't.

They didn't have one yet but they are interviewing someone now for him and they are even going to see if this person will come to the house to meet Hobbes before school starts. Hobbes needs to meet people first before he will respond to them. iasked about the pulls and the worker will change Hobbes if it is needed. I told them just watch for him stripping :lol:

Leigh, Thanks! I will gladly come and let you adopt me as your sister! :D

The school that Hobbes is going into is great. I had picked it b/c they had worked a great deal with Austic children before and they were highly referred to me by several difference people. So I think that we are going to be happy with them. Hope Hobbes is as well!