Back from CA

It has been a while since I have posted, but with all our traveling it took me a while to get back our normal routine.  Justin and I got back from our anniversary trip last Monday.  We had wonderful time in San Francisco and Napa.  We are very lucky that my parents were able to come down and stay with the kids.  We did some site seeing in San Francisco that included Fishermans Wharf, Ghirardelli Square, and Alcatraz.  Then we spend three nights in Napa and had so much fun exploring downtown Napa, visiting and touring a couple wineries.  The best part of the trip was getting to enjoy the beautiful and cool weather.  When we got off the plane in San Francisco it was actually cold, or at least cold to us :-)  Napa during the day was warm, but the morning and evenings were perfect, and since we are now entering the weeks of it just being HOT that is the part that I will miss the most...and the wine, of course ;-)

This week is Jack's last week of summer school.  He has only four more weeks to go before school starts up again.  As a former teacher I know how hard it is when back to school comes, but as the mother of a child with autism who desperately craves the structure and support school gives him I am very excited for school to start.  Jack has been seeing an ABA therapist three day's a week and still sees his OT twice a week.  When school starts Jack will continue seeing the ABA therapist three times a week after school but we will go down to once a week with the OT. 

Justin is leaving for New York this afternoon for work so it will be just me and the kids till he gets back on Thursday night.  I will try and post again soon, but am going to sign off for now so I can get a few minutes to just relax before Peyton wakes up from her nap.  Hope everyone has a great week!    

Back from Springfield...

The kids and I returned on Friday from Springfield.  We spend the week with my parents and had a fun week of swimming, playing and seeing friends.  We spend a lot of time at the pool but also got to visited the Springfield Discovery Center (which is basically a science center), went to a bounce house with my friend Haley and her two sons, and drove down to Branson to spend the morning swimming and playing with my friend Susan and her daughters.  We had a very busy week full of activity and both kids did a great job during our stay and on the drive down which was one of the things I was most nervous about.  This was the frist trip I made with just me and the kids.  I am very happy that there were no major issues during the drive and our stop to eat went smoothly.  The drive back was made easier because my mom came back with us.

Since we have been home we are getting the kids back into their normal routine and I have been getting ready for our next trip.  Justin and I will be leaving for our 10 year anniversary trip to San Francisco/ Napa.  We will be gone for 4 nights and the kids will be staying with my parents here in Texas. 

I was able to get some cute pictures and videos.  I will update more once we get back from our trip. Hope everyone has a wonder week!

Jack's newest therapy

Yesterday, Jack had his first session with his new in home ABA therapist Jessi. ABA therapy is short for Applied Behavior Analysis.  Below is a brief description about what ABA is and I also included a link for anyone who is interested in reading more.

What is Applied Behavior Analysis?

Behavior analysis focuses on the principles that explain how learning takes place. Positive reinforcement is one such principle. When a behavior is followed by some sort of reward, the behavior is more likely to be repeated. Through decades of research, the field of behavior analysis has developed many techniques for increasing useful behaviors and reducing those that may cause harm or interfere with learning.

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is the use of these techniques and principles to bring about meaningful and positive change in behavior.

As mentioned, behavior analysts began working with young children with autism and related disorders in the 1960s. Early techniques often involved adults directing most of the instruction. Some allowed the child to take the lead. Since that time, a wide variety of ABA techniques have been developed for building useful skills in learners with autism – from toddlers through adulthood.

These techniques can be used in structured situations such as a classroom lesson as well as in "everyday" situations such as family dinnertime or the neighborhood playground. Some ABA therapy sessions involve one-on-one interaction between the behavior analyst and the participant. Group instruction can likewise prove useful.
ABA Therapy

Jack's first session was a "get to know you session" both for her and him.  She spent her time yesterday observing and playing with Jack working on getting him to engage with her in play, encouraging verbal imitation and eye contact.  She is going to use the assessments and skills he has been working on in school to design a program for him that will focus on increasing his verbal manding.  Most of Jack's undesirable behaviors come from his inability to communicate what he is feeling and what he wants.  We are going to have her come three days a week.  This summer the sessions will be taking place in the early afternoon, but once school is back in session the session will get pushed back and take place after Jack gets home from school.  I will keep everyone posted on how his sessions are going. 

Jack has two weeks off from ESY so I am going to take the kids to see my parents in Springfield, we will be leaving to head down there Thursday morning.  We are going to stay with them for a week.  I am looking forward to the kids having a fun filled week with their grandparents which will include a lot of swimming, but am a little nervous about the drive down.  Hopefully both kids will do well and it will be an easy trip....I hope :-)

Hope everyone has a great Independence Day tomorrow and I am sure I will have some fun pictures to share when we get back from Springfield.

Below are two videos Justin took of Jack playing in the backyard and wearing his new Cardinal hat: