Our son Kai has undergone about a month and a half of ABA (Applied Behavioral Analysis) therapy with Easter Seals (Easter Seals WI, ABA Program.) He seems to have gotten used to the therapists and the schedule, and we've all sufficiently gotten into our routine.
Initially Kai would have a half an hour meltdown the moment one of the therapists entered the house. By about the second week the meltdowns became much shorter, and by week 3 he began greeting each of them by name when they walked through the door. Kai now knows that these folks are coming routinely, that they are here to help him, and that they do fun things!
Last week we had our second Lead Meeting with the entire ABA team. Everyone seems to be happy with Kai's progress, as he is showing remarkable improvement in many areas. His eye contact is improving and his tendency to self-stim is decreasing. Kai also has passed through several levels in his program, and he has moved on to understanding alphabet categories based on "occupation" (namely, Athlete, Artist, Cashier). Much to our chagrin, he is becoming quite the whiz at puzzles!
One interesting thing is that folks are noticing Kai's tendency toward noncompliance when given a command. For example, a therpist might say "Kai, give me the marker please," and Kai will look them straight in the eye while continuing to firmly hold on to it. The therapist will repeat the command several times, while not moving on to the next activity until Kai complies. (This can last several minutes, but eventually Kai usually complies). He did have an incident last week where he dug his elbow into the leg of one of his therapists and she asked him to stop, but he did not. She ended up having to physically remove him because he was hurting her. While that was quite concerning, we are thinking perhaps it is due to his sensory issues.
We continue to be hopeful that as folks get to know Kai (and vice versa) we will see more and more gains, and a decrease in Kai's not-so-productive behaviors.
As his mom, I'm really happy to be getting a break. Serioiusly. I felt like I was crumbling under the stress for a long...long....time. Now I'm just trying to reconcile the guilt I am feeling for experiencing such a relief.
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4 comments:
Don't feel guilty about needing a break. We all do! Being a mom is a 24/7 job. I don't know about you, but I feel a twinge of jealousy when other couples talk about "date night" because I really can only leave Ty with very few people, who are busy people not readily available. So don't feel guilty, it's normal!
Ooohh, I remember that feeling well, the relief of getting just a couple of hours to sit down and to be able to STAY sitting down. I feel a bit guilty about it too sometimes, even though I miss him when he is out, I still look forward to him going out. Motherly guilt is baaaaad :) Jen
Don't you dare feel guilty...ABA is the bomb...not only for the results but for the break that it provides! I'm sure that you will see great results on the compliance stuff...
I'm TRYING very hard to free myself from the guilt. It IS happening slowly but surely. Thanks for the reminders that we're only human!
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