Coping with Autism

First, Nathan is talking. Finally-- really talking. I mean, I knew at some point, he would (I assumed by the time he was ready to enter college) but to have him actually communicate using his voice is fantastic. He still sounds like he is deaf-- his tone is flat and it's very difficult to understand him but he's using short sentences and naming objects left and right. I can get most of what he says and figure out the rest and this has been a tremendous change for the better right now. Second, Peter was having difficulty sleeping again. We had put him back in the crib because he was getting out of the toddler bed repeatedly. But the crib is only meant to hold a child weighing 35 lbs or less. Peter is 45 lbs. He also wanted a "tent" over the crib. So, we had to put a coverlet over the crib to make a "tent." Instead, we got a mattress (no box spring, at this point) and I was looking for a bed tent you can get on the internet. My sister came through instead....

Peter has been working very hard to speak in complete sentences. We are constantly reminding him to say "I want. . ." instead of him just walking up to us and saying "Band Aid" or "milk." And he's getting it, slowly but surely over the last couple of weeks he has been saying, "I want milk, please" or "I want chips, please" all on his own. This is a tremendous accomplishment for him and we are encouraged at how quickly he incorporates new behaviors.

Peter finally went to sleep last night a little after midnight. Of course, when my husband went up for the umpteenth time to keep him from climbing the gate, I ran up to grab pajamas out of our room (if Peter sees me, he gets upset, wants Mommy and then we start the whole going-to-bed process all over again.) As I round the corner, I hear Peter say "paci" which is our shorthand way of saying pacifier. He must have lost his and he's not able to sleep if he doesn't have it. I laughed a little when I heard him say that. A year ago, we wouldn't have known why he was upset or having a hard time sleeping. We would have been lucky to hear anything other than his repetitive speech or mimicry (echolalia). Now, I can carry on simple conversations with Peter and we see his communication ability improve nearly everyday. At this point, he has one more year in preschool and then the goal is to see if they can mainstream him into a regular kindergarten. I hope so. I worry a litt...