Hello everyone! Not much activity in the blog lately and it may seem like I am going to abandon it, but I will work harder at keeping this blog alive. I care about this thing like my own baby, my 5th child. I only realize how far we have come as a family by reading this blog myself. If not for the blog, I will never be able to remember the funny little things my children used to do or say. My kids will have a little chronicle of their lives saved and I hope they appreciate it in the future.
I am happy to report that Noah is doing tremendously well with the start of the ABA therapy. ABA stands for Applied Behavior Analysis and it is a repetitive behavioral modification program which works very well with the children on the autism spectrum disorder. For example, if Noah whines when he can't get a turn, the therapist would have him say "I want my turn please" and when he says it independently, the therapist would let him have a turn. It's like having him memorize what kind of things he could say or do to get the outcome he wants. It's a good starting point for someone who is not verbally fluent in a language.
Vivian, Noah's ABA therapist, has been working with Noah since early October. Since then, he learned to ask "what's that?" and verbalize things that he never said before. It's awesome! The changes happened so fast that we are baffled at his ability to pick up information very quickly. And... drum rolls please... he is potty trained! At first, Vivian had taken him to go to the bathroom every 20 minutes and he would go sometimes but not all the time. When he did go, he received a reward (a small marshmallow for example). I put 20 minutes timer on and took him to the bathroom when it beeped. It sure was hectic at first, but gradually he began to hold the urine longer. All I have to say now is "Noah, please go potty," and he happily runs upstairs to the bathroom and sits, pees, wipes, flashes and washes his hands! I am so proud of him. That goes for #2 as well. He does it all by himself. Honestly, he was running out of size for training pants and I was wondering what to do if he gets bigger. I am so thankful for Vivian and the others who were very patient with him.
He sees his ABA therapists five days a week after school. That means my busy schedule even got busier! The therapy is at the town next-door, so I have to haul all other children in the car to drop Noah off. I arranged Sean's swimming during Noah's therapy and I am going to put the girls in the swimming lessons also. Aly has her soccer (which is ending soon) and Sean ended his basketball lessons a couple of weeks ago. Saya is still enjoying her gymnastics classes on Saturday mornings and this constant juggling of schedule is keeping me on my toes. I am pretty tired by the end of the day and that is probably why I have been absent from this blog!
I am very thankful though that my children are thriving and Mike has a job. I won't be able to be this agile if I had to work full-time outside. The work at an big IT company can be very stressful, but he is trying his best everyday. I am glad I married an honest and hardworking man (who is quite handsome in my opinion). I really have nothing to complain about!
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