The Victories of an Autism Kid

December 28, 2018October 27, 20188 Comments

So it has been a bit since we talked about Antonio and his progress with his new program. I have had a hard time behind the scenes with what happened, but I am confident and couldn’t be happier with the way things are playing out.

I have learned SO much from this new place he is at, and I think that’s the most important thing. If I am not learning, is he learning? If I can’t implement at home, is it even worth the money?

We don’t need to have weekly or bi-weekly meetings because it is THAT good. We communicate a lot, and we have progress reports every day and have an app to interact through. I also email with any questions or concerns.

Everyone has seen SO much of a difference since he started his new program it makes me so happy that I want to cry.

Here are a few quick things that we are mastering at his applied behavior analysis:

Sign Language: We know about ten things now! We can communicate his wants and needs on a daily basis. It really DOES work!
He Stops: We tell him STOP, and he actually does it. This behavior is huge because before I was worried that he couldn’t walk in parking lots without holding my hand. Now, I feel better.
He Waits: We can count to make him wait. He understands, is patient, and gets whatever he asks for based on his sign language.
He Waves Hi and Bye: We worked hard on this for so long his wave is SOO cute. It’s like a pinched hand.
Imitate Sounds: We get in his face and make sounds, noises, and make funny faces to help get his verbalized vocals going. This accomplishment is super huge, and it has been amazing to see how involved he is.
More Interaction: We can interact more with other kids and people. He can sit still for long periods of time, and enjoy a book or iPad together without getting distracted.
He’s Independent: He carries his backpack and lunchbox now every day to school. This victory makes me so happy.

All of these things took so much time for us to master, but it was so worth it! All of these took some time to learn for him and myself but it is seamless now. We keep meeting our weekly goals and it is so incredible. Even though he isn’t talking it is such a relief knowing that we are making the progress that I hoped for, for so long.

The thing is that he doesn’t always need someone to say Antonio say Hi (wave). I can say Bye Antonio, and he knows to wave! I think that speaks volumes. These are all endless goals that we have been waiting for and wanting for literally months.

These might seem like they should have happened a long time ago because of his age, but this takes a lot of time with an autism kid. They think so different than other kids that it takes them a different way to learn.

** This post also contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Read our disclosure.

Like this blog post? Want more like this? Sign up for our newsletter so you can stay up to date with ways to make money AND save money!

A Step by Step Guide for Grocery Shopping With an Autism Kid.

March 12, 2018January 2, 20185 Comments

Whether you are just a mom, or a mom of an autism kid, you know that everything matters. They are like sponges and take in everything. You know that the little things do matter and before your little one turned into a toddler you documented everything. Now is not different.

Autism kids remember things and learn differently, and no kid is the same no matter who who they are. It is important to keep track of your kids progress, skills, and traits. I never realized things until my son was diagnosed with autism. Now when I meet with other people they ask questions “how did you know he was autistic”. I wish I kept track of my thoughts, feelings, and progress. I wish I kept track of his speech notes daily so that I could look back and be more organized as a mother. Let’s face it, we all wish for these things but time gets the best of us.

So here are a few quick things that I have been doing with Antonio and keeping track of. I like to get out of the house with Antonio as much as possible so it doesnt seem like a long day. In the store I let Antonio pick things off the shelf. If he isnt in the cart, I still let him pick things up and re arrange their shelfs. They might get mad at us, but we are learning. During this process I talk to him about what it is, the colors, everything. I pretty much document everything verbal. Part of being autistic is letting him take in everything.

I let him put the stuff we are buying in the cart. This is a huge favorite of his. He sees me putting them in the shopping cart, so he wants to too! So whenever I get something I give it to him and tell him “put in” we know put in from speech very well so this is a must. He really likes this part and sometimes even tries to eat when he knows it something that he likes.
During all of this, I try to go to the store when there isnt much people around so that we don’t feel rushed, or embarrassed. Lets face it, we all have had the one person who takes up the whole aisle and is annoying.
I let him touch the screen at check out. I know this isnt ideal but he sees and hears the beeps going then sees me paying for it with my card, so he wants to help. I allow him to help out in any way that he can. Even if I just narrate a few things for him. I have to make sure he doesnt sneak anything else in the shopping cart this tim too!
Lastly, I let him have free range wherever we go and when I need to stop him I do. Sometimes he needs to play and explore all on his own. Other times we need narration and discipline I make sure to allow for both times so that he can process and take it all in.

Of course we sanitize when we get home but these things do very much better when you have an autimn kid they take every little thing in.

View some of our favorite items for autistic kids.

Read our disclosure.

Like this blog post? Want more like this? Sign up for our newsletter so you can stay up to date with ways to make money AND save money!

Why we only allow one hour of tv a day

February 21, 2018January 2, 20182 Comments

It can be rough sometimes to get away from the tv. After all most times there isn’t much on that is new and exciting unless it’s one of our faves during the week.Here’s what I do know… tv needed to be cut back along with phone time. I realized I was on both a lot and not being effective with my time.

Antonio started a new program and also a day program where I had to absolutely make sure my time was well managed. I had to make sure I was on top of it. Not to mention they stated that he shouldn’t be watching a lot of tv and named which ones were good. So we made a change that day. We cut our Mickey and only allow one hour of tv a day (myself included!)

I feel like if I have to change things for my kid I want to do it for myself too! I want to make sure that it is cohesive and flows through out all of us in the house. When we started to do this I realized the following things!

It forces us to have a conversation. I’ll tell you what we all talk. There aren’t any distractions from the tv or phone! But when we realized that we had to talk we were forced to really listen. My husband was talking and I really truly felt like we were connected and not rushed!
It forces us to enjoy silence. Sometimes life is busy and we just need to sit down and enjoy things and take it all in. But we also need to realize that silence is okay. This allowed us to play games (insert here) and even allowed us to play with Antonio one on one. Tv can suck the life right out of all of us for sure.
It forces us to find things to do. We got sick of doing nothing real quick so we were forced to call on friends and go out. I know his might sound crazy but this happens to so many people! People can sucked into technology (tv, phones, tablet etc) it’s okay sometimes. Just stick to a schedule of how often and what you want to watch.

View some of our favorite items for autistic kids.