Samuel has overall had a good couple of weeks. April and I have noticed that his vocabulary is expanding quite significantly. One of the developments is his interest in singing song lyrics. In the past he would dance to music, but now he seems to be singing along while he dances. Not only is he singing, but he is saying the words to the song in a very understandable way. Recently he has been especially enjoying "Thomas and his Friends." While he has always taken a liking to Thomas, in the past he has shown more interest for Lightning McQueen and Mickey Mouse. Right now any time we allow him to watch TV, he is wanting to see Thomas episodes on Netflix. At the same time he has a few tiny Thomas toy trains that he has grown especially attached to. He plays with them before, during, and after watching Thomas. It is a joy to see Samuel singing along to Thomas and getting the words right. "They're two, they're four, they're six, they're eight, shunting trucks and hauling freight, red and green and brown and blue, they're the really useful crew...." April noticed today while he was playing outside with the tiny toy trains that he was repeating some of the sayings which he hears on Thomas such as "flatten my funnel." Although not every word is especially clear, he is attempting to talk more and the vocabulary is expanding. We consider this a very positive step!
Things appear to be going fairly well at school right now. On Thursday, the teacher wrote on his conduct sheet that he had a "fantastic day". However, the Tuesday before he had a couple of meltdowns. One was because he insisted on carrying a book into school with him. When April dropped him off with his class, she took the book back. He did not like this. Later during the morning he spilled milk on himself. The teachers had to change his clothes and that did not sit well with him. Fortunately, once he calmed down from these tantrums everything ran smoothly. That is a positive sign that overall his meltdowns seem to not be lasting quite as long as they once did (although April experienced an hour long one while I was out of town on business shortly after the last post). He also seems to be understanding which mornings are school days and is quite receptive to attending. Hopefully all of these "baby steps" are positive and are indicating improvements.
Today we went to church for the annual Easter Egg Hunt. Our wonderful youth committee also had a bouncy house for the children to play on. Samuel thoroughly enjoyed it. I bet he climbed in and out, up and down, at least 20 times. Unlike many autistic children, Samuel appears to be fine with other kids around. He doesn't necessarily socialize with the others, but he does not appear intimidated being around them. Later this afternoon, one of our neighbors and her 3 year old son came over while we were outside. Although the neighbor's boy is the same age as Samuel, Cameron was the one that entertained their friend. Samuel was among them, but he really did not interact with the other two. These are the times that I recognize the autism most. Instead of joining two other boys playing in the yard, he would rather keep to himself. This is part of the process and I have to remind myself that although he thinks differently, that is not necessarily a bad thing.
As always, thanks to everyone for taking time out to read the blog. I want to wish everyone a Happy Easter and I give praise to our Savior Jesus Christ for his death and resurrection for my sins.
Till next time,
Brian
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