Happy June 1st!
How in the world is another school year almost over and summer here again? It is hard for me to believe and harder for me to write that Aleks will be in Kindergarten this fall. We had the privilege of meeting with her teachers and the staff at her Kindergarten last week to get an update on her progress and to also see what next year would look like for her. Both my husband, Bill and I got choked up listening to how much progress she has made in the past year of school. She went from starting the year with some screaming and hiding to ending it being one of the top students for phonetics. The other amazing news is that her speech therapist, Susan, is recommending that we go down to ST one day a week from two. This is huge news for Aleks and credit to all of the hard work she and Susan have been doing. To give you a brief overview, Susan, our ST, has been with Aleks from the beginning. Even before she had the official autism diagnosis, Susan was there. In our first meeting with Susan, which was two years ago, Aleks screamed, hit and hid in the corner of the room. She would hardly make eye contact and just ran around or hid almost the entire intake time. Now fast forward two years and Aleks is a totally different child. She greets Susan, goes back for therapy with her and is willing to do her work. What an amazing difference! Thank you Susan!
This past weekend we spent it in Colorado for my dad's birthday. Another change in Aleks is how well she did in a room of 75 people at a rather loud party. Not only did she talk to people she didn't know, but she danced and just had fun. She didn't yell or hide and was just happy to be there. One of the lessons she has taught us is to listen to her and when she says something to believe it. So, when she looked at us at the party and said, "I need to go, I'm getting tired.", we left the party. On Sunday, before the party began, she told me that she needed me to just hold her and sit in the bathtub. I did and the funk she was starting to get into went away. I don't know if all autistic children are in touch this much with their bodies and emotional needs, but I constantly learn a lot from Aleks. She asks for what she needs and makes no apologies. When she can't do something she'll tell you. When someone is upsetting her or making her feel awkward she tells them. What an amazing concept if we could all live our lives that honestly and openly. As a parent I find that my role in this is telling people to please listen to her and if she is asking you to stop staring at her or making her feel uncomfortable to please stop! A therapist of Aleks' said this, when you keep doing something to an autistic child that they've asked you to stop, it's child abuse. Makes it pretty cut and dry doesn't it?
Thank you to everyone for the prayers and continued interest in Aleks' story. It's far from over but I love that not only do I see change, but also growth and the potential for more.
xo
Melissa
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