Bouncing Back and ABA therapy

Noah is feeling better and thankfully bouncing back. He is very engaged with us, has great eye contact and he is starting to use his words again. He has also started playing with his neglected toys. One thing that is still lingering since he became sick is that he is grunting....constantly. We get frustrated because of the constant noise but also because it reminds us that he is unable to talk and he is stimming vocally. It is an ever present reminder of the symptoms of autism. His new speech therapist said that this could be his way of communicating with us... or it could be both stimming and communication. We must decipher between the two. If we think he is trying to communicate we need to label for him what we are doing or what he is wanting. If we think the grunting is serving no purpose but to provide stimulation we need to either ignore it or redirect it.

His ABA therapy has picked up in intensity. His therapist Lily has spent the last few weeks building rapport with him. Now she is increasing her demands of him and not giving in to what he wants. She is rewarding positive behaviors and holding out for the correct behavior from him. He has not taken well to this. My mom reports that his last two sessions are mostly crying. I am hoping it gets easier with time.

We also had our second meeting with the classical homeopath on Skype. She saw Noah for the first time and watched how he interacted with me and observed his behavior and his overall appearance. This helped her conclude that his constitutional remedy may be Pulsatilla. I researched Pulsatilla last night and WOW... it really does fit Noah! I picked out about 30 different characteristics that are true of Noah. So, I am excited to start this journey of CEASE therapy and classical homeopathy. We will begin in a few weeks. The plan is to do CEASE therapy on Tuesday/Thursday and then give the constitutional remedy on Saturdays.

And as always, we are trusting the Lord to lead us to the right interventions for Noah. We are having faith that He will take care of our little boy. We still have our emotional moments but we are maintaining much better than just a few months ago.