Ronan - younger by 2 minutes but every bit the BIG brother. He outweighs Robert by a good 11-12 pounds. Pretty good considering he was the twin that had feeding issues and had surgery at 7 weeks old to correct Pyloric Stenosis. We thought for sure that would set him back. He was readmitted to the hospital a day after discharge from surgery for a staph infection. Again, we thought that would set him back. Nope, he just came back stronger than ever.
Ronan has been getting all of the same therapies as Robert except seeing a dietician and food therapy with Carrie our Speech Pathologist. He has come a long way since Early Intervention started in August of 2012. It's hard to believe we had our EI exit interview yesterday and the twins will start preschool on their 3rd birthday - 1/15/2014. Wow is all I can say.
Ronan has recently been diagnosed with OCD and PPD.He obsesses about cleaning, lining up toys and other objects and keeping his stuff neat and tidy. He also likes to make sure all gates and doors are closed, all lights are on and keeping all of our cleaning tools out in the open where he can see them. I made the crazy mistake of changing out their pillowcases to different ones. Usually, I change them by putting on the exact same color I've always used for them...light green for Ronan and light blue for Robert. That did NOT go over well. Ronan insisted his dark green pillow case was Roberts and Robert wanted nothing to do with the lovely blue and black polka dot pillow case I covered his pillow in. SO, on went old faithful - lt blue for Robert and lt green for Ronan. Ronan has recently graduated to a toddler bed. Now he climbs out of bed, hops the baby gate and wanders around the house turning on every single light. Eventually he falls asleep but not until at least midnight or 1:00am. It's crazy that he doesn't meet enough of the criteria for an Autism diagnosis but displays so many Autistic behaviors. Don't get me wrong, I'm thankful that he doesn't have the diagnosis...one twin on the spectrum is about all I can handle.
Those of you that follow our facebook page www.facebook.com/AutismThroughAMommasEyes
already know that Ronan went pee on the big potty last night. Huge accomplishment! We couldn't be any prouder. He was so super excited it was awesome! We bought a potty chair quite some time ago but other than sitting on it for what seemed like ages, he never went potty on it. Last night was completely out of the blue and quite amazing!
Well, today is our last therapy sesssion with our Developmental Therapist, Carrie Reibe. It's so bitter sweet to 'graduate' from EI. These therapists have been in our lives and home for nearly 2 years and now we won't see them again with the exception of our Speech Pathologist Carrie McCarthy. We absolutely love her! I couldn't be happier that she owns her own business and bills insurance so our boys can still receive private Speech Therapy through her. Our DT Carrie lives a couple of blocks away so I have a feeling we will still see her from time to time too.
Well, time to get the boys ready for DT. Have a great weekend everyone~
Friday, January 10, 2014
Sunday, January 5, 2014
Oh Robert!
When did we first notice things about Robert that were different? When he was an infant. Looking back on those early hours, days, weeks and months all of the signs were there. What have we done differently since the diagnosis? Not much! We did a dairy free diet after he had his adenoids removed and ear tubes put in in March 2013 but that was under the recommendation of his ENT. Dairy creates more mucous and he wanted us to eliminate it for a few weeks. What therapies does Robert receive? In the early months (at about 5 months adjusted) he had physical therapy. That lasted until he walked at 13 months old. Robert really wanted to walk before crawling. He army crawled until 12 months and 3 weeks, crawled on hands and knees for 1 week and started walking. His physical therapist, Amy, really wanted him to crawl correctly before walking so we tried everything to get his belly off the ground. We started Early Intervention in August of 2012. At that point it was recommended that Robert receive Occupational Therapy twice a week, Developmental Therapy once a week and Speech Therapy once a week. We still do all of those therapies but we added an additional day of Speech and a dietician. So, he currently does some type of therapy 5 times per week. The twins turn 3 on January 15th and that's when they will 'age out' of early intervention and school will take over. We have our first IEP meeting with their preschool on January 8th. I'm excited and nervous for them to start preschool. I'm more concerned for Robert.
What does Robert do that 'screams' Autism? Unless you witness a meltdown you would probably just think he's a shy, quiet kid. He doesn't flap or toe walk. He doesn't rock. He does wave objects passed his face to look at them out of the corners of his eyes and he hums while he's doing it. Some of his favorite items to do that with are NAPKINS! Cheapest thing ever. They have to be crumpled just so. He's also a huge fan of sticks! Is Robert verbal? Yes, to an extent. He has several single words and a few multi-word phrases. He talks very quietly and we often aren't sure what he's saying. The other day while he was sitting on my lap he was saying something that I didn't understand. After listening to him, I heard the same thing on the TV. He was saying "Don't go away. There's more to come here on Sprout." That is called echolalia. Echoing phrases he hears on TV. Some echo other people. Robert doesn't line stuff up and he doesn't have OCD. < that's where Ronan comes in. (tomorrow will be all about Ronan) Robert has a weighted compression vest and we also have a trampoline and a sensory swing that hangs in their bedroom. I would love to get him a weighted blanket but they are pretty darn expensive and not covered by insurance.
Robert is a cuddly kid who loves his blankie, sitting in the recliner with mom and watching the Sprout Channel. He's a big fan of Elmo, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Tree Fu Tom, Jake and the Neverland Pirates and most recently, Power Rangers. Robert taught himself the alphabet at 2 years old, numbers to 20 and also knows about 10 states on the map. I will ask where's Illinois and he will point to it. Where's California? He will point to it. He also will point to states he doesn't know so I will tell him what it is. After a few times doing that, he memorizes that state. Robert loves books and storytime. He will pick a book and bring it to Dad to read. Sometimes its the same book over and over and my husband will tell him to pick another book and he will. Robert is a very picky eater. He used to eat pasta and garlic bread then it dropped to just the garlic bread now he doesn't eat either. He also used to eat cheese and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Now it's no cheese at all and just jelly sandwiches. Currently his list of foods is very short. He does food therapy with our speech therapist Carrie on Thursday's. Foods: Honey Bunches of Oats cereal (sometimes with milk, sometimes without), jelly sandwiches, McDonalds chicken McNuggets or Tyson chicken nuggets only - not chicken tenders, dinosaur shaped nuggets or any other brand - Plum Organics fruit and veggie shreds, Welchs fruit snacks (no other brand), GREEN apples (not red or yellow), GREEN grapes, white grape juice, chocolate milk (which I supplement with a half a bottle of Pediasure), Fish Crackers, CheezIts, Popcorn (but he can't have much or he gets diaper rash), chicken flavored Rice-A-Roni (no other rice - not white, not chicken fried rice - just Rice-A-Roni) and BACON. Bacon is the only protein he gets other than chicken nuggets. He's pretty small - only 26 pounds and his twin is teetering on 38 pounds. He used to eat hot dogs and steak and pork chops and mac and cheese and all that is a NO now.
Robert has the cutest little voice. He talks very softly unless he's having a meltdown - then his screams are ear piercing. Some of my favorite words and phrases he says are: you betcha, sweet dreams, No hit (he constantly tells Ronan no hit while he's in fact hitting Ronan. I know I shouldn't laugh, but it's kind of funny), stop that, oh Gilbert (our cats name is Diamond but Callious cats name is Gilbert so our cat is now Gilbert), Oh Rosy (aka Roni aka Ronan), IDEA he says idea a lot when he wants something and my personal favorite HELP. Of course that wasn't really a favorite when we were sitting the car with the windows down on a beautiful summer day waiting for my oldest son Jadin to get out of the Ortho office. Robert screamed Help repeatedly because he wanted out of car and there were a gazillion people walking by. I'm thankful no one came to his 'rescue'! The other day he wanted a lollipop and he already had some so I said no. He then said Idea - lollipop! Yep, he got another lollipop. There is also a difference between a lollipop and a sucker. A lollipop is a SafT brand sucker while a sucker is a Dum Dum brand sucker. He does not like any other kind.
He loves baths and water. He hates haircuts and having his nails cut. He hates the sound of the blender, blow dryer and the KitchenAid mixer. He loves to watch the vacuum though. When it's time for bed or he's tired, he tells us night night - he's ready for bed. He likes his sleep! Most ASD kids do not sleep. We are fortunate. He hates diaper changes and makes zero attempts to potty train.
That's it for now. I hope I've summed up Robert for you all. Have a great day!!
What does Robert do that 'screams' Autism? Unless you witness a meltdown you would probably just think he's a shy, quiet kid. He doesn't flap or toe walk. He doesn't rock. He does wave objects passed his face to look at them out of the corners of his eyes and he hums while he's doing it. Some of his favorite items to do that with are NAPKINS! Cheapest thing ever. They have to be crumpled just so. He's also a huge fan of sticks! Is Robert verbal? Yes, to an extent. He has several single words and a few multi-word phrases. He talks very quietly and we often aren't sure what he's saying. The other day while he was sitting on my lap he was saying something that I didn't understand. After listening to him, I heard the same thing on the TV. He was saying "Don't go away. There's more to come here on Sprout." That is called echolalia. Echoing phrases he hears on TV. Some echo other people. Robert doesn't line stuff up and he doesn't have OCD. < that's where Ronan comes in. (tomorrow will be all about Ronan) Robert has a weighted compression vest and we also have a trampoline and a sensory swing that hangs in their bedroom. I would love to get him a weighted blanket but they are pretty darn expensive and not covered by insurance.
Robert is a cuddly kid who loves his blankie, sitting in the recliner with mom and watching the Sprout Channel. He's a big fan of Elmo, Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Tree Fu Tom, Jake and the Neverland Pirates and most recently, Power Rangers. Robert taught himself the alphabet at 2 years old, numbers to 20 and also knows about 10 states on the map. I will ask where's Illinois and he will point to it. Where's California? He will point to it. He also will point to states he doesn't know so I will tell him what it is. After a few times doing that, he memorizes that state. Robert loves books and storytime. He will pick a book and bring it to Dad to read. Sometimes its the same book over and over and my husband will tell him to pick another book and he will. Robert is a very picky eater. He used to eat pasta and garlic bread then it dropped to just the garlic bread now he doesn't eat either. He also used to eat cheese and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Now it's no cheese at all and just jelly sandwiches. Currently his list of foods is very short. He does food therapy with our speech therapist Carrie on Thursday's. Foods: Honey Bunches of Oats cereal (sometimes with milk, sometimes without), jelly sandwiches, McDonalds chicken McNuggets or Tyson chicken nuggets only - not chicken tenders, dinosaur shaped nuggets or any other brand - Plum Organics fruit and veggie shreds, Welchs fruit snacks (no other brand), GREEN apples (not red or yellow), GREEN grapes, white grape juice, chocolate milk (which I supplement with a half a bottle of Pediasure), Fish Crackers, CheezIts, Popcorn (but he can't have much or he gets diaper rash), chicken flavored Rice-A-Roni (no other rice - not white, not chicken fried rice - just Rice-A-Roni) and BACON. Bacon is the only protein he gets other than chicken nuggets. He's pretty small - only 26 pounds and his twin is teetering on 38 pounds. He used to eat hot dogs and steak and pork chops and mac and cheese and all that is a NO now.
Robert has the cutest little voice. He talks very softly unless he's having a meltdown - then his screams are ear piercing. Some of my favorite words and phrases he says are: you betcha, sweet dreams, No hit (he constantly tells Ronan no hit while he's in fact hitting Ronan. I know I shouldn't laugh, but it's kind of funny), stop that, oh Gilbert (our cats name is Diamond but Callious cats name is Gilbert so our cat is now Gilbert), Oh Rosy (aka Roni aka Ronan), IDEA he says idea a lot when he wants something and my personal favorite HELP. Of course that wasn't really a favorite when we were sitting the car with the windows down on a beautiful summer day waiting for my oldest son Jadin to get out of the Ortho office. Robert screamed Help repeatedly because he wanted out of car and there were a gazillion people walking by. I'm thankful no one came to his 'rescue'! The other day he wanted a lollipop and he already had some so I said no. He then said Idea - lollipop! Yep, he got another lollipop. There is also a difference between a lollipop and a sucker. A lollipop is a SafT brand sucker while a sucker is a Dum Dum brand sucker. He does not like any other kind.
He loves baths and water. He hates haircuts and having his nails cut. He hates the sound of the blender, blow dryer and the KitchenAid mixer. He loves to watch the vacuum though. When it's time for bed or he's tired, he tells us night night - he's ready for bed. He likes his sleep! Most ASD kids do not sleep. We are fortunate. He hates diaper changes and makes zero attempts to potty train.
That's it for now. I hope I've summed up Robert for you all. Have a great day!!
Friday, January 3, 2014
A Day In The Life
Good Morning!
I've been asked by many people if I had a blog. I was honestly working on one but I got caught up in the every day life of Autism and twins so I finally did it! Just taking a guess here but I don't think I will be a daily blogger. These things take time and time is something I don't have much of. I think my other Autism Momma's and Dads will agree. My very first blog is going to be about...yep...Autism. Haha - go figure. I am not an Autism expert and I'm not claiming to be. I am however, an expert mom and I am my kids biggest advocate. :)
I don't know what the stats are for twins being diagnosed or the likelihood that one will have an ASD diagnosis and one will not. What I do know is my twins definitely each have symptoms but only one was diagnosed. Robert was diagnosed not once but twice exactly 6 months apart. Ronan, we were told, has OCD and PPD (phonetical processing disorder). It's weird because most ASD kids don't sleep, line up toys and obsess about things.... Robert doesn't do any of that - Ronan does! I guess that's where the OCD comes in. From what our Developmental Pediatrician told me, it's quite common for a twin of someone diagnosed with ASD to be diagnosed with OCD. All of the research I have done on Autism never stated that. Robert waves his hands and objects next to the side of his face and looks at them out of the corner of his eyes. He also taught himself the alphabet at 2 years old and could recognize and identify every single letter. Every letter is D for Ronan....
Our typical day begins with Robert sleeping until who knows when and Ronan waking up at the crack of dawn after falling asleep in the wee hours of the morning. Then we have an incessant chatter of Go Go Power Rangers all day from Ronan with Robert rolling cars on the table to watch the tires spin......
Looking back on their baby months, I can say that all of the signs were there. No it wasn't vaccines or any other wives tales you may have heard. Both boys got the exact same vaccines at the exact same times and they were the exact same batches. Get that thought out of your head. I'm not going to give theories on why Autism has become an epidemic. I do believe that there are a vast majority of adults living among us who haven't been diagnosed.
So, there it is! My very first blog. I hope you all enjoyed it. I will try to post one every week but for this first weekend, I am going to do one per day. Tomorrows will be all about Robert followed by all about Ronan on Sunday. Have a great weekend! You can follow us on Facebook at the following address -
www.facebook.com/AutismThroughAMommasEyes
I've been asked by many people if I had a blog. I was honestly working on one but I got caught up in the every day life of Autism and twins so I finally did it! Just taking a guess here but I don't think I will be a daily blogger. These things take time and time is something I don't have much of. I think my other Autism Momma's and Dads will agree. My very first blog is going to be about...yep...Autism. Haha - go figure. I am not an Autism expert and I'm not claiming to be. I am however, an expert mom and I am my kids biggest advocate. :)
I don't know what the stats are for twins being diagnosed or the likelihood that one will have an ASD diagnosis and one will not. What I do know is my twins definitely each have symptoms but only one was diagnosed. Robert was diagnosed not once but twice exactly 6 months apart. Ronan, we were told, has OCD and PPD (phonetical processing disorder). It's weird because most ASD kids don't sleep, line up toys and obsess about things.... Robert doesn't do any of that - Ronan does! I guess that's where the OCD comes in. From what our Developmental Pediatrician told me, it's quite common for a twin of someone diagnosed with ASD to be diagnosed with OCD. All of the research I have done on Autism never stated that. Robert waves his hands and objects next to the side of his face and looks at them out of the corner of his eyes. He also taught himself the alphabet at 2 years old and could recognize and identify every single letter. Every letter is D for Ronan....
Our typical day begins with Robert sleeping until who knows when and Ronan waking up at the crack of dawn after falling asleep in the wee hours of the morning. Then we have an incessant chatter of Go Go Power Rangers all day from Ronan with Robert rolling cars on the table to watch the tires spin......
Looking back on their baby months, I can say that all of the signs were there. No it wasn't vaccines or any other wives tales you may have heard. Both boys got the exact same vaccines at the exact same times and they were the exact same batches. Get that thought out of your head. I'm not going to give theories on why Autism has become an epidemic. I do believe that there are a vast majority of adults living among us who haven't been diagnosed.
So, there it is! My very first blog. I hope you all enjoyed it. I will try to post one every week but for this first weekend, I am going to do one per day. Tomorrows will be all about Robert followed by all about Ronan on Sunday. Have a great weekend! You can follow us on Facebook at the following address -
www.facebook.com/AutismThroughAMommasEyes
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