Here is Jamil's current word journal...
Mama
Dada
Nana
Papa
Auntie
Amo Ali
Arya
Molly
Lleyton
Laura
Jam Jam
Linda
Momo
Talk
OT
Swing
Up
Down
Open
All Done
More
Again
Please
Thank you
Milk
Cracker
Cookie
Apple
Banana
Watermelon
Noodles
Yogurt
Grapes
Cheese
Juice
Drink
Pour
Water
Elmo
Ernie
Big Bird
Bert
Oscar
Eyore
Mickey
Minnie
Donald Duck
Daisy
Pete
Goofy
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Purple
Pink
Brown
Grey
Black
White
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Eighteen
Draw
Color
Ball
Hi
Bye
Good
Morning
Car
Tree
Dog
Cow
Ready
Go
Me
Rainbow
Key
Ice
This
See This
That
Dinosaur
Crash
Me
Happy
Sad
Angry
Hippo
Uh oh
Help
Head
Ears
Eyes
Mouth
Nose
Fish
All done
Clean up
Spin
My Turn
Dinosaur
Bike
Hat
Feet
On
Off
shoes
Crab
Sea horse
Turtle
also signs he uses but can't/wont say the word
Shake
Movie
Shirt
Elephant
horse
hurt
sleep
(all the animals actually)
(spontaneous Phrases) He can pretty much pair any two words together you ask him to now
See This
Do It
I did it
Mama Do
Dada Do
Red Car
(Any color paired with the word car)
Happy Hippo
My Turn
Mama Car
Dada Car
Help me
Clean up
All done
Ball Crash
Mama Dada Crash
shoes off
See This See this (points to self then item he wants)
Friday, July 24, 2009
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
Jamil is using two words together
Like Mama Car, Mama Do, Dada Do, Red Car, Blue Car...
Just started working on this last week in speech and then in the last week he started being able to put any two familiar words together when asked those are examples of ones he's starting to do on his own
Next we start to work on Pronouns.
Just started working on this last week in speech and then in the last week he started being able to put any two familiar words together when asked those are examples of ones he's starting to do on his own
Next we start to work on Pronouns.
Went to see the DAN doctor
We went to see the DAN Doctor and now it's a waiting game, waiting for the test results. We have had 2 sets of labs taken so far, and we have to go back for 2 more. Something we are not looking forward to, The first trip went well, but the second trip was terrible, as Jamil is very strong and they lady couldn't hold his arm still enough. So we had to try twice. All the results are back from the first test and 2 are back from the second (waiting for 3 more) All are normal so far. We will probably go back again on Friday. (we have to wait a week in between) and then again next Friday. I have a close family friend who is going to help me look through all the different supplements (he recommended certain ones and we were thinking it would be easy to order the ones he suggested, but then we looked and there are tons of each kind. Everything has to be so complicated.
We are looking into
We are looking into
Glutathione
SuperNuthera
B-6/Magnesium
Omega 3
Selenium
Folic Acid
If anybody has a recommendation of a good tasting or easy to dispense kind for a toddler advice would be appreciated...
I'm also looking into the Yeast/Autism Therory.. Any input on that would be appreciated too...
Sunday, July 5, 2009
Some recent videos!
Smary pants
Singing the Rainbow song
Being fussy about the camera
playing on the ipod touch
Singing the Rainbow song
Being fussy about the camera
playing on the ipod touch
Friday, July 3, 2009
Jamil's sensory diet
Sensory Diet
A sensory diet is a strategy that consists of a carefully planned practical program of specific sensory activities that is scheduled according to each child's individual needs. Like a diet designed to meet an individual's nutritional needs, a sensory diet consists of specific elements designed to meet the child's sensory integration needs. A sensory diet may aid in maintaining an appropriate level of arousal to stay focused and organized throughout the day.
• Have Jamil participate in a sensory break for 15-20 minutes every hour to hour and a half. Try to combine proprioceptive, vestibular and tactile input within these breaks. Ideally begin and end the break with a calming activity such as deep pressure squishes or swinging.
• Approximately halfway between the longer sensory breaks provide brief periods of input. Primarily focus on calming activities like joint compressions, deep pressure squishes, therapy ball bounces, jumping etc.
Below are a variety of activities for each sensory system.
Heavy Work/Proprioceptive Activities
*Heavy work activities are also useful for working on postural control and upper body strengthening.
1. Crashing into pillows or bean bag chairs
2. Bouncing on a therapy ball and crashing into pillows or bean bag chairs
3. Having a pillow fight
4. Chores (vacuuming, carrying/pushing laundry/groceries/ books, washing the table/windows)
5. Animal walks (crab walks, frog jumps, log rolls, commando crawls, bear walks, bunny hops)
6. Wheelbarrow walks either holding his feet or over a therapy ball
7. Tug-O-War
8. Making a fort and then sitting inside to block out sensory input
9. Rolling in a blanket and then squishing
10. Walking around the room with a heavy backpack of toys or carrying a heavy box
11. Lying on his stomach with blankets on top for pressure and doing a puzzle or coloring
12. Crawling through a fabric tunnel
13. Any pushing or pulling activities
14. Jumping on a trampoline, pillows, or a mattress (Provide deep pressure to his shoulders for added input or wear a weighted vest)
15. Climbing on playground equipment
16. Deep pressure message or joint compressions (apply pressure to each joint)
17. Squeezing a stress ball
18. Putting something weighted such as sand/rice in socks across his shoulders
Vestibular/Movement Activities
1. Walking/hopping up and down stairs
2. Riding a bike
3. Jumping an a mini trampoline and then crashing
4. Hippity-Hop
5. Roll down a hill or ramp
6. Spinning in an office chair
7. Sit and spin
8. Swinging on a swing
9. Spinning around with an adult
10. Bouncing up and down on a therapy ball
11. Doing forward rolls
*The best way to achieve a calming effect is to combine vestibular and proprioceptive activities. For example: Have Jamil bounce on a therapy ball or trampoline (vestibular input) while providing deep pressure to his shoulders or having him wear a weighted vest (heavy work/proprioceptive input).
Tactile Activities
1. Sand box (wet or dry)
2. Fill a storage container with rice or beans to play in
3. Shaving cream or foam soap- may paint onto his body and extremities in the bath or shower- use a paint brush for added texture.
4. Play-dough
5. Finger painting
6. Cooked spaghetti
7. Face painting
8. Use glitter glue
9. Rub different fabrics on skin
10. Put different textured fabrics into a tunnel and crawl through.
11. Use a loofah, body brush or washcloth all over his body in the bath or shower.
12. Roll up in a towel, blanket, or fabric of different textures.
13. Water play
Below is an example of a sensory diet.
* Remember all of the above suggested activities may or may not have the desired affect on your child depending on the child’s sensory system that day, the time of day, and the environment. It is essential to consult with an Occupational Therapist regularly and monitor how a particular activity is affecting your child’s arousal level, and adjust the activity accordingly.
Sensory Diet
9:00- 10:00
• Participate in a sensory or structured activity such as music therapy, occupational therapy, gymnastics etc. On days that Jamil does not have anything planned take a longer sensory session and do an obstacle course or swing for a longer period of time than you would during the other sensory breaks.
11:00 – 11:20
• Swing in cuddle swing while crashing into a pillow, make sure to switch directions if possible for more intensity, spin, circles, linear etc. (10 minutes)
• Obstacle course – Crawl through tunnel filled with different textured blankets and towels, wheelbarrow walks across the room, run and crash into bean bag chairs, provide deep pressure squishes with pillows (10 minutes)
12:00
• Have Jamil lay on his tummy and roll the ball over his back for deep pressure input (2 minutes)
12:40 – 1:00
• Swing in a prone position while propelling self with arms (10 minutes). If he can’t stay in prone this whole time have him sit up and continue swinging
• Jumping on trampoline
• Have Jamil propel himself with his arms on a skateboard
• Play with play-doh at the table – provide intermittent deep pressure input to his hands to help him tolerate the input
• Deep pressure squishes in bean bags
1:40
• Provide deep pressure squishes and joint compressions (2 minutes)
2:30 -2:50
• Swing on platform swing ( 5 minutes)
• Lay on tummy over therapy ball and rock back and forth pushing off with hands
• Sit in bean or rice bin. Sprinkle media on his arms or legs and provide intermittent deep pressure input to his entire body while in the bin. (10 minutes)
• Bounce on therapy ball and crash into bean bag chairs. Provide frequent deep pressure squishes with bean bag chairs.
3:30
• Lay on tummy and complete a puzzle
This is just an example of a sensory diet. Make sure that you make the schedule work for you. Also, pay close attention to Jamil because he may be able to show you what he is needing at the time. For example, during one of his breaks he may just need to swing for the entire 20 minutes. Make sure that these sensory breaks are not overwhelming him. If he needs to skip and sensory break for some reason that is OK. Just try some things out for the next week and we can discuss what is working and not working. It will be a process and you may not see drastic changes immediately. Most important have fun with it and make sure that Jamil is having fun with it as well. The more motivated jamil is to participate, the more progress you will see.
A sensory diet is a strategy that consists of a carefully planned practical program of specific sensory activities that is scheduled according to each child's individual needs. Like a diet designed to meet an individual's nutritional needs, a sensory diet consists of specific elements designed to meet the child's sensory integration needs. A sensory diet may aid in maintaining an appropriate level of arousal to stay focused and organized throughout the day.
• Have Jamil participate in a sensory break for 15-20 minutes every hour to hour and a half. Try to combine proprioceptive, vestibular and tactile input within these breaks. Ideally begin and end the break with a calming activity such as deep pressure squishes or swinging.
• Approximately halfway between the longer sensory breaks provide brief periods of input. Primarily focus on calming activities like joint compressions, deep pressure squishes, therapy ball bounces, jumping etc.
Below are a variety of activities for each sensory system.
Heavy Work/Proprioceptive Activities
*Heavy work activities are also useful for working on postural control and upper body strengthening.
1. Crashing into pillows or bean bag chairs
2. Bouncing on a therapy ball and crashing into pillows or bean bag chairs
3. Having a pillow fight
4. Chores (vacuuming, carrying/pushing laundry/groceries/ books, washing the table/windows)
5. Animal walks (crab walks, frog jumps, log rolls, commando crawls, bear walks, bunny hops)
6. Wheelbarrow walks either holding his feet or over a therapy ball
7. Tug-O-War
8. Making a fort and then sitting inside to block out sensory input
9. Rolling in a blanket and then squishing
10. Walking around the room with a heavy backpack of toys or carrying a heavy box
11. Lying on his stomach with blankets on top for pressure and doing a puzzle or coloring
12. Crawling through a fabric tunnel
13. Any pushing or pulling activities
14. Jumping on a trampoline, pillows, or a mattress (Provide deep pressure to his shoulders for added input or wear a weighted vest)
15. Climbing on playground equipment
16. Deep pressure message or joint compressions (apply pressure to each joint)
17. Squeezing a stress ball
18. Putting something weighted such as sand/rice in socks across his shoulders
Vestibular/Movement Activities
1. Walking/hopping up and down stairs
2. Riding a bike
3. Jumping an a mini trampoline and then crashing
4. Hippity-Hop
5. Roll down a hill or ramp
6. Spinning in an office chair
7. Sit and spin
8. Swinging on a swing
9. Spinning around with an adult
10. Bouncing up and down on a therapy ball
11. Doing forward rolls
*The best way to achieve a calming effect is to combine vestibular and proprioceptive activities. For example: Have Jamil bounce on a therapy ball or trampoline (vestibular input) while providing deep pressure to his shoulders or having him wear a weighted vest (heavy work/proprioceptive input).
Tactile Activities
1. Sand box (wet or dry)
2. Fill a storage container with rice or beans to play in
3. Shaving cream or foam soap- may paint onto his body and extremities in the bath or shower- use a paint brush for added texture.
4. Play-dough
5. Finger painting
6. Cooked spaghetti
7. Face painting
8. Use glitter glue
9. Rub different fabrics on skin
10. Put different textured fabrics into a tunnel and crawl through.
11. Use a loofah, body brush or washcloth all over his body in the bath or shower.
12. Roll up in a towel, blanket, or fabric of different textures.
13. Water play
Below is an example of a sensory diet.
* Remember all of the above suggested activities may or may not have the desired affect on your child depending on the child’s sensory system that day, the time of day, and the environment. It is essential to consult with an Occupational Therapist regularly and monitor how a particular activity is affecting your child’s arousal level, and adjust the activity accordingly.
Sensory Diet
9:00- 10:00
• Participate in a sensory or structured activity such as music therapy, occupational therapy, gymnastics etc. On days that Jamil does not have anything planned take a longer sensory session and do an obstacle course or swing for a longer period of time than you would during the other sensory breaks.
11:00 – 11:20
• Swing in cuddle swing while crashing into a pillow, make sure to switch directions if possible for more intensity, spin, circles, linear etc. (10 minutes)
• Obstacle course – Crawl through tunnel filled with different textured blankets and towels, wheelbarrow walks across the room, run and crash into bean bag chairs, provide deep pressure squishes with pillows (10 minutes)
12:00
• Have Jamil lay on his tummy and roll the ball over his back for deep pressure input (2 minutes)
12:40 – 1:00
• Swing in a prone position while propelling self with arms (10 minutes). If he can’t stay in prone this whole time have him sit up and continue swinging
• Jumping on trampoline
• Have Jamil propel himself with his arms on a skateboard
• Play with play-doh at the table – provide intermittent deep pressure input to his hands to help him tolerate the input
• Deep pressure squishes in bean bags
1:40
• Provide deep pressure squishes and joint compressions (2 minutes)
2:30 -2:50
• Swing on platform swing ( 5 minutes)
• Lay on tummy over therapy ball and rock back and forth pushing off with hands
• Sit in bean or rice bin. Sprinkle media on his arms or legs and provide intermittent deep pressure input to his entire body while in the bin. (10 minutes)
• Bounce on therapy ball and crash into bean bag chairs. Provide frequent deep pressure squishes with bean bag chairs.
3:30
• Lay on tummy and complete a puzzle
This is just an example of a sensory diet. Make sure that you make the schedule work for you. Also, pay close attention to Jamil because he may be able to show you what he is needing at the time. For example, during one of his breaks he may just need to swing for the entire 20 minutes. Make sure that these sensory breaks are not overwhelming him. If he needs to skip and sensory break for some reason that is OK. Just try some things out for the next week and we can discuss what is working and not working. It will be a process and you may not see drastic changes immediately. Most important have fun with it and make sure that Jamil is having fun with it as well. The more motivated jamil is to participate, the more progress you will see.
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Academic skills
Jamil is ahead in almost all areas . His cognitive ability is well above 3 years old. On the assessment charts he has very few missing skills. (His ball play skills are a bit behind, he isn't ahead with potty training cues, although none of those were even on the chart until 24 months so we aren't behind either.
He knows all 26 letters, and is starting to sing his abc's. He will either sing along with me, or can do every other letter if I stop and wait. He can pair QRSTUVWXYZ by himself. If he is looking at the alphabet then he can sing the whole thing. He can also take a pile of letters and put them in alphabetical order. He can spell his name (can't write it) but can pick his name out from the alphabet. He knows both upper and lower case letters.
He knows his numbers up to 10, and can count 10 items if they are in a straight line. He can also arrange his numbers in order 1-10.
He knows all his colors, and will spontaneously point out colors, and enjoys playing I Spy and finding something that is a certain color.
He LOVES puzzles and can do any single insert puzzle with ease, he is almost moving on to 24 piece puzzles, but needs some help because he will sit on top of it while doing it causing it to fall apart.
He knows most the body parts, and can point them out in a picture or on an animal.
He loves to sing a few different songs, and knows the hand gestures/movements to any song I know the words to, it only takes a few times showing him before he can memorize a new song.
He enjoys electronic spelling and puzzle games, and can figure out any novel puzzle.
He is best with start finish activities, but also enjoys playing with cars, animals, action figures. He will have the animals eat, or growl at the people, and he will have the people give him high five, have them play his favorite crashing game (crashing/landing on a pillow) Or put them to sleep.
He also knows most shapes. Octagon, Hexagon, Square, Circle, Star, Diamond, Cresent, Semi Circle, Rectangle, Oval, Star, Heart.
He can also find a specific color and shape or number, like if you asked for a red A vs a Blue A, or a Yellow star etc...
He knows all 26 letters, and is starting to sing his abc's. He will either sing along with me, or can do every other letter if I stop and wait. He can pair QRSTUVWXYZ by himself. If he is looking at the alphabet then he can sing the whole thing. He can also take a pile of letters and put them in alphabetical order. He can spell his name (can't write it) but can pick his name out from the alphabet. He knows both upper and lower case letters.
He knows his numbers up to 10, and can count 10 items if they are in a straight line. He can also arrange his numbers in order 1-10.
He knows all his colors, and will spontaneously point out colors, and enjoys playing I Spy and finding something that is a certain color.
He LOVES puzzles and can do any single insert puzzle with ease, he is almost moving on to 24 piece puzzles, but needs some help because he will sit on top of it while doing it causing it to fall apart.
He knows most the body parts, and can point them out in a picture or on an animal.
He loves to sing a few different songs, and knows the hand gestures/movements to any song I know the words to, it only takes a few times showing him before he can memorize a new song.
He enjoys electronic spelling and puzzle games, and can figure out any novel puzzle.
He is best with start finish activities, but also enjoys playing with cars, animals, action figures. He will have the animals eat, or growl at the people, and he will have the people give him high five, have them play his favorite crashing game (crashing/landing on a pillow) Or put them to sleep.
He also knows most shapes. Octagon, Hexagon, Square, Circle, Star, Diamond, Cresent, Semi Circle, Rectangle, Oval, Star, Heart.
He can also find a specific color and shape or number, like if you asked for a red A vs a Blue A, or a Yellow star etc...
Our Progress thus far
We should be having some meetings to see where Jamil is according to the professionals. I believe the first one is in the beginning of August, which will be 6 months since we started speech. So I will give a more detailed post at that time.
We started Speech and Music at 17 months exactly. At that time Jamil could babble Dada and Nana, and would babble a bit in between, but had no meaningful words. He had roughly 60 signs, and could repeat them back to me, or if given a choice he could sign back, but would ONLY initiate a request for Milk or Water via sign. He never told us he was hungry, tired or cold, he also had not learned to point at all, despite the fact that we had been working on these goals at home for months. His receptive knowledge was testing strongest at 21-28 months. He knew the hand gestures to at least 10 songs, and could label pictures (via sign) In a book, or point to at least 50 pictures in a book (only if he could touch them)
The first milestone was reached at Music, he learned to blow in a whistle. After only one week of speech he said Up at home, and this was his first word at 17 months old. He then started requesting for Dada and meaning it. (pairing the word with the sign)
Now at 21 months (So only 4 months later) He can say MANY words and just this week has been able to repeat 2 words together. He learned to point to things when requested at 19 months, and started spontaneously pointing to things to label at 20 months! Now he is pointing to request for things pared with his version of That/That (Dee) He is also spontaneously requesting for food and toy items that are out of sight. (this is a HUGE accomplishment) He is very persistent and specific of what he wants too!
His word bank consists of
Some of these he only consistantly repeats, or will lable if asked and other's he uses spontaniously, I have 68 listed, and I did not count letters or animal sounds. (He knows all 26 letters expressivly and uses them spontaniously) I put the ones he uses spontaniously in bold.
(not all words are clear, but a consistant approximation) According to Google, at 2 a child should have rougly 50 words they use spontaniously, and should be pairing short 2 words sentences. (ex Me down, Me up, More please) He is at 40 spontanious words!
Mama (WOO HOO)
Milk
Daddy
Nana
Papa
Auntie
Amo Ali
Arya
Momo
Sugar
Laura
Linda
Ot
Talk
Swing
Up
Down
Open
All done
More
again
water
Cracker
cookie
Elmo
Ernie
Mickey
Donald
Goofy
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Purple
Pink (just the K sound)
White (just the t sound)
Brown
Black (also just the k sound)
one
two
Three
Four
Five
eight
nine
ten
(tries to say 6/7 but not close at all just an uh sound)
Color
juice
Yogurt
Please
cheese
Ball
Hi
Bye
Good
Morning
water
Car
Apple
tree
Dog
Cow
Go
me
Rainbow
Key
Ice
This/That (can't tell which is is going for)
He knows the sounds for
Cow
Dog
Cat
Horse
Goat
Sheep
Tiger
Lion
Train
He will also make up any if he does not know them.
His social deficets are the biggest. He is very akward when approached, and has a hard time with greetings, His reaction was very extreme (he would scream, and pull away when someone (even family) would say hi or approach him. He is getting much better with this, and will say Hi and Bye most times, but is still akward when someone gets to close to him. I belive this is a sensory issue and not knowing how someone will sound or how it will feel when he is touched. This is an area we will continue to work on.
We started Speech and Music at 17 months exactly. At that time Jamil could babble Dada and Nana, and would babble a bit in between, but had no meaningful words. He had roughly 60 signs, and could repeat them back to me, or if given a choice he could sign back, but would ONLY initiate a request for Milk or Water via sign. He never told us he was hungry, tired or cold, he also had not learned to point at all, despite the fact that we had been working on these goals at home for months. His receptive knowledge was testing strongest at 21-28 months. He knew the hand gestures to at least 10 songs, and could label pictures (via sign) In a book, or point to at least 50 pictures in a book (only if he could touch them)
The first milestone was reached at Music, he learned to blow in a whistle. After only one week of speech he said Up at home, and this was his first word at 17 months old. He then started requesting for Dada and meaning it. (pairing the word with the sign)
Now at 21 months (So only 4 months later) He can say MANY words and just this week has been able to repeat 2 words together. He learned to point to things when requested at 19 months, and started spontaneously pointing to things to label at 20 months! Now he is pointing to request for things pared with his version of That/That (Dee) He is also spontaneously requesting for food and toy items that are out of sight. (this is a HUGE accomplishment) He is very persistent and specific of what he wants too!
His word bank consists of
Some of these he only consistantly repeats, or will lable if asked and other's he uses spontaniously, I have 68 listed, and I did not count letters or animal sounds. (He knows all 26 letters expressivly and uses them spontaniously) I put the ones he uses spontaniously in bold.
(not all words are clear, but a consistant approximation) According to Google, at 2 a child should have rougly 50 words they use spontaniously, and should be pairing short 2 words sentences. (ex Me down, Me up, More please) He is at 40 spontanious words!
Mama (WOO HOO)
Milk
Daddy
Nana
Papa
Auntie
Amo Ali
Arya
Momo
Sugar
Laura
Linda
Ot
Talk
Swing
Up
Down
Open
All done
More
again
water
Cracker
cookie
Elmo
Ernie
Mickey
Donald
Goofy
Red
Orange
Yellow
Green
Blue
Purple
Pink (just the K sound)
White (just the t sound)
Brown
Black (also just the k sound)
one
two
Three
Four
Five
eight
nine
ten
(tries to say 6/7 but not close at all just an uh sound)
Color
juice
Yogurt
Please
cheese
Ball
Hi
Bye
Good
Morning
water
Car
Apple
tree
Dog
Cow
Go
me
Rainbow
Key
Ice
This/That (can't tell which is is going for)
He knows the sounds for
Cow
Dog
Cat
Horse
Goat
Sheep
Tiger
Lion
Train
He will also make up any if he does not know them.
His social deficets are the biggest. He is very akward when approached, and has a hard time with greetings, His reaction was very extreme (he would scream, and pull away when someone (even family) would say hi or approach him. He is getting much better with this, and will say Hi and Bye most times, but is still akward when someone gets to close to him. I belive this is a sensory issue and not knowing how someone will sound or how it will feel when he is touched. This is an area we will continue to work on.
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