Testing, Testing

Hi there!

This week was another busy one with Caleb. On April 25th I took him back to his psychologist office to do his spectrum and developmental testing. They wanted to see where he stood on the spectrum as well as gauge his strength and weaknesses.

I had a hard time with it for some reason, I think it was just the fact that I couldn't hold his hand for this one. He did the testing with the administrator one on one. He did well all things considered she says. Even though using the knowledge he has is hard, she said the fact that he can still indentify things is good.

He can identify most of his shapes, colors, numbers, and some objects. He can tell you the purpose of some objects and even tell you some primary colors that you can mix to make secondary colors. I was so proud. All of those flash cards he got from his Aunt Kat and Nanny have really paid off.

Interaction, speech, behavioral, and sensory are the areas he struggles in. We already knew most of that. Even though he struggles in those areas, he is doing far better than some other children his age with this disorder. They are pretty sure that with a little therapy he will be able to start school with his class on September WITHOUT medication.

He has his very first therapy appointment May 1st. I am a little nervous but more for myself than him, I don't like not being there to hold his hand. All of his sessions will be one on one with a therapist and his psychologist approved him.

This week we also had an information seminar that we went too which was really informative. I got lots of ideas on organization and keep his records straight which was helpful because I wasn't sure where to start.

This weekend the local movie theater is hosting a sensory friendly viewing of The Lorax that we get to take him to. They keep the lights on and the volume down so no one gets overwhelmed. I'm pretty excited about that.

That is about it for us this week. Next week promises to be just as full and fun. He also sees the opthamologist for the first time as well.

Hopefully the mowing around here gets done soon so we can take him to the park to play.

For my autism fact today I want to share a few statistics with you.

Autism now affects 1 in 88 children and 1 in 54 boys

Autism prevalence figures are growing

More children will be diagnosed with autism this year than with AIDS, diabetes & cancer combined

Autism is the fastest-growing serious developmental disability in the U.S.

Autism costs the nation $126 billion per year

Autism receives less than 5% of the research funding of many less prevalent childhood diseases

Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism

There is no medical detection or cure for autism

Until next time

One very blessed mother