Has it really been a month?

I can't believe we are nearing the first month of Logan's intensive therapy. I am really enjoying having the aids in the home with Logan. They are all so nice. Ruby is also adjusting well. Although she would like a bit more time with them, the more she watches what Logan has to do she realizes it is not just playing. Logan has adjusted better than I anticipated. Normally his day starts with playing quietly alone while the aide gets ready and reads notes in his binder from the previous aid. Then the aide will lay out three specific activity/games/toys that they are going to use. This is like a schedule for Logan it is to teach him how to transition from one activity to the next. When one activity is complete he places it in a large bucket called "the all done bucket" this teaches him that done means we don't play with it again till next time. He was getting very frustrated with putting things away thinking they were never going to use them again. Once Logan has completed three activities with the aide he is rewarded. Each child is rewarded in a different way for Logan he loves physical rewards "airplane rides, a tickle fight, a piggy back" or playing with his Thomas table. This process is repeated through the whole session teaching Logan different skills. They have started individual play and schedule three activities Logan must transition through alone and complete before being rewarded. This teaches him to play functionally by himself. Before he loved being alone but did not play functionally with his toys. He would watch marbles fall down over and over or watch cars go down the ramp over and over. Now he really plays and it is wonderful to watch. During all of this play they are really encouraging eye contact and speech.

With the new skills Logan is learning we have found Ruby having a hard time adjusting. She was so use to playing for Logan. She would play and he would watch but Logan now wants to play too. Ruby realized early on that Logan loved cause and effect (she would run he would chase, she would pretend to give him something when he went to grab it she would pull it away)those activities use to be fun for both of them but now that Logan has a voice it makes him angry when she teases him that way. Now we are trying to empower Ruby with knowledge on how to functionally play with Logan and help him along the way. Instead of doing it for him or talking for him.

We have started to figure out how Logan learns and proving that we as a family can teach him and have learned so many new things already. It is hard not to be excited. With Logan's willingness to learn and our readiness to teach I can't begin to imagine the possibilities.