Ethan Update

Today was the beginning of the new semester at the Rowe Center.  Ethan has made so much progress in speech that I am happy to start back up again.  This semester, he will be working with Miss Casey.  We met her this morning, and she was very friendly and outgoing.  We lucked out once again!  I know great things are going to happen in the next few months.

The last time I updated about Ethan's speech, he was still seeing Callie at Union Hospital's Pediatric Therapy, as well as Kirsten for occupational therapy.  Kenny and I had to make a tough decision to terminate those services just prior to Christmas.  It's not that we were dissatisfied or that Ethan no longer needed those services, but rather he was becoming overwhelmed with such a rigorous schedule.  He began having outbursts at home and preschool, which is not like him at all.  After lots of discussion, we thought that it would be best to cut something out.  After all, he is only three years old.  I knew that I wanted him to remain in the preschool setting for the social aspect.  Since he falls on the autism spectrum, he needs to continue learning how to build relationships with peers and have a variety of experiences in a social setting.  The Rowe Center provides intensive therapy with enthusiastic students who put a lot of effort into creating lessons that are specific for each child.  It is also free, so we hated to let that one go, which led us to the decision of cutting out Union Hospital.  We began to see a change in Ethan after a couple of weeks and he has been doing well ever since. As we pick back up at the Rowe Center this week, I hope to keep the outbursts at a minimum.

As far as his actual speech goes, he can recite a lot of things, but still has difficulty answering questions and carrying on a conversation. (a red flag for autism) He can recite his entire bedtime prayer, sing the ABC song, and recite The Pledge of Allegiance!  He sings many other songs as well. We are taking one day at a time and celebrating all that he accomplishes.  He is an extraordinary kid and we can't wait to see all that he is going to do.  We know that there is a special purpose for the challenges he faces, and that he has been blessed with many gifts, such as his loving personality and photographic memory.  We couldn't imagine him any other way!

Here he is with the Perfect Attendance certificate that he received at preschool today!