3 days old
3 1/2 years old
1. We have a wonderful pediatrician that listens to Ken and I and supports us in all of our concerns. She helped us get on W.I.C. when we could not pay for his special formula and our insurance would not pay for it. She put in referrals for both Kidango and S.A.R.C(San Andreas Regional Center).
2. Thank God for Kidango!!! They have helped us the most! We started working with Kidango in May of 2015 with a social-worker named Stacie. She helped me get Michael into Speech, OT, Feeding therapy and to get the Autism diagnosis. This past year they have started working with Kaylee to help her work through her emotions (anxiety) and all dealing with Michael. Ken and I are also taking a in-depth parenting course with them that I really like called Circle of Security. We are working with the same social worker that we had when Michael was a baby Stacie and I really like her and since Kaylee already knows her its a big plus.
3. We only have to go to one play for Speech, ABA, and OT and it is less than a mile from our house. So many of the families drive for 30 minutes to an hour to therapies for their kids and have to go through many companies to find the right fit.
4. Our ABA team is amazing! The techs we have 3 right now that work with Michael at different times. Tia is on Mon, Wed, Fri from 9am-noon and is at the Social skills center with Michael. Crystal is on Tues/Thur from 8am-10am at our house. Then lastly we have Maria on Tues/Thur from 3:30pm-5:30pm at the Social skills center. Our clinical director Brian listens to us and helps us guide Michael in the right direction.
5. Speech therapy has helped Michael so much. His current therapist is also helping with his drooling. Michael does a lot of scripting and echoing. We are working on social language and working on audio processing.
6. He got into preschool with our school district! This is an amazing thing because it is a special day class that helps him on social skills in the classroom to get him ready for TK! We also have a very good school district when it comes to special needs. He also got into summer school for the summer.
7. He is eating solid food so much better. He is eating so much more foods and will also try new foods! This is thanks to an amazing OT feeding therapist at Kaiser and her ideas and suggestions.
All of this has been a lot of work but has been so much help for Michael and the rest of us. I can not imagine what our lives would be like right now with out all of this help! Michael has come so far and I am so prod to be his mom. We still have a lot to work on but when I look back over the last few years I see how much has changed for the better.
Ken and I are also becoming stronger/healthier partners through all of this. It was really hard on us in the beginning after Michael was born for about 18 months then Ken and I went for a few counseling sessions and it help us and now with parenting course I feel like we are going to be able to support our kids in a healthy way.
Things that we are still working on :
1. GI issues. They poor kids tummy is crazy. No clue really as to what bugs it. pooping is hard for him and freaks him out. It may be a sensory thing as well not sure. It is just a daily issues that we deal with as needed.
2. Sleeping is hard for Michael. He sleep walks and wake a lot in the night.
3. Potty training
