Journey so far – Part II

There is no success without hardwork. The last post discussed the results with no mention of the efforts. This post will give you a feeling of “oh-this-lady-is-blowing-her-own-trumpet”, but that is what it is. So, feel free to skip this.

From saying “paa”,”maa”,”tha”,”na”,”va” thousand times a day, to designing flashcards in various styles to challenge you, to reading you books to improve your vocabulary, to designing worksheets to teach you “What”, “Where” and “Who”, I have done it all. I don’t remember the last time when I challenged my brain creatively. I had to be creative if I had to get answers for a series of questions from a 3-year old for close to 45 minutes. Because my son’s IQ is very good, all these efforts brought fruitful results.

From getting my son to throw a ball 100 times a day by holding his hands (which also includes I had to pick the ball 100 times) so that he could get that movement correct, holding his legs and making him kick a ball 100 times, to pushing the cycle for an hour so that he could pedal the cycle (I had to push the cycle really fast to get his interest in riding a cycle), to making him crawl under the cot to give his body workout, to taking him to the park, the list is endless.

I also had to teach him the basic things such as colors, shapes, vegetables, fruits, animals, birds, body parts, opposites, puzzles, rhymes, alphabets, numbers and all other things that children of his age know. I am still working on coloring and writing.

In the last post, I had mentioned that “I have not thought of anything apart from my son during the first 10 months of the year”. This is because there is no television in my home to distract me. (I saw Sachin Tendulkar’s farewell speech three days late. :() I knew nothing of the outside world. And during the last two months of the year, all this took a toll on me. My body was giving up. The doctor gave the verdict a few weeks back “I had become stressed and had to take sleeping pills.” So, the last two months, I took my feet off the accelerator, trying to give my body enough rest and relax. Now that I am in Chennai for a few days, all that I am doing is eating and sleeping. This is a marathon that I am running and I have to save every ounce of energy if I want to finish the marathon.

2014 is going to be yet another tough year and the journey continues…

Journey so far - Part I

Year 2013 is coming to a close and as I look back at the year, there is just one thing that comes to my mind – HARDWORK. I don’t remember any year that I have worked so hard. I don’t think I have thought of anything apart from my son during the first 10 months of the year. I was single minded, threw everything out of my life, gave my best efforts to the boy who is truly the best. And I am happy to see the progress he has made.

He has truly come a long way this year. From saying “aa oo ee” at the start of the year to saying “Close the door”, “open the door”, “Give phone”, “Wear chappal”, he has started putting words together. He has started expressing his needs in words. His vocabulary is very good and he has started answering “What” and “Where” questions. Way to go!!!

And that’s not all. He has discovered the pleasure of riding the tricycle and playing with the ball. Gross motor skills are improving and I assume he is getting confident of his body too. Playing in park has become synonymous with playing on swing.

I am in Chennai the last few days and to see my son bonding with his thatha, patti, mama and mami gives me immense pleasure. In earlier visits, he had taken a few days to warm up and by the time he started playing with them, we would leave. That was not the case this time. My dad had come to Bangalore to pick us and the first time my son saw him, he came to my dad and said thatha and took him around the house. My son has officially become thatha’s tail. To see my dad become a child again and cajole my son makes me laugh from the heart. This is the man who always had a military look when we were young. Grandparents are best.

One day, my dad was getting ready to office. He had worn his office clothes and was about to have breakfast, when my son went to him and said “swing”. And what did thatha do? Took the grandson to the park, made him play swing for half an hour, came back, had breakfast and went to office late.

My son’s favorite game these days is asking someone to lift him and drop. His mama is more than happy to do it. Once my brother comes from office, he goes to him and says “mama, thooki, thooki” (meaning lift me) and then says “dhopakateel” (meaning drop me), and my brother does the same until either of them become tired. :)

What can I say!!! May the love last forever…

Weird

Today:
During the speech therapy session, the therapist was saying something to me and in the middle of nowhere, my son looks at me and says “I love you”. Both of us (me and speech therapist) are surprised and look at him for a moment and then we make fun of him and enjoy the moment.
What is weird, You ask???
 
Yesterday:
Last evening, as I was doing some activity with my son, there was a thought in my mind as to how beautiful it would be if he says “I Love You.” I truly do not remember what happened before or next. It was just a moment’s thought and I had totally forgotten it.
Seems like weird, isn’t it?

Day before yesterday:
It was a horrible day, a day when I lost my patience and yelled at my son. The first time such a thing has happened. (I would like to believe the reason was PMS.) Add to it, there is a fight with the husband. So, the entire day was spent in a tensed state. Finally, I log in to my laptop and someone had shared this link in FB.
Totally weird!!!

First set won!

Its Wimbledon time. In the same lingo, we (me and my son) have won the first set today.

I started the infant stimulation therapy on Feb and it has taken my son four months to pretty much achieve all the goals such as interest in toys, sitting tolerance, eye contact, shaking hands with strangers, responding when his name is called. So, from now on the therapy will be three days a week to ensure he does not go backward again.

Group therapy is still a problem. He finds it difficult to sit with other kids and expects individual attention all the time. I guess this will be the goal for the next set.

Another important milestone today is that I have started my son on speech therapy. The therapist tells me that his facial muscles are weaker and hence though he wants to produce some sounds he is unable to do so. So, I will have to massage his mouth and cheeks everyday. I promise to work hard and help you speak as early as possible.

My son,

Good job so far. Doctors are pleased about your progress. 

I have just one request. Please do not cry the entire 45 minutes of therapy session. It’s difficult for me to pay a good sum from my purse and sit outside and hear you crying at the top of your voice all the time. May be you can take a five minutes break in between. Think about it.

Thanks.

Love you,

Mom.

Down but not out...

After a long time, I have come here. Honestly it was a conscious decision on my part not to blog during what has become the toughest phase of my life. In short this is what happened in last two months.

• ADHD became autistic.
• A normal child was labeled “special child.”
• An enthusiastic mom became a depressed mom and then a determined mom.

How much ever I tried to be optimistic and tell myself that I can face this challenge, at the end of the day, seeing my baby sleep tore my heart and I started questioning myself on what I did wrong and why all this is happening to me. Since I mostly blog during the night, it meant that most of my thoughts were depressing and definitely not something that I would want to read later or worse even pass it on to others. So, I did not blog.

But, when friends call or message and ask me how I am doing because there is no update on the blog, I feel guilty. I definitely should be loyal to my readers (thank God even two count as plural :)). Thanks folks for remembering me. I am doing okay, trying my level best to help my child. Thankfully he is responding well to the therapy. His concentration, sitting tolerance and eye contact has improved. He responds when his name is called most of the time. He still is not speaking. I guess will have to start speech therapy in a month or two.

Apart from my son, I know very less of what has happened in the last three months. TV is totally banned at home. No current affairs. No IPL. No Sports. No serials. No films. Whatever little I know is because of blogs or facebook. (I tell you I never thought I can live without a TV for so long, but it really has been a boon. I have not missed it much.) I have been reading a lot of books and which has really helped in giving me some peace at the end of the day. Some day, I will document more about autism and things that I have learned. It was an eye-opener for me.

So, that’s what is happening at my end and will be the same for the next two months I guess. Once again, thanks for keeping a check on me. Love you all!!!