Tuesday, March 01, 2005

March 1st, 2005

It has been such a fun week. Jakob is doing really great! He’s been using sign language which is something we’ve been working on for a long time. He’s using the sign for “more” unprompted…it’s been awesome! He’s also signing for “drink”, “eat”, and “open”. I’m thrilled to know that he’s understanding what these words mean. I’ve worried for so long that he just didn’t know what we were talking about and now I know that he does. What a relief…a step in the right direction. He’s also been interacting with us so well…it’s pretty constant. Lots of peek-a-boo, blowing kisses and taking turns. We take turns playing bongos. He’s so good at it! He’s also quite skilled with cymbals and the xylophone. We have quite the concert every night. The best is when he decides to play the cymbals at 7am on the weekends when Kenny’s still sleeping. What am I supposed to do??? Say “no” to a child who’s expressing himself through music?? I don’t think so!! Play those cymbals and play them loud!!!!

For some reason, picking on Daddy has been the theme the past few days. On Sunday, it was the cymbals at 7am and by 9am Jakob was stealing Daddy’s money. Jakob has one of those big crayola crayon banks and he loves to put change in it. Well, he found Kenny’s stash of quarters and dimes that’s hidden in our dining room. I saw Jakob tearing out of the dining room and heading for the kitchen where his bank is. I couldn’t figure out what he was doing so I watched him put a quarter in the bank and head back to the dining room. For a good five minutes, I watched him running back and forth stealing one coin at a time. It was hilarious. I kept saying, really loudly so Kenny could hear, “Are you stealing Daddy’s money? You take that money, buddy! Take Daddy’s money!! Take it all, you can have it. Goodness knows Daddy won’t let Mommy have any of it!” Needless to say it wasn’t long before Kenny came downstairs in his underwear to see what was going on. Of course he wasn’t mad…but he did hide the change in a spot where Jakob couldn’t reach it as easily.

I’ve started quite a project. I’ve decided to finish off an area in our basement without putting up walls, a ceiling or carpet. I figured I could accomplish what I needed to accomplish without spending a fortune…we’ll see about that. I’m doing my best. I desperately need an area to use as a classroom for Jakob, especially with summer coming up. Pretty much all therapists and doctors agree that children with autism need around 40 hours of work per week. They can get him to sit in a chair at school and at therapy but I can’t get it done at home so I’m making the room a classroom. His classroom will be the place we go to “work”…coloring, cutting and all that fun stuff. I sure hope it works…I really think it will. My “design team” (Jakob’s therapists) have been helping figure out what to put in the room and his OT (who I LOVE) is even getting her hands dirty. She’s right there with me…shopping for the stuff and helping me put it up. Did I mention I LOVE HER??? She’s been an amazing help to us, we’ve been very lucky to find her.

Finding people who “understand” is a tough thing to do. The response that I get to this journal has been overwhelming…everyone I hear from either understands or is trying really hard to understand. It’s very refreshing. It’s amazing therapy for me. It seems I spend most of my time around people who just don’t “get it”. It’s no fault of their own…what they see on tv about autism can be misleading and frightening. What I’m learning is that the public perception of this disorder is “off”. If I didn’t have a child with autism, I’d be right there with them…in fact, 2 years ago I was right there with them.

I have this unbelievable drive to educate people about autism. Unfortunately, I don’t know enough about it yet to do it justice…but I’m working on it. I’ll know when I’m ready, I think I’m getting close. I know this “drive” is fueled by my wanting everyone to see what a beautiful child Jakob is. I want people to get to know him and understand him. I want him to be accepted. The “acceptance” thing is going to be my biggest struggle and I’m not sure where to start. But I’m working on it. (I feel like I’m working on a lot of things…it’s a good thing I can multi-task). With the support staff that we’ve been so lucky to find, I know in my heart we’re gonna figure it out. Hopefully soon.

-Jenn

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home