Cowboy Number Two

For the last few months we’ve had a second cowboy in the house.

Will began taking riding lessons during Ben’s lesson at Enchanted Acres with Ms. Trish back in August.  He really really enjoys it and loves his lesson horse, Splatter.

The cool part of it all is that that both Ben’s and Will’s teachers work together for part of the lesson.  Both horses are in the ring and the boys get to play games while in the saddle.  Many of the games are “hide and seek” sorts of activities where they have to maneuver their horses to different parts of the ring to look inside different containers for objects (puzzle pieces, different colored balls, play fruit/veggies…).  There is turn-taking, information exchange, and social interaction involved all while learning how to ’steer’ with the reins, communicate with the horse, and stay in the saddle!

We love that Kelly and Trish offer up this combined experience for siblings.  It’s great for Will who loves to do anything Ben does, and it’s also great for Ben to have a partner to interact with.  I love that the combined lesson doesn’t require me to be in two places at once, and that the relationship piece we work so hard for in Ben’s remediation can be supported in this, one of their favorite activities.

There are parts of the lesson that are not combined and it’s so amazing to see your children interact with other adults, apart from you.  Will listens intently to instructions from Trish and seems eager to please.  He is much more reserved and almost shy during his lesson, using a voice so soft and low that he needs encouragement to ‘use a big voice’ so the horse can hear him.  Trish has Will change positions in the saddle in order to strengthen muscles and encourage proper technique.  This jumping pose, however, sort of freaked me out.

I’ve been assured there will be no jumping for many years, yet–that three-year-olds only practice position.  Phew.

Ella Rose enjoys having me all to herself while we observe the lessons, and even felt brave one afternoon and requested to ride Star–Ben’s really tall lesson horse.  Thank God she’s too young for lessons.  I don’t think I could handle three of them in the saddle.   At least, not yet.  She is pretty darn cute in her boots, though.

Funny Things: A Ben Update

I have been terrible about updating this blog.  You can blame Facebook, if you’d like.  It’s a pretty good scapegoat for most of my inadequacies lately.  This isn’t really even a “real” blog entry.  It’s an excerpt from an email I wrote to our RDI/HANDLE consultant about how Ben is doing.  We’ve been on a hiatus from RDI, not working on specific goals, but keeping general principles of living RDI in mind.  During this period, we’re doing a full-on HANDLE program with Ben, instead.  HANDLE uses gentle, simple activities that strengthen underlying, weaker body systems that ultimately support Ben’s neurological functions, physical, emotional, and cognitive development.   Strengthening and regulating those systems (vestibular, visual, tactility, visual-motor, auditory processing, etc. ) are what drives Ben’s progress.  Here’s what we’ve been observing lately:

Ben is doing really well with lots of things, not as well with others.

We’re seeing definite improvement in overall stability and ease in using his body.  Things that really showcase this for us are
1. watching him bowl (no longer just plunking the ball down, but actually swinging the ball, twisting his torso, bending his legs, etc.),
2. swinging on the swing (not just moving legs in and out, but leaning back and into the swing to propel his body forward),
3. running (much faster than before, definitely having ‘air time’ with both feet off the ground at the same time during his stride),

4. riding his horse (he adjusts his body–not all the time–when he slips sideways in the saddle and will be learning to use the reins soon to guide his horse.  He also loves to trot, which is a fairly quick, bouncy walk.)

5. writing and drawing (can write all the alphabet letters with visual/verbal scaffolding, has a new love for drawing CARS.  He always has a story about the car he is drawing, even if it usually has the same components–name of car, the car’s features, and of course the SMOKE he draws while making car noises.  If I suggest something else, he’ll agree if he can incorporate it into his car drawing.  He’s much more confident at attempting different things and uses a more mature pencil grip–not fisting, but using fingers)

and 6.  boogie boarding!  This is the newest thing for Ben.  He’s always loved watching other kids “surf” while we’re at the beach and actually asked me if he could do it the last time I took him by myself with his siblings.  So, this past Saturday when Mark was with us, we bought a board and Ben jumped right in and LOVED it.  He figured out how to do it just by watching others, and with some verbal/visual help from Mark realized where on the board to hold on for maximum lift and speed.  Crazy!

The things that we’re not seeing changes in (and are driving me crazy) are

1.  eating with his fingers
2.  dawdling and getting sidetracked when he is expected to get his shoes, get dressed, pick something up, put something away, etc.
3.  freaking out about nail cutting (fingers and toes) and not as intensely, but haircuts are still a challenge
4.  getting out of bed every night to get in bed with Mark and I

5.  pronation is still pronounced, not sure how to judge improvement there other than increased mobility as mentioned above

6.  just recently, I noticed that holding hands with other children is something Ben is very tactilely averse to.  Holding an arm was an okay alternative and holding an adult’s hand is okay, too.

7.  not sure if HANDLE would address this or not, but Ben definitely does not distinguish between a purposeful and accidental action, in terms of being hurt by the action.  He has this need for “revenge”.  If his toe is accidentally stepped on, he will not rest until he steps on the offender’s toe.  He used to avoid touching or being touched by the baby, but now she is free game for pushing, hitting, kicking, etc.  He doesn’t seem to understand the concept of intent.

8.  anger is also his “go to” emotion when he disagrees with something.  He’ll yell “NO” at kids who ask him to play and really holler at Will when he is not interested in interacting with him.  To be fair, Will is often an instigator of conflict between the two, but just as often he is not, but gets yelled at, or physically hurt anyway.
Ben is using language more than physical violence, though, to deal with the anger lately.  He can actually be quite creative.  “I’M AN ANGRY MONSTER AND I’M GOING TO BITE YOUR TOES OFF!”  “I’M GOING TO LOCK THIS DOOR AND RUN AWAY AND YOU WILL BE LONELY!”

One of the best things we’re seeing emerge with Ben the past few months is a social sense of humor.  He’s always laughed at things that privately make him laugh or are amusing to him auditorally, but recently he’s enjoyed watching America’s Funniest Home Videos and laughs when people or pets do unexpected things.  Such a great sound to hear him laugh along with everyone else, knowing he ‘got’ it.  There is a lot more giggling with his brother and occasionally his sister, too, over ‘private’ jokes and shared experiences.  He’s also been “making jokes”, although I’m sure they’re not exactly intentional.  I’ve got three examples:
1.  While cleaning with me the other day (he sprays, I wipe), Ben starts to sing a la ‘Bob the Builder’ “Bob the Cleaner!  Can he clean it?  Yes  he can!”
2.  While talking over dinner about how pilots have to go to flying school to get their license, Ben comments that he has a “horse riding license”.
3.  After asking him to stop touching things in the grocery store for the millionth time while shopping, he looks at me and says, “but touching is in my blood”  This is from a movie where the actual line is “racing is in my blood”.  Cracked me up.

So, there you go.  A Ben Update.  With stories and  photos to boot.

Lesson 3: He rides solo!

Here’s Ben at his THIRD therapeutic horse back riding lesson, riding atop Spot BY HIMSELF.  Ben continues to surprise us all with his ever-expanding comfort with Spot.  This is Ben tacking his horse.  He is pulling the girth strap tight here, using upper body strength and minimal support.

Here is a little RDI moment of  co-regulation between Ben and his brother as they carry the bowl of sweet feed together. And here is Ben after turning Spot out into the pasture after his lesson.  Now that’s one confident cowboy!

I Gallop!

Ben’s first horseback riding lesson was today.  Enchanted Acres Equestrian Center and the lovely Miss Kelly and Miss Shelli offer wonderful individually tailored lessons for “exceptional” riders on Sundays.  This is a different center than the one Ben visited with Mark back in November.   That experience was so positive for Ben that we thought regular lessons might be something he would enjoy.  That, and the therapeutic benefit of riding, of course.

Our first visit was last Sunday, where we observed another child during her lesson.  Ben really enjoyed watching the little girl ride the gentle appaloosa, Spot, but continually asked if he could have a turn to ride.  When the opportunity arrived, Ben eagerly put on his helmet, listened to the directions, indicated he knew his left foot would be put in the stirrup first, smiled as he was hoisted up into the saddle…and promptly freaked out.  “MAMA!  I DO NOT LIKE THIS.  STOP!  I WANT TO GET OFF!  GET ME OFF OF THIS HORSE!  AHHHH!  I DON’T LIKE SPOT!”

We guided Ben to dismount and he ceased yelling, but made sure we all knew that he did NOT like it when Spot moved.  Spot, to his credit, continued standing in the same place he had been during Ben’s stationary “ride”, munching the new grass beneath him, unaffected by Ben’s panic.

Along with the ASD, Ben has sensory integration difficulties.  He can be hyper-sensitive to certain sensations, especially those that affect his balance and motor coordination.  Maintaining his balance on an unpredictable, albeit  stationary,  grass munching horse was too much for Ben’s vestibular system.  It was obvious we were going to have to begin this endeavor at a much slower pace.

Or so I thought.

Ben’s first lesson consisted of initial grooming tasks, then using the lead rope to guide Spot into the arena.  There, Miss Kelly and Ben used finger paints to paint right on Spot.  This was a neat tactile exercise that encouraged familiarity and comfort with the horse, while using all kinds of language, too.  Next, Ben offered different foods for Spot to taste,  including a can of Dr. Pepper which the horse snarfed and asked for more.  (evil high fructose corn syrup!) Here Ben talked directly to Spot telling him “C’mon Spot, here’s your sweet feed.   Do you like it?  Eat some more.”  So cute.

Lastly, Kelly and Shelli introduced us to the iGallop.  It’s an electronic horse riding simulator that really does help you feel like you are in the saddle.  There are 3 speeds on the iGallop, of which I anticipated Ben to vehemently protest.  He was not eager to climb up, even after watching both Will and I take a happy turn.  After encouragement, Ben agreed to get on with Mark and seemed to trepeditiously enjoy it.  Once he realized that he could start, stop, or speed up the iGallop on his own, Ben gradually lost all inhibitions.  We were actually a bit worried at the end that we’d have a hard time getting him off of it.

Hopefully we can transfer this success to riding the real thing.  We can’t wait for next Sunday!

More on Casey

We’re over the moon about Casey, the Wonder Dog.  She really is just a fantastic addition to our family.   We always knew we’d have a family dog, but we were waiting for the ‘right time’.  When Mark was serving in Iraq, I was overwhelmingly pregnant with Will, Ben was a toddler not walking or even close, and we had just moved from our big yard house to a teeny yard house–that time–was *not* the right time.  Thank God for Aunt Patty and Uncle Jim who adopted our first pet, Max.  Here they all are visiting us on their spring break last week: 

Having Max stay with us confirmed how ready we were for another pet.  There’s so much to be gained in the way of learning and enrichment for the kids–taking care of another being, responsibility, respect, loyalty.  Max was a puppy when we adopted him from the shelter.  Training him was a lot of work.  We knew we didn’t have the kind of time needed to train a puppy this time around.  We had agreed to get an older dog, but not too old.  We wanted an active dog that would run and play, but would not have to pee every 10 minutes nor chew things that would make us unhappy.

I had also been doing some research on therapy dogs for children with autism.  It’s probably not much of a surprise to dog lovers, but early “research” is showing that there are more than physical needs fulfilled through interaction with a trained therapy pet.   This study is looking specifically at development of social interaction with the help of animals.

Solomon hypothesizes that interactions with well-trained therapy dogs—which are simple, predictable and very rewarding social partners—help autistic children practice social interaction and fill gaps in social behaviors that didn’t develop earlier in childhood. In the future, she hopes to study the results of adding animal therapy to existing clinical programs for people with autism.

“Dogs could be like a catalyst in a chemical reaction,” she said.

I liked that the article spoke in terms of remediation, a la RDI.   Going back for a ‘do-over’ is a simple way to think about it.  Could a dog help in our RDI efforts with Ben?  Who couldn’t use a catalyst?

Enter Casey.  The craisglist post proclaimed her “the poster child for the perfect family pet”.  After 3 days with her, we really cannot argue that claim.   We’ve witnessed great affection and “private” moments between both boys and Casey that are worth any cost of having her.  Already.  How cool is that?

Here are some photos of the boys doing some training work with Casey.

“Casey, come!”“Sit.”“Lie down.”

And then there’s Will’s technique…

“Casey, come and eat this yummy treat.”

“Lie down like me.”“Have another yummy treat.  Good girl.  She likes me!”

Birth of a Reader

It’s official.  Ben is a reader.

The code has been cracked.  The letter shapes have meaning beyond their names.  Beyond their “sounds”.  The clumps of letters have significance.  They make words!  And the order of the letters in the words is important.  The words are always lined up left to right.  Top of the page to the bottom.   The words represent things.  They’re symbols that can’t be touched, but must be seen in our minds–abstractly.  When it’s all put together using eyes, memory, and visualization, the symbols are combined and coordinated and gelled and processed and it makes perfect sense!

And it happened just like that.

One day he was a pre-reader, the next he could read.

I remember vividly when I first learned to read.  The world just opened up and was available to me in a way it wasn’t just the day before.  Words were everywhere! Words with information!  (The faucet in the tub says HOT and COLD!)  I can remember reading the stop sign at the end of our street for the first time and really ‘getting’ how although I knew it had said STOP before,  it was different now because I could read it.  I understood the sound/symbol code and that those letters put together in that certain way could make a big impact in the world.   Heck, even giant yellow school busses paid attention to that word.

It seems to be just the same for Ben.  He reads everything.  If he were awake right now, he’d be trying to read over my shoulder as I type.  Every street sign (“No parking, mom”), every shelf label at the grocery store (“Pork!  We need to buy some pork.”), every billboard (“That says ‘aquarium’.  We need to go to the aquarium.”), and of course, every book is now brimming with excitement and opportunity just waiting to be read.   Ben’s memory skills serve him well in this area as he has a large ’sight word’ (words you don’t need to encode, but know from memory) bank.  He also does not seem thrown by the endless “rule breakers” found in the English language.  He gets the idea of ‘blends’, ’silent’ e’s, and  seems to accept that C says “keh” and also “sss”, but K only says “keh” unless it’s ’silent’.  He doesn’t know the crazy terms, of course, yet allows for the inconsistencies just the same.

What is also notable, for Ben, is that his new skill opens up so many more ways to communicate and connect with others.  And he already desires to do so.  He tells me what he reads, asks questions, points out words that he sees.  I, in turn, have him read me the pancake recipe, the mail,  the grocery list…  We’ve started writing stories together, composing letters, labeling artwork…  It’s all really really fun. And it provides a whole new avenue for pursuing our RDI goals.

We never used any phonics programs, letter sound videos, or electronic “educational toys”.  For one, they annoy me.  For another, those types of toys can really discouarage a child from seeking out human interaction–not something we needed to promote in our Ben.  What did we do?  We read books.  Lots and lots and lots of books.  We went to the library every week.  We had lots of print all around us–lists, labels, newspapers, magazines, catalogs, letters from Grandma…  We read things aloud, pointed to the words, tracked text while we read, let him sit in our laps while we typed, wrote things together… We also watched some Sesame Street, although it’s contribution to the effort is, although wonderfully entertaining,  most likely negligible.   So this milestone of Ben’s came about the old fashioned way, environmentally supported, naturally modelled, and thoughtfully guided until development buds and blooms.

Hooray!

What does that mean?

Ben’s language has been exploding lately. It’s not that his vocabulary is growing. He’s always had LOTS of *words*, it’s putting the words together to fully express his intent that has been a challenge for Ben. But not only that. Beyond requesting things, naming things and answering questions there has been a void in Ben’s typical conversation repetoire. It’s actually one of the long-term “wishes” I’ve had for Ben and RDI. I’ve longed for Ben to develop CURIOSITY.

I didn’t notice it at first, but as Will got older and his play matured, it was easier to see the deficit. Ben’s play lacked the investigative nature of exploration. He didn’t experiment, or try new ways of using a toy. His pretend play was very very simple and would stall out after declaring who he was pretending to be (“I’m Dadda”, “I’m the worker”.)

But now. Wow. It started with some non-fiction picture books we have. They’re filled with photos of animals and lots of sidebar information about them. Ben would pour over each page when looking at books by himself, and would request the books be read aloud to him every chance he got. “Under the Sea” was a favorite and he loved to comment not only that there was a scuba diver, but that the diver “uses a face mask and snorkel” and that “divers can take pictures with an underwater camera”.

But then. Oh, then. Ben has seen photos of Mark and I when we used to scuba dive. They come up fairly often on our ‘photo slide show’ screen saver. Comparisons between the diver in the book and the “Mama was a diver” photos started happening. Not such a big deal in our neuro-typical world, but Capital B-I-G in Ben’s.

From there he’s progressed to *asking questions* about things. At first, it was “what’s that?” or “what’s that called?” But often, the answer *wasn’t enough* for Ben. He’s figured out he can get MORE information by asking the right questions. So now he follows up his initial query with more questions, usually “what’s that mean?”, to *clarify*! And to make sure of his understanding, he’ll repeat what I’ve said and sometimes, not often, but sometimes, will PARAPHRASE the definition by relating his new experience to a past one! It’s really really incredible. I’m loving every minute, even when the questions get tricky and I defer to the husband. “hmm, that’s a good question for Daddy!”

Here’s a sampling of what Ben’s been wondering about this month:

“What’s coal?” then, “what’s carbon mean?” (one for Daddy!)
“What’s sleigh mean?”
“What’s ‘rejoice’ mean?”
“What’s needle and thread?”
“What’s this called?” (garland) “What’s that mean?”
“What’s that mean–celebrate?”
“What’s manger?”
“What’s shepherd mean?”
And on and on and on…

But that’s not all. There have been wonderful developments physically with Ben’s balance, coordination, and strength. The desire to relate and connect with others expands every day. And he’s reading. Not memorizing, Reading. I’ll save these milestones for another post, however. For now we’re celebrating ["celebrate means I dance and sing and have a party."] CURIOSITY!

Wishing you many Little Miracles!
Merry Christmas!

GigiMama

She walks!

I love how Will yells “she walked!” after the first clip.

I also LOVE how Ben, in his jammies and skates, points across the room to Will and asks, “you want to rollerskate?” (An RDI moment, for sure!)

And who could not LOVE Will’s response?  “Yeah, let’s ROLL!”

We’re celebrating milestones ALL OVER here!

Horse Farm field trip

Ben and his dad went on a field trip today to Eden Wind horse farm.  The program was for kids age 4 and up, so this was a solo event for Ben.  Spending one-on-one time with each of the children is something Mark and I have talked about implementing, but never really do.  Today was a good start.  And also, an excellent opportunity for our RDI goals.

Encouraging the development of Ben’s episodic memory is something we try to do as often as possible.  Recalling what we did everyday with emphasis on emotions and relationship is one way we work on this.  Ben usually reports at dinner the events of the day to Mark.  Today, I got to be on the receiving end of the storytelling.   I had to try very hard to give plenty of time and space for Ben to organize his thoughts and speak freely without me peppering him with leading questions or hurrying him to respond when I thought enough time had passed.  What a great lesson for me this was!  Ben had this to say about his trip–before we even looked at the photos Mark had taken.

“Mama, I rode a horse!”

“A black horse”

[responding to Mark]  “His name was Chocolate.”

“I went in a trailer.”

“I was sad.”

“I wanted go in the trailer again.”

“Molly.”  ["Molly?", I ask]  “Yes, Molly the horse.”

“I brushed Molly.”

“I gave Molly a carrot.”  [me:  "You did?"]

“Yes, I did!”  [smiling at my expression] “You’re feeling surprised, Mama?”

“We walked.”

“A grownup talks.”

“There was a grey cat.”

“I rode a horse.”

“I wanted to ride Molly.”

“I was sad. “

“You’re feeling surprised again?” [again, reading my facial expressions]

“I got a horseshoe.”

What things I can learn by controlling my tendency to talk too much!  By not having a complete context to work with, it was easier for me to withhold from “helping” Ben when he retold his experience at the farm to me.  With only my facial expressions as feedback, there was far less ‘echolalia’ or repeating what I said back to me.  There was great referencing while delivering his messages, and after delivery to record my expressions–even commenting on them.

One thing seemed clear, especially after writing down what was said, that we’ll need to encourage more shared memory experiences.  Along with episodic memory, ASD kids also have trouble recognizing their memories can also be the memories of others.  Scientists apparently refer to this development, humorously, as the “we-go” (as opposed to the ‘ego’) where there is understanding of the self as part of a bigger unit –specifically, a dyad with a parent, at first–that co-regulates and is interdependent.

So, here’s the plan of action for Team Parent:

1.  Talk less, listen more

2.  When we do talk, continue to use more declarative language, less imperative language (describing, not requesting)

3.  Encourage ‘we-go’ development by increasing shared memory experiences and storytelling that uses “WE”

I keep hearing a line from my alma mater’s fight song in my head lately.  It often seems like a battle, if not literally than certainly in our own heads,  to remediate the autism, in that a fight song is certainly appropriate.  It’s a three word phrase, and it’s been used recently in a different context that also applies.  Healing, hope, and battle–FORWARD, TOGETHER FORWARD.

Go Huskies!  And go Us!

RDI Update

It has been six months since we started Ben’s RDI program.  (For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, you can catch up here, here, and here.)  We traveled to Jacksonville, FL for his bi-annual re-evaluation last month.  We keep in touch with April, our RDI consultant, through bi-weekly phone conferences, email and video clips of our progress.  We knew going in to the re-eval that there had been some remarkable progress, that Ben had experienced significant growth.  And, of course, the ‘numbers’ backed that up.  His developmental test scores all showed improvement.  Now if you know me at all, you know that I don’t believe in numbers.  Meaning, data in measurable units has it’s worth, but it’s not very significant worth to me.  I prefer to evaluate growth and change through more holistic means.  For example, I try not to weigh myself very often, but I sure notice when my jeans feel too snug.  RDI, in all it’s wisdom, also does not rely on numbers.  The tests are given (observation rating scales) and scored, but mostly for show.  The truest gains in Ben’s development have been so natural, so organic, that we barely noticed them as they occurred.  Much of the week of re-eval, we spent remarking, “Oh yeah…he *used* to do that, didn’t he?”  It is amazing to me how much you can forget, and how easy we readjust our idea of “normal”.

In addition to the RDI re-evaluation, we had April screen and develop a HANDLE program for Ben to address his sensory difficulties.  HANDLE is the Holistic Approach to NeuroDevelopment and Learning Efficacy.  We’ve been using a general program developed for children on the Autism Spectrum, but now we have a program tailor-made for Ben’s specific needs.  Like RDI, this is a family-based therapy and it focuses on the roots of Ben’s sensory challenges by gently strengthening the neurological systems that support how his body works in the world.  And again, the gains are so subtle and natural that we barely notice them until we look back.

Some examples of changes we’ve experienced in the last six months are:

• Expanded language.  THEN: I noted back in March that Ben’s language seemed to have plateaued out at 2-3 word phrases with memorized scripts or ’sound bytes’ that were repeated over and over in increasing volume until you replied with your scripted ‘line’.   NOW:  Scripted language is an occasional to rare occurrence.  Ben doesn’t always use longer phrasing than before, but what he does say is much richer and more dynamic.  Almost everything is novel–created for the moment.  He comments, asks questions, answers questions, reflects on past events… It is truly amazing.
• Using pronouns.  THEN:  Ben had a really really hard time with the you/me thing.  For example, he’d say “Mama, hold you.” when he wanted me to hold him, or “you want more” when *he* wanted more of something.  We’d repeat the right way to say things, withhold wanted items until he repeated it correctly over and over, but he never caught on.   April promised it would come naturally with RDI and encouraged us to let it go.  NOW:  With his new understanding of himself as a person, Ben uses correct pronouns almost 100% of the time WITH NO DIRECT TEACHING.  Do you know how many children I taught with “pronoun goals” on their IEPs??  Amazing, again.
• Eye contact.  THEN:  Ben would give eye contact, but only if he recognized you as ’safe’.  It took three days before my mom got an engaged look from Ben once when they came to visit.  He also didn’t use eye contact for gathering information–facial referencing, it’s called.  NOW:  Ben shows a great understanding of facial referencing and it’s importance to connectedness.   He even seeks out other children in small groups by trying to establish face to face contact!!
• Social play.  THEN:  Ben seemed to like other children, but would keep a safe distance and just watch.  He engaged mostly in solitary ‘play’ with objects.  NOW:  Ben LOVES playing with other children, seeks them out, and attempts to INITIATE interactions without any direct intervention of what to say, how to move, preparedness of ‘what might happen’.  He is not without quirks, and is not ‘typical’ yet, but he has gained more in six months in this area than I ever imagined.  I rarely saw social gains occur this quickly in the classroom, and NEVER in a child on the Spectrum.  School was every day.  We have playgroup once, maybe twice, a week.
• Bits and pieces.  Ben has overall less anxiety.  He can now run, jump, and blow bubbles–all things that were very difficult and did not seem to improve no matter how much we practiced before.  He can dress himself, wash his hands, and draw a face–all without my ‘teaching’ him.  He laughs at jokes, reminds me of things I forget (seatbelt, keys, where I put my phone), fights with his brother (No, Will!  That’s mine!), used pretend play, and wants to do everything HIMSELF.

This is just a snippet, of course.  It doesn’t really give you a good enough picture of the bright, clear-eyed, quick-to-respond, happy little boy that has emerged from our Ben.   We can’t wait to see what’s coming next.

I do have to give a shout-out to Elaine Gottschall (RIP) who authored the Specific Carbohydrate Diet.  Healing Ben’s gut and leveling out his digestive issues, including night pain that interfered with sleep, has been equally beneficial in treating Ben.  So, huzzah for the trifecta–RDI, HANDLE,  and SCD!