Saturday, January 29, 2011

What Ashton CAN do.


It’s easy to focus on what your child can’t do when you are faced with the day to day challenges of Autism.  Today I want to celebrate what Ashton CAN do and how far he has come since he started school last January.
Ashton can sit during meals with minimal supervision.  He eats with a fork and spoon successfully.   He can pull up his pants with a verbal prompt and assist with parts of his dressing routine.  He brushes his teeth with minimal assistance.  He gives “high fives”.  He will walk while holding your hand with minimal resistance, which has helped tremendously with his darting and running.  He can follow simple one step routine directions; such as throwing things in the trash and hanging up his book bag.   He can throw, kick and catch a ball.  He imitates actions/movements to songs.  He is matching the names of his classmates to their pictures.   He participates and takes turns in circle time with minimal support.  He is starting to say some spontaneous words and will echoic a few.  Every night before bed he will say “night, night”   as a cue for me to open his bedroom door for bedtime.  He is playing with his toys in a more appropriate way and has even acquired some pretend play skills.  He will actually let me read to him now.  He is interested in the pictures in books and is beginning to understand that the words on the page have meaning.  He will give hugs and kisses with a verbal prompt.  He also now enjoys coloring and drawing.  He can rote count from 1-20 and can identify some numbers.  He can say his alphabet and can identify some letters and letter sounds.  He knows some shapes and colors. 
It’s really difficult to establish a baseline for all Ashton knows and has learned because once he masters something he gets bored with it.  I am extremely proud of my little guy and how much he has learned, overcome, grown and matured in these last 12 months.  I am excited to see what this next year brings; with God all things are possible.    

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