Life is a Breeze with Amor

Wow! It’s such a breeze doing groceries with Amor now. 
She was was so good on the bus ride from school, she waited patiently for her favourite tamago sushi, she helped me pick up the groceries and patiently waited in line at the cashier and at the taxi stand.  

When Amor was younger she was very irritable and rigid. It was hard for her to transition from one activity to another.

Thus, an activity like this would be peppered with tantrums and resistance. But today, the only quirkiness that made me smile was Amor asking the same question (or variations of the same question) over and over again and her scratching the seat belt (which I believe helps calms her hearing senses). But I like querky 😄!

Life is a blessing!

In the photo: I was loving Amor’s demeanour as she helped me get the groceries.

Nathan my Mr. Incredible

There was a time when Nathan wouldn’t respond to his name. He wouldn’t even look at me. I didn’t even know if he knew that I was his mother. I used to sing songs about how much I loved him and it felt like it was falling on deaf ears. Nathan would hum his chants and look at all directions as I sang my songs to him.

Thanks to the Son-Rise Program(r), I can “reach” Nathan again. He can play with me for extended periods of time, even up to an hour, with strong interactive attention, looking at my eyes, smiling and laughing, with games that he initiates.

We have been blessed mightly!

More responsive

Last Christmas, when Grandfather came to visit, he was worried and would always ask me, “Why is Nathan not responding?”
This year, he’s back for Christmas and to his surprise, Nathan keeps asking him for everything and anything like:

– Lolo (Grandfather) push the wheelchair please (That’s a Nathan’s wheelchair, when we go out).

– Lolo, blow [fart kisses] on Nathan’s tummy please.

– Lolo, play jump around please (Nathan’s favourite music).

– Lolo, make the music louder please.

– Lolo, piggy back ride please (Nathan’s probably just testing if Lolo’s back is just as strong as his fathers 😉)

– Lolo, sleep next to him (that’s “me”. Nathan still needs to work on his pronouns) please.

– Lolo, lie down in bed please (so Nathan can sleep next to him).

– Lolo, take of your shirt please…

…and my most favourite of all…

– Lolo, lift your shirt please. Nathan wants to rub your tummy (see photo of Nathan rubbing/tapping Lolo’s jelly belly 😆).
Well, Lolo Hermie, you were asking for Nathan to be more responsive, and so you have it! 😉 See you again next Christmas! I’m excited to find out what will change then 😄

  

Intentional speech…persistent, yet patient

I was in the shower when I heard knocking. I though it would be my other kids but surprised it was Nathan. Still skeptical if he was actually knocking or just stimming and tapping on the door, I asked, “Who is it?” Nathan echoed, “Who is it”. I tried to answer in a way that would help. “Is it….NATHAN?” I coached. “Nathan!” He answered accurately!

“What do you need Nathan?” I continued our conversation through the closed door. “You want banana?” He asked. He still gets his pronouns mixed up, but correctly saying pronouns is a social skill that is achieved 2 stages ahead of the current son-rise social developmental stage that he is on, so we’re not in a rush to fix that until he is more ready.

I answered with a task for him, “Mama is still taking a shower, can you go to Ate Juliet in the kitchen and ask for a banana?” I then heard Nathan walking away saying, “Ate Juliet, give me banana please.”

A few minutes later I heard the same knocking. I asked “Who is it?” Nathan insists, “Mama, I want banana please.” Maybe Juliet did not hear him because we usually keep the kitchen door closed. I asked him to try again saying that Juliet has to see his face when he’s asking. Nathan walks away again with a louder, “Ate Juliet, give me banana please!”

After my shower, Nathan already spoke to Juliet, got his banana and was satisfied!

Imagine that! Three years ago, before we found The Son-Rise Program(r), Nathan could not even tell us that he was hungry. He was 5-years-old back then and had no intentional speech. He would use tantrums, even aggression, to try to communicate his needs and we just became good to figuring him out.

Today, Nathan not only tells us exactly what he needs, he can be very, very persistent and yet very patient while requesting. What an amazing journey it has already been. The future is exciting for us!

Blessed with The Son-Rise Program(r)!

In the photo Nathan eating his most favorite snack, bananas!

Overcoming sensory hearing issues

When Amor was younger, she had sensory hearing issues. She hated the sound of the vacuum cleaner, blender or even an electric toothbrush. She would freak out every time I invited her to dry her hands with the electric dryer in public comfort rooms. As a result of her hearing sensitivities, she had trouble picking up and singing her nursery rhymes on tune. I though she simply took after me. I can only sing in the shower :-). Haha. She still has a little issues with certain sounds, the issues comes and goes, but she has definitely come a long way and continue to overcome many challenges!

It’s so fascinating watching her catch the right melody and tunes of this song. And unlike her previous Christmas presentation, she is so connected with the crowd and not distracted by the microphone anymore! We just enrolled her in singing class and she learned so much so fast! Hurrah for her music teacher!

The biggest thing that has helped us with Amor’s sensory issues is The Son-Rise Program. Simply understanding that Amor could not handle those sounds…YET and removing them, putting her in a distraction-free environment, to nurture her growth first until she was ready for the challenge. Sure enough, today, whenever I invite her to dry her hands in public dryers, she will gladly do it as I tell her how proud I am that she is so brave dealing with that “loud” sound. Of course, we continue to work on Amor’s health by ensuring she doesn’t not eat preservatives, coloring, sugars, gluten and casein. We also test and supplement mineral/vitamin deficiencies.