Eight Weeks Ago

Eight weeks ago, prior to weekly speech therapy sessions, my child couldn't stack a block.

Now, he can.

Two months ago, his play was labeled immature.

*My little boy was diagnosed autistic at 20-months-old.

Since then, Aksel has mastered, in addition to his blocks, his Rainbow Stacker and Shape Sorting Cube by Melissa & Doug.

He's also intrigued by his Baby Einstein Language Discovery Cards.

What can I say?  My kid favors a good flashcard session.  (Thankfully!) His favorite words/cards are:  robot, rooster, fish, star, and baby.

And I'm also realizing each day how much my child loves music.

Actually, it's one of the only ways I'm able to get him to respond.  By singing to him, that is.  I mean, he'll stop what he's doing, whether that's crying or repetitively spinning objects, to look at me and smile.

And then he'll sing along, imitate the rhythm with the "da" syllable.

Can I tell you how happy this makes me?  It sends me over the moon!

Despite all the positives though, it's still really hard.  For instance, I learned three weeks ago, that there's a chance Aksel won't speak?! And two nights ago, while watching 60 Minutes, I was corrected to learn that nearly 30% of people with autism are non-verbal!

Can you say, break my heart?

But I won't worry about that now.  I'll try to take it a day at a time.

Right now, I'm just thankful he's getting the therapy he needs to better communicate and express his thoughts.

PS - Don't be ashamed to talk with your doctor if you feel your child isn't meeting his/her developmental milestones.  I'm so glad we did!