It is Christmas morning and Oh.....what a great morning!......Last Christmas we were not fluent on the 26 letter board... now we are and life is so good. We every Christmas would watch Ryan not interested ( we thought) roaming around for food and never ever wanting to open a present.. well still he struggles with the whole unwrapping thing but it is because he is so ..wait let me tell you his words " SO HAPPY" , and here it comes Ashley was letter boarding with him and she said Do you want to say anything Ryan ( as he sat in his favorite green rocking recliner) and he said " SO EXCITED MERRY CHRISTMAS, GOT INTERESTING GIFTS."
Then Ashley asked him what his favorite gift was and he said," SO MANY RYAN LIKED"
He is happy about Christmas and he straight out told us!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
So did I ever imagine after the diagnosis of Autism, that I could some day have my Ryan... well it has happened... it is a Merry Christmas... remember he just told me...he said Merry Christmas!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!...and it is a Merry Christmas!!!! .. God is Good ..always.. he is Ryan's strength, by the way. He calls on God and he spells that out too!
Merry Christmas everyone... send this to someone who has a child with Autism... if Ryan can do this and the 100's of other kids can do the exact same thing...their child can too.............. believe........love Teresa
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Ryan told us he had a headache!
Well, again..........why is rpm so worth learning.. Ryan got up at 1:24am.. he has sleep issues but we were surprised he woke so early..stayed up the rest of the morning and kept going to the bathroom.. again.. not the norm..
Well Paul said.. I think Ryan doesn't feel good..I was so wiped out.. having been up all night... that I could not see it... Later that day... he seemed fine.. but was laying on the couch and Ashley wanted to teach him his Ohio Virtual Academy school work.. and he would not sit in the chair.
Ashley said," why can't you sit down ..you need to sit in your chair to learn ( OVA computer is is at the desk/chair area ) and he said,
"RYAN CAN NOT SIT IN CHAIR CAUSE ME HEAD HURTS" (ash said you mean my and he said yes!)
then here I come in the room... Ash tells me and then I said did your head hurt just now or did it also hurt last night?
"HURT AT NIGHT"
Well.......... that made me feel bad and also at the same time relieved that he just wasn't getting up for the heck of it.. and to tell you I was very edgy/irritated and flat out exhausted over him not going back to sleep the entire night....
Ryan having his voice helped me to understand and to be more compassionate . So.. I took a deep breath and it all made sense to me....
So it is good...I am going to ask him in oh... 30 seconds how he is feeling . hope his head is ok....
Well Paul said.. I think Ryan doesn't feel good..I was so wiped out.. having been up all night... that I could not see it... Later that day... he seemed fine.. but was laying on the couch and Ashley wanted to teach him his Ohio Virtual Academy school work.. and he would not sit in the chair.
Ashley said," why can't you sit down ..you need to sit in your chair to learn ( OVA computer is is at the desk/chair area ) and he said,
"RYAN CAN NOT SIT IN CHAIR CAUSE ME HEAD HURTS" (ash said you mean my and he said yes!)
then here I come in the room... Ash tells me and then I said did your head hurt just now or did it also hurt last night?
"HURT AT NIGHT"
Well.......... that made me feel bad and also at the same time relieved that he just wasn't getting up for the heck of it.. and to tell you I was very edgy/irritated and flat out exhausted over him not going back to sleep the entire night....
Ryan having his voice helped me to understand and to be more compassionate . So.. I took a deep breath and it all made sense to me....
So it is good...I am going to ask him in oh... 30 seconds how he is feeling . hope his head is ok....
Saturday, December 4, 2010
Where are the Caramels!
Hi Everyone.. this is Ashley.. just wanted to tell you a funny story about today. We went to Whole Foods market and bought these caramel candies. I was searching all over for them because my dad hid them from me, and won't tell me where he put them! So he says to me, Ryan can tell you he saw me hide them but I told him not to tell anyone... so Dad left for the store again and I wanted those caramels.. so i asked ryan on his board, "Ryan, where did dad put the caramel?" He says SECOND DRAWER IN THE FRIDGE. So I thank him and then run to the fridge and check. They aren't there. So I ask ryan, " Were you telling me the wrong place on purpose?" he says, YES. RYAN SAID WRONG PLACE BECAUSE DAD SAID NOT TO TELL:) I laughed and laughed! I told ryan that he's good at keeping secrets! So funny!
Monday, November 29, 2010
Our science experiment.. with Mom's Coffee!
Trying to be frugal, I purchased the sale coffee, Folgers French Roast. I made a cup this morning and yuk........there is this weird taste to it. So left a full cup on the counter and got Ashley on the bus and continued on with my morning. Next comes Ryan. doing our morning routine.. I went to move the coffee cup from he counter and told Ryan ..man.. Mommy had the worst cup of coffee ..something is wrong with that coffee..then I go to thinking maybe it is my coffee maker that I have not cleaned in FOREVER!!.. . so I decided to get the decaf 365 Wholefoods coffee out and try a little experiment. Told Ryan the situation and said lets do a science experiment since you want to be a brain scientist. ( told us that the other day).
So, I set both types of coffee in front of Ryan and explained the situation. I made a cup with Folgers and it was bad but I have this 365 coffee never said decaf by the way ... so how should we do this experiment. he spelled: SEE EITHER DECAF IS GOOD.( yep read "decaf" off the bag)
So I said.. if so then what? He spells: WE THINK SOMETHING IS WRONG DECIDE FOLGER TASTE BAD
Yep.. he clearly understood what I was going to test.. So I made him do the measuring the water, turn it on. Next we talked about a hypothesis.... maybe it could be the coffee is bad or the water, or coffeemaker.. I said give a educated guess... he spelled WATER...... I said the dirty coffeemaker..!!!!!!
Well I tasted the coffee..he ran thinking I was going to make him taste it.. then I said......Ryan ...the coffee tastes great.. So I said what was the problem.....
he spells FOLGERS IS PROBLEM..
My smart scienctist!!
So, I set both types of coffee in front of Ryan and explained the situation. I made a cup with Folgers and it was bad but I have this 365 coffee never said decaf by the way ... so how should we do this experiment. he spelled: SEE EITHER DECAF IS GOOD.( yep read "decaf" off the bag)
So I said.. if so then what? He spells: WE THINK SOMETHING IS WRONG DECIDE FOLGER TASTE BAD
Yep.. he clearly understood what I was going to test.. So I made him do the measuring the water, turn it on. Next we talked about a hypothesis.... maybe it could be the coffee is bad or the water, or coffeemaker.. I said give a educated guess... he spelled WATER...... I said the dirty coffeemaker..!!!!!!
Well I tasted the coffee..he ran thinking I was going to make him taste it.. then I said......Ryan ...the coffee tastes great.. So I said what was the problem.....
he spells FOLGERS IS PROBLEM..
My smart scienctist!!
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Ryan says ... A MIRACLE!
Ryan cracks me up!! Ashley is doing math and a science lessons with him yesterday. They are so cute togther!!
3rd grade content is way easy for Ryan..but I felt like I should go back and really cover all the material .. blah blah...blah.. when will I learn!! Anyways..Ryan had to tell me regarding Math.." TO SIMPLE FOR RYAN
UPSETING RYAN
STOP WASTING MY TIME"
Oh .. yes.. in a kind way he had sat there for 1/2 the day working on Math with me as I slowly and painstakingly went through ALL the problems...yuk. they were way to simple.. and finally he let me have it!!
Well, back to Ash and Ryan .. so Ashley is working so hard talking, teaching on and on with great enthusiasm.. she is an excellent teacher by the way!! So she said to Ryan " oh.. hang on Ryan almost there" after he had been working with her for over and hour... and finally they reach the end of the assessment! Punch the results and he got a 100 percent!!!!
She says.. " Ryan what do you think!!!!!!.. we reached the assessment!!!! .. we are done!! and she now fluent on the board with him.. offers the board to him and he spells.......
A MIRACLE
Ashley starts laughing me too .. Ryan smiles a little and takes off to escape his teacher Miss Ashley!!
What a great day.. we promised Ryan we were done with the boring stuff and on to the new cool stuff........ I hope he sees it that way when we reach the new units.. will let you know!! Great day..
3rd grade content is way easy for Ryan..but I felt like I should go back and really cover all the material .. blah blah...blah.. when will I learn!! Anyways..Ryan had to tell me regarding Math.." TO SIMPLE FOR RYAN
UPSETING RYAN
STOP WASTING MY TIME"
Oh .. yes.. in a kind way he had sat there for 1/2 the day working on Math with me as I slowly and painstakingly went through ALL the problems...yuk. they were way to simple.. and finally he let me have it!!
Well, back to Ash and Ryan .. so Ashley is working so hard talking, teaching on and on with great enthusiasm.. she is an excellent teacher by the way!! So she said to Ryan " oh.. hang on Ryan almost there" after he had been working with her for over and hour... and finally they reach the end of the assessment! Punch the results and he got a 100 percent!!!!
She says.. " Ryan what do you think!!!!!!.. we reached the assessment!!!! .. we are done!! and she now fluent on the board with him.. offers the board to him and he spells.......
A MIRACLE
Ashley starts laughing me too .. Ryan smiles a little and takes off to escape his teacher Miss Ashley!!
What a great day.. we promised Ryan we were done with the boring stuff and on to the new cool stuff........ I hope he sees it that way when we reach the new units.. will let you know!! Great day..
Ryan's Prediction!
Well, Ryans favorite novel is coming to the end.. and the teacher asked us to make a prediciton as to how the book will end. I asked Ryan.. what do you think will happen to Matt ( character in the book) now that he is left in the cabin alone? Ryan spells:
HIS PA AND MA IS COMING BACK
I found this very interesting.. I am thinking as he is pointing.. he will say .. his "DAD" will come back..
However, Ryan used the exact words in the book.. Matt called his parents.."PA" and "MA"..
so interesting.... how Ryan thinks! Oh by the way... I believe his prediciton is correct!!!!!
HIS PA AND MA IS COMING BACK
I found this very interesting.. I am thinking as he is pointing.. he will say .. his "DAD" will come back..
However, Ryan used the exact words in the book.. Matt called his parents.."PA" and "MA"..
so interesting.... how Ryan thinks! Oh by the way... I believe his prediciton is correct!!!!!
Friday, November 12, 2010
SEE..... ME...........PLEASE!
Well, we have had three new therapist being introduced to us over the last few months here.... going into the new OVA program. It is great.. I get to pick what therapy center I would like to attend. ( they are either on the OVA provider list or they sign up ..seems so easy vs. scholarship application for the providers) Well sorry got sidetracked... back to the point of me blogging this am...
Had two very interesting therapy appointments with Ryan and his comments are once again... profound and so reveling.....
The emotions and feelings and thoughts my son has are truly heart wrenching at times. I share them on this blog..... because I know many children don't have the chance to be taught RPM and they are silenced.. left to live with their thoughts and emotions in isolation.. ...so we speak for them................
Ryan is eleven years old. He is no longer that cute tiny little therapy kid that most therapist deal with. So cute easy to play kiddy games with... he is a eleven the "teens" are right around the corner.
..... I find it interesting ... most parents have stopped private therapy or for sure reduced it by the time they are this age.( wonder if anyone collected data on why???) Maybe they feel school has that covered.. On another side note.... therapy for older kids should have a new creative.. model developed.. maybe joint groups.. something age appropriate.. different...( any therapist out there that is a cool suggestion from me and I know for sure Ryan!)
Moving on........ I would take the therapists lead many times when starting with a therapist... and I looked at them as the expert. In their training and understanding of the body, speech, body systems.. yep...........they are.........BUT.........I realized.........and I say this with great humility. I AM THE EXPERT WHEN IT COMES TO RYAN HARRIS. I KNOW MY SON. I KNOW..RYAN... once again I say this because of RPM... NOW I AM ABLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HE IS THINKING.... he has his "voice" I spend time with him... so I know how he thinks. So..now I tell them I will handle Ryan and as you learn who Ryan is.. then I will fade out.. and you will take the lead..........
So... he says yesterday to the new OT... When I asked him..do you have anything you want to share with XXXX .. what do you want to get out of OT.. and he says .
..WANT OT TO BE MEANINGFUL SEE MANY OT NOT SEE RYAN ........
Other comments: When I asked him about one therapist.. he said RYAN IS CAUTIOUS NOT SURE..... that blew me away..
Another comment to a therapist: "XX I LIKE YOU MANY ( Ryan's friends) STOP LISTENING CAUSE OTHERS MEAN.
Think about this.. Ryan said this last week.. to his slp therapist who was so gentle and calm and kind with him.. and he said........THANK YOU FOR SEEING RYAN MANY NOT SEE RYAN. I WANT TO SPEAK....
Before RPM...Ryan would have to just sit there and say nothing...to express his feeling..while people are putting all these demands on him...with RPM....he can express himself.. wonder why children with Autism lash out.........at times... they are trapped..
BUT ..What really is the kicker to all of this...............is at the moment in time when Ryan is touching each letter and I speak the word and the next word he slowly completes.... as his thought is being reveled to those who have the privilege to hear it.............
COMPASSION is being born.....
and how many people and how many different situations when Ryan shares his thoughts on his letter board... the barrier of silence is broken. tears and more tears come..... from those watching him..... and understanding takes place .they .......SEE.... Ryan at that very moment..
We should stop at nothing.. to make this a possiblity for all children. To "SEE" "THEM". ..the beauty is simply hidden in silence.. please ....lets break it............
Had two very interesting therapy appointments with Ryan and his comments are once again... profound and so reveling.....
The emotions and feelings and thoughts my son has are truly heart wrenching at times. I share them on this blog..... because I know many children don't have the chance to be taught RPM and they are silenced.. left to live with their thoughts and emotions in isolation.. ...so we speak for them................
Ryan is eleven years old. He is no longer that cute tiny little therapy kid that most therapist deal with. So cute easy to play kiddy games with... he is a eleven the "teens" are right around the corner.
..... I find it interesting ... most parents have stopped private therapy or for sure reduced it by the time they are this age.( wonder if anyone collected data on why???) Maybe they feel school has that covered.. On another side note.... therapy for older kids should have a new creative.. model developed.. maybe joint groups.. something age appropriate.. different...( any therapist out there that is a cool suggestion from me and I know for sure Ryan!)
Moving on........ I would take the therapists lead many times when starting with a therapist... and I looked at them as the expert. In their training and understanding of the body, speech, body systems.. yep...........they are.........BUT.........I realized.........and I say this with great humility. I AM THE EXPERT WHEN IT COMES TO RYAN HARRIS. I KNOW MY SON. I KNOW..RYAN... once again I say this because of RPM... NOW I AM ABLE TO UNDERSTAND WHAT HE IS THINKING.... he has his "voice" I spend time with him... so I know how he thinks. So..now I tell them I will handle Ryan and as you learn who Ryan is.. then I will fade out.. and you will take the lead..........
So... he says yesterday to the new OT... When I asked him..do you have anything you want to share with XXXX .. what do you want to get out of OT.. and he says .
..WANT OT TO BE MEANINGFUL SEE MANY OT NOT SEE RYAN ........
Other comments: When I asked him about one therapist.. he said RYAN IS CAUTIOUS NOT SURE..... that blew me away..
Another comment to a therapist: "XX I LIKE YOU MANY ( Ryan's friends) STOP LISTENING CAUSE OTHERS MEAN.
Think about this.. Ryan said this last week.. to his slp therapist who was so gentle and calm and kind with him.. and he said........THANK YOU FOR SEEING RYAN MANY NOT SEE RYAN. I WANT TO SPEAK....
Before RPM...Ryan would have to just sit there and say nothing...to express his feeling..while people are putting all these demands on him...with RPM....he can express himself.. wonder why children with Autism lash out.........at times... they are trapped..
BUT ..What really is the kicker to all of this...............is at the moment in time when Ryan is touching each letter and I speak the word and the next word he slowly completes.... as his thought is being reveled to those who have the privilege to hear it.............
COMPASSION is being born.....
and how many people and how many different situations when Ryan shares his thoughts on his letter board... the barrier of silence is broken. tears and more tears come..... from those watching him..... and understanding takes place .they .......SEE.... Ryan at that very moment..
We should stop at nothing.. to make this a possiblity for all children. To "SEE" "THEM". ..the beauty is simply hidden in silence.. please ....lets break it............
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Can you remember being this young?
Looking at a photo.. he just ripped.. I asked .. do you remember this time.. being so young ..look you and Ashley were so little.
YES XTREME SADNESS.. why I asked. STUDENTS VERY MEAN Why I said...what did they say.. RYAN IS WORTHLESS. NOT NICE RYAN VERY SAD NOT WANT TO THINK ON .
YES XTREME SADNESS.. why I asked. STUDENTS VERY MEAN Why I said...what did they say.. RYAN IS WORTHLESS. NOT NICE RYAN VERY SAD NOT WANT TO THINK ON .
Why did you Rip Up the Photo?
I asked Ryan why did you rip up the photo.. it is not the first photo he has riped. He spelled,"
STEM ON
I said what does that mean to you to stem on ? Those words.. what are they to you?
DECIDE FUN TO THINK ON.
Interesting!
STEM ON
I said what does that mean to you to stem on ? Those words.. what are they to you?
DECIDE FUN TO THINK ON.
Interesting!
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Teaching. Mom.to SEE is HARD!
This morning Ryan and I had Grammy on speaker phone and Grammy asked ..do you like having Ashley teach you? He spells:
EDUACTION MAKES SO HAPPY RYAN
So, then I said.. hey.. do you like Mommy teaching you?.. and he spells
NO
great.. that made me feel awful......Then I asked him why in a kind voice so he would be honest and tell me...... he spells:
SEEING SO HARD
I have been asking him to read the computer screen multiple choice questions and we did geography last night. We were learning about the concept of borders Like one question was look at the map... find Italy.... and what two countries border Italy... he had to look and then spell on his letter board the bordering countries.......so ...lots of looking.......hmmmm.. he has said this before seeing is hard....... I told him I will teach more by talking vs looking... also I want to ask him exactly what could physically be going on... he can definately see tiny words..
EDUACTION MAKES SO HAPPY RYAN
So, then I said.. hey.. do you like Mommy teaching you?.. and he spells
NO
great.. that made me feel awful......Then I asked him why in a kind voice so he would be honest and tell me...... he spells:
SEEING SO HARD
I have been asking him to read the computer screen multiple choice questions and we did geography last night. We were learning about the concept of borders Like one question was look at the map... find Italy.... and what two countries border Italy... he had to look and then spell on his letter board the bordering countries.......so ...lots of looking.......hmmmm.. he has said this before seeing is hard....... I told him I will teach more by talking vs looking... also I want to ask him exactly what could physically be going on... he can definately see tiny words..
Sunday, November 7, 2010
Ashley can now do letterboard fluently with Ryan!!
Well, a new milestone for our family!!!!!!!!!!!!
My 13 year old daughter now is fluent on the board with my son Ryan! She now teaches him his OVA content along with me. I knew she could get a few words with Ryan here and there......well. now they are talking in sentences... she is teaching and he said this afternoon and yesterday
TEACH RYAN ( ashley had board and was talking to him)
Who do you want to teach Ryan? ( ash asked)
RYAN WANTS ASHLEY TO TEACH RYAN
Yes yes.. yes he is enjoying learning with her.......... Oh my gosh..........this is unbelievable. They did math asssesment testing today completed one math unit and did vocab for the novel he is reading " Sign of the Beaver" historical fiction...he loves it!
He is also reading the computer screen and answering mulitiple choice A-D options..
Please.. anyone who reads this...your child can do SOOOOOOOO much more then everyone thought.. Go to HALO... learn this method.. My son... would have been stuck with 25.. I want pecs cards or a talker for the rest of his life.......... now he has a voice and opionion and is free to stand up for himself... he can tell people exactly what he thinks.. it is not just my son....all the families who went to halo from Cincinnati... have the exact same experience as we did........... Give your child their voice...what do you have to lose.......
My 13 year old daughter now is fluent on the board with my son Ryan! She now teaches him his OVA content along with me. I knew she could get a few words with Ryan here and there......well. now they are talking in sentences... she is teaching and he said this afternoon and yesterday
TEACH RYAN ( ashley had board and was talking to him)
Who do you want to teach Ryan? ( ash asked)
RYAN WANTS ASHLEY TO TEACH RYAN
Yes yes.. yes he is enjoying learning with her.......... Oh my gosh..........this is unbelievable. They did math asssesment testing today completed one math unit and did vocab for the novel he is reading " Sign of the Beaver" historical fiction...he loves it!
He is also reading the computer screen and answering mulitiple choice A-D options..
Please.. anyone who reads this...your child can do SOOOOOOOO much more then everyone thought.. Go to HALO... learn this method.. My son... would have been stuck with 25.. I want pecs cards or a talker for the rest of his life.......... now he has a voice and opionion and is free to stand up for himself... he can tell people exactly what he thinks.. it is not just my son....all the families who went to halo from Cincinnati... have the exact same experience as we did........... Give your child their voice...what do you have to lose.......
Monday, November 1, 2010
What was Joyce saying?
Every morning Ryan and I have our bible study. I give him a choice of watching three different Christian programs. He chooses Joyce Meyer all the time.. probably because he has grown up around watching that program...
So, we were watching this morning and Ryan grabbed my car keys and was walking around.. laughing and being quite joyful.. ( I stopped saying silly... because I would not want someone to call me silly when I may not be trying to be silly)
Well.. I said.. hey... we are suppose to be watching Joyce..she is teaching us some strong principles on how to live our life... no response...from Ryan... so I grabbed his board and said..
Who were we listening to.. inside I thought..Teresa, you know he knows ..you shouldn't ask him.. well of course .. with ease he spells JOYCE
Then I said.. What did she teach us did you hear her............................
He spells............ WANTS US TO DIE TO SELF ...LIVE FOR GOD!
Yes, correct!! Exactly her point. Joyce's 10 minute lecture... with quoting scripture and saying this principle in every way except the words " die to self" . However, know this.. Ryan picked up that term ( which I did not know ) from Joyce's other lessons he and I watched...
By the way.. " die to self" is really " like saying "get your mind off yourself and love and help people like Jesus does".
Remember..................our kids are listening.. A good morning for us!!!! Thanking God!!!
So, we were watching this morning and Ryan grabbed my car keys and was walking around.. laughing and being quite joyful.. ( I stopped saying silly... because I would not want someone to call me silly when I may not be trying to be silly)
Well.. I said.. hey... we are suppose to be watching Joyce..she is teaching us some strong principles on how to live our life... no response...from Ryan... so I grabbed his board and said..
Who were we listening to.. inside I thought..Teresa, you know he knows ..you shouldn't ask him.. well of course .. with ease he spells JOYCE
Then I said.. What did she teach us did you hear her............................
He spells............ WANTS US TO DIE TO SELF ...LIVE FOR GOD!
Yes, correct!! Exactly her point. Joyce's 10 minute lecture... with quoting scripture and saying this principle in every way except the words " die to self" . However, know this.. Ryan picked up that term ( which I did not know ) from Joyce's other lessons he and I watched...
By the way.. " die to self" is really " like saying "get your mind off yourself and love and help people like Jesus does".
Remember..................our kids are listening.. A good morning for us!!!! Thanking God!!!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
"RYAN HATES MAKE DANCE" OT OBSERVATION
An OT was observing Ryan session with his therapist the other day. She was talking about Ryan to the observer but saying only positive things.......BUT Ryan got upset AND SAID FIRST
RYAN NOT DANCE
then
RYAN HATES MAKE DANCE ... of course in tears and screams he is spelling this out..
I knew what he meant......He doesnt want to feel like he has to perform for people..............UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I asked him do you me perform for "X" and he said YES. My awesome OT asked the observer to step out and Ryan calmed down ..
Remember are kids get it they are in there...........we must pay attention!
RYAN NOT DANCE
then
RYAN HATES MAKE DANCE ... of course in tears and screams he is spelling this out..
I knew what he meant......He doesnt want to feel like he has to perform for people..............UHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. I asked him do you me perform for "X" and he said YES. My awesome OT asked the observer to step out and Ryan calmed down ..
Remember are kids get it they are in there...........we must pay attention!
Feelings about School! and Ohio Virtual Academy
Ryan is doing Ohio Virtual Academy this year. They have a thing called class connects. It is on illuminate a meeting site. Kids get on and the teacher does instruction! The kids can raise there hands and answer questions.. Talk on the mic... The teacher is doing Literature.. a novel." The Sign of the Beaver" Ryan came to the table and banged the computer wanting to listen to the story and interact with the kids. See he can make noise and take breaks whenever he wants.. IT IS SO COOL. But he feels like an active part of the class answering on his board. He was asked to make a prediction based on the cover what the book is about. Will post that next.. So smart.. and intuitive!
Well I asked him. hey do you like being with the teacher and learning with the kids.. and this was his answer:
Spelled name of his past school... then said _xxxxxxx SCHOOL SEPERATES RYAN..LIKE MAKING DECISIONS
See in the classroom he can answer with the kids at his pace we can keep talking while the teacher is teaching.. it works.. it is brilliant.......... we really love the repeats.. because I can pause the teacher .... give Ryan time to think and respond.. and then not miss a lick............... Ryan feels like he is participating making decisions.. answering her provoking questions.. she is getting the kids to think.. and Ryan loves it He loves to make decisions!
Well I asked him. hey do you like being with the teacher and learning with the kids.. and this was his answer:
Spelled name of his past school... then said _xxxxxxx SCHOOL SEPERATES RYAN..LIKE MAKING DECISIONS
See in the classroom he can answer with the kids at his pace we can keep talking while the teacher is teaching.. it works.. it is brilliant.......... we really love the repeats.. because I can pause the teacher .... give Ryan time to think and respond.. and then not miss a lick............... Ryan feels like he is participating making decisions.. answering her provoking questions.. she is getting the kids to think.. and Ryan loves it He loves to make decisions!
Visit with the new speech therapist!
I have not had to start up with a new speech therapist in a long while.. This situation was perfect for RPM... because we sat at a table. THIS IS WHAT WAS SO COOL................Everything had changed.. Before I would speak for Ryan.. I would say what he was interested in and what he wanted to accomplish at the sessions.. I spoke for him always...............This time Ryan had his voice........he told her ......
Please HELP ME SPEAK. I DON'T LIKE COMPUTER. LIKE TV I LIKE MOVIES I THINK SOME GAMES ARE .. NOT FOR RYAN .
He sat there answering her interview questions via his letter board. ..... that was awesome!!!!
He kept gently touching under the therapist chin.......well before rpm I would have said. NO hands down.. thinking it was a quirky behavior.. However, he told me several months back that he does that to say I like you will you and will you be my friend..................think about that...........how loving is that .. and I was grabbing his hand. and feeling somewhat embarrassed about the action..
God is good......is what comes to mind.. I am so grateful to have my son's voice.. we get each other now.
Please HELP ME SPEAK. I DON'T LIKE COMPUTER. LIKE TV I LIKE MOVIES I THINK SOME GAMES ARE .. NOT FOR RYAN .
He sat there answering her interview questions via his letter board. ..... that was awesome!!!!
He kept gently touching under the therapist chin.......well before rpm I would have said. NO hands down.. thinking it was a quirky behavior.. However, he told me several months back that he does that to say I like you will you and will you be my friend..................think about that...........how loving is that .. and I was grabbing his hand. and feeling somewhat embarrassed about the action..
God is good......is what comes to mind.. I am so grateful to have my son's voice.. we get each other now.
What every Mom wants to KNOW!!!
Ryan is non-verbal.. so he could never tell me if he was sick or something hurt...............Well now he can!
I noticed dry blood in his ear and a scab .. like he was picking at his ear..so I said the following.. Ryan does your ear hurt ..does it bother you.. do you have an boo boo..?? why am I going into such detail and talking baby talk........NO IDEA .. I do know I needed to get his attentions so talked for a little bit about what I was going to be asking him . however.. did I need to babytalk........NOPE.. so he says to me:
EAR IS TOTALLY HEALTHY.
Well after that mature comment.... I was the one feeling stupid.......... so good to be able to talk to my son......... We must come to a point of understanding.. just because our kids can not speak does not mean they are stupid............ yes.........lets start the change of thinking.... I am first in line and have to be reminded at times. Thank God for Ryan' s sake .. I don't have to be reminded so often any more!
I noticed dry blood in his ear and a scab .. like he was picking at his ear..so I said the following.. Ryan does your ear hurt ..does it bother you.. do you have an boo boo..?? why am I going into such detail and talking baby talk........NO IDEA .. I do know I needed to get his attentions so talked for a little bit about what I was going to be asking him . however.. did I need to babytalk........NOPE.. so he says to me:
EAR IS TOTALLY HEALTHY.
Well after that mature comment.... I was the one feeling stupid.......... so good to be able to talk to my son......... We must come to a point of understanding.. just because our kids can not speak does not mean they are stupid............ yes.........lets start the change of thinking.... I am first in line and have to be reminded at times. Thank God for Ryan' s sake .. I don't have to be reminded so often any more!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
The true heart of Ryan and how it helped Ashley
To honor Ryan I will not share specifics but a few minutes ago Ashley had to help Ryan while I was on the phone. She wanted him to wait for Mom to help him vs her and had also damaged a personal item in here room.
So I came to help them got Ryan all fixed up and knew from his noises and upset sounds he was very upset for sure over the entire incident.
he spells on board when we came downstairs
RYAN WANTS YESTERDAY
I said why...
NOT WANT TO HELP RYAN..
I knew he was talking about Ashley but asked and he spelled ASHLEY
Called ASHLEY DOWN AND Ryan said..
DID NOT MEAN TO ________________ CAN YOU PLEASE FORGIVE ME
Ashley was sitting at the kitchen table she ran around the table crying telling ryan I was not mad at you I was just tired and in a bad mood I love you Ryan... yah.. I was holding back my tears..Then he spells out
SOMETIMES IT IS HARD TO _____________________. and ran upstairs Ashley followed. She now is sitting next to me and told me what she told Ryan... she said.. ,"I should ask you to forgive me. Ryan, you are the most awesome brother..and several other sweet things ....... she has the heart of God and so does Ryan.. together we will get through all that comes are way.
I shared with Ashley how it must be very hard and at times humilating to not be able to make your body do the right thing or be trapped inside and have no way to explain anything. Please if you have a child with Autism learn this method.. help your child have a voice...
So I came to help them got Ryan all fixed up and knew from his noises and upset sounds he was very upset for sure over the entire incident.
he spells on board when we came downstairs
RYAN WANTS YESTERDAY
I said why...
NOT WANT TO HELP RYAN..
I knew he was talking about Ashley but asked and he spelled ASHLEY
Called ASHLEY DOWN AND Ryan said..
DID NOT MEAN TO ________________ CAN YOU PLEASE FORGIVE ME
Ashley was sitting at the kitchen table she ran around the table crying telling ryan I was not mad at you I was just tired and in a bad mood I love you Ryan... yah.. I was holding back my tears..Then he spells out
SOMETIMES IT IS HARD TO _____________________. and ran upstairs Ashley followed. She now is sitting next to me and told me what she told Ryan... she said.. ,"I should ask you to forgive me. Ryan, you are the most awesome brother..and several other sweet things ....... she has the heart of God and so does Ryan.. together we will get through all that comes are way.
I shared with Ashley how it must be very hard and at times humilating to not be able to make your body do the right thing or be trapped inside and have no way to explain anything. Please if you have a child with Autism learn this method.. help your child have a voice...
Saturday, July 17, 2010
I am sorry I point Kate!
Well Kate came over and Ryan and all of us were talking.. He told her he liked snicker doodle cookies at Whole foods. ...this was a new food item which earlier this morning I had him read the sign at the store vs. going in and grabbing the cookie..and then spell the word to me . Next I showed him how to use the tissue paper and take a cookie from the glass shelf. He remember how to spell the word hours later as we sat talking to Kate..impressive!!
Well he said to Kate: I XTREMELY WANT TO SPEAK RYAN SORRY HE POINTS ..
Kate being her totally sweet self said .. that's OK Ryan I like that you point.. Ryan got really silly tried to say something else then ran away........it was fun and so cool.. Ryan really felt OK for that moment about pointing .. like I said to Ryan we are working on speaking and pointing ..it is all coming along so well..
We love Kate!!
Well he said to Kate: I XTREMELY WANT TO SPEAK RYAN SORRY HE POINTS ..
Kate being her totally sweet self said .. that's OK Ryan I like that you point.. Ryan got really silly tried to say something else then ran away........it was fun and so cool.. Ryan really felt OK for that moment about pointing .. like I said to Ryan we are working on speaking and pointing ..it is all coming along so well..
We love Kate!!
Spelling a question and describing the car!
Ashley always says.. your funny Mom you spell everything now.......... Well, I was talking to Paul and Ryan and started spelling.. a word...... and thought. Ryan are you even paying attention to me..... So I spelled the following sentence to him NOT saying the words.. spelling the words.. Letter by letter I spelled this:
F-L-O-W-E-R- O-N- T-A-B-L-E- -I-S-W-H-A-T-C-O-L-O-R?
Ryan spells on board YELLOW....................He is correct! He is listening to me spelling multiple words comprehending the words the question and then answering!!
So blown away.... I was thinking. About sentences and I said.you know what Ryan I think you need to write higher level sentences like people do in college.. how about that!!!! So, I explained when I was in college my teachers wanted us to use more description when writing . using adjectives for example. Explained what an adjective was then took his plastic toy cat he was holding and said, I could create a sentence about this cat like this: THIS IS A CAT or I could use adjectives and describe the cat this way: THIS IS A GRAY CAT WITH WHITE STRIPES AND DARK SLANTED EYES.
So next I grabbed a toy car out of toy basket and said Ryan make a sentences describing this car. This is the awesome sentence he wrote.. the car had all those colors on it....
................. THIS IS A PURPLE WHITE GREEN TOY CAR.
Wow............. I am so impressed and all this took place this morning sitting on the floor in the morning room by the cool air duct..........his favorite place:) Today is a great day!!
F-L-O-W-E-R- O-N- T-A-B-L-E- -I-S-W-H-A-T-C-O-L-O-R?
Ryan spells on board YELLOW....................He is correct! He is listening to me spelling multiple words comprehending the words the question and then answering!!
So blown away.... I was thinking. About sentences and I said.you know what Ryan I think you need to write higher level sentences like people do in college.. how about that!!!! So, I explained when I was in college my teachers wanted us to use more description when writing . using adjectives for example. Explained what an adjective was then took his plastic toy cat he was holding and said, I could create a sentence about this cat like this: THIS IS A CAT or I could use adjectives and describe the cat this way: THIS IS A GRAY CAT WITH WHITE STRIPES AND DARK SLANTED EYES.
So next I grabbed a toy car out of toy basket and said Ryan make a sentences describing this car. This is the awesome sentence he wrote.. the car had all those colors on it....
................. THIS IS A PURPLE WHITE GREEN TOY CAR.
Wow............. I am so impressed and all this took place this morning sitting on the floor in the morning room by the cool air duct..........his favorite place:) Today is a great day!!
Monday, July 5, 2010
Our Kids ARE hearing us............
Sharing this to let other parents understand... our kids hear and are affected by what we say.
Paul and I were discussing a problem and Paul when he is upset can take on this tone...... but Ryan is very aware when he is upset about something. . Paul brought up past situations of problem X .. well Ryan said the following but before that he starting pacing and talking/ sounds in DAD's face...trying to tell us to stop.
So Paul got the board and Paul and Ryan were talking ..Ryan spelled
DAD STOP YELLING
Ryan was standing up...and getting tired so we said lets talk sitting down.. then I took over the board and Ryan spelled:
PLEASE RYAN REALLY WANTS EITHER YOU STOP REMEMBERING
RYAN UPSET XTREMELY
STOP YELLING
Then Paul said I am sorry Ryan when I get upset I tend to speak louder and I am sorry buddy. Ryan consoles Paul here we go
WAS VERY SORRY TO ( we said do you mean to as in also..he spelled YES.)
SOMETIMES RYAN SO MAD TO
SO VERY HARD TO REACH OUT
then we talked about that and then I said anything else you want to tell us
LOVE YOU.....
My son .. I he is so kind and so understanding.. I want to be more like him
Paul and I were discussing a problem and Paul when he is upset can take on this tone...... but Ryan is very aware when he is upset about something. . Paul brought up past situations of problem X .. well Ryan said the following but before that he starting pacing and talking/ sounds in DAD's face...trying to tell us to stop.
So Paul got the board and Paul and Ryan were talking ..Ryan spelled
DAD STOP YELLING
Ryan was standing up...and getting tired so we said lets talk sitting down.. then I took over the board and Ryan spelled:
PLEASE RYAN REALLY WANTS EITHER YOU STOP REMEMBERING
RYAN UPSET XTREMELY
STOP YELLING
Then Paul said I am sorry Ryan when I get upset I tend to speak louder and I am sorry buddy. Ryan consoles Paul here we go
WAS VERY SORRY TO ( we said do you mean to as in also..he spelled YES.)
SOMETIMES RYAN SO MAD TO
SO VERY HARD TO REACH OUT
then we talked about that and then I said anything else you want to tell us
LOVE YOU.....
My son .. I he is so kind and so understanding.. I want to be more like him
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
WII .. I AM NERVOUS AND SCARED!
WII COMPUTER GAME TENNIS AND SKIING............... HE SHARED HE WAS "SCARED NOT WANT TO MAKE A MISTAKE"...... WE DID IT TOGETHER AND HE SAID ," WII IS SO FUN.. RYAN PLAYED TENNIS WELL!
GOOD DAY!
GOOD DAY!
WOW.........THE MAZE!.. HE LIKES IT!
I WOULD NEVER TRY A MAZE BECAUSE WE CAN NOT EVEN WRITE OUR LETTERS INDEPENDENTLY.... BUT TODAY WAS OUR DAY.. AND RYAN FELT GREAT ABOUT DOING A MAZE. I HAD HIM CHOOSE THE COLOR MARKER BY SPELLING THE COLOR ON THE BOARD.. THEN STARTED. THE BOOK WAS A NEMO COLORING BOOK. .. WELL RYAN AND I DID IT TOGETHER .. I TOLD HIM.. YOU TELL ME WHICH WAY TO GO. GIVE ME DIRECTIONS.. START SAID WHICH WAY RYAN UP... WE HIT A WALL OR DO WE GO DOWN.. CHOSE DOWN. THEN CONTINUED WITH OUT LEADING QUESTIONS...HE WAS "PLEASED" AND ALSO SAID "VERY LIKEABLE" AND SAID," RYAN IS VERY ACADEMIC"........GREAT MORNING......... HE ASKED TO DO A SECOND MAZE........NO WAY!!!NOW WE HAVE A NEW FUN THING TO DO..
Monday, June 7, 2010
Think on this... we say kids with Autism may have memory retrieval issues!
Went to Kings Island it has been three years since we visited the park .Walked the park rode some rides and heading to the parking lot..calling it a night...got to what I will call the split.. One way took us to the parking lot and one way to other side of the park with the small kid rides. Ryan loved this one ride when he was little but he was smaller and I figured he would not fit into the small train so we never went into that section of the park that day.
Well give a guess which way Ryan was pulling me. I said...no the parking lot is this way.. kept pulling. so I stopped got out his board and said..Where are we going?
TO RYANS RIDE
Yep he took us straight there we were BLOWN AWAY........
The park had changed hands and much looked different... he knew. He remembered!! A good night!
Well give a guess which way Ryan was pulling me. I said...no the parking lot is this way.. kept pulling. so I stopped got out his board and said..Where are we going?
TO RYANS RIDE
Yep he took us straight there we were BLOWN AWAY........
The park had changed hands and much looked different... he knew. He remembered!! A good night!
William Tell and Ryans new story!
Reading about William Tell and how he was forced to shoot the apple off of his own sons head and legend has it he saved the second arrow to shoot the Governor for being a tyrant.
So I said you write a story today.. I wrote Chapter One. and Ryan wrote:
Title... SON TO MURDER
XTREME NIGHT SON MURDERED YOUNG ANIMAL MURDERED MANY WANT KILLING TO STOP
STOP MURDERS UPSET
RYAN STOPPED THE MURDERS
REACH NOT INTO HIS QUIVER (we learned quiver as vocab word in W.Tell story:))
HE SENT SON SORT OF
HE SENT MESSAGE
STOP
SOME TIME PAST XTREMELY WEIRD TENSE MURDERS STOPPED
THE END ( did not want to correct him on spelling of extreme..)
So I said you write a story today.. I wrote Chapter One. and Ryan wrote:
Title... SON TO MURDER
XTREME NIGHT SON MURDERED YOUNG ANIMAL MURDERED MANY WANT KILLING TO STOP
STOP MURDERS UPSET
RYAN STOPPED THE MURDERS
REACH NOT INTO HIS QUIVER (we learned quiver as vocab word in W.Tell story:))
HE SENT SON SORT OF
HE SENT MESSAGE
STOP
SOME TIME PAST XTREMELY WEIRD TENSE MURDERS STOPPED
THE END ( did not want to correct him on spelling of extreme..)
Saturday, June 5, 2010
Ryan is teaching again!
Observation today.. Ryan request Wallo an d Whizz.. from yesterday.. told me yesterday I was reading to fast again said same thing then slowed it down had to define to many words in book and then he said TO DIFFICULT..
changed to factual stuff solor system Ryan said very interesting. timer went off wanted more 30 minutes when had a choice of 10 /15 or 30 minutes.. then got tired....... stopped
interesting
changed to factual stuff solor system Ryan said very interesting. timer went off wanted more 30 minutes when had a choice of 10 /15 or 30 minutes.. then got tired....... stopped
interesting
Romantic weekend... Nope...Apply foot to Break!
Well the plan was set... Paul and I had not gone had a romantic weekend away from the kids for over 3 years! I am thinking..... Had Lisa my dear friend who loves Ryan and Ashley to stay Friday night and we would be home Saturday. I told Ryan... Mom and Dad are going away for the weekend and you get to spend time with Lisa and Ashley ! you get to have Pizza and swim and it will be so fun! I knew Ryan loves Lisa! So, during the day was on the phone sharing my great news with a friend all is well and then Lisa knocked on the door. Ryan very Happy and now looking back very overly exicited greets Lisa at the door. Told Ashley to watch him while Lisa and I work on going through paperwork, details, routines etc.
Well, Ryan would not swing, kept coming up and down the stairs.. as Ashley is saying Ryan doesn't want to watch TV or swing, I should have clued in but I was thinking. Something was not right with him. Oh. I thought. he just wants Lisa all to himself not doing paperwork with me.. Lisa confirmed my thought and agreed with me!
So it continued Ryan kept coming up to Lisa ... we are thinking again... wants to her to play...Well, now I hear him fussing and starting the upset sound.....Hmm.. that is odd.. let me go check him.. Grabbed my letter board and a pencil and up I went....... So he is in tears.. I said you have to sit up and tell me what is going on....... Ryan crying tells me... RYAN UPSET MOM NOT GO.
Well, he is crying now BIG tears and extremely upset. face is red, wet from tears ,shutting eyes and head hung down it was so sad.. I said. Oh.. I had no idea THAT is why you were crying.. I thought you were mad because Lisa wasn't swinging you.......I was SHOCKED. I never connected the two. WOW.......I told him... I never even asked you if it was OK with you and how you felt about me going away for the weekend. I should have figured it out the last time Dad went out of town he said RYAN WANTS DAD NOT GO AWAY. PLEASE NOT GO.
Again, our romantic weekend.. was only one night staying at my folks house which is vacant.. 10 minutes away... and I told him I would be home early morning... See again from my perspective it was no big deal..
So, we changed plans and Paul and Ashley got in the our car and I said Ryan and I will drive with Lisa .. we will all go swimming. Again, like he told me in another post I mentioned .. that I dont as Ryan used the word,"SHARE" things with him..I did it again.. not discussing our trip and again, telling him which car to drive in verses asking.. I asked Ashley who she wanted to drive with......UHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.. Actually to make myself feel worse.. Paul said..Teresa why don't you ask Ryan who he wants to drive with... it wasn't even my idea..huh...
Well, I "knew" because I just know everything(LOL!!) that he would want to drive with Dad.. He picks Dad over Mom every time.....Well, got the letterboard out and he said RYAN WANTS TO DRIVE WITH MOM.....Again BLOWN AWAY....... OK.. drive with me and Lisa....
Couldn't I see the full picture.. he was so upset over me saying I am going away for the weekend.. that he want to stick with me for the car ride.. We told him we would talk about it and work up to Mom and Dad going away and him being OK with it...
So for the weekend my romantic getaway is quite familiar.. and really I am very happy to be home with Paul and the kids. It is all good and again.... with out RPM .........I would have never known my son needed me and wants me to be with him... so it is all good!!!
Well, Ryan would not swing, kept coming up and down the stairs.. as Ashley is saying Ryan doesn't want to watch TV or swing, I should have clued in but I was thinking. Something was not right with him. Oh. I thought. he just wants Lisa all to himself not doing paperwork with me.. Lisa confirmed my thought and agreed with me!
So it continued Ryan kept coming up to Lisa ... we are thinking again... wants to her to play...Well, now I hear him fussing and starting the upset sound.....Hmm.. that is odd.. let me go check him.. Grabbed my letter board and a pencil and up I went....... So he is in tears.. I said you have to sit up and tell me what is going on....... Ryan crying tells me... RYAN UPSET MOM NOT GO.
Well, he is crying now BIG tears and extremely upset. face is red, wet from tears ,shutting eyes and head hung down it was so sad.. I said. Oh.. I had no idea THAT is why you were crying.. I thought you were mad because Lisa wasn't swinging you.......I was SHOCKED. I never connected the two. WOW.......I told him... I never even asked you if it was OK with you and how you felt about me going away for the weekend. I should have figured it out the last time Dad went out of town he said RYAN WANTS DAD NOT GO AWAY. PLEASE NOT GO.
Again, our romantic weekend.. was only one night staying at my folks house which is vacant.. 10 minutes away... and I told him I would be home early morning... See again from my perspective it was no big deal..
So, we changed plans and Paul and Ashley got in the our car and I said Ryan and I will drive with Lisa .. we will all go swimming. Again, like he told me in another post I mentioned .. that I dont as Ryan used the word,"SHARE" things with him..I did it again.. not discussing our trip and again, telling him which car to drive in verses asking.. I asked Ashley who she wanted to drive with......UHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.. Actually to make myself feel worse.. Paul said..Teresa why don't you ask Ryan who he wants to drive with... it wasn't even my idea..huh...
Well, I "knew" because I just know everything(LOL!!) that he would want to drive with Dad.. He picks Dad over Mom every time.....Well, got the letterboard out and he said RYAN WANTS TO DRIVE WITH MOM.....Again BLOWN AWAY....... OK.. drive with me and Lisa....
Couldn't I see the full picture.. he was so upset over me saying I am going away for the weekend.. that he want to stick with me for the car ride.. We told him we would talk about it and work up to Mom and Dad going away and him being OK with it...
So for the weekend my romantic getaway is quite familiar.. and really I am very happy to be home with Paul and the kids. It is all good and again.... with out RPM .........I would have never known my son needed me and wants me to be with him... so it is all good!!!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Listen up everyone...ryan is teaching us how to Teach!
Ask me when you see me to explain what took place in more detail regarding teaching this IEP Goal.........so very interesting... but will try to explain
1. goal.......to look at completed colored picture choose the correct color crayon that matches each portion of that picture...then color duplicate picture that had not been colored correct color.
2. Showed Ryan 4 colored pencils.. asked him what color is this pencil..spelled out colors..new that was going to be WAY easy. So he knows the pencil colors green,yellow, red, orange
3. Drew out on index cards heart, butterfly, leaf and lollipop. Ryan with ease.. labeled on board item and its color. again.. he knows colors and items. EASY ( told him sorry this may seem silly to you.)
4. Then layed out .. starting on left side colored heart picture a duplicate picture with no color and then layed out the four colored pencils. I said... thinking he would easily grab the red pencil color the heart and be done! NOPE.. I told him grab the matching color pencil... grabbed green, restated.. grab the red pencil I want you to color the other heart red too.. Nope.. grabbed the first choice..closest to him..green..
5.So, I said this seems hard for you why do you think that??? He said. RYAN IS LIMITED WHEN REACHING OUT HARD TO SEE.
6. Oh.. I said.. Immediately grabbed the pencils spread them out between my fingers and pulled them really really close to Ryan to simulate his pointing board. DEAD ON CORRECT! YEP..
He shared: HE DEMONSTRATES NOT MOTOR SKILLS
NOT IDIOT
ON DIFFICULT ROUTINES JUST LIKE THE ONE WE DID REACHING OUT IS MUCH MORE TO SEE
WE MEAN TO MAKE TERESA PROUD WANT TO
so, I am holding back the tears.. and I let him know that being proud of you has nothing to do with performance......it has to do with the wonderful kind, loving person he is...
These kids want to do well and we are setting them up over and over again to FAIL... Shared this with my OT.. and the challenge is to help him get better without affecting his self esteem. Please anyone who reads this......think on this..... a well taught lesson from Ryan! Again...I am learning ................ we all are learning. It is all good!
1. goal.......to look at completed colored picture choose the correct color crayon that matches each portion of that picture...then color duplicate picture that had not been colored correct color.
2. Showed Ryan 4 colored pencils.. asked him what color is this pencil..spelled out colors..new that was going to be WAY easy. So he knows the pencil colors green,yellow, red, orange
3. Drew out on index cards heart, butterfly, leaf and lollipop. Ryan with ease.. labeled on board item and its color. again.. he knows colors and items. EASY ( told him sorry this may seem silly to you.)
4. Then layed out .. starting on left side colored heart picture a duplicate picture with no color and then layed out the four colored pencils. I said... thinking he would easily grab the red pencil color the heart and be done! NOPE.. I told him grab the matching color pencil... grabbed green, restated.. grab the red pencil I want you to color the other heart red too.. Nope.. grabbed the first choice..closest to him..green..
5.So, I said this seems hard for you why do you think that??? He said. RYAN IS LIMITED WHEN REACHING OUT HARD TO SEE.
6. Oh.. I said.. Immediately grabbed the pencils spread them out between my fingers and pulled them really really close to Ryan to simulate his pointing board. DEAD ON CORRECT! YEP..
He shared: HE DEMONSTRATES NOT MOTOR SKILLS
NOT IDIOT
ON DIFFICULT ROUTINES JUST LIKE THE ONE WE DID REACHING OUT IS MUCH MORE TO SEE
WE MEAN TO MAKE TERESA PROUD WANT TO
so, I am holding back the tears.. and I let him know that being proud of you has nothing to do with performance......it has to do with the wonderful kind, loving person he is...
These kids want to do well and we are setting them up over and over again to FAIL... Shared this with my OT.. and the challenge is to help him get better without affecting his self esteem. Please anyone who reads this......think on this..... a well taught lesson from Ryan! Again...I am learning ................ we all are learning. It is all good!
Thursday, June 3, 2010
XTREME ORDERS.............MOM!
Sitting in front of the sliding glass door this morning.. first practice speaking, reading our prayer sheet, (faith in God gives Ryan HOPE)
Did not want to practice speaking said: SPEAKING TO HARD.. I said.. we will just do it together..you told me you want to speak so we will work on PROMPT stuff... ( mouth movement) After that which was maybe 5 minutes if that.. Ryan was upset somewhat... I said OK our schedule then..you pick.. 3 things you decide. we can't just lay around and watch tv all day... Math, science, story poetry, history..
WHILE YOU ARE MAKING XTREME ORDERS RYAN NOT SURE YOU LOVE RYAN
Of course he got the "i love you so much speech from me..:) hugs kisses:)
Then we talked about why I am asking him to learn and earlier on I .. I told him his learning the letter board will help other kids. ( parents who read this..tell you kids that too!)
After he said the above comment... He ended by saying
I RYAN WANT TO HELP OTHERS.
END
Good day...........his life has meaning and purpose and all is well..
Did not want to practice speaking said: SPEAKING TO HARD.. I said.. we will just do it together..you told me you want to speak so we will work on PROMPT stuff... ( mouth movement) After that which was maybe 5 minutes if that.. Ryan was upset somewhat... I said OK our schedule then..you pick.. 3 things you decide. we can't just lay around and watch tv all day... Math, science, story poetry, history..
WHILE YOU ARE MAKING XTREME ORDERS RYAN NOT SURE YOU LOVE RYAN
Of course he got the "i love you so much speech from me..:) hugs kisses:)
Then we talked about why I am asking him to learn and earlier on I .. I told him his learning the letter board will help other kids. ( parents who read this..tell you kids that too!)
After he said the above comment... He ended by saying
I RYAN WANT TO HELP OTHERS.
END
Good day...........his life has meaning and purpose and all is well..
Wednesday, June 2, 2010
pointing book
Ashley needed clear plastic page covers for presentation.. so I found Ryan's old visual scanning book that I had made up years ago.. it was one task that he semi enjoyed.
Well Ryan is laying on the couch... and I am talking to Ashley.. Ryan doesn't need this anymore.. you can have the pages.. gave them to her.. 10 minutes later was working with Ryan starts crying..
RYAN NOT HAVE MANY THINGS
RYAN WANTS TOY
PLASTIC PAGE NEED RYAN
more things he shared can't remember.. I can't believe it........ I had ...we had no idea he even cared about that book......thank GoD for RPM
Well Ryan is laying on the couch... and I am talking to Ashley.. Ryan doesn't need this anymore.. you can have the pages.. gave them to her.. 10 minutes later was working with Ryan starts crying..
RYAN NOT HAVE MANY THINGS
RYAN WANTS TOY
PLASTIC PAGE NEED RYAN
more things he shared can't remember.. I can't believe it........ I had ...we had no idea he even cared about that book......thank GoD for RPM
Change in format for those reading blog!
I have missed hundreds of things Ryan has shared so I decided I will just write them and if I have time will tell the background as to how it all came about at a later date!
Thanks for reading.. please go to HALO... and give your children a voice... work hard and practice... your life and your childs will be so much better..
Today.. from Ryan
SOME TIMES NO ONE STOPS TO SHARE
I RYAN REALLY NOT IDIOT
SORRY
ONE THING EITHER STOP NOT SHARING
HEAR NEED
I RYAN MEAN NOT TO INSULT YOU
I VERY MUCH LOVE YOU
Thanks for reading.. please go to HALO... and give your children a voice... work hard and practice... your life and your childs will be so much better..
Today.. from Ryan
SOME TIMES NO ONE STOPS TO SHARE
I RYAN REALLY NOT IDIOT
SORRY
ONE THING EITHER STOP NOT SHARING
HEAR NEED
I RYAN MEAN NOT TO INSULT YOU
I VERY MUCH LOVE YOU
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
You May ThinkThat!
Today is Tuesday and Ryan has just got up from the table having had a big breakfast and did some grazing early around 4am as welll. I am thinking OK we are for sure full. Ryan goes and sits in front of the food pantry door. So I thought we are already writing down all that we eat ( I am doing Weight Watchers and tracking Ryans food too... not a diet just keeping a mental note on all we both are eating:)) So I thought OK.... instead of me writing down all you ate this morning you list it out on the board.. So, we start, I said yes tell me what you ate.. because you sure at plenty this morning already.. maybe start with fruits.. he says:
YOU THINK I HAVE HAD MUCH ...RYAN WANTS MORE. I said well you are just talking so great on you board..(wanting him to see the value in the board ...still work for him ) so tell me go ahead want do you want .. I knew:
CROUTONS .. So croutons it was!! ... good start to our morning!
YOU THINK I HAVE HAD MUCH ...RYAN WANTS MORE. I said well you are just talking so great on you board..(wanting him to see the value in the board ...still work for him ) so tell me go ahead want do you want .. I knew:
CROUTONS .. So croutons it was!! ... good start to our morning!
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Yes, Mom is Computer Challenged!
Organization and scheduling all that our family has to get done over the weekend is one of the things we struggle with. Well, Paul went somewhere in the morning and when he returned he was writing out the "plan" and was asking each one of use what we wanted to share and give input on regarding how the rest of the afternoon and night were going to go. Ashley told Dad what she did this morning.. and said,"well I finished my room this morning so I want to blah blah blah . Then I chimed in and her comes Ryan.....He had done nothing that morning except listen to me obviously all morning long... he says. when Paul said to him What do you want to add in Ryan. ............
MOM LOST HER PRESENTATION
Oh yes, all morning long I was complaining because somehow I did not save the Children's Hospital Autism Conference Power Point presentation on my Laptop.. I was loudly complaining about the fact I was such a idiot for forgeting to save it..or somehow the computer ate it....... I also was softly complaining, murmuring the majority of the afternoon about this unfortunate event until Paul walked through the door!............ He was listening that's for sure!!
Poor Ryan .........that was what his morning was filled with!! I apologized.
MOM LOST HER PRESENTATION
Oh yes, all morning long I was complaining because somehow I did not save the Children's Hospital Autism Conference Power Point presentation on my Laptop.. I was loudly complaining about the fact I was such a idiot for forgeting to save it..or somehow the computer ate it....... I also was softly complaining, murmuring the majority of the afternoon about this unfortunate event until Paul walked through the door!............ He was listening that's for sure!!
Poor Ryan .........that was what his morning was filled with!! I apologized.
Ryan Reading Reader's Digest!
My Mom bought us these Reader Digest Books she found at a garage sale.. that had the large print for those folks whose eyes need every bit of help they can get .. mine included these days.. So anyways, After Ryan kicked me under the table the day before and told me,"I can read"... need to put that into our blog.. Well, Ashley and I decided to see if he could read the Reader Digest.
Ashley took great notes so here we go.......... ( Ryan in blue font color)
Ryan do you think you could read a book if you tried hard?
NOT EASY
Ryan read these words in the magazin and tell us what they say. ( Ashley and I silently pointed out the words
AHEAD OF THE CLASS
We kept pointing
How old was the girl in the article?
TWELVE
What did she build?
A SCHOOL
In what country was that school?
VIETNAM
He was correct on everything!... so ....Ryan can read..
Ashley took great notes so here we go.......... ( Ryan in blue font color)
Ryan do you think you could read a book if you tried hard?
NOT EASY
Ryan read these words in the magazin and tell us what they say. ( Ashley and I silently pointed out the words
AHEAD OF THE CLASS
We kept pointing
How old was the girl in the article?
TWELVE
What did she build?
A SCHOOL
In what country was that school?
VIETNAM
He was correct on everything!... so ....Ryan can read..
Ashley's Shirt
So, here comes Ashley downstairs to where Ryan and I are just about to start learning our lesson on long division. Ashley standing in the doorway says .. Hey Mom what do you think of my new shirt.. (we went to Kenwood and bought this kinda flowing, flower shirt something you would have seen in the 60's ) I said oh I like it..... what do you think Ryan? He spells:
HER SHIRT IS ELEGANT
SHE IS IN A CLASS ALL HER OWN
NOT EVEN I CAN REACH WHERE ASHLEY IS
ALREADY RYAN IS MAKING CARELESS MISTAKES
HER NOT LIKE RYAN
RYAN TO INTERESTED IN HIMSELF
I told him ..oh I know you and Dad and I think Ashley is so kind and always concerned about you and lovey towards you... but you are and I listed lots of things he was.. he didn't really by it... said
RYAN INTERESTED IN RYAN.
HER SHIRT IS ELEGANT
SHE IS IN A CLASS ALL HER OWN
NOT EVEN I CAN REACH WHERE ASHLEY IS
ALREADY RYAN IS MAKING CARELESS MISTAKES
HER NOT LIKE RYAN
RYAN TO INTERESTED IN HIMSELF
I told him ..oh I know you and Dad and I think Ashley is so kind and always concerned about you and lovey towards you... but you are and I listed lots of things he was.. he didn't really by it... said
RYAN INTERESTED IN RYAN.
Dad makes Ryan Calm!
Ryan spelled out his thoughts right before we started dying Easter eggs.. which to most of us dying Easter eggs is looked at as a fun and a easy activity
I asked Ryan if he wanted to dye Easter eggs and he spelled out:
MOM I WANT TO MAKE EGGS DAD
MAKES RYAN CALM
PLEASE HAVE DAD HELP RYAN WITH EGGS
I just didn't know................. that is how he felt about his Dad..... Paul helped Ryan that day.
I asked Ryan if he wanted to dye Easter eggs and he spelled out:
MOM I WANT TO MAKE EGGS DAD
MAKES RYAN CALM
PLEASE HAVE DAD HELP RYAN WITH EGGS
I just didn't know................. that is how he felt about his Dad..... Paul helped Ryan that day.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Ryan wants to be like Andrew!
Friday March 20, 2010
Went to Willies with my dear friend Jen and her four children. Ryan had his letter board. We ate and played in the arcade area that night. Andrew one of her children asked Ryan .. hey do you want to come play a video game forgot the name of the game he said.. .. Ryan to my surprise said YES on his board.
See before.. I would have answered for him and said oh..Ryan doesn't play video games..He is into TV and swinging and swimming. I was surprised he wanted to go. He and the other kids and his sister went over there.. our table was right in front so I watched him the entire time.
Next conversation was Andrew telling Ryan he is running track and I said we are going to have to come and check you out. The kids loved the letter board and Ryan being able to talk to them.. Andrew really wanted to hold the board and just talk to Ryan so I let him and Ryan focused and spelled out answers to his question while prompting his focus to attend... very noisy and many distraction at Willies..WOW.... he did great at pointing! What a fun time .. Ryan was very happy and me too.
That night we get in the parking lot and I said is there anything you want to say to Ms. Jen, and he spells to her: THANK YOU FOR LIKING MY MOM. yep... he was thanking her for being my friend and liking me.........
Next morning we woke up and Ryan said the following:
when I asked what do you want to do today:
I DO NOT WANT TO SIT AROUND ALL DAY.. I said OK.. lets make a schedule of three things you want to do today he spells STORE and I said get what SPRITE
PARK
RUN TRACK
I said Wow Ryan that is so cool.. I didn't know you want to run track do you know what that looks like or what it consists of and he spells :PRACTICE yep lots of that .. hey that is just like Andrew .. he runs track.. and he said YES.
Do you think he was listening to Andrew. Do you think our kids want to feel like they belong and do what other kids do ... you bet they do!!!
Went to Willies with my dear friend Jen and her four children. Ryan had his letter board. We ate and played in the arcade area that night. Andrew one of her children asked Ryan .. hey do you want to come play a video game forgot the name of the game he said.. .. Ryan to my surprise said YES on his board.
See before.. I would have answered for him and said oh..Ryan doesn't play video games..He is into TV and swinging and swimming. I was surprised he wanted to go. He and the other kids and his sister went over there.. our table was right in front so I watched him the entire time.
Next conversation was Andrew telling Ryan he is running track and I said we are going to have to come and check you out. The kids loved the letter board and Ryan being able to talk to them.. Andrew really wanted to hold the board and just talk to Ryan so I let him and Ryan focused and spelled out answers to his question while prompting his focus to attend... very noisy and many distraction at Willies..WOW.... he did great at pointing! What a fun time .. Ryan was very happy and me too.
That night we get in the parking lot and I said is there anything you want to say to Ms. Jen, and he spells to her: THANK YOU FOR LIKING MY MOM. yep... he was thanking her for being my friend and liking me.........
Next morning we woke up and Ryan said the following:
when I asked what do you want to do today:
I DO NOT WANT TO SIT AROUND ALL DAY.. I said OK.. lets make a schedule of three things you want to do today he spells STORE and I said get what SPRITE
PARK
RUN TRACK
I said Wow Ryan that is so cool.. I didn't know you want to run track do you know what that looks like or what it consists of and he spells :PRACTICE yep lots of that .. hey that is just like Andrew .. he runs track.. and he said YES.
Do you think he was listening to Andrew. Do you think our kids want to feel like they belong and do what other kids do ... you bet they do!!!
Yes we can keep it between us....
One of the special times in a Mom's life is when you have those very private conversations. When they ask you not to share their deepest personal thoughts.This was one of those things that I thought after seeing the silencing effect of Autism on my Ryan... that I would never ever experience. We would never be able to share that special bond. Well, I am here to tell you........I was wrong.
Today March 21st, 2010 Ryan shared with me sitting on the floor next to the sliding glass door his feelings and I asked if I could share this with Dad and Ashley because Ashley minutes earlier she just asked what we were talking about.. and he said:
I DO NOT WANT THAT TO HAPPEN
THEY MAY ACCIDENTLY TELL _____________. (spelled it wrong but I knew)
So, it is personal and private ..only between me and Ryan.
Again.......I have to tell you Mom's and Dad's, ...... I think about that day three years ago when I decided to try yet again another approach RPM. When at that moment I was crying afraid not to try yet exhausted to start something new... I honestly feel sick to my stomach.... what if I had given up on trying and thought this was it. His life would consist of making food choices and limited to that I want strip........ and a tech device. What would his life be like.. Don't give up.
Today March 21st, 2010 Ryan shared with me sitting on the floor next to the sliding glass door his feelings and I asked if I could share this with Dad and Ashley because Ashley minutes earlier she just asked what we were talking about.. and he said:
I DO NOT WANT THAT TO HAPPEN
THEY MAY ACCIDENTLY TELL _____________. (spelled it wrong but I knew)
So, it is personal and private ..only between me and Ryan.
Again.......I have to tell you Mom's and Dad's, ...... I think about that day three years ago when I decided to try yet again another approach RPM. When at that moment I was crying afraid not to try yet exhausted to start something new... I honestly feel sick to my stomach.... what if I had given up on trying and thought this was it. His life would consist of making food choices and limited to that I want strip........ and a tech device. What would his life be like.. Don't give up.
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Mean is Not Important!
Ryan told me he would rather read stories then do puzzles at school so.. I got a new book Core Curriculum third grade level to read! The book has a bunch of new stories!!!
So I asked him what do you want to do? .. Just to let you know.. the flow and structure of our teaching time has changed to a more relaxed and much more enjoyable experience. It's because I feel more confident. I have improved at doing RPM so hooray... two and a half years it took....but that is OK... it is a skill that has to be developed and each new phase he goes through I had to learn.. so ..Its all Good!
So.. skipping lots of details to get to the really cool stuff........... Was reading the story,
" The People could Fly". Quickly realized.........this was not about a fun topic but about slavery! So the story talks about an overseer who has a whip ..( I know I am thinking..what have I gotten myself into here!!) It shares that the slaves picking cotton had a magic word and when the overseer was about to be mean to them they could fly into the air like eagles. It shares how the entire group found freedom lifted their wings and flew away back to their home in Africa.
So, after this story I am thinking..well lets discuss what "mean" is and let's see if he has a clear understanding.. hmm .. starting to begin testing him A HUGE NO NO NO NO... AND then I said to Ryan...what do you think is "mean".... and he put me in my place...
Ryan spelled out: MEAN IS NOT IMPORTANT.
Wow.. how mature is that....
I said.......yeah your right....who really wants to talk about that anyways!! and he said:
I THINK I ENJOY MOST STORIES THAT ARE NOT NEGATIVE.
Yep, he was NOT going where Mom wanted to go. He very wisely kept the conversation on a more mature focus. He was beyond that ... WOW.. his ability to think, reason and motor plan at the same time is really growing this last month.
So I asked him what do you want to do? .. Just to let you know.. the flow and structure of our teaching time has changed to a more relaxed and much more enjoyable experience. It's because I feel more confident. I have improved at doing RPM so hooray... two and a half years it took....but that is OK... it is a skill that has to be developed and each new phase he goes through I had to learn.. so ..Its all Good!
So.. skipping lots of details to get to the really cool stuff........... Was reading the story,
" The People could Fly". Quickly realized.........this was not about a fun topic but about slavery! So the story talks about an overseer who has a whip ..( I know I am thinking..what have I gotten myself into here!!) It shares that the slaves picking cotton had a magic word and when the overseer was about to be mean to them they could fly into the air like eagles. It shares how the entire group found freedom lifted their wings and flew away back to their home in Africa.
So, after this story I am thinking..well lets discuss what "mean" is and let's see if he has a clear understanding.. hmm .. starting to begin testing him A HUGE NO NO NO NO... AND then I said to Ryan...what do you think is "mean".... and he put me in my place...
Ryan spelled out: MEAN IS NOT IMPORTANT.
Wow.. how mature is that....
I said.......yeah your right....who really wants to talk about that anyways!! and he said:
I THINK I ENJOY MOST STORIES THAT ARE NOT NEGATIVE.
Yep, he was NOT going where Mom wanted to go. He very wisely kept the conversation on a more mature focus. He was beyond that ... WOW.. his ability to think, reason and motor plan at the same time is really growing this last month.
Sad when you own child knows BETTER then you do!
Was about 9:30pm.... Ryan was not tired seemed to have gotten a second wind. He was upstairs with us, then went down in the basement. Paul and I were talking...well more like bickering . yes... loudly. Of course, what we were having our disagreement about was of course...........so stupid... which makes this situation even worse.......
Ryan came back upstairs and we were sitting in the morning room bantering back and forth.......... Ryan walks up to Paul and puts his arms around his neck, as he is sitting on the computer chair and starts making intense loud sounds ...like he is trying to talk to us.. So Paul said... Ryan I know you are trying to talk to us.. . Mom and Dad will be quiet... were sorry ... and I said.. here ..tell us what do you want to say... go ahead you just tell us..( trying to convey with my words a sense of courage in him to say what he really thinks).... and here we go:
MOM DAD STOP FIGHTING.
Well.. that about sums it up........doesn't it................yes my son who has Autism is teaching us how to behave!!! We apologized to each other in front of Ryan.. We hugged each other ..big group hug, me, Dad and Ryan and said.. your right Ryan..
I am only sharing to let those who read this blog know..........our kids are in there and they see and they understand ... And this is why I am spending time writing this blog which is not something I love doing. I do it for one reason....... we would have never known Ryan's thought or feelings or emotions if it was not for RPM. Ryan has a VOICE!!!!! Ryan and our entire families life has changed ..go to HALO...
Ryan came back upstairs and we were sitting in the morning room bantering back and forth.......... Ryan walks up to Paul and puts his arms around his neck, as he is sitting on the computer chair and starts making intense loud sounds ...like he is trying to talk to us.. So Paul said... Ryan I know you are trying to talk to us.. . Mom and Dad will be quiet... were sorry ... and I said.. here ..tell us what do you want to say... go ahead you just tell us..( trying to convey with my words a sense of courage in him to say what he really thinks).... and here we go:
MOM DAD STOP FIGHTING.
Well.. that about sums it up........doesn't it................yes my son who has Autism is teaching us how to behave!!! We apologized to each other in front of Ryan.. We hugged each other ..big group hug, me, Dad and Ryan and said.. your right Ryan..
I am only sharing to let those who read this blog know..........our kids are in there and they see and they understand ... And this is why I am spending time writing this blog which is not something I love doing. I do it for one reason....... we would have never known Ryan's thought or feelings or emotions if it was not for RPM. Ryan has a VOICE!!!!! Ryan and our entire families life has changed ..go to HALO...
Walking in the Rain!
Last week.. needed to get out of the house, feeling kinda stressed had been inside all day... the phone was ringing off the wall.. etc. So on a whim .. I said come on Ryan lets go for a walk.. I had our letter board this time.. Ryan always pulls me to my neighbors house so I thought instead of the pulling thing .. he can tell me on the board. Well we get out the door and yep it is raining .UHHH.. So I said..No .. we are going to walk..just around the cul-de-sac and back.. Kinda cool I told Ryan...grabbed the umbrella and off we went...
Well we walked and went past our neighbors house and no pulling hmm.. then we made it to the bus stop and I said OK..let turn around time to go home. Well Ryan grabbed my hand and kinda flung it to the right .. I knew what that was about.. the rain had stopped surprisingly enough ... so I said... OK... if you want to go there you need to tell me...........So there we were under the umbrella at the bus stop with our letter board and pencil and he points: SWING AT PARK. Well, how can you say no to that!! Off we went in the dark to the park! I was so impressed he could communicate to me and had the ability to know which way the park was in the most awkward of situations..under an umbrella in the dark at the corner of our street... So as we went I said. you lead me.. which way is the park? Right? Left? Straight? Ryan pointed STRAIGHT.. On we went..OK.. what side of the road is the park on.. Right or Left? Left? Yep..dead on.. We made it to the park and for sure we were swinging and swinging ..in the dark...but we had fun!
Coming home I asked him...OK smarty which side of the road is our house on ..RIGHT.... yep he was "right" again!! great night!
Well we walked and went past our neighbors house and no pulling hmm.. then we made it to the bus stop and I said OK..let turn around time to go home. Well Ryan grabbed my hand and kinda flung it to the right .. I knew what that was about.. the rain had stopped surprisingly enough ... so I said... OK... if you want to go there you need to tell me...........So there we were under the umbrella at the bus stop with our letter board and pencil and he points: SWING AT PARK. Well, how can you say no to that!! Off we went in the dark to the park! I was so impressed he could communicate to me and had the ability to know which way the park was in the most awkward of situations..under an umbrella in the dark at the corner of our street... So as we went I said. you lead me.. which way is the park? Right? Left? Straight? Ryan pointed STRAIGHT.. On we went..OK.. what side of the road is the park on.. Right or Left? Left? Yep..dead on.. We made it to the park and for sure we were swinging and swinging ..in the dark...but we had fun!
Coming home I asked him...OK smarty which side of the road is our house on ..RIGHT.... yep he was "right" again!! great night!
Thursday, February 18, 2010
Eating snack.. and Crying at the Same Time?
Ryan was upset at school. He had a coke and chex mix.. and should have been happy as a clam.. at snack time...but .he was crying Why?
So I asked him tonight after we came home from Willies Restaurant and he said on his letter board
YOU TO WOULD CRY IF MOM DECIDED TO STAY HOME.
I mentioned when I dropped Ryan off that I needed to go home and clean the house up . We also got to swing for 30 minutes extra at therapy this morning and was having lots of fun...before coming to school. That is why he was crying
So I asked him tonight after we came home from Willies Restaurant and he said on his letter board
YOU TO WOULD CRY IF MOM DECIDED TO STAY HOME.
I mentioned when I dropped Ryan off that I needed to go home and clean the house up . We also got to swing for 30 minutes extra at therapy this morning and was having lots of fun...before coming to school. That is why he was crying
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Ryan's Tortoise Story
This is Ryan's story he spelled out on the letterboard. I will be using no dashes.. the entire story is letterboard.
Some tortoise swam, extremely lost. Nothing to ride. Alligator did stop soon. No one rides like this on there own. Soon some riders swam in lines around this extreme sea.
Storms grow.( I asked Where are these storms? he spelled " In the water")
So, each tortoise caught a wave. They made it to land.
The end.
Some tortoise swam, extremely lost. Nothing to ride. Alligator did stop soon. No one rides like this on there own. Soon some riders swam in lines around this extreme sea.
Storms grow.( I asked Where are these storms? he spelled " In the water")
So, each tortoise caught a wave. They made it to land.
The end.
What do you want to write?
Working on handwriting found these write and wipe flash cards with the alphabet on them..Kumon..so told Ryan lets try to practice your name like you wanted to do with Amy at OT. So we did that and I got the letter board and asked Ryan what other words would you like to practice writing and he spelled
I-L-O-V-E-Y-O-U-
Yep...........my sweet boy Ryan.......he is the best!
I-L-O-V-E-Y-O-U-
Yep...........my sweet boy Ryan.......he is the best!
Monday, February 15, 2010
Ryan's "BIG QUESTION"
Saturday night, I went searching for Ryan and found him sitting alone in the basement in our "Soma-esk" type room as we call it. ( For those of you who don't know, that means a room that is quiet and no visual distractions.) Ours has a big couch in it... and that's exactly where he was that quiet Saturday night. So, I said to Ryan, "I bet your sick of mom always asking you all these questions all the time." "How about you ask me a question.....any question you want." Then Dad walks in the room. I say, " Hey how about you ask Dad a question!" "We could ask "How" questions or "what" questions or "why" questions?" Trying to get him thinking about how to start a question. (Silly, because he already knows, but I still felt the need to tell him.) And then Ashley walks in the room. And Ryan writes W-H-A-T- N-O-T- T-O- D-O- S-O- I- H-A-V-E- O-T-H-E-R-S-T-O- P-L-A-Y- W-I-T-H As Ryan was pointing to each letter, Paul and I were both fighting back our tears. It made us sad because we thought he may be thinking that he was doing something wrong and people didn't want to play with him. So I said to him, " Oh Ryan, we didn't know you wanted more friends to play with." Dad said, You just have to tell us that's what you want and we'll make it happen buddy." It's our fault, not yours, we just haven't invited people over for you to play with. We had no idea that's what you wanted!" Then I said , " Well, who would you like to come over, you name them and we will ask them to come play!" Ryan writes, M-Y-N-E-I-G-H-B-O-RS. " Which neighbor would you like, he says, L-A-U-R-E-N- A-N-D- A-N-D-R-E-W.
So, the "BIG QUESTION" that socked us in the stomach that night... We had no idea again that he really liked and or wanted to play with others. Don't worry a new dawn has come to our home and we are going to be playing A LOT with the neighbors! It's all good.
So, the "BIG QUESTION" that socked us in the stomach that night... We had no idea again that he really liked and or wanted to play with others. Don't worry a new dawn has come to our home and we are going to be playing A LOT with the neighbors! It's all good.
Friday, February 12, 2010
Stealing at church!
It was about 8:30pm and I said.. Hey Ryan lets all sit down and talk before we go to bed.. Ash and Dad too!.. so I asked Ryan on his board.. what would you like to talk about tonight. He spelled C-H-U-R-C-H. Ryan had left the table and was walking around in the area while we were finishing dinner earlier and Paul and Ashley and I had been talking about about hearing from. God.. So, I think he felt like chiming in.
I said..OK... church is....... and he spells S-O-R-T- O-F ..then big pause. .. like couldn't think of word.. So I said are we talking about all churches or our church.... If its our church lets spell out the name...he easily spells H-O-P-E. On we go... Hope is sort of S-T-A-L-L. oh do you mean stale like boring.. and he started to get upset and hit N-O.. oh.....how about we take a break for a second could see he wanted to leave.... he left the table and Paul said. I guarantee he was trying to say steal ... will explain in a second... so we all went up stairs and Ryan was sitting in our bed and I said... hey Ryan... I think I understand... were you trying to spell steal or stealing and I said it is spelled STEALING... so ..if you were could we try again.. tell me what your thoughts are maybe if something is wrong .. you know mommy I will fix it at church .. and here we go.........I said church is sort of............... and he easily writes S-T-E-A-L-I-N-G M-Y T-O-Y-S. Paul had hit it on the head!
See I work in the room and have brought in two of his therapy balls , his bean table and many other toys. I always say..oh here are your toys Ryan. When we go to church each week I bring his own toys for him to play with.. well kids take them and many of the kids like his toys , don't have many so I let them take them home.. and buy Ryan more..........thinking Ryan didn't mind...........................UHHH I had no Idea! I understand why he used the words "sort of"............I would have never known.............it bothered him
I said..OK... church is....... and he spells S-O-R-T- O-F ..then big pause. .. like couldn't think of word.. So I said are we talking about all churches or our church.... If its our church lets spell out the name...he easily spells H-O-P-E. On we go... Hope is sort of S-T-A-L-L. oh do you mean stale like boring.. and he started to get upset and hit N-O.. oh.....how about we take a break for a second could see he wanted to leave.... he left the table and Paul said. I guarantee he was trying to say steal ... will explain in a second... so we all went up stairs and Ryan was sitting in our bed and I said... hey Ryan... I think I understand... were you trying to spell steal or stealing and I said it is spelled STEALING... so ..if you were could we try again.. tell me what your thoughts are maybe if something is wrong .. you know mommy I will fix it at church .. and here we go.........I said church is sort of............... and he easily writes S-T-E-A-L-I-N-G M-Y T-O-Y-S. Paul had hit it on the head!
See I work in the room and have brought in two of his therapy balls , his bean table and many other toys. I always say..oh here are your toys Ryan. When we go to church each week I bring his own toys for him to play with.. well kids take them and many of the kids like his toys , don't have many so I let them take them home.. and buy Ryan more..........thinking Ryan didn't mind...........................UHHH I had no Idea! I understand why he used the words "sort of"............I would have never known.............it bothered him
Thursday, February 11, 2010
O.T. Appointment Yesterday!
Grammy had taken Ryan to O.T. for me for the last two weeks. Yesterday I went with Ryan and WOW! when I used the letterboard standing,sitting on the floor, in the chair.... he was just unbelievable. His pointing in two weeks had greatly improved. I knew it had but coming back to OT it was very obvious.....Amy was getting prepared for handwriting and asked me to ask Ryan what he would like to practice.. we could practice your name, shapes, draw animals? So I asked him and he said R-Y-A-N. So each letter we audiotorially said the direction of the letter twice ..down up around kick it out.. letter R.. then drew... ( remember he is a auditory kid!) brought in the letter board and said.. I knew this is easy but keep us on track.... what letter is next? He pointed to Y on we went. Nice way to create active participation of a task:)
So, the BIG NEWS.. Ryan has never grabbed for the letter board wanting to communicate...well it was the end of the session and he grabbed the board and pencil and pointed G-O .. Yep.. I was thrilled..so I said Go Where? I know where Ashley wants to go ..shopping! Ashley said yeah! but where do you want to go?... I am thinking for sure McDonald's ( we were all hungry) and he looks right at Ashley and spells W-E C-A-N- G-O - T- O - Y-O-U-R-S-T-O-R-E. Ashley gave Ryan a huge hug and said that is so sweet Ryan.. so then I said.. oh Ryan OK.. after that where do you want to go and my hungry guy...points to yep you guessed it.. M-C-D-O-N-A-L-D-S.. It was a good day!
So, the BIG NEWS.. Ryan has never grabbed for the letter board wanting to communicate...well it was the end of the session and he grabbed the board and pencil and pointed G-O .. Yep.. I was thrilled..so I said Go Where? I know where Ashley wants to go ..shopping! Ashley said yeah! but where do you want to go?... I am thinking for sure McDonald's ( we were all hungry) and he looks right at Ashley and spells W-E C-A-N- G-O - T- O - Y-O-U-R-S-T-O-R-E. Ashley gave Ryan a huge hug and said that is so sweet Ryan.. so then I said.. oh Ryan OK.. after that where do you want to go and my hungry guy...points to yep you guessed it.. M-C-D-O-N-A-L-D-S.. It was a good day!
Wednesday, February 10, 2010
Last night
One more post for today, last night at the kitchen table we did a mini session with Ryan. we got a kid's magazine that we order called Appleseed's and Dad read Ryan a story about Pyramids. After the reading, we asked him a couple questions. Mom said, there are pyramids in many different places(the ones in the article were Egypt and Mexico) Can you name one of the places we talked about that has pyramids? Ryan easily spells M-E-X-I-C-O.Then, we asked him if he knew anything else(other than what the story said) about Mexico. He spelled S-O-U-T-H. Mom then said "south of what?" He spelled the U-N-I-T-E-D-S-T-A-T-E-S. It was great! Then, I(Ashley) asked the question, " Hey Ryan, Today we all went sledding out in the snow, I was wondering if you liked doing that?" (It was a snow day by the way, we had to walk through all the snow the snowplow pushed up to get to the hill that we sledded down. Ryan spells S-N-O-W- W-A-S- H-I-G-H. Way to go Ryan!
Ashley Harris/ story about my brother Ryan!
Hi! I'm Ashley(Ryan's sister) I wanted to do a quick post on some memories at H.A.L.O. One time we went to Austin, TX to see Soma and do a session with her for Ryan. At this point Ryan was fairly new to RPM and this was his first attempt at the blue letterboard. He had been working with Soma for 4 days and we got to sit and watch him work every day. We did not even know he could spell or do math before coming that week. He kept on working with Soma for those 4 days, and each time we found out more and more about how smart and amazing he really is.
I remember on the last day of camp when Soma asked him to spell one word that described Me, Mom, and Dad, and even himself. I was really nervous and excited. I had no idea what he would say. Soma in her soft voice said "You can do it Ryan, focus, and tell me one thing about your sister." He spelled out the word G-O-O-D. Good. I couldn't believe it! My heart was beating really fast.... I wanted to hear his next word. Next, she said to spell one word about Dad. Ryan spelled S-M-A-R-T. Smart. She then moved on to Mom. Ryan spelled L-O-V-E. We were all holding back tears. Mom was not doing so well at that! But, what you don't know is that only Ryan would have chosen those specific words, because those are words we use in our family all the time and he knew just what to say for that question.Mom says to me" Your such a good big sister" and we always say " Dad is so smart he should go on Jeopardy" and Mom always says " I love you, I love you, I love you!" to Ryan. Finally, Soma asked him to spell a word that described himself. This was our favorite! Ryan spelled C-O-O-L. Cool!!!!!!! Dad, since Ryan was little, would say to him" Your such a cool dude!" and " You are Mr. Cool". Soma would have never guessed these words because they are special to our family. And Ryan knew every one. We got into our minivan, I just couldn't stop crying! I looked at Ryan and said "Mom, look! Look how happy he looks after telling us that! He had an ear to ear grin on his face. This was one of the most important and special days of our life.
I remember on the last day of camp when Soma asked him to spell one word that described Me, Mom, and Dad, and even himself. I was really nervous and excited. I had no idea what he would say. Soma in her soft voice said "You can do it Ryan, focus, and tell me one thing about your sister." He spelled out the word G-O-O-D. Good. I couldn't believe it! My heart was beating really fast.... I wanted to hear his next word. Next, she said to spell one word about Dad. Ryan spelled S-M-A-R-T. Smart. She then moved on to Mom. Ryan spelled L-O-V-E. We were all holding back tears. Mom was not doing so well at that! But, what you don't know is that only Ryan would have chosen those specific words, because those are words we use in our family all the time and he knew just what to say for that question.Mom says to me" Your such a good big sister" and we always say " Dad is so smart he should go on Jeopardy" and Mom always says " I love you, I love you, I love you!" to Ryan. Finally, Soma asked him to spell a word that described himself. This was our favorite! Ryan spelled C-O-O-L. Cool!!!!!!! Dad, since Ryan was little, would say to him" Your such a cool dude!" and " You are Mr. Cool". Soma would have never guessed these words because they are special to our family. And Ryan knew every one. We got into our minivan, I just couldn't stop crying! I looked at Ryan and said "Mom, look! Look how happy he looks after telling us that! He had an ear to ear grin on his face. This was one of the most important and special days of our life.
Why did we create this site?
We as a family, decided to create a blog to help share the great news that there is a method out there to help our children have a voice. I give complete credit to Soma Mukhopadhyay, at H.A.L.O(Helping Autism through Learning and Outreach) organization. She was the one to start it all, and really helped my son Ryan and so many other children throughout the world.
After 2 years of working and practicing RPM, now,every day, my son Ryan shares with our family, on his letterboard, his knowledge and understanding of everything that goes on in our lives. We wanted to share with our friends these special moments, for Ryan can't speak to us , but with his letterboard he has a voice as clear as anyone elses. We hope you like this site and can have a better understanding of what RPM really can do. May God bless you and your family!
After 2 years of working and practicing RPM, now,every day, my son Ryan shares with our family, on his letterboard, his knowledge and understanding of everything that goes on in our lives. We wanted to share with our friends these special moments, for Ryan can't speak to us , but with his letterboard he has a voice as clear as anyone elses. We hope you like this site and can have a better understanding of what RPM really can do. May God bless you and your family!
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