Moaning Noises

It was a fairly decent day and I went to pick up Dane from school.  He was happy and ready to go home.  One of the teachers was standing off in the distance with a radio controlled miniature school bus.  He was talking into a headset microphone and the words would come through the bus and talk to the kids.  The bus also sprayed water at the children.  They loved it.  The bus reminded me of Thomas the Tank Engine.

Things are getting slow around work because of high gas prices and the economy.  Every 3rd Thursday I am expected to go to Danes intensive therapy to observe and talk with the counselors.  I am approved for Family Medical Leave for those days.  I am not sure if many employers approve FML for autism services.  These days are unpaid.  Work also has been having plant shutdown for lack of work for the past several Fridays.

The main topic today at therapy was Danes noises and moaning he makes.  He curls his tongue and makes weird loud noises constantly.  We have to pay close attention to one of the noises in which he is unresponsive and is staring off.  That is a sign of a seizure and we need to document that with video footage.  She wants to know what he looks like before, during and after the episode. The counselor is concerned that she is referring us to a Neurologist for an brain scan to see what triggers the seizure.

Other noises he makes I think are normal.  When he drives his little cars around, he makes motor boat noises with his tongue.  Another noise he makes is when he is active.  He curls his tongue and makes loud Luuu noise.  Those can be redirected. We tell him to stop and he answers and then continues to do it.  On the other hand, his moaning and lip biting and staring off and doesn't answer when spoken to is the one we need to really watch.  That is the concerning noise we need to document.  I haven't been documenting anything video wise with his unusual behaviors.  I really think that it is time to start a separate taping of these instances that we are trying to figure him out with and learn more about his stims.

Day 1 of Intensive Therapy

My sons first day of therapy went very well. The therapist came in and asked my son if he wanted to play. He took her by the hand and went into a room where we watched from the other side through a 2 way mirror. This was mostly "play therapy" on his first day. The therapists do not want any disturbances from the parents or other siblings. This is intensive one one one focus working with my son.

We got some interesting observations and learned something about them. When my son is moaning he is crying for sensory stimulation. He also has little seizures which I have noticed when he was still a baby starting to sit up on his own. Soon he will have to have an electroencephalogram (EEG) scan done on his brain. They want to trigger a seizure to find out what causes them. I think they do this by flashing lights at him while monitoring his brain waves. I'm not sure though what they will do. I pray it's not epilepsy. 1 in 4 autistic children have seizures from what I have read.

The therapists ordered us a weighted vest to help with his sensory issues. We tried a weighted blanket in the past when he was being observed through the Birth to Three program. At the time we didn't know how to use it. The same with that little brush they gave us to brush him when he was having sensory-overload. We were supposed to brush his arms to stimulate his nervous system every couple hours. I don't know what ever happened to that brush. I know we gave the blanket back and shrugged our shoulders because we were new parents. A baby doesn't come with directions and what were we supposed to know about autism at the time?

As parents of a child with special needs you learn as you go. I am trying to document what therapy does for my son as to help my readers new to autism learn more about what they may expect. Parenting autism is hard work. Keep faith and hope that the future is bright filled with happiness.