Back In The Groove

The holidays are over. Our daughter has returned to KY to finish up her Master's degree and we are getting back into our routine here at home... well kind of... we're learning a new routine, which is challenging, exhausting, but yesterday was so rewarding! Jonathon and I had the best day of communication between each other that we have EVER had. Absolutely beautiful!

We saw the autism specialists in Denver last Thursday and Friday. WOW! If I could encourage parents to do anything for their child it would be to find the money to take your child to TRUE autism specialists for an evaluation! Not to get a diagnosis (you likely already have that), but to see where your child is at and what can possibly be done for your child. I consider TRUE autism experts to be the people who are in the trenches seeing autism everyday. They see children/people with autism from the most affected to the slightly affected. They have been working directly with people on the spectrum for a number of years. They don't string you along. They give you tools to take home and use and their reports give you ideas and guidance on how to best help your loved one with autism.

We were first connected with Helen Nychka (a speech path & behavior specialist) out of Denver when Jonathon was in his sophomore (I believe) year of high school. Our school district brought her in to help with his programming and behavior. At that time, Jonathon was very isolated in an apartment rented by the high school for special needs students to learn lifeskills. He had two paraprofessionals with him during his school day because of his aggression. Thinking back to where we were and where we are... we have come a long way. We still have to get a hold on his aggression and I believe with this team of experts we will.

EVERY time I have met with Helen I have gone away with a little more knowledge and tools to try. Helen is one of the specialists we are continuing with in Denver. We are also now working with Katie Cooper, who is a psychologist, and Diane Osaki who is an Occupational Therapist & behavior specialist. They are an amazing team! From the moment we walked in the door Katie and Helen went to work on HOW we should be interacting with Jonathon. Amazing to see!!

Obviously I am very open about our experiences with Jonathon. If anyone has questions or comments please feel free to ask.

Have a great day and I am off to have a TRUE MEANINGFUL CONVERSATION with JONATHON!!! :)
My heart is VERY happy!!!