Radio Gavin

I was just trying to describe to my husband over messenger how I feel our son's mind works.  It was one of those light-bulb-flashing-on-over-my-head moments.  It is parent-teacher conference time and I just finished reading his progress report.  It was very thorough--they had one that was charted and another addressed each item on his IEP and listed what kind of progress he has made (if any) and any comments.  I find that to be very helpful since I have much less direct contact with the teachers here in NY for kindergarten than we did in HI for his spec-ed preschool.  I am really pleased with his school and his teachers.  We are really just so thrilled to be settled in one place; this anomaly in the Army world just makes me giggle with glee.  It tickles me because I can look at my son and know that I wont be dragging him wherever the Army takes us.  I feel for the first time since the diagnosis that this is the most important thing we can do for him and his future and the greatest gift that we can give him.  It comes at a great cost for my husband and I, but we are a team on this and agree to try to make it work.  We want to give Gav the best chance we can for a future as an independent, grounded, and happy adult.  So we bought a house.
 
So, my light-bulb-flashing-on-over-my-head moment was when I was trying to describe the state of our son's echolalia to my husband.  On messenger.  Gavin has always had echolalia and it kind of surges and ebbs like tides in the ocean.  His progress report says that they have had some progress with his echolalia, which is good. But I have noticed that at home he will repeat commercials verbatim.  He's just started this in the last couple of weeks.  There is innocence in his echolalia and the toys and things that grab his attention and it just disarms me.  My sweet boy is still innocent, still oblivious to the boy-girl cootie quotient.  He got some money for his birthday so we went to the toy store to pick something out.  He wanted the swan princess castle.  He had seen the commercials and it never entered into his sweet little mind that it was a toy for girls.  It was to him, a cool castle with music, things that light up, and swans.  The commercials that he tends to memorize verbatim happen to be the barbie dream house commercial (the one with the elevator in case curiosity was keeping you awake), the barbie RV commercial, and the Moxie Girls commercial.  This leads me to confess something else:  My son watches TV everyday.  Yes.  He watches a little in the morning  and I sometimes watch with him and prompt him to answer Dora's questions or answer Dora's questions myself.  I'm trying to get him to notice the cues and I don't care if it takes a TV program to help him with that.  The other reason I let him watch TV is that he has learned so many things from some of his TV programs that he would not pick up from other people or children because in social situations he can't read those cues.  Of course, I restrict the channels he can watch--we watch Disney, Nickelodeon, or Nick-Jr.  I also allow him to watch TV after school.  I know from experience that a whole day of focus and structure wears on my son and I can't push him once he gets home.  Home is his place and I leave him be to unwind in his own way.  OK I have digressed too many times.

I had better type before my light bulb burns out!  I have come to think that our brains operate like a radio station; you have AM and FM and both frequencies have different stations and our brains have to "tune in" to pick up the right broadcast.  Its like a majority of the population operates on different stations in FM but his signal is strongest on AM.  His brain is tuning and it processes what it has trained itself to look for; the "stations" that come in the best (meaning he is tuned into the right station and information is being taken in and processed), come out in his echolalia.  Like his echolalia is his brain's way of showing us what information Gav has taken in and is processing.  Looking at his disorder in this way might give us a better way to see how his mind works and analyze how the information he is being bombarded with is processed and sorted.  If somehow we can figure out his "station," then we will be able to streamline the learning process and tailor it to his "station."  Echolalia could simply be like a record skipping or a brain stutter, I don't know, but the whole station thing deserves a closer study.  It might be a good tool to develop to help people better understand our Autistic kids and help find each child's "station."             

Out Sick

Well I am at home for sick day number 2.  I'm bored.  I actually want to go to work--I love my job and it doesn't feel right to sit home.  With all of the H1N1 hysteria out there, I have decided to do what is right for my co-workers and customers.  I am fastidiously clean and organized, but I don't want to take a chance and spread my germs around.  My wonderful parents picked up my son from school and kept him over night and took him to school for me this morning.  When we were living in HI, my husband was deployed or working while I convalesced so I had take care of our son.  The one time I was sick when my husband was not deployed or training I asked him to see if he could come home and take care of our son---I was that sick.  His CO gave him two hours.  It was better than nothing.  So I'm in bed now with The Philadelphia Story on TV and two dogs cuddled up with me.  Needless to say that I won't be processing any orders for the next few days. 

Peek-A-Boo Bags are Here!

Peek-A-Boo bags have arrived---that's right, they have finally PCSed here to Sensory Assault Operations!  They are so cool too.  We have all three kinds:  Pink is Sugar n' Spice with all kinds of charms for girls hidden inside; Green is Everything A to Z with--you guessed it--different charms starting with each letter of the alphabet; Blue is Rough n' Tuff with all kinds of charms for boys hidden.  These little bags are really neat.  They are 6 inch by 6 inch squares and are ruggedly constructed of fabric.  They feel nice to hold in your hand with the soft corduroy backing and the bright striped canvas on the front is eye-catching and cheerful.  Each bag has a list of the items hidden inside, but the neat thing about the list is that there are pictures of each item with the name right under it.  So younger kids who can't read yet or are just learning to ready won't be overwhelmed by the list.  The list is also made of a soft white fabric and snaps onto the back very securely.  In the corner is a little loop for easy carrying.  It has been a long wait for these little bags, but the Peek-A-Boo bags were worth the wait!  They are a wonderful addition to our line of unique tools for sensory kids.

Check out our site and see our NEW Peek-A-Boo bags along with our NEW Flat Friends!  I've also finally figured out how to update the home page and streamline some things, so you'll notice our new look as well.  It only took me hours upon hours upon hours over several months to figure it all out! "Where there is a will, there is a way!"   

Sensory Assault Operations may be having a change of address soon--stay tuned!  An e-mail notifying all of our newsletter subscribers will be sent out--so if you haven't signed up, sign up today to stay up to date!  I will also be drawing a winner from our pool of subscribers to win a $10 gift certificate to Sensory Assault Operations!   Sign up by November 15th to be qualified for the prize.

A lovely lady out on the west coast contacted me about her sensory support group in Redmond, Washington and they had their event a couple of weeks ago.  We donated a gift certificate for a Sensory Assault Pack (SAP) for her to raffle off---I am really looking forward to meeting the lucky winner!  I love to keep in contact with our customers and people who contact me and give me feedback--above all I am still a mom and my son still has issues each and every day.  I am always learning something new and there are so many great mom's out there with super ideas.

Look for several new products on our website by the end of the year!  We are always looking for unique products to add to our selection of unique tools.  I also have a couple of new ideas that I have to research and test as well, but I will keep everyone posted!