Friday, February 27, 2015


Thursday, February 26, 2015

Hockey playing and more swinging.

Justin has been very playful lately, which you can check out on his YouTube channel Justin's Autism Channel.

He has been really into playing hockey lately. He has fisher price hockey sticks he got for his birthday. He tends to use a ball instead of the puck that came with it. He likes to play hockey with his twin sister too.

He has taken his sensory swing to a whole new level. He spins really fast while lying down in the swing. Than he'll hoist his legs up straight to go even faster.


Saturday, February 21, 2015

Happy Days

Justin has been extremely happy these last couple days.

He's been playing with some new toys. He has also been doing flips on the edge of the dining room table.

He continues to run, run, run several times a day, and also swing on his sensory swing.

He hasn't had any meltdowns recently.

We got about a foot and a half of snow, and he keeps looking outside saying "snow," and "snowman."

He has also started saying, "diaper change" letting me know when he's dirty or wet. I am going to working on potty training soon.

Sunday, February 15, 2015

The Looks From Other People

I had my first experience of the looks from other people. Justin was at his therapy, which he goes to a local school to get. While waiting, he made a noise and I got the look.

This look is something I think anybody with any sort of disabled child understands.

For a moment I was insulted, but than I realized that I just don't care !

People will have their opinions of my son, but I love him with all my heart. That's all that matters !

Saturday, February 14, 2015

Another Day

Justin continued with most of his usual activities. He played with his train. He ran, ran, ran with his music playing. This is one of his favorite things to do. It seems to bring him a lot of happiness.

He enjoys laying in the sun too. We have six large windows, and he will find a spot and lay there. I think this has something to do with a sensory issue. He will also lay right up against the heater, covered up with a blanket.

He of course did a lot of swinging on his sensory swing. His new thing is spinning really fast on it.

He also did a lot of playing on his computers. He has taught himself how to spell, talk, the sounds of letters, and numbers on his various computers. We haven't had any meltdowns recently.

Thursday, February 12, 2015

Playing in Boxes

There is just something about an empty box that I think appeals to all children ! I've found that autistic children like an empty box even more than the average child.

Autistic children tend to prefer closed, quiet, dark spaces.

A box provides the perfect environment for playing, sleeping, or just hanging out.

Justin is no exception ! He has a very large box in his room, with a child size fold out couch inside of it. He absolutely loves it.

He also has one in the living room.

At night time Justin will wrap himself in a cocoon with his blanket, and sleep all night like that.

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Justin Missing His Mommy

Justin's been having a couple pretty calm days. He's been just playing with his toys, and being his wonderful self !

Yesterday he did have a moment because I had been gone for a good majority of the day. So once I got home he came up to me, and started crying. I held him and he said, "Mommy gone." He cried for about 20 minutes.

I am usually home with him all day, so this change was very upsetting to him.

He is such an affectionate little boy. Some children with autism don't like contact. Such as hugging or even just a touch. I feel very blessed that I am able to hug him !

Sunday, February 8, 2015

The Mad Scramble

Every morning when Justin wakes up, the first thing he does is bring out half his toys from his room.

He will not stop until he has every toy out that he wants. This is usually about  5-7 minute process, which looks like a mad scramble.

He runs full speed back and forth in almost a frenzied state. If you try to stop or delay this process, he will get very upset and start crying and throwing a "fit."

He also does this before he can go to bed too.

The scramble begins, back and forth until every toy is back in his room. Usually he'll grab some extra toys too that he didn't originally take out in the morning.

Every morning and night, the mad scramble happens !

Justin Singing the Alphabet


Friday, February 6, 2015

Justin's Food Likes and Dis-likes

One thing about autistic children is a majority of them have very select tastes, and many only like a few foods. Texture also plays a big part in what is liked and not liked. Justin is no exception !

When he was a baby, he likes everything. As he got older, his choices changed. He had a very sensitive stomach as a baby. After he would nurse, he would a lot of times spit back up a majority of what he just ate. This is another thing that is common with autistic children. Having problems with their gastrointestinal tracts.

So now at four years old, Justin's favorite foods are spaghetti o's, spaghetti, pizza, grapes, apples, and strawberries. He won't eat much else other than snack types of foods like pretzels, goldfish, and he loves cereal.



Autistic Child Playing With Piano


Thursday, February 5, 2015

Justin's First Sentence !

We were on the way to therapy, and Justin said, "Look Mommy, the sun." Up until this point he had only put two, very rarely three words together to form a sentence.

In his therapy he was much more verbal than normal too.

To someone who doesn't have a child on the spectrum, this may seem trivial. To those of us with children on the spectrum, this is a huge milestone !

I am so proud of Justin ! Even though there are hard days, the good days out weigh the bad ones.

Wednesday, February 4, 2015

The Barriers

Justin likes to climb, and get into things he's not supposed to. So we've had to implement barriers to keep him safe, and out of things he's not supposed to be into.

One of these barriers is gates. We have an open floor plan, so in the area that leads to the other parts of the house is gated off. There are 3 gates total. One leading into the kitchen, another at the top of the basement stairs, and the final gate is leading up the hallway towards the bedrooms and bathrooms.

I had a specialist come out and give me some advice, and he recommended keeping the gates as long as needed. He explained how even though Justin could easily climb over the gates. It is a security thing for him.

The other barriers is around the kitchen cabinets. There is an opening where you can see into the living room. Justin started pulling himself up onto the counters, and getting into the cabinets. So, the solutions was lattice. We bought one big sheet at Lowe's, and had it cut down to the size needed and put up.

The final barrier is around the fish tank, and decorative shelves in the living room. Justin got where he was pulling himself up onto the fish tank, and getting into the water. So I bought thick poster board, and taped it around the front and sides of the fish tank. I also put this poster board around the decorative shelves around the TV. Because he was getting into the things on the shelves.

After putting up these barriers, there is no more problems with Justin trying to get into things he's not supposed to. And, it also keeps him safe.
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