A picture is worth a thousand words!

We took off Friday morning and left for our annual family camping trip Collin's Lake with some friends. Kaden was definitely in his element...he LOVES the outdoors so naturally, he had a blast this weekend. He was also lucky to have his cousins come along which made it all the more fun for him. They are so good with him, constantly forcing him to interact which is so important.

So, I am posting this picture not only because I think Kaden is so stinkin cute in it, but this is a picture I will never forget. We were out on the boat and I was taking pictures of Ayla. Kaden was sitting in the driver seat of the boat next to us (his favorite place to be on the boat), doing his own thing. As I was snapping away, Kaden turns around and says "Cheeeeese!" I was so excited and quickly pointed the camera at him and took this picture! Not only did he say it once, UNPROMPTED....but he continued to say it all weekend long when I had the camera out. There are no words to describe how happy my heart felt...this is huge progress for Kaden!

Lucky for us, Kaden loves being on the boat. He really gives him that vestibular input he is constantly craving, which is from his sensory challenges. So, we had a great weekend camping...especially Kaden!

Hope you all had a great Memorial Day weekend!

The learning continues...

The other day one of my best friends said to me "wow, just think how much you have learned over the last two months." True. I have learned so much about autism, Kaden, and even myself! One of the biggest things I have learned is that when it comes to Autism, EVERYONE has different opinions on what exactly you should be doing for your child.

I'm not just talking about people in general, but especially the professionals. One therapist thinks you should be doing this kind of therapy, but not that kind. The Pediatrician doesn't think there is enough scientific research backing up the diet and so you should not do it. The Nutritionist and DAN! doctor can explain why you should be doing the diet, in a way that makes perfect sense but of course the Pediatrician is not willing to look at that. The Case Worker has her own strong opinions, and all of this input is coming from a million different directions, and they all think they know best.

So as a mommy, I can't help but constantly hope and pray that I am making all of the right decisions for my baby. I spend so much of my time just thinking about everything we are doing and hoping it is the "right" thing. Thankfully in addition to all of the professionals we work with on a daily basis, we have also had the opportunity to have been introduced to some AMAZING people who have been where we are before. The biggest thing I have learned is that all I can do is keep digesting the information I am constantly receiving, take the pieces that I feel are most valuable, and do what my "mommy instincts" tell me to do. Yes, I am learning quickly that those instincts are more important now than ever before!

So it's 6:30am on Saturday morning, and Kaden is TEARING around the house. I hear him upstairs, doors opening and slamming by the second. He has a tin can with a little plastic ball in it which he is shaking as he runs throughout the house. He is screeching at the top of his lungs and laughing out loud. I go upstairs to find that every article of clothing has been pulled out of his dresser and put into an empty diaper box in his room. What wouldn't fit in the diaper box was on the floor. All of the towels were pulled out of the hall closet and were in the bath tub. I proceeded to walk into my room and Dave was sitting there with a look on his face like "are you serious?"
He said "WHAT did you feed him last night at Katie's?" I knew what it was right away. I had got him some coconut-strawberry ice cream from Trader Joe's because I wanted to give him a treat. In addition to that, he ate 4 whole strawberries with his dinner. I know he isn't supposed to have salicylates, but I figured a little would not hurt. Come to find out that strawberries are a EXTREMELY high salicylate food and the main behavioral cause from salicylates is hyper activity.

It was at that moment that I took comfort in the fact that we had changed his diet and were seeing positive results from it. Clearly, this wasn't so positive but it made me realize that we are doing the right thing! It's amazing how sensitive these little one's are. I learned from this that strawberries are definitely not a salicylate we will ever be able to sneak back in...and that's okay with me!

Have a wonderful week!

Another Week!

Wow, I can't believe it is already Wednesday. My "Kaden" binder grows by the day, and so does my heart! The more people who work with Kaden, the more he amazes & inspires me!

We had an appointment with a developmental pediatrician, Dr. Ross today. She said that all of the therapists who get to work with Kaden will love it because he is such a dynamic little boy, and she sees so much potential in him! It's hearing these kinds of things that keep my heart hopeful and remind me that while this is not an easy journey we are on....we are on the right path and there is so much light at the end of the tunnel!

Therapy Update:
We received a call from Early Learning Institute today saying that they now have an opening and Kaden can begin his Sensory Integration Group Therapy on Monday. So far that's Group Therapy Monday from 10:30-12, Speech Therapy Tuesday from 9-10, and hopefully by the end of the week we will have his weekly OT set up. Tomorrow Nikki is coming from SCOE to finish her assessment which will determine how much ABA therapy he will receive.

Kaden continues to make so much progress by the day. We continue to see huge changes since the implementation of his diet, which is very exciting. He has been pointing to everything...pictures on the wall, people when you ask him to, he is more present and connected.

I am constantly reminding myself that this will be day by day for who knows how long. I continue to spend most of my free time networking in this new "world" we are living in, researching, talking to people and working my hardest to be Kaden's biggest advocate. I have a mission now, and 99.9% of the time I stay positive, optimistic, & hopeful.

I think it's hard for people on the outside looking in to even fathom how crazy it is trying to figure this whole thing out! I am thankful to have so many people in our life who love Kaden as much as they do. Thank you all so much for your continued support, it will help Kaden more than you know!

Have a great week!

The Little Things

Kaden had a busy week, but a good one. I know how overwhelming it feels for me having all of these assessments and evaluations, I can only imagine how it must be for him! With that being said, I am happy to report that he did GREAT!

Thursday SCOE (Sonoma County Office of Education) came out to begin what will be a 15 hour assessment. This assessment is to see how much ABA Therapy they think Kaden can benefit from. This therapy is based on contingency management (do a specific behavior to get something you want in return) and she said Kaden caught on very quickly. She also said it seems like he will be extremely responsive to this therapy. Very exciting!

Friday Mundi Martinez (Occupational Therapist) came out to do an OT Evaluation. He said he can see a HUGE difference in Kaden from just 3 weeks ago when he was here doing the cognitive testing. He definitely agrees that the food is making a difference. It's always so fun watching Mundi interact with Kaden. He is so good with him and has a way of making Kaden really open up and interact in a way that I seldom get to see in his day to day life. So many cool things happened during his visit. By the end of his two hour visit Kaden was actually IN THE SANDBOX.....anyone who has ever been to the beach with us knows what a big deal this is.

It's the little things. The constant little progressions that we see with Kaden every day....these are the things that I imagine a lot of parents take for granted. Not me! I can't remember the last time I heard a parent I know get excited because their kid actually spent 5 minutes standing in the sandbox on a cinder block....but this is huge for my little man!

And I can't tell you how many times I hear parents say "I wish my kid would just stop talking...that's all they do!" Not me....we fight every day to get that one word or sound out of Kaden's mouth. I swear that when the day comes that he is able to put this all together and get some words out, I will just listen for as long as he wants to talk!

For now, we celebrate the small things and help him along the way. I am so appreciative for the people in Kaden's life who love him so much, and the caring therapists who come in and work with him every day.

Have a great weekend and don't forget to celebrate the little things!

The blogging begins

WOW! No better day to start blogging than today, as it is a very special one! For those of you who do not know, Kaden is on week two of a 100% strict gluten, casein and salicylate free diet. Although it is a bit more work for all of us, it is well worth it and we are starting to see some profound results.

Today Kaden was sitting in his highchair at lunch time with an empty plate in front of him. Normally, I would ask him if he was all done and he would either sign for more and if he didn't sign for more I would just know he was finished and get him down. This time was different. I said "Kaden, are you all done eating?" and he said "yeeeeaaaaaa." I looked at Dave in disbelief and asked him again. He said "yea." I could not believe that my son not only said a very clear word, but it was in response to a question. I was so excited!!!!

Tomorrow is Kaden's second week of speech therapy and we are happy to report some new sounds to Alicia (his speech therapist). He has been making a distinct "s" sound...today he was dancing around to "you think my tractor's sexy" and every time he would hear the word sexy he would make an "ssssssss" as if he was trying to say it.

Mundi Martinez is an Occupational Therapist who will be working with Kaden starting this Friday. We are looking forward to that, it is truly amazing to watch the therapists work with Kaden. They really know how to get Kaden to open up and interact in a special way.

Busy week ahead and i'm sure there will be plenty more to report later this week.