JumpStart, Days 1&2

Wow, what an amazing experience our first 2 days at JumpStart have been! I can honestly say that after the first 2 days of this program I feel completely empowered and like we have an entire new set of tools to help Kaden grow, develop, and be the best he can be.

I was planning on blogging about the program after we completed the entire week. Well, after 2 days I feel like I already have so much I want to share so I decided I would break it up into a couple of entries. I don’t usually blog this much in such a short amount of time, but I felt it was important this time for two reasons. The first being that I have taken in so much information these last two days and this is helpful for me to recap everything we have learned. Second, this is all valuable information that needs to be shared with those who spend time with Kaden.

Our first 2 days were spent with Senior Behavioral Coach & Executive Director of JumpStart, Lina Fancy. I felt like after reviewing Kaden’s reports prior to us arriving, spending 2 hours with us Monday morning, Lina knew my son just as well as I did. She quickly identified his strengths,  his challenges, and came up with a game plan. One thing about Autism, is that there is no “one size fits all” road map. But, you search for this road map from the second you find out your child may have Autism. You are searching for any answers, and just hoping someone will give you some kind of direction. For the first time since all of this has emerged, I feel like we finally have a road map.

Kaden always presents as an “interesting” case to the professionals who see him. Six months ago there was no doubt in anyone’s mind that Kaden was definitely on the Autism Spectrum. In May he received his first Autism diagnosis. In August he received a “provisional” Autism diagnosis, meaning Dr. Maher was not completely convinced he had Autsim but went ahead and gave  him the diagnosis so he Kaden continue to receive the high level of services he was already getting. In the last month, every professional who works with Kaden doubts more and more that he is on the spectrum.

Call it what you want,I really do not care what the label is. My point is that  Kaden has made remarkable gains in the last six months and this is so promising. After this program, I can only imagine where Kaden will go with his development.

We have always known that the two biggest areas of opportunity for Kaden are his speech and social skills. One thing Lina quickly identified is that we need to set our expectations extremely high for Kaden. We need to push him hard because he is at a point where we will continue to see huge gains in his development.

Kaden does great in a non competing structured environment, where he is given the tools to be successful. When you put him in an intense social situation (ie. a lot of noise, unpredictable children, no structure) he becomes overwhelmed and at that point is unable to access his learning environment and escapes any interactions with other people.
This is where the work begins at home for us.

I have always known in my heart that we could make a difference in the overall outcome of Kaden’s development. After these first two days at JumpStart, I am more confident than ever in the places we can take Kaden.

I can sit here today and assure you that not only will Kaden catch up to his peers, but will outshine them in so many ways.

I am so grateful to have the opportunity to attend a program like JumpStart, and am so excited for the next three days!

Have a wonderful week, and thank you for reading!!!

It All Comes Together!

Dave and I were lucky enough to have a quick little 2 day get away last weekend with some friends. The kids stayed with grandma, auntie, and cousins while we were gone. As much as people constantly tell us we need a break, and I know in my heart this is true, it is still hard to leave. Especially with everything Kaden has going on.

What a pleasant surprise we came back to....Kaden was making so many new sounds after a weekend with his cousins. He was saying things we had never heard before. There are no words to describe the feeling of walking through the door and hearing him say "WOOOOWWWW, Ma-Ma!" As he says it, you hear pure excitement in his voice...it is the best!

Well, it has been 6 months since we started this journey with Kaden and Autism. I can honestly say that it feels like it is all starting to come together! All of Kaden's hard work,  all of the hours and hours of therapy. It is all shining through so bright!

To think that 6 months ago a stranger sat in my living room and told me that Kaden showed all of the "red flags" of Autism. I asked her if she had ever seen these behaviors or "red flags" disappear after she had seen them in a child at first, and she told me "no." She also told me not to expect to see changes over night and that  while we would set 6 month goals for him, not to expect him to reach all of those goals.

Well, here we are 6 months later and I can proudly say that Kaden has reached every single goal outlined for him on his IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan), and then some! 

HA...TAKE THAT AUTSIM!!!!

Kaden at speech taking a break

In 6 months he has learned to communicate his needs, mimic behaviors, follow  two- three- four & more word commands, he babbles constantly, mimics sounds, is able to interact & self regulate in a social setting with his peers, say some words, concentrate on a project for not only seconds but minutes, uses sign language on a regular basis, and SO MUCH MORE!

Every single person who has worked with him cannot believe his progress and the developmental gains he has made in such a short amount of time. Last week his case worker saw him for the first time in a few months and she was absolutely blown away.

The Developmental Pediatrician who initially diagnosed him in May told us his therapists would love working with him because he had so much potential. She could not have been more right on!

So what do we do now that his 6 month review is here? We keep going. We keep doing what we have been doing and then some. This is why we have a week long intensive family program at the end of this month scheduled in SF, we have an appointment at UC Davis MIND Institute & at UCSF Autism & Neurology Clinic in October, and we have just started the Generation Rescue Grant Program. We keep him on the strict diet, supplements, and continue to give him the tools he needs to be present.

It may take a little more work than most, but this is why we do it. We have always seen the potential and continue to see the potential in Kaden underneath all of the "Autism" stuff. He is such an amazing little person, and already exceeding everyone's expectations for him. I can only imagine the places he will go. Yes, he may need a little extra direction getting there. But once he is there, we will all look back and remember this as a few bumps in the road as we started our journey.

I know in my heart that because of everything we are doing now he is going to come out so far ahead! For now, we keep fighting and celebrate Kaden's milestones as everything starts to come together!

Kaden is definitely able to mimic!