Therapies/Treatments: AIT, OT, SPEECH, SPED

7 Days After AIT

We are now on the 7th day post AIT. Miles has many moods. He quickly gets irritated at times and there are also times that he is super happy. There are times that he will just hug for no reason. His siblings are shocked when Miles just goes up to hug his brother and sister.

We’re happily surprised because he now stops what he is doing just to go up to hug his siblings and then hug and smile at the same time. Those are the most wonderful moments we have experienced.

Yesterday was Miles’ first day with the new Occupational Therapist, and the first day he met his speech therapist after AIT. He had not seen the therapist for over a month because we temporarily hold speech therapy as the AIT practitioner recommended to undergo other therapies after AIT to be more effective.

The speech therapist (Teacher Z.) was very happy and surprised after the session. He was so surprised with Miles’ development. His impression with Miles before was that he is nonverbal and Miles seems to hold his speaking to people, to the effect that he might have psychological problems and that it would be best if we see a child psychologist.

Miles’ responses before were few. In an hour’s session with the therapist, you could only hear one softly spoken word from him. Eye contact was fleeting and it was so difficult to get a reaction.

In his speech therapy journal, teacher Z. noted the following:

Miles did well today but has to be enticed to speak most of the time said “open” spontaneously can follow one step command with 2-4 critical elements shakes his head to reject; can say “no” but not spontaneously can nod and can say “yes” though not spontaneously Teacher Z. commented that Miles was so different compared to the time he evaluated him.

These new report from Teacher Z. is a breakthrough. He is the first to report that Miles now responds to a yes and no question (at least he’s starting ).

After Miles’ therapy, he was all smiles, he hugged me and looked at me with broad smile/grin as if feeling “proud” that he did well today.

Just sharing these with you because I am super happy with his improvements.

Five Months After AIT

Five months post AIT there are a lot of changes that happened to Miles. He is now three months into biomed, twice a week OT and speech therapy, and twice a week SPED tutorial. I can say that AIT was crucial and instrumental in helping Miles perform well in school, in his therapies and in his tutorial sessions.

Following are some of the many changes he’s gone through:

1. Miles now is consistent and spontaneous in uttering words to communicate his needs and wants – eye contact also consistent. He says “want chips!, want banana, want to play, stop!, no!, reading time, etc. When going to the toilet, he sits him self on the bowl and says “Wash!” when done with his potty with established eye contact while smiling.
2. Miles is more aware of the people around him. He now has a sense of the presence of others surrounding him. One time in a cooking activity, everybody assembled and designed their cookies. Miles participated and proudly presented the cookie to me when school was over. He saw how the other kids ate their cookies after presenting them to their moms or caretakers. After praising him for a job well done, I took the cookie and kept it in my bag. He kept on looking at the other kids and gave me a questioning look. I told him he can’t eat the cookie as it is not good for him (not GFCF). This upset him. After trying 3 times to get the cookie (while saying “cookie! Want cookie!”) in my bag he had a tantrum which lasted until we got home. He rarely had tantrums that long.
   Miles now looks around his surroundings and explores. He seems fascinated with things around him and often do not hesitate to see what other kids are doing. Before AIT, Miles seem not to care what other kids are doing, even kids just across or beside him.
   His teacher this school year reports that Miles is a different boy compared to last June of school opening. He sings and dances during circle time and school activities. He was seen initiating social interaction and he shows awareness of things and people around him.
   Miles enjoy playing and interacting with his sister and brother. He hugs them and kiss them even without prompts.
3. Miles copies what other kids are doing especially in outdoor play most of the time. He mingles with his 6-year old sister’s classmates and runs with them. He looks at them, smiles at them and lines up with them when the teacher tells them to line up. Miles often goes to other classrooms and look at the kids work while we wait for his sister’s dismissal time. He join kids in their play when he finds the activity interesting like sand play, water play and group swinging. He even join when kids play tag.
4. There are times that Miles insist on what he wants to do. He gets upset when the teacher or therapist instructs him to do otherwise. Most of the time, Miles is generally compliant in school and in his therapies.
5. He can now follow simple commands with two to three critical elements. He seemed to absorb instructions better. He also remembers previous tasks.
6. He now executes fine motor and gross motor movements which were not observable before AIT. He can cut straight and diagonal lines with consistency and starts mastering cutting curved lines. He can now do harder gross motor movements involving both hands in coordination with both legs and feet.
7. Miles can now show preference for people going near him. He does not allow people he is not familiar with to take his hand. Before AIT, he go with anybody who takes his hands.
8. Miles can recite familiar books (mostly Dr. Seuss). He can sing familiar songs in complete lyrics. He chooses activities to do and does not stick on just one activity anymore.
9. Miles opens and operates gadgets on his own and navigates and executes commands in these gadgets: computer, PSP, PS3, DS, cellphone, DVD player, etc. He now tries to go to the internet and browse around the car or automobile site which is his favorite. He does very hard puzzle games and prefers picture puzzles that looked real than cartoon looking drawings.
10. Miles can balance himself better on a beam, on a swing and the exercise ball. He runs on a straight line with well-coordinated hands and leg movements. He can go up the slide on his own and slides by himself. Before AIT, Miles has a hard time walking or running straight. He bends his body sideways when he walks or runs and the path is curved and not straight. When he runs, he looked awkward, as if he’s about to fall down.
11. Miles can now express that he is hurt when bumped by others or when he meets accidents. He appreciates different textures now, unlike before. Prior to AIT, Miles is somewhat hyposensitive.

Miles was diagnosed last year (November) and I can’t believe that Miles can now do a lot of things which I thought was hard to achieve given his condition. Miles’ improvements from the day he finished AIT up to this day is really amazing when I compare him to kids I know who just stuck with occupational therapy and speech therapy. All these, I think, was due mainly to AIT (which evidently addressed his vestibular and sensory issues), biomed and his usual therapies.

7 Months After Miles’ AIT

We are continually amazed by Miles’ improvement and development. Yesterday he dialed our office number (our new maid slipped a piece of paper near the phone – 9 inches from the main phone at super liit – so she can remember it) without prompt and without anybody instructing him to do so.

He said “hello” and replied when mike asked who it was (we were both in the office). He answered “Miles”. Then he just echoed what mike was saying and gave the phone to our maid when I asked him to give the phone to her. We were really surprised when we asked our maid if she somehow instructed Miles to do it. She said she went to the CR for awhile and found Miles talking on the phone when she came out. Miles also call our old maid as “ate”. He never called her that way before.

Miles’ teacher was surprised to learn also that Miles knows all the names of his classmates. At this point he calls them by their names. He never referred to other kids by name except for his siblings before. At home he refers to us by our names also. Parang nag ro roll call.

Everytime somebody enters the door he will say “Ate Rain!”. Miles now tries to speak in simple sentences. We increased our speech therapy to 2x a week. He gets to spend 30 minutes one on one with a teacher in school everyday aside from his teachers with regular kids.

So that’s “pull-out” time for Miles so they can assist him with his special needs. For this I am very thankful as Miles respond with the sessions effectively this way. Speech therapy evaluation is also great.

He now have session with another kid in speech therapy (dyads) once a week, the other session is one on one with the therapist. OT reports Miles is super madaldal nowadays. Di masyadong problem ang behavior kay Miles as he can be instructed what to do and follows them naman.

Miles’ way of conversing is still not conversational. Isang tanong, isang sagot, though now he tries to answer with not just one word – he use simple sentence some of the time.

Weng
Mom of Miles age 4

2nd Round of AIT

May 1 – First day of AIT

Morning session: Miles was happy to go to the AIT center. He remembered the place and was excited to go inside because of the toys. During the session, Miles does not want to be massaged. He gets irritated and cranky every time somebody massages his head. He was fidgety during the whole session and would even take away or slap away Ms. Steph’s hands.

Afternoon session: Miles was prodded to go inside for therapy. He insisted on his wants – to play with the toy (table with beads). During the session, Miles is fidgety and resists head massage. He squirms away to avoid the massage so we have to exert extra effort to keep him still and sitting properly.

May 2 – Second day of AIT

Morning session: Miles was in the mood on our way to the center. When its session time, he allowed Ms. Steph to massage him only for awhile and only when she handed him her wrist watch to hold on to. Near the end of the session, Miles was fidgety.

Afternoon session: Miles was convinced to go inside for his therapy. It took much prodding to convince him and leave the toy for awhile. During the session, Miles was uneasy when he saw Ms. Steph and buried his face on my chest to avoid massage. He allowed me to massage him instead.

After the session, Miles keeps looking around his surroundings while we go to the car. He seemed to be looking at the details of the wall. In the car, we asked him if he wants to go home already. He said “No!” clearly. We asked him where he wants to go. He replied: “Let’s go to SM. Let’s go shopping!”

May 3 – Third day of AIT

Morning session: Miles is irritable today. He needed a lot of convincing to let go of the toy and go inside for the session. Again, Miles resists massage. He will only allow a maximum of 2 minutes massage then gets fidgety and resists any hand on his forehead after. He diverts attention to the headset’s chord and whines when stopped with what he was doing with the chord.

Afternoon session: Miles wants to play with the wooden car which slides downwards. It took a lot of convincing before he went inside for the session. He greeted Mr. Clown – a hanging mobile inside the room: “Hello Mr. Clown!”. Miles was still fidgety and tries to move his head away from Ms. Steph. He did everything to make Ms. Steph’s hands from massaging his head.

May 4 – Fourth day of AIT

Morning session: Miles allowed his yaya to massage him. They finished the whole session without any fuss.

Afternoon session: Again, Miles did not fidget or complained when he was with the yaya. After the session, he said: “Hurry, Lola! Hurry, kuya Red!”. His lola remarked that Miles complained about his ears after the session: “Ouchy ears!”.

May 5 – Fifth day of AIT

Morning and afternoon session went well. Miles allowed the massage and was compliant when asked to go inside for the session or to stop playing because it is time to go already. Miles joined his sister when they went swimming in the pool. He enjoyed playing in the water. He showed interest in a food magazine that day.

May 6: Sixth day of AIT

Morning Session: Yaya was not around. We convinced him to go inside for the session. He kept on saying: “Where’s the book?”. As we did not know that the yaya gave him a food magazine the day before, we ignored his remark. Miles had a meltdown during the session. He kept on asking for the book and cried and had tantrum during the whole session. After the session, he was pacified when was finally given a food magazine. He was covering his ears after the session on our way to the car and in the car while we were driving. He closes his ears with his hands and opens them again. Parang naninibago. Afternoon session: Miles is quite fuzzy and restless this time. On the last five minutes, he is whining and can’t wait to finish the listening session. We need to prod him physically to leave the center because he ignores our verbal requests.

During his OT session, the OT tested if Miles can stay seated when left alone. It took some time before he stands up. Overall, he seldom gets up when left alone.

May 7: Seventh day of AIT

Morning and afternoon session: Miles went willingly inside the center and inside the session room. He allowed to be massaged. He asked his lola to hurry up afer the session. Engaged with Maxine and played with the doll house.

May 8: Eighth day of AIT

Morning and afternoon session: Miles was behaved during both sessions. He was a bit sleepy when we arrived home during the morning session. After the afternoon session, Miles went straight to the computer to play his Y3 games. In the afternoon, Miles peed in his shorts two times when we were in his grandmother’s place. We never had this accident for more than a year already and we find it odd that it happened at this point. He did not even say “Wiwi!” like he used to. At night time, Miles is quite happy and is playful. He asked me to read to him his Dr. Seuss books when it was bedtime. We read three books before he was satisfied and went to sleep.

May 9: Ninth day of AIT

While waiting for the center to open, Miles noticed Maxine’s arrival (one floor down). He shouted: “Maxine!” two times to call her attention. He waved his arm and shouted excitedly: “Hello Maxine!”. Miles was very happy to see Maxine today.

Morning session: Miles was okay at the beginning of the session. However, on the last 10 minutes, he got cranky. He called Ms. Kris, “Mad witch!” many times. He also remarked: “The car is broken!”many times.

Afternoon session: This next session went well without any fuss. At home, Miles accidentally peed in his shorts three times while playing his favorite computer game. This is another odd event.

May 10: tenth day of AIT

The morning and afternoon session went well. On the second session, Miles fell asleep on the couch. At home, Miles’ energy seemed low. He wants to lie down while watching tv. He slept early today.

After 2nd Round of AIT

May 11

A day after Miles’ second round of AIT, he was quite hyper and restless during his playgroup session. Despite this, Miles was generally compliant and participates in the activity. The therapist reports that Miles attention needed refocusing most of the time.

May 13

Today, Miles seemed to be fascinated with the feeling of spinning. He spins himself many times and laughs at the sensation after awhile.

May 14

Our maid went on vacation so I have to bring Miles to his sister’s summer day camp at school. To my surprise, Miles went inside the classroom and sat with the other kids as if he’s part of the class. He was listening attentively at the teacher and seemed very interested. He was allowed to join in and I left him there to participate. When I fetched him, he wanted to stay in school for awhile and play in the playground. He misses his routine in school badly so I let him play for a few minutes. When asked to go home, he went willingly.

He had 2 hours tutorial session in the center. At home, he said: “Mommy! Let’s go to office!”, “I want to eat please.”

May 15

Miles recited excerpts in his favorite Dr. Seuss book. When he saw an SM plastic bag in the house, he said: “Let’s go shopping!”. During the day time, Miles covers his ears when he was upset with his sister. He insists on his wants and takes awhile before he calms down. He fell asleep on the chair while playing his computer game at night.

May 16

We stayed in the office today. We let the kids stay in the top floor room which is like a studio type condo unit. Miles allowed me to work in the laptop for 4 hours – a first since he always insist on playing his computer games with my laptop. He watched TV and played with his brother and sister instead. In the afternoon, when he saw his sister tinkering with my laptop, he shouted: “No, ate Rain!” then got upset. He shouted: “I want computer!” ten times at his sister to keep her from using it. He only let go of the computer game when he saw the spiderman movie playing on tv.

May 17

Today, I heard Miles reading one of his favorite Dr. Seuss book. I was amazed to hear that he no longer have the monotone voice when reading or reciting what was in the book. He even changes his voice when a different character is talking in the book. When I listen to him, I was like hearing 2 different characters talking with each other. When he saw me arrive from the office, his face brightened up. He said: “Hello mommy! Hello Mommy! I want to eat!”

May 24

Today, Miles no longer want to be held by the hand when we walk on our way to the car. He sits when I try to hold his hand as I am worried about oncoming cars. He keeps his arms tucked in his legs when I try to get his hands. He only stands up if I allow him to walk on his own.

May 25

This is the last day of the summer play group session. Miles was awarded best in circle time. He participated in the “Trip to Jerusalem” game and tried so hard not to touch or grab the toys displayed as prizes for the games. Miles sung and danced the “Little teapot” song together with the other kids and the therapist as part of their presentation. He covered his ears when there was a balloon popping activity and acted scared. He joined again after that part of the activity.

May 26

Miles was very good in his dyad session today.

May 27

Miles played with his sister and brother today. He says: “I want to eat please” when hungry. I caught him practicing his analogy exercises on his own.

He “read” his books on his own.

Miles practices his analogy exercises again. Red is to apple, orange is to carrot. Carrot is to vegetable, as apple is to fruit. Milk is to cow, eggs is to chicken. Moo is to cow, meow is to cat. Car is to street, train is to train tracks. He said before going to sleep: “Mommy, here! Read books!”. Today, Miles had a hard time sleeping.

June 2

On our way to his therapy, Miles practices his own analogy exercises. Red is to “stop”! Yellow is to “wait”! Green is to “go”! To amuse himself, he asks these questions and answers them also. He points at the vehicles while saying them. Is that a car? Yes! Is that a taxi? Is that a green bus? Yes! Is that a fire truck? Is that a jeep? And so on and so forth. I add some descriptive words to make his sentence longer like “big or small”, “color of the vehicle”, “slow or fast”. He enjoyed doing this while in the car. Actually, he enjoyed talking lately.

June 8

We did where question games. Where do we brush teeth? Where do we cook? Do we eat in the bedroom? Do we play in the bathroom? He was very good at this.

June 15

Today is the first day of school. Miles was excited and happy to see his school again. At dismissal time, Miles said goodbye to the ates and teachers. He went swimming and biking in the afternoon.

June 16

We had a hard time convincing Miles to stop his computer game when it was time to go for therapy. I have to drag him to go in the car. He was only pacified when we were on the road and when I initiated our usual road trip game: Miles is that a jeep? (pointing to a car) to challenge him to correct me.

June 17

School time again. Miles calls my attention to go upstairs and to play computer. I showed him a calendar (weekly) and explained to him that starting today we are back to school in the morning, therapy or tutorial in the afternoon, then computer game in late afternoon or playground or biking. Then at night time its time to sleep. He understood and did not insist on what he wants. At night, he asked me to read his Dr. Seuss books again. We finished 3 stories before he went to sleep.

June 20

Miles was happy to see the new Dr. Seuss books I bought for him. He opened them and motioned me to sit with him. I was shocked to see that Miles can actually read on his own! He points at the words and he was able to read them. I have to guide him to some new words but majority of the words he can already read.

June 21

Miles had a bruise on his lower leg when he came home from biking. He told me its Ouchy and pointed at the place of the bruise.

June 22

I heard Miles saying: “Hey! Stop Ate Rain!” “Mommy, come here! Let’s play Y3. Come upstairs!” in a demanding way. I remember months back, I was the one telling and asking Miles to go upstairs. Now he’s the one calling me.

June 23

In the morning, Miles said: “Today is going to school!” While in the car, Miles said: “Mommy is in a car. Miles is riding Mommy’s car.” On our way to the elevator of the therapy center, Miles said: “Hello, manong guard!” After his therapy, he said bye to Ate Bheng, the center’s secretary. He read one paragraph of the new book on his own while pointing at the words. I introduced other online educational games to Miles and he enjoyed them.

June 24

I practiced Miles to follow a certain format in saying sentences: Name IS Verb+ing OBJECT. Like: The bear is playing the flute. He liked the exercise and applied it to his new book upon seeing the images. He does not only identify this time, he describes what the characters are doing.

As texted: I forgot it was San Juan Day today and I asked my maid to fetch him. Ayun natuwa sa basaan. Pagdating ko sumalubong. “Mommy! Tshirt ! Nabasa ang tshirt! “ He reported happily and excitedly. 1st Filipino words and sentence niya yun.