Behavior Therapy

Today the boys and I went to Kennedy Krieger's Behavior Therapy department in Baltimore for an initial meeting with a therapist to discuss some stuff that is going on with Ryder. It takes us about 30 minutes to get there, but it is a straight shot and easy to find which is nice. The boys were both upset when they saw the valet parking people drive off with our car so I had to reassure them multiple times that they would bring our car back when we were done.

We went into one of the therapy rooms and started talking with the therapist. Unfortunately, they are doing some construction on the floor below and happened to start using a saw and hammer directly below us. As soon as that started Ryder was in tears jumping into my arms so we moved to a different room which was much quieter. I came prepared this time with crayons and paper to keep the boys occupied while I talked with the therapist. We were there for almost 2 hours and I feel she really listened and heard what our concerns were. She asked tons of questions and had obviously read all of Ryder's past history because she knew a ton of what was going on. Then she made a list of things that she heard and felt we could & should address through therapy. Some of the things we will work on include needle phobia, violent tantrums, bedtime tantrums, mealtime tantrums, aggressive outbursts, and potty training.

We chose to start with the needle phobia since he has to get those infusions and the way we go about it now with Ben restraining him will just make it harder and worse long-term. His first therapy session will be next week on July 6. She went over a few of the techniques we would use and one of them really has me excited. There is something I was told about by a few other parents and I have researched online, but didn't want to just buy it without know how it worked. This thing is called Buzzy and basically it is used to distract the child's feeling of pain. It has an ice pack and it vibrates in order to overload the body with sensations so they won't feel the pain. It is placed in specific areas (depending on where the needle will go) to get the best outcome. At Kennedy Krieger they use this in their therapy so we will get the chance to try it out.

After we make progress with the needle phobia we will move on to the other concerns. The good thing is that she told me generally all of the other things utilize the same behavior plan and therapy techniques.

Fun Weekend

This weekend was filled with lots of fun stuff. On Saturday we had some friends over for a BBQ and to just hang out. The boys loved having people over to entertain and play with. They also love to play with Kyle (Tracy & Dave's son). We had about 10 people over and had tons of food including crabs.

On Sunday we took the boys to the Orioles game. They were so excited about going to watch baseball since they watch it on TV with Ben all the time. They are members of the Junior Dugout Club so parents get $6 tickets and they have $1 concessions. I wasn't sure how far into the game they would make it, but we ended up leaving during the 6th inning which was pretty good I thought. We had decided to not try any night games since they start so close to their bedtime, but neither of the boys handled the heat very well so we might try one of the night games to see how they do without the sun beating down on them.

Swimming & Other Stuff

The pool that we joined opened up so we have been spending sometime there. I have taken a few pictures and videos on my cell phone, but unfortunately my cell phone is broken. Long story short is that I no longer have a cell phone. We did order new ones online which should get here Wednesday. I lost everything that was on my phone which includes all of the videos I had taken, but luckily I had already transferred a few of the pictures. Zak does so well in the pool now as long as he has his arm floaties on. He will jump in and swim around the whole time without any help. He has no issues with putting his face under the water and is able to hold his breath for a little while. Ryder is more cautious, but is definitely getting better. It takes him a while to get used to the pool so he tends to be clingy at first. By the time we are ready to leave he is usually kicking around on his own, but won't jump in or put his face under. I have no fears taking them to the pool on my own because of how well they are both doing.

Zak had just jumped into the pool

Now for some pictures from the last week or so. We have been spending a lot of time outside which means lots of dirt and boo-boos.

Zak fell down so that is why he is crying

The boys love to play Kerplunk

Batman uses this little chair as a bed all the time

VZ always lays with her paws crossed

Tricycle

This afternoon the boys played outside with a bunch of the other kids in our court. They started out on their scooters, but then moved on to borrowing tricycles from other kids. Zak is able to ride his bike with training wheels, but Ryder has yet to be able to pedal his. So when we saw this we were so excited! Apparently, pedaling a tricycle is slightly different because the physical therapist at his school worked with him and said he was able to do a tricycle, but we have not seen it yet.

Zak the Photographer

Today I let Zak have my camera for a while and he had a blast. He loves taking pictures and I thought it was neat to see his perspective behind the camera. There were tons of pictures, but here are some of the better ones. He made sure to take pictures of important things to him. The first 2 are pictures I took with my phone showing him taking pictures, the rest are ones he took.

The pool in our backyard

I had no clue he was taking a picture of me

The play-doh

Under the futon

Ryder's Last Day of School

Today was Ryder's last day of school. He has made such huge changes since he started in September. I wanted to post some pictures from his first day and then pictures from today.

September 1, 2010

June 15, 2011

He was a little upset during the pictures today because he was more interested in watching TV. I also wanted to let everyone know that I just found out both boys got spots in the regular pre-k at their home school (where they will go for K) for next school year. I have not gotten the actual acceptance letters, but Ryder's teacher from this year sent me an e-mail telling me she heard they got in (but not to tell anybody she told me!). They will go 5 half days next year.