Speech and Language Therapy

Today Adam had his second session of Intensive Speech and Language Therapy.
He has had S&L sessions before but they were less intense and focused more on encouraging him to play with toys and make eye contact.
The past two intensive sessions have had me crawling around the living room on my hands and knees copying all the sounds and actions that Adam made. It is hard on the knees! He just looked at me like I was mad.
One of my favourite parts of the session was when I sat with him on the floor while the therapist sat opposite with a bag of sensory toys. She would sing I've got something in my bag, in my bag, in my bag, let's see what it is and then pull out something like a flashing ball, encouraging him to follow it with his eyes. After a short time she would put it back and repeat with another toy. He managed to focus for quite a while. That's something I will definitely try with him each day.
The aim is to start with small actions and then add to it a little at a time. Baby steps. It will be a long process and eventually we will add in Makaton. He is still young so he has quite a while until he has to go to school.
We also had an appointment with his Preschool specialist on Tuesday, at preschool, to discuss how he is doing and talk about how we can work together to help him.
I was a little disappointed to find out that it is unlikely that his sessions will increase by Easter. He only does two mornings at the moment and I was hoping for at least one more after Easter. He needs 1-1 care and the lady who takes care of him, who is brilliant, can't do extra sessions. Will have to discuss this with them further.
On Monday he is going to a sensory stay and play session at the local library. We couldn't make the last course so I am hoping we will make all 3 sessions this time.

Adam the Autistic Two-Year-Old

It is four months until Adam's third birthday and a lot has happened in the past year.
It was Christmas 2015 when I realised there was something wrong with my son. He showed no interest in what was going on around him, didn't acknowledge the presents, chewed everything, and favoured his old familiar toys.
These signs on their own wouldn't have been enough to indicate Autism but there were other symptoms. He didn't talk, was late walking, flapped his hands, rotated his wrists, chewed continuously, didn't make eye contact and didn't respond to his name being called.
He still in completely non-verbal and has no communication skills. He doesn't know how to ask for food and drink and shows no signs of being hungry or thirsty. I believe that if he wasn't offered drink he would allow himself to dehydrate.
I have been grateful for the amount of support we have received, even before his official diagnosis in November 2016. We are lucky to live in the UK where we receive care for free.
The last year has been a whirlwind and I will try to share some of it with you in future posts, this is just an introduction.
I hope that you will find it helpful if you are just setting off on your journey.