I really had intended to post something short and sweet on Wednesday, but I just didn't get around to it. And, to be honest, I didn't have much else new to report. So, I allowed myself to just forget about it.
Let's see: the big news first: Buzzy started ABA on Thursday! Yay! He had two hours of it. I thought it went really well. He had two women working with him, and I wasn't needed (or wanted, ha ha). So, I had some free time with the baby. It was really nice. They came back on Friday for another session, which went well also. He already knows the womens' names and can approximate them. And he has been improving with the tasks they are having him do, according to the logs they are keeping. I can't really tell you what ABA looks like, though, because I am not there. They are doing the therapy in a nice little room in our finished basement. We all hang out upstairs while that is going on and stay out of the way. He will be getting therapy for 10 hours a week. We will increase that time as he adjusts to it. They were wanting to do about 20 hours a week.
One thing I was worried about was that they would use food to motivate him. They don't. They use praise and allow him to play with toys and whatnot. He does get a snack during the time, and I'm sure they are making him work for it, but he's not doing everything he's doing just for food. ;)
Buzzy has started to ask for things and his language is just exploding. He is playing with something right now, chattering up a storm. "Uh...vent..oh...go...hot...(he is playing with a fake fireplace - it's not really hot, more like warm)...off off off on on...lotion..." He has all sorts of things to say! He also asked for "blueberries" from the "fridge" today. I am really, really happy that things are going so well with his speaking.
As for his speech therapist, he is going to be getting therapy tomorrow, as far as I know. The last time he had speech was on December 18th. Yes, it's been a while. I am probably going to say something to my service coordinator. But, not for the reasons you might think. I just realized every single one of Buzzy's therapists have had me sign something at the beginning or end of each session. I have never signed anything with this therapist. So, I am going to made a casual comment about whether that's normal or not, because I just don't know.
We are still waiting for Buzzy's special equipment. I will have to ask at his next OT appointment where the goodies might be. We should be seeing that stuff soon (or it should already be here).
We have stopped his B-12 shots for the moment. I am a bit irritated about that. I refilled the prescription at a local pharmacy, and they screwed it up - but I am not sure it's their fault. Instead of injecting him with 0.04 ml, they diluted the B-12 to 1 ml and everything is bigger: the amount of liquid (obviously), the syringe, and the needle. I don't think so. The other annoyance is that it was $25 to fill the prescription at the pharmacy by his doctor's office, but $60 to fill it here - and get it wrong. And they are a 30 minute drive away. Ugh. I will have to make some phone calls tomorrow. I am getting really good at those!
I also heard back from the other (local) place that we applied to for getting a service dog. We applied at 4 Paws (in Ohio) and got accepted with them. However, we would have to fund raise $13,000 to "get" a dog. Obviously, if we badly wanted a service dog we would go that route.
But, shortly after we were approved by 4 Paws, I learned of a place about 30 minutes away that does the same thing. At no cost to us. And, I filled out an application through them. We got a letter that sounded promising. They said they currently had dogs in training and they would be available in 6-12 months. If they feel any of those dogs would be right for us, then they would contact us (at that time) to set up a home visit. So, if you're the praying type, please pray they find the perfect match for Buzzy and we can get our service dog from them! So, we are on hold for fund raising with 4 Paws. Which makes my husband feel a lot better, because it bothers him to ask anyone for help. And I can see his point.
The other awesome thing about the local one? A shorter wait time! If they find the right dog, then we are looking at 6-12 months. I was thinking with 4 Paws, the fundraising would take a year and then we would have about a year to wait for them to train a service dog. So, I am feeling incredibly excited and fortunate that we have this opportunity at all.
That's all the news here. We have a full week of therapies and I am incredibly excited to see more progress. (And the poop test results should be in mid-week, woo hoo!)
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