Saturday, November 8, 2008

Amazing, scattered day

What an amazing day! Michael has always had very scattered skills – today he had an amazingly scattered day. He was completely connected and 'with us' all day. More so than he's ever been. I'm going to write about a few of the wonderful things he did today. Just imagine mini-tantrums sprinkled liberally throughout. It's almost as if his brain is making connections so quickly he needs to literally blow off steam. It's absolutely astonishing to watch, from a safe distance!

Michael spends a lot of time with Uncle Dan on the weekends. He likes to go between floors and people, from one activity to another. At one point, Dan was teaching him to throw underhand. When Michael made a catch, Dan told him "Nice catch". Michael's immediate response: "Nice throw". It's hard to express why this is so cool. He doesn't have much social language, and the concept of a reciprocal conversation is so hard for him, but this just came out naturally.

After dinner, Michael asked for a treat. He doesn't normally ask for food, but it's something he's been working on. I told him I had a new treat, and asked him to wait a minute while I got it ready. Steve had gotten a bag of cinnamon granola from Whole Foods, and I was anxious to try it. I was not sure at all if Michael would eat it, since it was very crunchy and had a very strong cinnamon flavor. He tried it quickly, and even asked us to refill his plate! I was shocked.

At another point in the day, Michael and Dan were out playing in the sand box on our deck. The wind was blowing and leaves were falling from the trees. Michael made the connection that every time there was a strong gust of wind, he could look at the trees to see a huge flurry of falling leaves. I don't remember exactly what he said, but he clearly enjoyed the cause and effect.

I'm not sure where all these changes are coming from. We've pretty much been keeping up with the protocols we started this summer. We had an initial craniosacral eval this week, with a few minutes of treatment. I can't imagine that it could have so much effect so fast. And if it is the cause, couldn't we have the great stuff without the tantrums? Please?

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