As I was so nicely reminded today by Anton, I haven’t posted in quite some time. This is not to say that I haven’t kept abreast of the happenings with the little guy! In a way, it’s exciting to go AWOL from the blog for bit…I just read back through my last few posts and to see the all the new and different things Tony is doing is fantastic! It’s easy to overlook the progress that we see on a day to day, or even week to week basis…but, when you step back and look where we were four or five months ago~

Since I’ve been seeing Tony at “school”, he’s really learned to adjust to the “oh no! where’d mommy daddy go?” panic that would hit him soon after they left. He has figured out what things he likes to do at school and what he doesn’t like. And, he’s definitely tried to establish some routines around the activities that are preferred. However, I, being the demanding person that I am (yeah, right!) will not hear of it! No routines at school…learn to enjoy the variety and the unexpected!! Well, we did keep things routine initially, while the adjustment phase was happening. But not one day longer than needed 😉 The thing is…Tony can deal with these “bumps” when they roll around. Some days and some situations better than others. Whether it is due to his improved comprehension skills or better understanding of concepts like “wait” and “later”, it’s hard to say. I know that Mom and Dad don’t always get to see this side of Tony at home…but it does exist!!

Tony has had to opportunity to interact with several kiddos when he’s at school. It’s common for Tony to look at his friend and say “come on, let’s go”. He’s pretty consistent with greetings when we/they come and go. Today, Tony chased another little boy around the room while holding a snake and making a hissing sound…lot’s of fun!!

I have been focusing on altering the manner in which Tony responds to questions…for example “Tony do you want to go on the playground?” Tony’s typical response is “playground yes” or “I want playground yes”. Not only is Tony using these phrases to respond to questions, but he is, at times, using them to request. I’m pushing Tony to use “I want _____ please” to request and a simple “yes” to respond to a question. The past few sessions I have been prompting him by asking the question and before he responds, verbally cuing with “say yes”. This has been working well.

I remain proud and thankful for the journey that Tony has traveled over the past year and a half and I look forward to our upcoming adventures.