sweet boy

I know it has been FOREVER since I posted...but I did move AND get tenure (yay!) and battle the flu in the last month.

What I want to write about today is Elliott's progress. We saw the new Defeat Autism Now (DAN) doctor in Irvine, Dr. Barrett mid-October. She was kind and balanced and thorough and she took Elliott off of the 24 supplements he was on and put him on 5, which is much more manageable and less costly. Within two weeks, we saw huge improvement, but I am not sure if it is the supplements or the applied behavior analysis (ABA), or both. ABA is when they come in our home five days a week for 2 hours per day and work with Elliott on his behavior and social skills. The goal is to replace his non-socially acceptable behaviors with behaviors that are more appropriate and to break tasks into tiny steps so that he can accomplish them more easily. We got the best company in our region, AST, and I'm so happy about his progress with them as well. Back to our doctor. She is working to get rid of a yeast overgrowth that he has in his belly, and we've seen results. Elliott told me he loved me for the first time. And he also told his grandma he loved her too. He has been playing with Ben, trying to talk, learning his body parts, trying to help dress himself, etc., things he didn't do as well or at all before. He seems less likely to tantrum and more "normal" in general. He even did well on Halloween--he kept his costume on and said "Trick or Treat" and didn't scream. That's a major success for us! So this month has been busy, but really good. We are settled into our house now, and we really love it.

This post is about Elliott, but Benjamin is doing really well, too. He's doing really well in school and he's been loving and kind to his brother and everyone else for that matter.

I'm really enjoying the boys at this age.