Summer Goals

Summer finally decided to show itself for a few days this week here in Wisconsin. Spencer and I took advantage of the sunshine and spent as much time outside as we could. I set up Spencer's pool Sunday night out on the deck. As soon as I unrolled the pool to blow it up, Spencer was sitting in the middle of it as he does every year, not caring whether or not he had any water to play in. The smile on his face was priceless.

Swimming is one of the few things that keeps Spencer's interest. It pulls him away from the t.v. and boredom of being an only child that does not understand pretend play. He has never once done any pretend play. His idea of playing with toys may be spinning the wheels on a car or seeing how far that dump truck can make it across the room if he stands on his bed. So, my challenge is to find and explore new ideas to keep us busy besides the walks to the park we can't wait to start.

I am open to any ideas! He is very interested in computers and animation. Particularly if music is incorporated. His teachers use a touchscreen at school so I have done the same at home along with headphones to keep out distractions for him. He loves the Starfall website. His attention span while it has grown, is still only minutes at a time. For instance, if we get out the play dough, he may have already lost the great enthusiasm he JUST had by the time I have gotten the top off the first color. He will say "all done" and that is that!

I realize this is one of the most unorganized blog postings I have done. My boy may be sweet but he is complex. I never know quite where to start.

"I'm a cucumber, not a pickle.". Larry ~ Veggie Tales

Giving Thanks

As I mentioned, we had Spencer's first parent/teacher conferences not that long ago. I don't think I stopped smiling until the following morning! God has blessed us yet again with another wonderful teacher for Spencer. He adores Georgia (all the children call the teachers and aides by their first names) and she adores Spencer in return. Something I did not expect was for Spencer to also respect her. My little boy is growing up and trying very hard to impress his new teacher. I saw Spencer listen and concentrate more in that short time that I ever have before. I saw the delight on his teacher's face when she showed us what he could accomplish. I hung on her every word...I am thrilled at all the new things he is trying and learning. Spencer also has a real, true friend. He has taken an extreme liking to a slightly older very autistic boy and likes to mimic Elias. Elias is more advanced in numbers and letters. Spencer follows Elias around and likes to do what he does. So Spencer's teacher has allowed Spencer to sit and learn with Elias and he is catching on some!

Our house has been ringing with the sounds of "Where is Thumbkin?" recently as these seems to be Spencer's new favorite song. I sing it too!

This is how Spencer greeted his teacher.

Making himself at home; off go the shoes!

Showing us his matching skills.

Spencer's Therapy Session

It was decided that Spencer would benefit from some occupational therapy this summer while out of school. Every Wednesday morning, he will have one hour of therapy. Work is allowing me to do this, no questions asked. My boss, also the Vice President, is a great guy to work for and didn't even let me finish explaining before he said yes. This was Spencer's second week. He skipped the whole way to the therapy center and sang songs in the elevator. No guessing if he wanted to go or not! One key factor in him liking this so much is his therapist, Patti. Patti has been involved in Spencer's life one way or another ever since his first surgery at four months old. She brought him through some very tough times while in the hospital and recently found us a larger stroller so Spencer can be comfortable during our walks. She is beyond wonderful and Spencer is so eager to please her during his session that I just sit in wonder at the things he can do for her.



One of Patti's many goals for Spencer is to help him use his mouth for something other than chewing and "teething" every and anything he can get his hands on. He is overly oral with strings almost to the point of obsession. Patti is using one of those toys that when you blow in the pipe, it hovers a ball over the little net on the end.



Spencer is copying her mouth movements here.




Here he is teasing her with the ball when he caught it!




I am probably not a good person to have included in these sessions. I try to sit quietly and not influence Spencer. Here Patti took out a doll, gasp and a naked one at that, for shame!, and pretended to feed it a cup of tea. She did this a few times and then asked Spencer to feed the baby. Every single time, Spencer took the cup from her, turned it over and placed it on the baby's head. I sat in the nearby chair and held my giggles in. Personally I would do the same if someone asked me to feed a naked doll! She needed some clothes first...

Needless to say, Spencer amazes me almost every minute during these sessions. He really does know how to do so many things I never realized and this is a time for me to learn also. I take mental notes on all the things done so I can do them at home too. Thank God for woman like Patti!

Working With Angels

Today was Spencer's last day of school. Since he was 3, he is now 5, he has been attending Early Childhood Development. He went four mornings a week and loved school very much. He had access to a "regular" classroom teacher, who is FAR from regular along with her aide. Occupational, Physical and Speech therapy and gym. He rotated these each day. Because of these special, patient and open minded ladies, Spencer excelled far more than he would have during these last few years. He grew to love his teachers and they in return love him. He will be difficult in the mornings for the next few weeks because he cannot understand why he won't be going to school this summer. It breaks my heart that not only does he not understand but that he will not be seeing these women he has grown to love again unless by chance. I honestly would have been lost without them!


This is the note Mrs. DeeDee sent home with Spencer today:

"John and Sheri,

Thank you so much for sharing your son with me. I have learned so much from him. I don't know if I will ever make it to Heaven. So I feel fortunate that I was to work with a little boy who I know will be in Heaven some day. I am literally working with angels."


Spencer next to his locker. You can tell who is the photographer in this family. John took all of these pictures.


Mrs. DeeDee. This woman is one in a million. She will always have a special place in my heart. She was Spencer's main classroom teacher and coordinated his days and was my communication to how he was doing and what they were working on.
Mrs. Tara, his Occupational Therapist. I wonder if he likes her?

Mrs. Pam, the teacher's assistant. Mrs. Pam didn't make too many points with the kids due to her strictness. Her goal was to keep the children focused during class time, snack time, outside time etc. I think her job would be very tough!



I am so proud of Spencer!

Homework

One of Spencer's goals for school is to be able to wash and dry his hands by himself. That doesn't sound too difficult of a task, so most nights we pull up his little stool to the bathroom sink and give it a try. Some nights it goes better than others. Spencer loves water and has no problem turning on the faucets (both, because it is more fun that way) and playing with the water. He has no idea why I want to "ruin" his fun time with a bar of soap and at times humors me by taking it out of my hand and throwing it in the running water. I love his intense expressions caught in the mirror.

We also read books many nights before bed. Tonight I read an Usborne counting book. It has the number 1 and one object/animal on a page, then the number 2 and two objects/animals etc. on pages that go up to 10. Every other time we do this, I can possibly get Spencer to participate up to page three and then I have to complete the counting myself. I then call him a butt and pretend that counting is my life's dream, hoping he jumps in again. He knows his numbers up to twenty and sits nice and quietly while I count; he just doesn't want to do it himself. Tonight he did each and every page himself without any help whatsoever! When I pointed, he counted or he pointed and counted himself. I hugged, kissed and slapped him five and then we burst into giggles. Nights like these are the ones that keep hope alive.

Indoor Activities

We were stuck indoors today due to wind and the fact that it was only a little over 3o degrees. Brrr! We had a nice lazy day.

Spencer's attention span is not very long for many learning activities. He likes to tell you he is "all done" mere moments after you start. One thing he really likes to do and is proud to accomplish is saying words and numbers off of his Slide and Learn Flash Cards. Aunt Tanya got him two sets of these last year. One Dora, with words and one Diego, with numbers. As usual, she thought of a perfect idea to keep Spencer occupied long enough to learn. Here are a few pictures of Spencer telling me all the words he knows. He opens the slide card and then I say the letter and he repeats after me. Then I say the word and he repeats that. When we first started he would either ignore me if he couldn't say the word or he would just grunt. One time he even said apple for every word! It was very hard for me not to laugh! Now he tries every letter and word and can pronounce most of them fairly well. I am so proud of him!

School Days

Spencer loves loves school. He has been going to Early Childhood Development for a year and a half now to help prepare him for kindergarten next year. What a world of difference this has made in his life!! He has speech, occupational and physical therapy along with gym class and a regular classroom four mornings a week. His teachers are amazing people with large hearts and even larger amounts of patience. I will never find the words to let them know how grateful I am for all they have helped Spencer achieve.

This week in school he is learning about farms. He gets to take animals out of a barn and learn the sounds they make and how to feed them. Today they learned about pigs and played in the mud with the farm pigs. I am sure Spencer loved this part.

The pictures I posted are from last year and Spencer looks older now but I love his cute expression in the one by his locker. It is one of my favorites.

Therapy

Spencer went in for an occupational therapy session at the clinic today, requested by his neurologist. This is a fun time for Spencer. He enjoys working with any kind of therapist. Spencer needs and wants the stimulation therapy offers. We decided that I will see if I can arrange to take a few hours off a week at work and bring Spencer in for occupational and speech therapy once a week over the summer. This will keep him moving forward during the summer break. Not only are the therapists very good to Spencer but he loves spending time with them.

We recently discovered that Spencer may have a brain condition called Acqueductal Stenosis. The fourth lobe of his brain (bottom right) is very large and is pushing his spinal cord forward. Right now it is not bothering him or causing any seen issues. It may or may not. It could have been caused by his stroke or not be related at all. Some questions are not easily answered and I believe if his neurologist and neurosurgeon could tell me why, they would gladly do so. He will need a MRI every six months to monitor any changes. This leaves a lot of "what ifs". I can deal with what ifs. I could sit down and cry and scream but what good would it do when Spencer is happy and healthy today and being naughty in his room right now when he is supposed to be sleeping. He just turned on his light and shut his door. I have much to be thankful for!

I am a dough head and forgot my camera at a friend's house this weekend. I meant to take pictures of Spencer's therapy session today. I was going through pics and saw these two cute ones from almost two years ago when we got Spencer his tee ball set. I can't believe how much he has grown.