Starting Building Blocks

After Joel got his diagnosis the recommended treatment was adding 25 more hours of therapy (on top of the 10 he already has through early intervention)  So Liz brought over some paper work and we went through the different companies that did ABA (applied behavioral analysis)  There were 2 main companies in my area. One was strictly ABA, (which was a little more...structured) and the other was more floor time based (going with the flow of the child to work on set goals)  I decided to go with Building blocks, which was the more floor time based.  He loves his 2 floor time therapies that he receives through early intervention so I thought it would be a good fit.   We've gone through the initial few meetings and their own separate evaluation and last week finalized our schedule.  To start off with we're adding 8 1/2 hours.  (4  2 hr apts *some a little longer)   This will bring our week up to 18 hours of therapy.   Were going to see how things go and add more  as time goes.  I'm actually quite excited to start building blocks.  Mainly because on days that Joel has a lot of therapy he seems to do better.  Building blocks is ultimately going to free up a lot of my time because in between all of Joel's EI therapies, I would work with him.  I went out and bought all Melissa and Doug toys, and I would copy and do everything I watched them do.  I swear its the reason that he's made so much progress in such a short amount of time.  I didn't just do it structured sitting on our floor, I would incorporate it into our lives, all day every day.  If your just starting this journey, my best advice to you is to watch what your child's therapists do.. and copy it in their absence.  Ask them for things to work on during the week in between appointments.  They only see your child for one or 2 hours once a week, do as much as you possibly can.  For me this got difficult as my daughter got older.  She was 2 months old when Joel started EI.  She's now 8 months old and I can no longer plop her somewhere to work with him, she needs and wants to be included as well.  It's become much harder for me to get that time with Joel these days, so building blocks is coming in right at the right time!  Its also going to give me time to spend with my daughter.  I feel like she's been sort of been put off to the side while all this has been going on.  I feel awful saying that, and its not that I didn't take care of her, or play with her, i did.  Its just majority of my energy was focused on Joel because I felt that's where it REALLY needed to be.  Thank god Angie is such a great baby.  So happy and easy going.  But I'm really looking forward to using that time to have one on one with her now. 

So Joel's father is in a union, and his insurance is a bit different then most peoples..  Although he has blue cross, his fathers union actually deals with everything.  They were a nightmare to deal with to get Joel;s evaluation apt. at Children's, a nightmare for our dentist to deal with when I brought Joel for his first dental apt. (which didn't go that well, he wouldn't open his mouth)  and now their being a nightmare for building blocks.  The person who deals with this stuff at the early intervention office had called me and let me know that he was going to have the department of public health cover it until the insurance got straitened out so that Joel wouldn't miss any services.  Well I found out yesterday that his insurance is refusing to cover building blocks at all.  Which infuriates me.  Thankfully the department of public health still is going to, but whats the point of having health insurance if they don't cover these things?  I got a call from a man at children's to just kinda check in after the diagnosis and give me resources in my local community. He told me about insurance laws and things I need to start preparing for.  I live in Massachusetts where a law was passed a few years ago that insurances HAVE to cover things like this.. anything autism related.  Unfortunately, Joels insurance is out of Connecticut.  I guess his fathers union main base is out of there.. which just sucks for us.   Especially since Joel will be aging out of early intervention when he turns 3.  (in 10 months)  Basically everything will stop at that point.  I need to make sure I do everything now so that doesn't happen.  My first phone call is going to be to the woman who pushed that insurance bill through here in Massachusetts, that they must cover all autism related charges.  He said that she can help me figure out whats covered on his insurance, and go from there.  I feel like the right people are being put into our lives at the right moments.  I'm so clueless still to all of this.  But I'm going to take everyones advice, and call who I need to call to make sure Joel gets everything he needs.  I fought for 5 long years to get him here.. now that hes here I'm going to fight with everything I have for him to get what he needs.   

All that aside, today was a good day!  I brought Joel over to my moms and let him run around in her huge back yard for about an hour!!  Then I took him to the grocery store.  (hes had a hard time in the past with the grocery store and we've done a few outings w. his therapists there to help him have positive experiences there)  They also suggested bringing him somewhere to run before going.. so that's what we did, and the trip went great!   He requested to go to the car many times.. (what he says when he wants to leave) but he did really good.  Our best grocery store trip alone!  He ate all of his dinner.... dipping every bit of mashed potatoes, chicken, broccoli and zucchini in ketchup. *YUCK!*  lol.  Unfortunately its the only way I can get him to eat lately.. so if ketchup he wants, ketchup he'll get!! (a therapist suggested ketchup or anything else w. a strong flavor to stimulate his mouth.)   hes a stuffer.. he stuffs his face till he pukes.  If  I put a bowl of cheerios down, he will stuff every one in his mouth till he vomits.  So the tangy dipping sauces were suggested to help give his mouth more stimulation.  He still stuffs, but its helped him eat when he otherwise normally wouldn't! 

I'm looking forward to Monday which will be Joel's 2nd hypo therapy appointment.  He was so scared of the horse the first 5 minutes, but by the end of the session he loved it!!!  I loved seeing him up there! they threw so much at him during the 1/2 hour session.  His therapist said he did so good for his first time, and normally they don't get to do so much therapy the first visit, but he took it all with stride!  God I love him!!  Cant wait to see him up on that horse again!!  :o)

 Below is Joel during our grocery outing today!!  Last year I had taken his pic in this exact spot, in the pumpkin display, so I had to get a new on this year! I plan on doing a side by side at some point!  :o)