So it has been awhile since we posted about Fisher's Autism. He started school on July 1st. He goes 4 days a week. The school is a Montessori based preschool for kids from about 2-6 years old. It is made up of about 70% typical kids and the rest are kids with many different kinds of disablilities. Fisher days consist of Emily dropping him off, at this point he meets up with his IBI (Intensive Behavorial Intervention) Therapist Melanie. She spends the entire day with him, and she is wonderful. He joins the class for snack, lunch, outside play, and circle time as he can behave properly. If he has trouble following the rules of the class Melanie takes him to his own therapy room where she can work with him one on one.
In the short time he has been at school he is working on staying seated while he eats and drinks, cleaning up after an activity, following directions, transitioning between activities, playing with his peers, and some sign language among many other challenges that come up from moment to moment. He also meets with a speech therapist and an occupational therapist on a weekly basis. 
The other day when Emily went to pick Fisher up he was sitting at a picnic table with a bunch of other kids eating pretzels and drinking water. This may not sound like much, but it is a big deal for us. Fisher also told me "put me down" when I picked him up the other day. It showed that he is learning to use language to express his needs rather than physical actions.
We have also seen many small improvements in him following directions. We just take it one day at a time and also are very thankful for the support we are getting from our family and friends.
Swimming at the Johnson's house. (one of my favorite activities)
This was Fisher leaving for his first day of school.
4 comments:
Glad to hear all is going well. You guys sure have a busy schedule! Fisher looks like he's going into first grade! He's such a big boy. :) Sending xoxoxo to you all! Love, Ang
Sounds like great progress, it is exciting to hear about the successes. Tell the Fish he's a great kid.
D & L
It is so exciting to hear that he is doing well at school! ~H
Fishman seems to be doing good. Hope he is enjoying his time at school. I was suprised to read Preschool. He looks like he is shaving already!
Nick
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