As we transition to fall with home schooling swinging into high gear, it has been a balancing act with managing George's Natural Play Therapy. Having Rachel in the playroom with George has freed up some time for me to help my older two boys with their school work and enjoy them instead of rushing through everything, because I am worried about what George is or isn't doing. That has been a big stress relief for me.
We were recently blessed with a new NPT volunteer! Caleb is 14, home schooled and plays the guitar, which George loves. Caleb is coming 2 times a month for an hour with his guitar in tow. I am so excited for him to bring the music element into George's playroom. Caleb had some great observations while working with George last week. I am looking forward to seeing them both bond in their own way and I know I will learn a thing or two from Caleb as well.
We have two other young ladies with a desire to work with George. We will be working on getting them scheduled this month. It is so exciting to see young people reaching out to help. George will learn that people are unique and exciting as each volunteer brings their own personality and interests into the playroom to share with George as he opens up to them and allows learning to take place.
I have not been able to visit as many churches as I had hoped to over the summer, however the donations have still been trickling in and we are so grateful for that. We are operating on faith that the money will be there and so far it has!
My application to the Home School Legal Defense Association's Special Need's fund was received and I should hear something in about 4 weeks. I asked for funds for a 4 day outreach with Julie Sando of Autistically Inclined and money for 3 hours of her training each month until July of 2014. It will be an amazing learning opportunity for our NPT Team to be able to work with Julie for 4 days! I am looking forward to that. I am also hoping Julie will be able to do a talk for the community about autism when she is out here. I would love for other families affected by autism to be able to hear that there is hope, recovery is possible and there are things they can do to enrich their relationship with their child/children.
So far we have enough donations to operate through October. We need a total of $960 to pay through till the end of November. Then beginning in December, we will need $716 a month to operate since respite care will renew and help compensate Rachel for some of her time. All donations are going to Rachel and Julie. If we get the grant, then that will help a bunch too. We have put the play area outdoors on hold for now and we are adding some of our own money as we are able.
About a month ago I began a new dietary protocol for George. It is pretty involved, however 98 children have been recovered from regressive autism in 2.5 years following it. It is non-invasive and inexpensive, so we are giving it a try. I will give more details in the future as I experiment with it some more.
With all that we are doing, we are seeing improvements in George! He looks at people a lot more. When I am around people who have not seen him in awhile they really notice this. He is getting much more particular about what he wants and it is fun to see him expressing this to us even if it is non-verbally right now. I know when we can get him more hours in his playroom he will progress even more.
Potty training is a goal I discussed with Julie during our last call. I have had to put that on hold right now with everything else going on. I need more time to prepare for this goal as I suspect it will consume lots of time. I was very spoiled with my other two boys. They were very easy to potty train. But you never know like Julie says, maybe it will only take a week with George too. I will have to think happy thoughts on that one! Anything is possible! :) Prayers are welcomed as I prepare for a potty training boot camp in our near future!
Whew! So those are some of our updates. Thank you all so much for your encouragement, support and prayers. We couldn't do this without all the help!
