Mommy & George in the Playroom!

I am so thankful to have two young ladies helping me with cleaning two times a week.  This is freeing me up to play more with George.  One of the young ladies is also volunteering to play with George 2 hours a week. Awesome! So glad to have Rebekah playing with George.  I am excited to watch them build a relationship!

I took a couple of clips from my last play session with George.  George and I spent 1 1/2 hours together in this session.  Below are two clips that I especially liked.

In the first video I played with clapping.  George will not clap on his own to songs but likes it when we do. We are working on him participating more.  It is as if his brain struggles to tell his body what to do.  In this clip I wait and give him plenty of time to respond and 'help' me to clap.  I play with him to anticipate me being silly too, which he really likes as you can hear from his precious giggle.

Some of you may notice the same music cd as in my Moments in the Playroom video.  George looks through our cd case and picks what he wants.  He picks this one on purpose and is really into in right now. That is another new thing he has started to do.  Yeah, love to see his progress!

I just love to hear George giggle in that video!

This second video is an example of something we do in the playroom called recharging and deepening.  We do this when George is less connected and doing solitary play.  Sometimes we join him and explore what he is doing and do some parallel play, but other times we do what feels right to us, which may mean giving ourselves a break like he does.  

I had been putting a wooden train track together for quite awhile as he was turned away rocking back and forth on the mattress.  I created even more space between us by turning my back to him.  When the video begins you can see him start to spectate and check out what I was doing.  

I didn't put any pressure on George to come interact with me.  Also, very important, inside my mind I wasn't expecting him to come join me.  I was going to have fun playing whether he joined me or not and be happy with my decision.  With this mindset I don't feel guilty if he doesn't come interact with me, feeling like I am not accomplishing anything with him.  Him watching me and practicing in spectator play is an accomplishment, however if he remained rocking in solitary play that would also be an accomplishment.  He is being treated like a person in any real relationship.  Sometimes I want to be alone and other times I want to interact with people. This is huge as a parent to be able to ENJOY just being with my child and not feel like I have to MAKE something happen and teach him something amazing when I am with him and feel like a failure if it doesn't happen.

So take a look at how my recharging time went.

                                    

I had a great time and look forward to more time in the playroom with George!

Please leave any comments, questions or share your experience while playing with your child/children!  I would love to hear from you.

Watch Us Play!

I have put together a video of short clips from George's amazing team members playing with him.  Before you watch it, I wanted to give you some background on the stages of play.  Then watch the video and see if you can pick out some of these stages.  I had a lot of fun doing this.

In Natural Play Therapy (NPT) we have the opportunity to give George a chance to work through the 5 developmental stages of play that we all go through and they continue into our adult relationships.  The five stages are:

Solitary Play - This is present in infancy but we do this all our lives.  This is when people may be in the same room 'together' but are each absorbed in what they are doing.  Typically people with autism spend a lot of time in solitary play even though it may not look like 'play' to us.

Spectator Play - This stage typically emerges about 2-2.5 years of age and goes into adulthood.  This is observing others doing activities but not interacting.  In NPT we have ways to allow George to learn by being a spectator and not pressuring him to interact with us.  This is something that is missing in other therapies.

Parallel Play - This may start around 2.5 - 3 years old and go into adulthood.  This is when people may be doing the same or similar activity in the same area, maybe even copying some of their actions but not interacting with them.  We do a lot of parallel play with George in the playroom when he is less connected with us.  We take it as an opportunity to explore his world and take an interest in what he likes to do.  We are working to create a 50/50 relationship and taking an interest in what he likes is part of that.

Associative Play - This may begin around age 3-4 and go to adulthood.  This is playing a game or doing an activity the way it should be done with someone, talking or interacting with one another but not really working together to create something.  This stage allows George to start taking an interest in what we like and working towards that 50/50 relationship.

Cooperative Play - Around ages 4-5 and into adulthood you will see cooperative play.  This is playing cooperatively with others.  This play is organized and structured and you are communicating as you work towards a common goal.  This is when children learn to respect others' property, realize they need to ask permission to use their things and are more willing to share their things.

There is not one stage that we are aiming for in NPT.  They are ALL important and in a play session you will go in and out of many of these stages just as you would if you spent a long period of time with a friend. Adults do not spend all their time in parallel play.  We all need 'down' time and the freedom to go in and out of all of these stages.

Typical children also spend a lot of time in solitary and spectator play and may not exhibit lots of eye contact playing with their friends.  Sometimes parents of children on the spectrum may have been led to believe that their kids don't have ANYTHING in common with 'typically' developing children.  Not true.

Have fun watching these video clips and see if you can pick out the different stages of play!

I would love to read any comments you may have about the video or play stages.  Please post below and add to the discussion!

It's Official---George is Tooting Now

I have tried to get George to blow for several years now.  It is a skill that helps with speech.  I even ordered the whole 'blowing' speech kit with all sorts of blowing objects that are to be done in order of difficulty to refine this skill.  I lost interest in the kit when I could not get him to blow at all.

When we started Natural Play Therapy last year we just had fun modeling blowing by using bubbles, whistles, recorders and harmonicas.  Sometimes he would mouth the recorder but not blow.

Just about a month ago he began blowing.  I was hesitant to announce this because at first I thought it was a fluke and it may have been that he blew it accidentally at first.  I remember when my boys saw him do it in the living room and they got so excited.

Now he blows the recorder in the playroom with Rachel pretty regular now.  He blew on it with Caleb the other day and Caleb was surprised.  

The video below shows George blowing back and forth with me for the first time.  He was kind of having a fussy time when we were trying to video.  Nothing was really clicking.  Then I just sat in the corner to watch him play with Rachel and he joined me and we had a special moment of blowing!

Our next step will be to transfer this skill to blowing bubbles and other objects.  It will be fun to watch him make the connection that he can blow other objects and make things happen.

My next blog will feature video clips from all of George's wonderful team members!

Life Changing Opportunity

We are looking for individuals in search of a life changing opportunity.  This opportunity has the ability to transform all of your relationships, enrich your life and who knows what else it may lead to.

We are looking for volunteers to come and PLAY.  How great is that?  Leave your worries behind and escape for a couple of hours.  George is a very affectionate guy who gives amazing hugs.  His hugs are the best medicine for just about anything!  Come get yours weekly, monthly, whatever is best for you.  

What is so great about Natural Play Therapy is that George gets an opportunity to learn how fun and unique people are and the more variety the more opportunity he will have for learning.  Everyone plays differently and has different gifts to offer him!  More volunteers means a larger 'Team George' that can brainstorm ideas to best help him.  We will learn from each other as we use Natural Play Therapy guidelines. We will learn and practice 5 stages of play in the playroom that correspond to normal human development and they actually continue into adulthood.

Many therapies use rewards for a child to 'get through' the therapy with the therapist.  Once the child does the required task then they are rewarded with what motivates them which may be stimming on a toy in their own world or eating some candy etc....  In Natural Play Therapy 'WE' are George's reward.  We don't want him to have to 'perform' for us we want him to WANT to interact with us.  We reward him daily by giving him respect, building his trust and giving him space.  We actually are very careful with making requests of him until he is ready and motivated.

Think about your relationships.  Do you like to be manipulated?  Can you feel when people are manipulating you and trying to get you to do something you do not want to do?  Are you more motivated to do something for others when it is your idea and you really WANT to do it because of the relationship you have with that person?  I don't think anyone enjoys being manipulated and even people like George can sense when they are being manipulated.  I want George to learn to have real, healthy relationships based on trust and respect.

I often hear people talk about kids with special needs and about their stubbornness in a negative way.   I see it more as a positive because it means they want to take some control of their life.  In our playroom we can give George control, something that he has so little of in other areas of his life.

Come be a part of Team George and please share with others that you think would benefit from this opportunity.

I would love to write recommendations for students who volunteer who may be able to get some school credit or scholarships for this experience.

Please check out the FAQ's section of my blog for more information about what volunteering may look like.  We live about 20 minutes north of Mt. Vernon, Missouri.  Please email Yvonne Marshall at love4George2013@gmail.com or call 417-569-2147 if you have an interest in this volunteer opportunity.

Come watch George climb some more milestones!

What is up with George?

Wow, it has been 3 months since I have blogged.  REALLY?  Where did the time go?

Well Rachel, our amazing Team Leader, went out of state for 2 weeks in December.  Yikes! I learned that I will have a back up in the future.  Rachel interacts with George about 15 hours a week.  So, we reverted to pre-Natural Play Therapy (NPT) days without help and it was rough!

We spent most of our time doing this:

So Thankful For...

When I get overwhelmed organizing George's therapies, home schooling and life, it is so easy to lose track of all that I am thankful for as I travel with George and our family through this journey to help him be the best he can be.  So I thought I would make a list to help me out that pertained just to George and his Natural Play Therapy.

I am so thankful for...

• Julie Sando and her Natural Play Therapy  (NPT) that is showing me a way to use many therapies to help George through our 'relationship' with him and NOT feeling like I have to force therapy on him or coerce him into therapy daily to "fix him" or "make" him fit in to our world
• Julie's web classes Rachel and I will be taking to learn more NPT strategies
• all our financial supporters making NPT possible for us to have one paid part-time NPT leader to take the pressure off of operating solely on volunteers
• a supportive case worker respecting our desire to do NPT, finding us some respite money and sharing the resources she has that may benefit George
• an opportunity to give others in the community valuable experience working with a child/family affected by Down syndrome/autism and learning a therapy that shows respect to the child/person and has the ability to enhance their own relationships
• support and prayers from friends and family
• Rachel working with George 15 hours a week
• Rachel desiring to understand Natural Play Therapy, not only to help George, but others she encounters in her life
• Rachel's love for George and her creativity in the playroom
• my amazing and generous volunteers that help in the playroom and in our home
• the times George will now for the first time, bring me his drink cup to let me know he wants more of his smoothie
• the time George showed me he had a preference by putting my hand on a cup he wanted his drink in, clearly not wanting the one I had filled for him  (Grateful for the communication,  I filled the one he wanted and he happily walked off drinking it.)
• George taking his supplements and nourishing foods (although pureed), so wonderfully
• the videos he now brings me, sometimes 10 seconds after I have changed one for him, letting me know he wants to watch it and him finally picking one over another when asked
• the 4 toys he will play by himself at times, when he does not have someone to play with him
• George bringing me the book with the proper cartridge to let me know he wants me to put it in his Baby Leap Pad (Wow!)
• seeing George look up at people now when they address him
• the precious looks on my older boys' faces when George really looks in their eyes for the first time, really seeing them
• my older boys helping me with George out in public, entertaining him, helping me strap him in carts, pushing him or carrying him on their backs, holding his hand 'tight' so he won't bolt away
• time in the playroom with George when we really 'connect', when we work through a frustrating time when I don't know what he wants and we solve the problem
• a travel brush, comb, or chewy stick that will bring George comfort in a different place
• his amazing hugs and the way he gently strokes my eye lid and hair
• putting George to bed at night and curling up with him as he melts into me quickly drifting off to sleep and sleeping ALL NIGHT
• meeting amazing parents affected by autism that are following the same dietary protocol we are for autism and seeing improvements daily from people all over the world
• hearing about 16 children/teens in my support group that lost their diagnosis (recovered from autism) since we began at the end of August
• meeting other parents doing Natural Play Therapy and sharing our experiences
• my husband's support and him spending time with George every Sunday morning, so I can go to church with my 2 older boys
• all the lessons I am learning while interacting with George and learning about relationships in general
• last but not least, God's mercy, grace and forgiveness for the many times I fall short and the strength that he gives me daily to never give up on George and our family  (Breaks and re-evaluations are okay, giving up is not an option for me!)

I have much to be thankful for!

Home Schooling, Volunteers, Donations, New Dietary Protocol, OH MY!

     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!