Finn goes to the center three mornings a week for three hours a time, and he has a therapist come to our house two days a week for 2.5 hours a time. This is in addition to his regular 3.5 hours a week of early intervention services at our home. He is a busy busy boy. I had to color code our calendar. It's getting hard to keep up with everything!
The first three weeks at ABA were spent doing what they call "pairing", which basically means that they don't ask Finn to do anything, they just try to hang out with him and do what he's doing. This really worked out well because Finn learned to trust his teachers and actually like them. He is just beginning to learn how to learn, and it's so great that through pairing he discovered that learning can actually be fun!
This week Finn's "program" started. His teachers and therapists develop a specific program for him and chart his progress. Right now they are just asking him to do simple things- and a lot of them are things he can already do- but he doesn't necessarily like to do them when he's asked to, or do them on cue. The goals they have for him go from simply looking at them when they say his name, to doing a puzzle, imitating sounds, and matching objects appropriately.
Our Finn is a very smart cookie, and he noticed this shift from pairing to programs right away, and he did not like it! I'm fairly certain he gave his therapists a run for their money all week. But let me tell you, these girls are awesome. They have the patience of Job, the energy of freshly graduated 22 year olds (what I wouldn't give!), and best of all- they don't.back.down. It's exactly what he needs.
Because some of his ABA teachers come to the house, I get to bear witness to the troubles he puts them through. Mostly he just hollers and runs around trying to avoid whatever task he's presented with. But after he yells his protests through whatever they're asking him to do and succeeds, he ends up giggling with delight in himself about 90% of the time. It's so worth it.
All of his Early Intervention teachers (his occupational therapist, specialized instruction teacher, physical therapist, and speech therapist) have been to the house this week and been overjoyed at the change they have seen in him already since just this week of starting his ABA program. His speech therapist said today that it was the most connected and purposeful she has ever seen him- their best session yet- and that it made her whole day. He loves showing off his new skills to his long suffering EI teachers. And socially ABA seems to be paying off big time as well, as he seems to be more connected and comfortable around different people and in different settings than ever before. We are so so proud of him.
Transitioning those 14 hours a week of Finn and me time to Finn and ABA time of course proved to be much more difficult for me than for Finn, and there are many different mom emotions that I have experienced thus far in our ABA journey, but the main one is guilt. Isn't that the most typical? Hi, you're a mom now, here's a heavy dose of guilt. I found myself wondering- why can't I have that kind of patience and relentlessness? Shouldn't I be able to get these kind of results out of him? Do I need to be applying myself more? Are we spending too much time apart? Should I be making him work harder when we're together? Luckily, it's been such a positive experience that I was able to lay these feelings of guilt to rest rather quickly. Honestly, it's been so nice to take those feelings of educational responsibility and put them on a shelf for a little bit. I have been able to resign myself to just being Finn's mom, without feeling pressure to make every single activity educational or sensory integrated or purposeful. I know he is in excellent hands. And when I pick him up from school or snuggle him between therapists, I feel 100% okay watching a cartoon on the couch and eating popcorn together. I get to just be his mom. What a load off. It feels great.
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| Finn and one of his favorite ABA teachers playing together at home. |
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| Passed out after a lot of hard work! (Every time!) |
I will continue to update the blog with Finn's progress and struggles! And hopefully write some non-Finn related blogs soon on stuff going on around the house and getting ready for this other bun in the oven. In the meantime, thanks again for all your thoughts and prayers for our Finn baby. He surprises us every day! :)
