Sally the Camel

Rayyan is still working on his vowels and we are now training him to combine two vowel sounds.

For example..

aa+ii

aa+uu

We must admit that when it comes to speech, Rayyan is progressing at a snail's pace and we are indeed very worried about that. But we keep telling ourselves to be thankful for every little baby step that he takes, that a little improvement is better than no improvement at all.

So, thank you God.

Here's a video of me singing 'Sally the Camel'. I try to get Rayyan to say the numbers and since Rayyan can only do vowel sounds, you will hear him say..

five - aaa

four - oar

three - eee

two - oo

Not perfect but we are still very happy with that!! :)

Spelling

Been a while since I did spelling with him. Glad he remembered most of the easy ones. He got confused with the more difficult ones though but that's alright.

Anyway, I wish I can get him to write out the words. This boy simply hates writing!! When we ask him to follow dotted lines, he simply refuses! He will throw a tantrum whenever I ask him to practice his writing. Helppp!!!

d-o-g

p-i-g

d-u-c-k

s-h-e-e-p

PECS Phase 1 - Physical Exchange

I have prepared the materials for PECS since last year but we have not started it because I wasn't really sure how to do it and I have heard that we have to do it right or else, it doesn't really work. So I started to read the manual and watched some YouTube videos.

Yesterday, we finally started on PECS. Since Rayyan is using PECS at AAS, I know that he has passed Phase 1. Still, we decided to start from scratch so that we can assess how far he is with PECS and ascertain the areas that need improvement.

Phase 1

Goal : Child spontaneously picks up picture to exchange for reinforcer.

Notes

1) Two trainers are required to teach initiation (Communicative Partner and Physical Prompter).

2) No verbal prompts are used during this phase. That means, don't say, "What do you want?", "Give me card".

3)Present one picture at a time.

4) Do not conduct training in a single session. Arrange at least 30-40 opportunities throughout the day.

5) Use different types of reinforcers - food, toys, etc.

6) Modify picture to match child's skills.

How it is carried out :

1) Communicative Partner entices child by showing the item (reinforcer). Wait for initiation.

2) The Physical Prompter sits behind the child and physically prompt once child reaches for item. The Physical Prompter can push child's hand towards picture or nudge elbow.

3) When child hands over card to Communicative Partner, the Communicative Partner receives the card and gives the reinforcer within half second and label item.

When the child has reached the goal of Phase 1, which means, the child can spontaneously pick the card up and pass it to the Communicative Partner without the Physical Prompter having to do any prompting, then the child is ready for Phase 2 :)

Learning Journey

Learning Journeys are an integral part of a school life. Even in pre-school, learning journeys are organised and children learn so much through them. Our dear Rayyan took part in a learning journey around the neighbourhood last week. It was part of the CNY activities so the children were told to wear their New Year clothes. They then walked around the neighbourhood wishing all the residents Gong Xi Fa Cai!!! Some walked around with the lion dance costumes and some carried various musical instruments with them, banging along the way!!

Unfortunately, I wasn't there to witness the event but Hubby was there and he took some pictures of Rayyan walking along with the other children. We don't know if Rayyan understood what was going on but the good thing was, he was very cooperative. With Teacher Susi holding his hand, Rayyan walked together with the other children. He didn't cry nor throw a tantrum. He also didn't run or jump around. He even waved at the Daddy when he saw the Daddy taking his pictures!!!! And that made us really, really happy!! :D

Rayyan walking around with Teacher Susi and the rest of his peers :)

Waving at Daddy :D

Skate Scooter-ing!!!

Now that our boy has learnt to cycle, he decided to take up a new sports.. skate scooter-ing!! hehe... Actually, he has been watching others skate and sometimes, he wants to play other kid's skate scooter! So we decided to get him one... Furthermore, when we brought him out to Toys R Us few days back and let him him try the skate scooter, we realised that he has a natural flair for it :)

Indeed, our boy has got style... We think that it won't be long before he goes zooming away!!

Here's Rayyan trying out his new skate scooter ;)

Unite!

Through my blog, I got acquainted with some parents of ASD kids and we communicate pretty regularly via e-mail or FB. Yesterday, we were invited to a CNY gathering at one of the parent's house and the three of us had a really good time!

Finally, I was able to meet these wonderful parents and we shared stories, nagging concerns and tips. I finally got to meet the wonderful kiddos too! It was really great and I want to thank our dear Pauline for hosting the gathering and for having us over at her place! Thank you to you and your family for everything!

To the others, thank you for sharing your stories and for the useful advices and tips... We are 'thrown' together due to circumstances but together, we can help each other out. We may not meet each other often but we can always communicate via the internet or sms.

I pray that our kiddos show improvement day by day... In fact, yesterday's gathering made me realise even more how special these kids are and yes, each has his/her own strengths and weaknesses. Let's work on those strengths and overcome those weaknesses!!

God bless us all... ASD parents, UNITE!!! :D

Haircut & Bicycle :)

We are very happy and very proud of Rayyan today ;)

First, Rayyan had a fuss-free haircut!!! Hooray!! The 'First-Then' card worked wonders!! We prepared him for the haircut by telling him in the car that we are going for the haircut and that he shouldn't cry because he is already a big boy. Once we reached the shopping mall, I showed him the 'first-then' card and told him that he has to go through the haircut first before we allow him to play in the toy department at Isetan (he loves going there!).

He nodded his head and when we reached the hair salon, we were so surprised that he didn't even protest and was even eager to go in! But you know what, the hairdresser went for her lunch break and there was a sign that informed us that she will only be back about half an hour later! What luck!! Here is our boy, eager to have his haircut and the hairdresser has to be away!! So we waited and allowed Rayyan to play at the kiddy rides corner. But he kept going over to the hair salon! hahaha... We were so tickled by his enthusiasm!

And when finally the store reopened, Rayyan went in, sat on the chair quietly and didn't even whine when he was covered with the cloth!! Not a single tear during the whole haircut!!

We were so very proud of him!!

After that we decided to go to East Coast for dinner and at the same time, allow him to ride his bike. Like I said in my earlier post, we wanted him to try his four-wheeler again because the last time, he couldn't sit still on the bike and couldn't cycle properly.

And again, our boy did us proud!!! He was cycling happily the minute we put him on the bike!! Hooray!! Three cheers for Rayyan!! The only thing is.... he was so happy that at times, he didn't focus on the lane in front of him but was looking at the top, or the left or the right!! Almost bumped into others!! Hahaha

You have made Mummy and Daddy very, very happy today!! Big kisses from us! Muacksss!

Go-ooooo!!!

Rayyan can now make 6 vowel sounds...

a as in car

e as in open

e as in elephant

o as in book

o as in bowl

o as in orange

So far, he has learnt only one consonant sound and that is 'mmm'. Like we mentioned earlier, sounds doesn't come easily to him so each one is so very precious.

We also try to link the sounds that he knows to different words. For example, when we are travelling in a car, I will get him to point the cars that pass us and say 'aaa'.

And this morning, we ran around the whole house by getting him to say 'gooo'!!! He can say 'go' without the 'g' sound.. hehe..

Boy, did we have fun!! :D

'mmmaaaaa'!!!!

It has been almost 2 months since Rayyan started his speech therapy. He attends ST twice a week and we have to ensure that follow-up is done regularly.. We have to do facial massages, get him to blow different instruments, suck different straws, chew different tubes and get him to practice different sounds.

So how is he progressing so far? We have come to realise that speech (or rather, sounds) doesn't come easily to him. He has great difficulty connecting sounds he hear and sounds that he produce. It takes days and even weeks for him to master a single sound. Sometimes when he has mastered a sound and moves on the next one, he forgets the earlier sound!

So we have to really learn to be patient. We tell ourselves not to expect miracles and just guide him along. If he forgets a sound that he has learnt then we have to go back and start again. Just guide and spur him on. Don't expect miracles and don't ever give up, even if the journey is long and arduous.

And you know what, he has learnt to say 'mmmaaaa'!! Yay!!! It feels really, really good when he looks at me and call 'mmmmaaaa'!!! Only thing is...... that is the only word that he has mastered so everything is 'mmaaa' to him now... hehe.. But it's ok, we will never give up and hope that he will master more words!!! You go, Rayyan!!!

And here's the 'mmmaaa' journey.. a long one but so worthwhile nonetheless :))

This one was taken in early November last year when I wanted him to produce the sound 'mmm'.. I was getting frustrated then and just didn't understand why it was so difficult for him to produce the sound. Now, everytime I look at this video, I remind myself to be patient and not get frustrated so easily!!

This was taken a month ago... he just started ST and has learnt a few sounds... I had to print my pictures and he has to say 'ma'... He can say 'mmm' and 'aaa' separately but had difficulty combining the sounds.

This is Rayyan now... saying 'ma' so effortlessly!!! Go Rayyan, go!!!!!

Special Bond

Now that Hubby is taking care of Rayyan full-time, I see a much stronger bond between them. Not many fathers enjoy such a special bond with their sons and I am glad Hubby appreciates every minute he spends with Rayyan. I see that Hubby is now more confident in taking care of Rayyan and he is trying very, very hard indeed. As for Rayyan, I know that deep down, he appreciates every single thing that his Daddy does.... They are inseparable, I tell you and I must admit that I am jealous at times. But oh well, these are the sacrifices that we have to make... I am just so glad that Rayyan has somebody that he can count on every single minute of the day :)

So this entry is especially for the two special boys in my life.. I am so grateful to God for blessing me with both of you... May the special bond that both of you share lasts a lifetime.. I love you Daddy.. I love you Rayyan..

Luv

Mummy

Always ready to help the son..

Trying to figure out what is making Rayyan so engrossed...

Joins in...

The inseparable pair... And I love both of them sooooo much..