Yesterday we went to the playground with a group of Attached Parents Group moms. I hadn't seen many of them for several months, and some of them looked right and Jake and didn't recognize him. I guess part of it might be the super punky hairdo, but I think its just because he's grown up so much in just a little while. I was so very very proud of him. He was nice to other children. He took turns on the slide. He refrained from touching people and their watches so much (something we've really been working on). And he even climbed to the top of the structure and yelled "Hi You!" to me, almost as if to say "Hey mom! Look at me!" I didn't have to follow him around like a shadow to make sure he didn't grab or pinch anyone. His self-control is just amazing compared to where it was just a few months ago.
On the other hand, he seems to have lost his ability to draw. Now, there have been times here and there where he seems to have lost interest in drawing and then come back to it, but somehow this is different. When I ask him to draw something in particular, he will try to draw it, get frustrated, then insist that I draw it for him. This morning I asked for a house, and he drew a smushed mushroom looking house, then scribbled at it and insisted that I draw one for him. He seemed quite upset. My question about this is: Is this considered a "lost skill," the fear of every parent of an autistic child, signaling some sort of regresion, or is it an "evening out of skills?" Is he using the part of his brain that used to draw really well to work on other things, like speech and social skills? Or is it just a momentary lapse like I've seen before, and he will go back to it? I will have to ask Cindy at OT today what she thinks.
Meanwhile, Jake spends his time being nice to his brother, while I spend too much time on the phone talking to the school psychologist, the OT, the office managers about insurance, etc. It seems that Jake is quite the interesting case and it is taking them quite some time to figure out what to do with him when it comes to therapies. Thats OK though, we have time, and although it is frustrating, I remain hopeful.
