Progress!

Ryker has been making so much progress in the past few weeks. We are hearing more and more sounds and he even mumbles a word or two on random occasions. His speech therapist is convinced that he will be the type of kid who will spurt out words randomly and then one day just start talking. All of his therapists have mentioned his high cognitive abilities and how they feel he will really thrive in the next few years. He really is a smart, smart kid-- sometimes autism gets in the way of that, but he fights it every single day- and it shows.

Yesterday morning he greeted me in bed with kisses! He has never, ever given me a kiss (or anyone else for that matter). I told Adam that it would probably be a long time before he did that again, and being the sneaky little guy he is, decided to prove me wrong 2 more times throughout the day. :)

I guess kisses and random words weren't enough for him this weekend. During snack this morning, he used his spoon independently to scoop his yogurt. My jaw dropped- I couldn't believe it! Normally when he does new things like this it is a one time (literally- he normally does the action once and then we don't see it again for weeks or months)- not today. He had 2 servings of yogurt and used his spoon for most of it. He did ask for help by grabbing my hand, but he really limited my help to scooping the yogurt.

He is starting to play with a purpose. I can't tell you how amazing it is to watch him put cars on top of a race track/ramp and push them. Most of his life he hasn't been able to make those connections or understand- toys were frustrating for him. He normally throws toys when he doesn't know what to do with them- there used to be a lot of flying toys around here! He still has a lot of work to do, specifically on generalizing skills, but to know he is beginning to understand is priceless!

We are starting his summer therapy schedule this week, so our days will be a little calmer...but not too much. Lots of playing, swimming, and cuddling before September when we have to send little man on a school bus 4 days a week!