Just in time!
Cuyler has been having alot of difficulty lately. With alot of things.
Like at school - waiting his turn. Sitting in circle. Leaving for home.
He's been having alot of temper tantrums...
So much so that I have just been so fed up I wish I could give him away some days...it's just so mentally and physically exhausting.
But today...he did something just in time. Just when I needed him to.
We've been doing Handle with him since December. (If you have a child on the spectrum - please look into this. It's fascinating! And read the book The Fabric of Autism...I'm not one to sit and read books about autism, but this one just really REALLY helps me understand Cuyler so much more!)
Anyways...Handle...yes. We were at the screeners office and as we sat chatting about things that have been going on with Cuyler, he sat at her desk and proceeded to draw this:

It's the Wiggles.
I was floored.
I knew he could draw faces. Happy. Sad. Angry. Sleepy...
But he drew The Wiggles!! With bodies! And arms! And legs!
It was just such a huge step for him to take, especially because he has alot of fine motor delays and is not usually interested in colouring or art...

Sooo...the difficulties...the tantrums...it's almost as though he's reverted back to age 2-3. Our most difficult year with him.
In a nutshell, I believe it's the computer. Since starting Handle he seems more...aware, I guess.
The week we started Handle he literally picked up the laptop, turned it on, navigated his way to "Google", typed in Thomas and that was it...he was hooked!
On Thomas websites, looking at pages of Thomas books, dvd's, toys...
Then he type in Wiggles...and he found his way to youtube and was able to watch Wiggles songs. I was amazed and initially thought it was a great thing! He could spell and was beginning to read familiar words! He was independently using the computer. We had no idea he even knew how to spell half these words (Thomas, Wiggles, books, songs, dvd...)
However literally became OBSESSED. Nothing like the internet for instant gratification. What a disaster it turned into!
We had to set a timer to get him off the damn thing. He ended up becoming dependant on the timer.

Me: "Cuyler. Time to get dressed!"
Cuy: "When it beeps!"

Me: "Cuy. Time to brush your teeth."
Cuy: "When it beeps!"

So we've gone cold turkey. It's gone. Sean or I cannot go on the computer until the kids are in bed, otherwise his sole focus is getting on the laptop.

I'm hoping we can regroup and get him back to where he was before his obsession. He was on a great path and this just really set him back.
I'm hopeful that with the Handle and RDI we'll be back on track very soon!

One thing that hasn't changed through all if this is the fact the he's mad about his sister. I'm amazed at the relationship between these 2!! I do believe that she is one of the most important pieces to HIS puzzle.