We have returned from our third visit with the Family Hope Center (FHC) in Philadelphia. Jon and I got to celebrate our 14th Wedding Anniversary during our revist. This was actually our first visit without Grandparents to assist us with Kevin during our two-day appointment, and we were just fine. Kevin was very pleasant and behaved very well during our sessions with the various team members.
Kevin was much happier and cooperative with the program we received during our last visit in October compared to the program we had during the previous spring and summer. And for the first few months the program progressed very nicely and we saw many positive changes in Kevin. I believe the decrease in our crawling and creeping distance and adding the walking which gets us out of the house has made a positive difference for both of us. We also welcomed a few volunteers back into our home again to help us with some of the reflex integration and simultaneously with our crawling and creeping program. Kevin looks forward to seeing and interacting with the volunteers daily and greeting them with a vocal at the door when they arrive.
By the end of November through February several small improvements were noticed not only by us but family and friends as well. Some improvements we noticed are: more interaction with extended family during visits; less focused on light switches, fans, and running water; drinking from a cup and his water bottle independently; listens and follows directions better, even from another room; a big decrease in hitting and any other negative behavior, with an increase in belly laughing (he sometimes sounds like Marty McFly’s Dad from the movie Back to the Future); a slight decrease in tongue thrusting and sucking air; more interested in toys and independently getting his toys out and moving a car back and forth on floor; favorite character toys Buzz LightYear and Thomas the Train; vocalizing much more, especially when asked a question and given time to respond; he is even showing a slight reaction when I leave the house now (maybe because I’m actually leaving the house ); he also insists on being independent in tasks that he can do himself, for instance walking up and down steps, scraping his bowl at end of meal; and he still enjoys watching “Wheel of Fortune” before bedtime and shows a lot of excitement when the contestant wins the bonus round.
We also had some new family adventures within the last six months that proved to be enjoyable for all of us. Be sure to check out our blog to see the pictures of our trip to PeekNPeak; Oglebay, Great Lakes Science Center, and the Cleveland Rainforest. I feel like we are beginning to experience more “normal” kid stuff.
But by the beginning of March I began to feel like something was “off” with Kevin and it got progressively worse through April. It began with a slow down or decreased energy for his physical program (crawling, creeping, walking). And gradually it seemed to affect everything. His eating decreased significantly and sleeping increased significantly. This past month he had a couple days where he vomited and then began breaking out in hives everyday and inconsistently since then. We were able to consult with a local and trusted chiropractor (Dr. Ragon) who discovered that Kevin was having a reaction to a yeast supplement that was recommended for him to help clear up some bad bacteria that was found in a stool test. So during this last month, programming was very limited due to how he was feeling. It makes me feel frustrated that we lost this time for programming and I feel like we took a step backwards, but I am glad that it seems like we have discovered the cause.
Probably the best thing the happened to us in the last six months was seeing Kevin interact more with our family during the Christmas holiday. This was also the time when he had the nine day “poop marathon”. Which just proves that if he could keep that up Kevin could make all kinds of progress. Another good thing is that I’m getting better at taking some time for myself; like when I picked up a yoga class back in November that has helped me make many positive changes in my life. Also, Jon and I continue to ensure a monthly date night for ourselves; which includes a trip to Las Vegas later this month with some friends, and of course the whole family takes some occasional “guilt-free” time off of the program to be with family and experience new things; like when we drove 9 ½ hours from Philadelphia to Middletown for my niece’s First Communion after our visit last week – we were so glad we could be there!
Kevin was much happier and cooperative with the program we received during our last visit in October compared to the program we had during the previous spring and summer. And for the first few months the program progressed very nicely and we saw many positive changes in Kevin. I believe the decrease in our crawling and creeping distance and adding the walking which gets us out of the house has made a positive difference for both of us. We also welcomed a few volunteers back into our home again to help us with some of the reflex integration and simultaneously with our crawling and creeping program. Kevin looks forward to seeing and interacting with the volunteers daily and greeting them with a vocal at the door when they arrive.
By the end of November through February several small improvements were noticed not only by us but family and friends as well. Some improvements we noticed are: more interaction with extended family during visits; less focused on light switches, fans, and running water; drinking from a cup and his water bottle independently; listens and follows directions better, even from another room; a big decrease in hitting and any other negative behavior, with an increase in belly laughing (he sometimes sounds like Marty McFly’s Dad from the movie Back to the Future); a slight decrease in tongue thrusting and sucking air; more interested in toys and independently getting his toys out and moving a car back and forth on floor; favorite character toys Buzz LightYear and Thomas the Train; vocalizing much more, especially when asked a question and given time to respond; he is even showing a slight reaction when I leave the house now (maybe because I’m actually leaving the house ); he also insists on being independent in tasks that he can do himself, for instance walking up and down steps, scraping his bowl at end of meal; and he still enjoys watching “Wheel of Fortune” before bedtime and shows a lot of excitement when the contestant wins the bonus round.
We also had some new family adventures within the last six months that proved to be enjoyable for all of us. Be sure to check out our blog to see the pictures of our trip to PeekNPeak; Oglebay, Great Lakes Science Center, and the Cleveland Rainforest. I feel like we are beginning to experience more “normal” kid stuff.
But by the beginning of March I began to feel like something was “off” with Kevin and it got progressively worse through April. It began with a slow down or decreased energy for his physical program (crawling, creeping, walking). And gradually it seemed to affect everything. His eating decreased significantly and sleeping increased significantly. This past month he had a couple days where he vomited and then began breaking out in hives everyday and inconsistently since then. We were able to consult with a local and trusted chiropractor (Dr. Ragon) who discovered that Kevin was having a reaction to a yeast supplement that was recommended for him to help clear up some bad bacteria that was found in a stool test. So during this last month, programming was very limited due to how he was feeling. It makes me feel frustrated that we lost this time for programming and I feel like we took a step backwards, but I am glad that it seems like we have discovered the cause.
Probably the best thing the happened to us in the last six months was seeing Kevin interact more with our family during the Christmas holiday. This was also the time when he had the nine day “poop marathon”. Which just proves that if he could keep that up Kevin could make all kinds of progress. Another good thing is that I’m getting better at taking some time for myself; like when I picked up a yoga class back in November that has helped me make many positive changes in my life. Also, Jon and I continue to ensure a monthly date night for ourselves; which includes a trip to Las Vegas later this month with some friends, and of course the whole family takes some occasional “guilt-free” time off of the program to be with family and experience new things; like when we drove 9 ½ hours from Philadelphia to Middletown for my niece’s First Communion after our visit last week – we were so glad we could be there!
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