We're Back from Austin!

Yea! We're back! Wow, what a week. I know there's no way I can do this post justice. I wish I could just videotape myself talking and put it on here. There's no way my fingers can type as fast as my brain is thinking.

I'll get all the frou-frou stuff out of the way first.

Eli was NOT impressed with Sea World. Hmmm... aren't we glad we didn't splurge on going to Disney? He was scared of the rides, did not want to get wet, and had a fit when we tried to get him to see the sharks. Apparantely, he didn't like that it was dark in the shark exhibit. Okay, so this is a child who has gone to either the zoo or the aquarium nearly every single WEEK for the last two years.... and he's scared of the sharks?? Oh, and we missed Shamu because I wanted to save it for it last and then got the time wrong... even though it clearly said 4:00 in the guide that I had in the stroller. The poor guard guy or whoever he was was kind enought to let us watch the whales swim in the water as the rest of the audience - who had Mommy's that could actually tell time - filed out of the arena saying, "Wow, wasn't that amazing?" and other things that made me cringe and avoid making eye contact with Simeon.

Then we went to Austin, where Eli did NOT want to see the bats. Guess what? Oh yeah, that's right. He was scared of the bats... until they pooped on me. Then, he thought they were hysterical. How is it that I was the only one who got pooped on? So, ever since we got home, he has been flying his pretend bats (oh yeah, he has toy bats) and making them pretend poop on my head. Classic.

Okay, so on to the good stuff. Noah was AWESOME. He just blows my mind. I don't even know how to comprehend what Soma was able to get him to do. The first time we went (back in June), Noah wasn't able to answer any questions unless they were held right up in front of his eyes. By the 2nd day of the camp, he was able to hold a pencil and mark the correct answer on a table. I couldn't believe it. Now, it's not pretty or smooth or anything like that. Sometimes, we have to prompt him to answer 12 times or more. And his muscle control is very weak - he wants to drop the pencil or eat it or roll it between his thumb and his forefinger - and it takes enormous effort for him to move his arm away from his chest and out towards the paper. The brain signals in his head are definitely wired differently. But something is kicking in and he chooses the correct answer each time.

So, anyway, Soma would read books to Noah and then he would answer the questions by choosing between two written answers. I know it probably doesn't sound so convincing since he only has to choose between two answers, but he gets the answer right every time - so he either knows his stuff or is a really good guesser. (He knows his stuff). His motor skills are so poor, though, that it'll take time to build it up to choosing between more answers - although he's chosen between three a few different times with me. Eventually over the next 2 or 3 years, he'll progress to typing and writing. Can you imagine?? And he should be doing grade level coursework.

That's what floors me. On the 3rd day, Noah picked that he wanted to talk about body parts. So, Soma would touch his elbow and ask what she just touched - and he would answer correctly. She did it all the way down to his toes. Well, that's when THE LIGHT BULB went off in my head. Oh my goodness. All this time, one of the "tests" of Noah's intelligence was whether he could point to his eyes, ears, nose, and mouth .We used to work hours on this. I STILL work on this. And because he could never touch his eyes or his nose, he was labeled "stupid", "retarded", "cognitively delayed". Yet here he was, telling Soma that he knew exactly where his nose was ... his belly... his shoulder... and his knees. So, all along, because he couldn't get his brain to tell his pointer finger to isolate his nose and touch it... people thought he didn't know. But he did. And that's the key. He KNOWS. Kids with autism KNOW. They just can't tell you in the way you want to hear it.

And I just got so emotional right then because I realized that my beautiful little SMART boy was doomed to spend the next 12 years languishing in a Life Skills class where they would teach him "life" skills like washing his hands and eating from a fork.... and his brain, which is actively learning, would turn to mush. True, we've made the decision to homeschool... but the reality of what his educational future nearly was just about killed me. And I thought about all these kids who are deemed "unteachable" and how they are being babied and talked down to when they have the ability to learn right alongside their peers. And how many children are labeled MR and are being silenced in institutions where they will never have a chance for someone to hear their voice? And, you know what? Noah might not ever be potty-trained or eat with a fork or be able to stand in line and wait his turn... but it doesn't mean he's dumb. His brain can't control his body. His body betrays his brain, but he's not dumb - and it's terrible that his intelligence
is/was determined by his ability to stand on one foot or wave bye-bye.

And that's what Soma did for us. Noah has always had a voice. We just didn't know how to hear it. By making choices, he was able to tell me that he wants a Cars Birthday cake and a toy train. He "wrote" a letter to Simeon and told him that his favorite color was orange and that he likes it when Simeon plays with him. With me, just this afternoon, he wrote a letter to my mom and said he likes it when she swings him on the front porch and that he thinks her smile is pretty. And when we were in Austin, Soma started Noah on subtraction. He can now add any number up to 10 and is learning to subract 1 and 2. He picked up the substraction within about 30 seconds. I'm serious.

So, I'm just really thrilled. It's still hard because he doesn't want to work with me. I'm Mom, not Teacher. (Although he'd better get used to the Mom as Teacher part). He's definitely testing me and it's very hard for him to hold the pencil. He reminds me a bit of Norman Bates and the shower scene in Pyscho. He holds the pencil in his fist, raises it above his head and stabs at the paper. (Hey boy! What did that paper ever do to you!). Makes me realize Sim was right when he said we can't buy a new kitchen table until after the kids are grown. We have pencil stab marks all over the place now.

I'm also not quite confident in displaying Noah's talents until he gets used to working with me. I'd hate for you all to think this is a bunch of phooey. But I know with all my heart this is the way to go. I met a mom online whose 15 year old nonverbal son saw Soma for the first time in June. The school had him doing preschool stuff in Life Skills. Since June, she started homeschooling and he's already half-way through the 3rd grade Abeka book. In 3 months! Another child had his IEP goal of being able to recognize 4 numbers by the end of the year. That was it. Recognize 4 numbers. Hold up a 6 and have the kid touch a card that had "6" on it. With in 3 months of going to HALO, he was doing pre-calculus. It's not that Soma taught him pre-cal, but that she gave the parents the right tools to communicate with their son. The knowledge and ability to learn is there... you just have to know who to get it out.

So, there you have it. I'm terribly excited. Noah seems excited although he can only handle about 20 minutes at a time. I never really realized how his CP affects him. I just always focused on the autism... so we do have some challenges ahead of us, but I'm just so thankful that God led us in this direction.

Take care.
Noah's Mom