Fun @ Funarium
The two week evaluation period is complete. The doctor is very pleased with what Killi can do but at the same time there are several areas we need to work on. Thank the Lord, our son has not been diagnosed with autism but with developmental delays in several areas and for the sake of having to call it something the doctor said he would diagnose him with PDD-NOS.
Today Chris and I had our first homework assignment. We had to watch a video by Sally Rogers called “Can we identify and treat autism in infancy?” on UC Davis Mind Institute videos. It is free on iTunesU, for anyone that is interested.
It was a presentation on how the brain looks with children that have autism, explained how early signs can be detected and how their intervention program has greatly helped children with developmental delays and autism improve.
We will be using the Early Start Denver Model, ESDM, for Killian’s therapy. Here is a better explanation of ESDM from the UC Davis website.
Our Wild Man
We are moving forward in the next phase of working on Killian’s delays. Like I mentioned in a previous post, we went to a specialist at the hospital that told us he was delayed and kept saying, with her sweet Thai smile “o no good.” I have tried to implement every recommendation that she gave us. She assured me that I would not be able to find a speech therapist that speaks English and I was Killian’s best option. After a month and half, my son has become a little more social with improvements with his eye contact but his speech has not. It does not matter what I do to change this, he is simply choosing not to talk to us with words we can understand. He does currently have a special language that he uses.
We have decided that we are not the best teachers for Killian in helping him to speak. I started to search out different options for help with developmental delays in Bangkok. Yesterday I visited the Reed Institute in Bangkok. I met with the director and explained everything that has happened with Killi. How he was talking, went mute when we moved to Bangkok, our disgruntled nanny that was clearly affecting him, our new nanny that he loves and the progress he has made in the last two months with his babbling.
enjoying coconut ice cream in a coconut bowl. love how we have the same face here 🙂
There are literally thousands of coconuts in Bangkok and as an expat we have the ability to go out on the street corner and get a fresh coconut or enjoy some coconut ice cream on a hot day.
Now can someone please tell me why aren’t there any coconut shrimp, toasted coconut donuts (like at Dunkin Donuts-my favorite kind) and macaroon cookies?
I mean like Jersey Shore macaroons not the cute little European cookies they call macaroons. It’s when you can’t have something or don’t have access to it is when you can’t stop thinking about it and for me it’s the dark chocolate dipped coconut macaroon cookies from Tripicians. It’s times like these when it is hard to be an expat….
Today I had the absolute privilege and pleasure of taking another trip down Sukhumvit Soi 53 to Sparkles to see Sophie! Sophie had been challenged by a local magazine to make a savory cupcake using caviar and she took on that challenge like a champ and kicked its butt! (See my previous post about Sparkles for more information!)
It’s the rainy season now in Thailand and there is one thing I have always wondered…
When walking down the road with an umbrella who has the right of way?
Is the taller person supposed to go up and the small person supposed to hunch down? But if everyone is the same height who goes where!?
Spicy Mango Margarita made with fresh local mango, imported tequila and Tabasco.
1. Ao Nang is a great place to stay if you are looking for something to do in the evenings, lots of bars and restaurants many with live music every night. Have dinner at Crazy Gringos and enjoy their signature spicy mango margarita, it is to die for!!!
2. Low season/rainy season is the time to go in my opinion! Still enough people visiting to make it feel like you aren’t alone but not so many as to where you can’t see the beach. In addition, while we were visiting in July, the rain only came twice and it was a short rain, similar to what you get when visiting Florida.
On our last day in Krabi we scheduled our island hopping trip by speedboat. We made this last adventure a family affair and Killi loved it. We arrived at the first island, Top Island, and were given around 45 minutes to relax and enjoy the white sandy beaches and crystal clear waters. While the tide is out and there was a sand bar that many people were using to explore the other island next door, Chicken Island. Our guide made it very clear that there wasn’t enough time to go there and come back before the tide came back in and one of the couples on our boat found that out the hard way causing us to be 20 minutes late to our next island.
Who doesn’t love a little Sparkle in their life? I know I do especially when it’s jewelry but now I have an entirely new desire when I think of adding some sparkle to my everyday!
The other day I had the most amazing experience! I was invited to Sparkles, the most chic bakery in Bangkok frequented by Thai celebrities, foreign dignitaries, expats and locals, for a tasting and an interview with Sophie Promarin, the owner of this amazing cupcakery. Sophie, a Thai American, born and raised in California has had a passion for food that started with her mother’s delicious Thai cooking as a child and developed even further during her travels around the world. She has not only developed a passion and a love for good food but more importantly the flavors and how to work with them.
For one of our adventure days in Krabi we signed up for a half day kayaking excursion. We were picked up at the hotel and when we get in the van we are told “ok we should be there in about an hour.” Again my one complaint about these excursions is they say half day but now it will take one hour to get there and you guessed it one hour to get back so that leaves 2 hours for kayaking and lunch.
From Palmetto Pride to Pad Thai 