I see parents on Facebook post pictures of their kids using their Timehop app and it’s always fun to see what a difference a year makes and how much they have changed. Today I was in amazement at what came up on my Timehop. For those who aren’t aware Timehop is an app for your smart phone or iPad that will show you whatever you posted on that day 1, 2 or 9 years ago depending on how long you have had social media.
Killi has been attending preschool for almost a month. There have been good days and bad days. The good days, he is spot on; listens, follows directions, participates, and doesn’t act like a mad man. The bad days are not so great; he has a total meltdown when I leave, hits and pushes the other kids, and acts like a fool. Luckily with the reports I am given, it seems there are more good day than bad but still as the parent I hate to see him acting up and hitting people. Yes I know it’s a phase but that doesn’t mean I have to enjoy it.
my little tiger
It has almost been a year since we began our journey with our therapy program with Reed Institute. It has almost been a year since I was at my total breaking point. I felt as if no prayers were being heard. I was alone in a foreign land with no one, who understood what was going on with my boy (except for Chris). Everyone was telling me “Don’t worry. This is a phase.” Praise the Lord, I was driven to the point where I was not ashamed to say “THERE IS A PROBLEM HERE!” and started the process of looking for help.
I believe you can pray for something until you are blue in the face asking for a miracle (and sure sometimes it might happen) but without being proactive nothing will change. God gave us a brain and resources at our disposal (heck he created Google, well the guy who made Google…) and it’s our job to use them wisely.
I learned a valuable lesson this week. My husband has been trying to teach me this lesson for a long time but I chose to ignore him. This week it finally sank in when my son picked up my iPhone and threw it across the room.
King of the road!
As you know Killi has completed his first term of therapy, we are now in the second term and hopefully when he has finished this round he will be ready for school in September. Since Killi has improved greatly on his social skills we are focusing more on the speech. It’s pretty exciting as a parent when your kid, who was almost completely nonverbal, is now blabbering on all the time. I just wanted to share with you some of the new words that he is saying.
Our first successful, stress free, peaceful family outing!
Our twelve weeks of ESDM Therapy has come to a close. It’s amazing how far my son has come and how much he has changed in such a short time. This has been a very trying time in our lives as a family and as some of you can relate, having a “special” kid is exhausting and overwhelming but those times when you get a big hug or you truly see a difference in your child’s development, you seem to forget all of the hard times.
“Say wha!?!?” That’s what I feel like most days trying to decipher what my son is trying to say but this week we have seen a noticeable difference in my sons communication skills. I would say around the first week of therapy Killi would sometimes say “dadadadada” that was about it and it was few and far between. At this beginning stage in the ESDM therapy, we have been working on going to Killi’s “spot light” and narrating everything that is going on with a few very simple terms and it is finally paying off.
After five weeks of therapy my son has completely mellowed out. Before he had the attention span of a gnat, flitting around from place to place. We couldn’t keep him engaged on anything. He would run around like a mad man doing laps in the therapy room and spend about a minute with each toy.
I will praise you as long as I live, and in your name I will lift up my hands.
Psalms 63:4
I am a Christian. I am a Christian that believes that if we give ourselves over to Gods plan we will prosper, there will always be hard times but those hard times mold us into better people and followers of Christ.
I believe 110% that God has a plan for my family here in Bangkok. I was 110% sure it was to help other people and work at the orphanage. I am so grateful for all of our friends and family that purchased scarves to help raise funds for the orphanage when we first arrived. This was something I prayed over and God blessed that project with a donation of over $3,600 USD. I now see that this is and will probably be the only work I do with the orphanage while in Bangkok and you know it might be all they needed of me.
I now see my reason for following my husband to Bangkok and following Gods call here was to be the mother that I could have never have been in the US. I know there are moms that can do this but I personally could not have balanced work, home life and the needs of my special child. This is why I am here in Thailand, a world away from everything and everyone I know, to get my son the best help money can buy from the best professionals here in Bangkok! Listen to this amazing display of divine intervention that took place this weekend.
Killi & Yuki at therapy
Part of my sons issues have to do with being social. I can understand why he wouldn’t want to be social in Thailand, everyone here makes such a big deal about a white baby. They have to squeeze his legs, pinch his cheeks, pat his head, try to kiss him, and are always shouting “hey boy!!” to get his attention. I totally understand why he doesn’t want anything to do with people. Imagine how much easier his life is when he ignores everyone (except for mom and dad) and acts like people are completely invisible! It’s funny how we all adapt to different situations and this is how my son is dealing with the harassment he receives the moment he leaves the house.
I am sure this constant touching and being “hollered” at like he is a beautiful woman walking by a construction site or I guess really a farang man walking down soi 33 by the “working girls” would have him retreat into his shell and not want to come out is greatly impacting his condition in a negative way.
From Palmetto Pride to Pad Thai 