I haven't been posting very much lately, mostly because I just don't have the energy to. Before Caleb was in therapy 4 days a week, I had the physical and mental energy to stay awake past 9pm. But now, I am also doing therapy with Caleb at home and spending so much more time with him that by the time he goes to bed. which is sometime between 7:30 and 9pm, I am done. Like stick-a-fork-in-me done. I try to go watch television with my husband, but I always end up snoring midway through the show. So, being able to post is kind of out of the question.
What has been happening lately is that Caleb is improving by leaps and bounds. He is imitating movements and even sounds. The other day he imitated animal sounds I made; I said, "a sheep says 'baaaa,' and he repeated, "baaaa." It was incredible. He then repeated "cluck cluck" for a hen, "hissss" for a snake, "caw caw" for a parrot, and then for a cow, he tried to say "moo" but got stuck, so only said, "mmmm." Overall, super exciting. Caleb is also playing appropriately with toys, such as rolling cars on the floor. He has graduated from bottles to sippy cups. We are also taking some nice walks together with the use of a backpack on him with an attacked leash. (Yes, I have my child on a leash. Yes, I have conflicted feelings about it. But overall, I do it because it keeps my child safe and it makes it so we can both have a pleasant experience.)
So, with Caleb making so many improvements, I wonder now which of his behaviors are autistic and which are normal 2 year old. I have heard his teachers and therapists say many times that it is difficult to diagnose a 2 year old for autism because basically all 2 year olds look autistic. I mean, this is funny, but it comes from a source of truth. So, again, I wonder.
I get that his mouth agape is autistic looking. And the fact that he is so skinny that his 18 month shorts just feel off. Twice. But other than that, what are dead giveaways? He now has really great eye contact. I mean, he is nonverbal, but before you get to that point, how would one know?
I feel like I want to just set up some cameras in some homes and watch how 2 year olds really act.
Yeah, because that isn't at all creepy....
