Ayden and I completed the three GIFT of HOPE program at Beaumont Hospital. They evaluated him at the end of the program. The data showed that he learned at a rate almost 6 times more than he would have if we hadn't went to the program. He gained 13 months of receptive language. He also showed significant gains in verbal language and social skills.
We are very blessed to have been able to send him to the program. It is all thanks to God, family, friends, & strangers who helped us to raise the money. I do ABA therapy with Ayden in the morning before he goes to school. He has an excellent school that is committed to helping us teach Ayden. After school, Ayden works with Jan (a volunteer), Nana, Papa and Dad (depending on the day).
In June, Ayden will be out of school for the summer. Dave's cousin Kristi, is having a bike-a-thon in Hillman, MI to raise money to help Ayden. We will use the money raised to develop a strong summer program for Ayden. We will hire 1 or 2 people to work with Ayden at our house. I will train them in ABA Therapy.
Aydens is currently working on social questions, features, attributes, patterns, and rapid response to question.
Social questions - Ayden can answer the following: Who are your brothers? Who is you mom? Who is your teacher? How are you? What is your name? What is your last name? How old are you? and his current question is Who is your dad?
Features - We just started this program. He has mastered the features of a house (door, window, roof, chimney). We are currently working on the features of a car (headlights, door, trunk).
Attributes - We have been working on Big/Little for a long time. I am sick of it. Although he accurately points to the picture of something that is either big or little, when I ask him "how does this one look?" he confuses them. Eventually he will master it and then we will move on to wet/dry.
Patterns - He is working on a simple ABAB pattern, but again it is taking him forever to get the concept. We just keep on truckin'.
Rapid Response - We are trying to build up his speed in responding. I show him flashcards (of items he already knows) and I time how long it takes him to answer. We continue to try to build up speed.
Late March 2009
Early March 2009
February 2009
December 2008
October 2008
September 2008
