It gets easier

While the days fly past, one thing I have neglected to do is update this blog on a regular basis. V has been getting better in terms of several subtle ways. Academically, he seems to have just absorbed things and synthesized these over the years. In terms of his social skills, he has made progress and I would say a great deal of progress. He has been doing a private class for social skills which has helped him on several aspects, one of the hardest being "Letting go". As I started to do the follow-up sessions with him at home and checking with him what was done in class, I realised that "letting go" is so hard for adults. We tend to cling on to the bad things/things that went wrong and it is so hard to just let go. He continues to do very well with the adults, charming them with his conversations while being simultaneously annoying to his peers.
Food continues to be the same. There has been very little change in his diet. His pallette has increased and he continues to look for options in foods where there seems very little choice at the surface. The primary diet is still vegetables, fruits, meats (he doesn't seem to like anything other than chicken), dairy. Over the summer I tend to try a few new things to see if it works out or not. One thing is for sure that his body just cannot handle sugars. He has meltdowns an hour or two after consuming a food with high sugar. That continues to be a challenge because he does get tempted by cakes and other pastries. The alternative is to let him taste a little bit so that satisfies his curiosity and then he is fine moving on. The fortunate thing is that there is no allergy.
While travelling though, with the ups and downs in schedules, he had nightmares three different nights - that just told me that the schedule and what he ate in the night still made a tremendous difference. He hadn't had these nightmares in a long time so it wasn't exactly pleasant to know that he wasn't over them.
Another thing I started doing was to let him try just a little bit of egg every time it was cooked. He has been handling the really small portion very well. So after a few weeks I will try and up that is my current thought process.
Not having a regular schedule did make a difference this summer but fortunately, for the most part, it did not have much of a negative impact on his behavior or sensory system. The one thing he did miss out on which still helps him tremendously is having a bubble bath. It helps his sensory system as well as calms him down, helps him sleep better. Coming back to a half hour in the tub was a real blessing to calm his nerves.
The biggest change has been in his sleep. Not only did he start sleeping by himself in his room without an adult around, he has slept through the night without nightmares, crying, screaming, anything negative. This was big for me in terms of letting go. I don't know anymore if he is jerking or twitching a lot in the night. However, given that he gets up on his own, all rested is good for now. I will see how it goes.
The other big change has been in his independence as he has decided to take on his tasks all by himself. This has helped with several things he now does and it is what helped him take the step of sleeping in his room by himself.
I continue giving him Ovaltine in his milk for extra vitamins without giving any supplements. He tends to eat several more vegetables now, including some greens that can be very bitter.
V doesn't need OT anymore. He does continue to need speech - that is going to take a really long time, especially with his "r"s and "l"s. He did really well academically last year which keeps me alive with the hope that when you believe in your child and think positive, the impossible becomes more of a reality; this is a child who didn't know his letters in kindergarten nor could he count beyond 5. Every task was daunting to him. Eventually, the friends will also become a reality and more and more events will get pushed to the back - did those nightmares really exist?