Mega Steps

In the past week and a half, we have seen some HUGE progress in JT.

-Sat through an entire meal, in his seat, sitting nicely at Chili's. In his seat. Even waited for me to get done before we went outside to wander around. In the past, he would have been on the floor, and we would have had to go outside several times to release some energy.

-Went shopping - several places - and behaved perfectly. No running off. No screaming. Walking around, staying with me, putting things back when asked with no tantrums or meltdowns...

-No meltdowns period since starting the risperidone. None. We have had a few 5-minute 'I'm mad' fits, but I would classify these as maybe a little more than a normal kid, in some cases completely normal.

-SO MUCH TALKING!!! He actually got in trouble last night because he would not stop talking during Audrey's tv show. It felt really weird for him to get in trouble for talking too much :)

-Answering 'yes/no' rather than giving a choice every time. I am still working on this... Instead of "Do you want Doritos or not want Doritos?" I ask "Do you want Doritos" and then if he hasn't answered in 30 seconds ask again with a "Yes or no" at the end. When I actually remember to follow through, and ask the question correctly, he responds appropriately. It's really cool.

-No more sippy cups. Just cups and cups with straws. Not even a sippy cup at bedtime!

-Peed in the potty at Target! First time he's peed somewhere besides our house or the two times at school. VERY AWESOME!!!

-Putting on clothes on his own. Yesterday he was playing a (more work for mommy) game where he got another shirt from his drawer and take the old one off and put the new one on. He did it on his own, just needing help with the tightest of the 3 that he did.

-Fun library visit. Stayed with us, elicited a few giggles when he jumped out from behind a shelf and said loudly "I FOUND YOU DADDY!!!" (it was super funny, The Hubs jumped a little).

-Taking medicine with no issues. He will tell us no medicine and yuck, but then takes it with no running away or screaming. Very cool. (Same thing with teeth brushing :) ).

-Sat through a game of Candyland. Figured out how to play. Is playing appropriately (although doesn't really enjoy waiting, we're working on that).

-Letting us watch other shows besides Spongebob. This is a biggie. Before he would FLIP OUT if we tried to watch anything else. Now he sits through with the promise that it's his turn next.

-To follow that, he's also understanding 'Five more minutes' or other concepts. Makes it much easier when he settles down knowing we're leaving soon, rather than him freaking out about leaving right now.


There's more, but those are the biggies. Way cool stuff going on here!