Lego truck and trailer

What are you making? I asked.
"A truck and a trailer," he answered.

Open the presents

This morning upon waking up:
Miggy: "Merry Christmas!!!! Today is December 25."
Mommy: No, yesterday is November 26. So today is only November 27. It's not yet Christmas.
Miggy: "I want to open the presents."

Miggy with his sister

Plurals

Miggy: "Oh look, Mommy! Mice!" pointing to the 2 mice Tom was chasing on the Tom and Gerry Show.

Mommy: If it's one only, is it mice?

Miggy: "No. Mouse."

Mommy: What is this? (showing him a toy)

Miggy: "A toy. One toy."

Mommy: If there are two?

Miggy: "Two toys."

Mommy: And if there are three?

Miggy: "Three toyses."

Seek-and-Find Books

Where Is Waldo?, Where Are They, and Look and Find materials helped increase Miggy's concentration and attention span. These books encouraged memory skills and the use of logic. Pointing (the use of finger to point) was a big plus too because "pointing" is not natural in some children with autism.

He started using these books at age 5 (old enough to be careful not to tear the pages). Up to the present, he still finds these books interesting and entertaining.

* The mastery of pointing was a long and difficult process for Miggy. I always had to close his fist and pull out his index finger. His first pointing trial was waving his hand with all fingers aimed at an object or direction. Next trial (after a very long time) was better: the index finger and middle finger, though slightly bent, were somewhat pointed to the object. Finally, at age 4, he had mastered the correct way to do it.

Honestly, I never thought this day would come that he would say, "Look, mommy!" with his finger pointing to his object of interest. Now, these words I hear more than a dozen times each day. Moments, such as:

-Miggy proudly showing me that he could read titles of Tom and Gerry tales on Cartoon Network;
-that he could build structures from his Lego toys;

-that he saw a bird perched on the roof;

-that he saw a tv advertisement of a newly introduced Argentina deli burger or a toy at Toy Kingdom that he wanted me to buy: "Mommy, you buy.";

-that he saw an insect that he would like me to get rid off (to kill, actually, with my slipper: "Kill, mommy! Kill! Get your slipper!" accompanied with a scream at the top of his lungs).

* Note: He took this picture of his pointed finger.

Barbie Cake

Sept. 5, 2010
Seeing Miggy so intently watching a television advertisement of Barbie cake, I asked him:
Miggy, do you want a Barbie cake?
Looking at me, he said "Yes!" Then, "No!"
I asked why and he answered: "Because Barbie is not for boys. It is for girls."

Analogies

Speech Therapy at Play and Say Therapy Center,
Sept. 24, 2010

At the starting point were the pieces of a vehicle puzzle. Upon instructions from Teacher Justin, Miggy took one puzzle piece, pedaled the bike to the finish line where the puzzle board awaited. After fitting the piece into the board, Miggy was again commanded to pedal back to the starting point. This time, Teacher Justin was ready with some analogy cards. Miggy read and filled in the missing answers.

"Bone is to dog...... as .........Carrot is to rabbit."
"Sun is to yellow ........as .........Apple is to red."
"Teacher is to school........as ......... Doctor is to hospital."
"Spider is to web......... as .......... Bird is to nest."
"Police officer is to patrol car ........ as ......... Fireman is to firetruck."
"Bed is to bedroom ......... as .......... Stove is to kitchen."
"Car is to road ........ as ......... Train is to tracks."
"Book is to read ........ as ......... Milk is to drink."
"Green is to go ......... as ......... Red is to stop."
"Straw is to drink ......... as .........Fork is to eat."

Skip-Counting

Ridgeview Academy, Sept. 24, 2010
I eavesdropped.
Teacher Tina: Miggy, skip-count by 2's.
Miggy: "2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, ...........................100."
Later:
Teacher: Miggy, skip-count by 5's.
Miggy: "5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, ...........................100."
(With minimal cues from teacher)

Teacher: Okay, class. We are done with skip-counting by two's and by five's. Now we will move on to skip-counting by ten's.

Later that night, I tested Miggy.
Mom: Miggy, can you skip-count by 10's?
Miggy, probably too tired of the subject, complained:
"No skip-counting! No numbers! I don't like skip-count."
Then again he protested:
"No 10! No 20! No 30! No 40! No 50! No 60! No 70! No 80! No 90! No, no, no 100! That's enough!"

"I love you, mommy."

Sept. 22, 2010
Mom: Miggy, do you love mommy?
Miggy: "Yes."
Mom: Tell me.
Miggy: "I love you, mommy."

Did you find it?

Here's a little conversation between Miggy and his 2-year-old cousin, Yanni.

Miggy handed a rubber "D" to his cousin, "Yanni, this is the letter D."
Later, the D was nowhere to be seen.
Yanni: Kuya Miggy, where's the letter D?
Miggy: "Did you find it?"

**** Miggy interacts with everyone. Sometimes, as I watch the little connections he makes with the people around him, I am stricken with awe and disbelief that this once non-verbal child is now filled with words.
Miracle.... I do believe in miracles.
Hope.... I am hanging on to it. You should too.


Comment from Yanni's mother:
I was really surprised at Miggy's improvement because he now knows how to socialize and play, even teaching his two year-old cousin about the letter D. That same day, he even lied down beside Yanni while she was sleeping and was really quiet because as he said "baby Yanni is sleeping." And when we arrived and as we were leaving, he would make eye contact and kiss me on the cheeks when I say: Kiss Ninang Kaye. This just shows how patience, determination and lots of love can help bring special children, like Miggy, into our world... Kudos to you Tita! We're all so proud of you and Miggy (and of course, Caliza and Tito Ger)!

A Blessing

A note from Miggy's tutor

Lining Up

Here are evidences of Miggy's autistic behavior when he was 2 years old: Lining up of objects.

The first, second and last pictures were taken before he was diagnosed.

(He was diagnosed with autism at age 2 yrs/9mos.) This obsessive/compulsive behavior has completely disappeared at age 4.

Who Questions (Occupations)

Aug. 13, 2010
Speech therapy session with Teacher Justin Palou

Teacher: Who makes us laugh in a circus?
Miggy: "A clown."
T: Who fixes broken pipes?
M: "A plumber."
T: Who fixes cars and trucks?
M: "A mechanic."
T: Who serves food in a restaurant?
M: "A waiter."
T: Who takes care of the animals in the zoo?
M: "A zooer keep."
T: No.
M: "A keeper zoo?"
T: Huh?
M: "A zoo keeper!"

"Daddy is not sick."

This took place yesterday (Aug. 22, 2010) at Notre Dame Hospital. While Miggy's dad was being examined by a doctor, Miggy said (crying): "Daddy is not sick. Daddy, get up. Do not lie down. Do not sleep."

Some Conversations We Had

Dear readers,

Here are a few of the conversations I had with my son. I always keep a diary that's why I have no trouble retrieving all past events.

At every opportunity, I tried to initiate conversations with him. Sometimes, I would get no response but still I kept trying to barge in, waiting for him to be ready to accept me. I always drove him out of his self-imposed seclusion. He had to know that apart from himself, there are other people around him. I knew that someday he would feel the need to connect, reach out and get out of his world.

The following are conversations we had in October 2008 when Miggy was six years old.

Mom: Miggy, what are you watching? Is that Nickelodeon or Cartoon Network?
Miggy: "It's Disney."
Mom: Is that Kim Possible or Totally Spies?
Miggy: "It's the Monster Buster Club."

---------------

Mom: What animal is Pooh?
Miggy: "It's a bear."
Mom: What animal is Mickey?
Miggy: "It's a mouse."
Mom: What animal is Donald?
Miggy: "It's a duck."
Mom: What animal is Barney?
Miggy: "It's a dinosaur. The end."

* Before, all things were in general terms. There were no distinctions, no names. Mickey, Minnie, Gerry and Fievel were simply "mouse." Pooh, Yogi and Humphrey were plainly "bear."

---------------

Mom: Miggy, what's the movie tonight?
Miggy: "Cars."
Mom: What's the movie tomorrow?
Miggy: "Princess Diaries."

* He now knows the concept of tonight and tomorrow. (The concept of time may come naturally for children developing normally but for children with autism, this is a hardly achievable victory.)

Lego Helicopter

Who says autistic children do not know how to play? Who says they lack imagination and creativity? Here's Miggy to prove that these are all wrong.

Picture Frame

Miggy was absent when this picture frame project was done at school. As a homework, he used the completed work of his classmate as a guide. Voila, with minimal instructions, he was successfully able to make his very own picture frame.

Miggy's Door

Miggy calls this "Miggy's Door". It features some of his artworks. These are too precious to him, after all, he wouldn't tape them on the door if they weren't.
"Mommy, get the tape. Miggy will tape this."

Reading Comprehension

TOTS Thoughts Tutorial Center
Miggy with Teacher Louella
July 16, 2010
Topic: Reading Comprehension
(Reading and Answering Questions)


Miggy reads, "A girl collecting shells at the beach."
Teacher asks: Who is collecting shells?
M: "a girl"
T: What is she collecting?
M: "the shells"
T: Where is the girl collecting shells?
M: "at the beach"

M: "A tourist taking a picture of a statue at the musem"
T: Who is at the museum?
M: "a tourist"
T: What is the tourist doing?
M: "taking a picture of a statue"
T: Where is the tourist taking a picture of a statue?
M: "at the museum"


M: "Max is going to the beach on Wednesday."
T: Who is going to the beach?
M: "Max"
T: Where is Max going?
M: "to the beach"
T: When is Max going to the beach?
M: "on Wednesday"

Guard Up

I went to see a doctor. My body resistance had gone down. "Change your lifestyle," he said. "Remove the stress."

Sounds very simple. But how can I? It's not as easy as it sounds. Stress-free life is just the same as a Miggy-free life.

I have lived nearly eight years in and out of my son's autism. The whole family has, in fact, perfectly adapted to his different world . It will be incredibly unimaginable to live without it.

Sleeplessness, fatigue, fright, anxiety, panic, shock, and stress are all imperfections that come with it.....all nicely wrapped up in one beautiful "A" package. Welcome. Keep them coming. They won't catch me with my guard down. Never!