Swollen Eye

Pictures 1 & 2: (Dec. 10, 2009) Crying and in pain
Picture 3: (the following day) Swollen right eye

Reason: This was what happened when I left him all by himself playing with his dusty stuff toy animals. A more-than-an-inch fur was what I extracted from his right eye on the 3rd day of the inflammation. From day 1, he was crying and whining non stop, up to the time I removed the fur from his eye. I applied anti-bacterial ophthalmic drops (as usual I played doctor again).

Miggy has sensory issues and couldn't feel minor pains. The fact that he cried only meant that the pain he experienced was severe.

Mom: You look in the mirror, Miggy is ugly.
Miggy: "Pretty!"
Mom: Are you going to rub your eyes again?
Miggy: "No."
Mom: Do you want your eyes to bleed again?
Miggy: "I don't like."
Mom: Complete sentence.
Miggy: "I don't like blood in my eyes."
Mom: What will happen if you rub your eyes again?
Miggy: "Go to the hospital."
Mom: And if you go to the hospital, what do you think the doctor will do to you?
Miggy: "Put the gamot in the eyes." (gamot is medicine) "I don't like sew my eyes... needle and thread."

Mess and Pack-away

Photo 1: Miggy's playtime (mess-time)

Photo 2: Miggy's pack-away time

Christmas Tags

Last year, it was Miggy who wrote names on our Christmas tags. These are two samples of his works that I will forever cherish.

Spelling

Oct. 11, 2009:
Of the 28 words, only 5 words were misspelled. Miggy wrote this after watching "Special Kids - All About Jesus" video.

October 27, 2009 (Pretend play captured in photo)

Miggy: "Okay, parrot. Take a picture."
"One, two, three.... go.... click!"

Mommy: What is the parrot doing?

Miggy: "The parrot is taking a picture..... taking a picture of squirrel, tiger and kangaroo."

Pizza Hut

This is Miggy's drawing of a "Pizza Hut" delivery truck (although Pizza Hut uses company motorcycles for pizza delivery).
"This is a Pizza Hut truck", he said.

Pizza is one of his favorite foods. Pizza routine every Tuesday and Thursday after his academic tutorials.

Miggy's First and Latest Developmental Evaluations

Birthday: Aug.4, 2002
Date of Evaluation: Nov. 5, 2009
Chronological Age: 7yrs/3months

Diagnosis: Autism Spectrum Disorder

Developmental Pediatrician: Millicent Mae Fronda-De Vera, MD, DPPS,FPSDBP

Test Administered: Griffiths Mental Developmental Scales

Present Developmental Profile:
Locomotor: 6 yrs
Personal/Social: 6.5 yrs
Hearing and Speech: 4.5 to 5 yrs
Eye and Hand Coordination: 6.5 yrs
Performance: 7.5 yrs
Practical Reasoning: 4.5 to 5 yrs

Behavioral Concerns:
Miggy is generally behaved and compliant; impulsive at times; attention span has also improved as he can complete tasks when cued or prompted. He is very talkative but verbal reasons are still limited.

Here is Miggy's first developmental evaluation by
Developmental Pediatrician: Joselyn Alonzo-Eusebio, M.D.
Date of evaluation: May 13, 2005
Chronological Age: 2yrs / 9mos

Locomotor: par w/ age
Personal and Social: 18 mos
Hearing and speech: 15 mos
Eye and Hand Coordination: 18 mos.
Performance: > 2 yrs (non-verbal)
Practical Reasoning > N /A

Diagnosis: Autism Spectrum Disorder
Main Problems:
- hyperactive; fleeting eye contact; selective attention / response
- delayed / deviant speech
- preoccupations / stereotypes
- unusual fears

Creative Play

Here are two pictures of Miggy engrossed in his creative play.

Picture 1: "It's a girl", he said.

Picture 2: Notice that he built 2 floors with stairs, and added some furnitures to make a bedroom.

Routine

A quick drop-by at Video One is Miggy's routine every Tuesday and Thursday at 10:45am before going to his academic tutorials at the adjacent building.

At Video One, Miggy picks his favorite videos; shamelessly sings and dances; neatly returns the cds to the designated racks and waves bye to the friendly staff before he leaves.

Since I cannot break this routine because for sure it will put him in a bad mood, I always turn this into a learning experience. I ask him to name the characters and read the titles of the cds. That way, we both gain. He gets his way, I get mine.

Miggy's Drawing

View some of Miggy's works then and now.

Miggy's Coloring

BEFORE & AFTER:

Miggy's Handwriting

BEFORE & AFTER

Decorating the Christmas Tree

November 1, 2009: All Saints' Day
A day to remember and honor all the Saints of the ancient times and the less distant past. And that was what we just did. We chose to honor Saint Nicholas, popularly known as Santa Claus.

* Back in the days when we were still very young, my 4 sisters, my only brother and I would wake up on a December morning to find our simple Christmas tree in the living room all adorned already by my mother the previous night. Before, there were no fancy Christmas trees, instead a real tree glued with cotton was all you would ever see in any house. It was like a tree in the winter, all white. My mother wanted it to be a surprise but what she didn't know was that we could have had more fun decorating the Christmas tree ourselves. So this time, I'm breaking the rules. Let them have all the fun! Adorn it! Mess with it! Whatever! I don't care! What matters to me now is to see them happy and enjoying the Christmas spirit. Now, the tree looks the way they just wanted it to be... perfect.

Autism cases in RP on the rise

MANILA, Philippines - The number of people with autism in the Philippines and other countries is on the rise, according to experts.

Dr. Alexis Reyes, Philippine Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics president, said there are no accurate statistics on autism in the Philippines but an upward trend has been observed across the globe. It is “imperative” to have a program to ensure a productive life for them despite their condition. Experts do not know why the number of people with autism is increasing. “There is no single cause so there is no single cure,” she said.

If the prevalence rate in the United States will be the basis, there are some 0.5 million Filipinos with the neuro-behavioral disorder. Of this figure, only two percent of them are given appropriate care. The ratio of autism in the US rose to 1:91 in 2009 from 1:150 a few years ago.

In 1960s-1980s the prevalence rate of autism in the US was 0.4 to 0.5 per 1,000 population but it increased to 0.71 to 1.1 per 1,000 children in 1990 and 4 to 6 per 1,1000. Autism is “likely the result of a variety of factors,” including genetic, infectious, neurologic, metabolism, immunological and environmental.

“Autism is not physical, it’s neuro-behavioral,” Doctor Reyes said. “That's what makes it very challenging for us… They look normal but they have social deficit, language problem, restricted interest and repetitive manners.” While autism is incurable, those who have it could still be productive if they would only be given adequate management and education.

Reyes said the initial cost of diagnosis for autism amounts to some P7,000. For follow ups in medical and educational, some P116,000 is required for the first year alone, she added. In the Philippines, there are only a few schools for children who have “special needs” and they are very expensive. And if there are public schools that offer special education, they mostly “fell short of expectation.”

Source: The Philippine Star (Updated November 04, 2009)

"Who is inside the box?"

Nov. 1, 2009 : Miggy found this big empty box (which recently contained the plastic drawers I just bought).
I always have my camera hanging around my neck so I wouldn't miss moments like this.
Miggy excitedly asked: "Who is inside the box?"
He answered himself: "Miggy is inside the box!!"

* I spent only a few pesos on the drawers but the fun he had was priceless.....
far, far, far beyond what I paid for.

Sad and Happy Faces

Two weeks ago, Miggy drew this. Tell me something about your drawing, I said.
Miggy: "This is Miggy's sad face and this is Miggy's happy face."

*Note that the paper is crumpled. He used it to cover one of his books.

"The man is dead."

February 9, 2009:
Miggy was waiting his turn for a haircut at SM Baguio's Barbero. He saw a man, eyes closed, lying comfortably in a chair, with shaving lotion all over his face.
Pointing to the man, Miggy exclaimed: "Look, the man is dead!"

"Miggy is sick"

Oct. 21, 2009 :
Miggy: "Mommy, drink medicine."
mom: Why? Who is sick?
Miggy: "Miggy is sick."
mom: What hurts?
Miggy. "My neck hurts. It's hot."
I touched his neck and it was flaming hot. And later I found out that his front tooth had just erupted from his pink swollen gums, which caused his temperature to rise.
Notice his red cheeks in the photo.

- Since birth, Miggy had sensory problems. When he was little, he would hit his head on walls, slap his face, hit his chest, scratch little bumps on his skin (vaccine marks, insect bites, old wounds) until he bled without so much as an "ouch" and not even a single tear. He did not register pain the way typical children do. Why did he not experience the appropriate reaction of pain after injury? Because the beta-endorphins released in the brain can produce an anesthetic effect, which would account for his indifference to pain.
- Through sensory integration techniques (deep pressure, massage, pancake and vestibular ball rocking) integrated in his regular occupational therapies, his sensory problems had lessened. Now, he is able to feel pain and even verbalize his pain and discomfort, unlike before when we would always have to guess what was wrong with him.

His First Candy

October 16, 2009: Miggy at 7yrs/2months, ate his very first candy. Oops, wrong word, more so, tasted his first candy.
It was his classmate's birthday and he received a loot bag containing sweets and some goodies. He knew candies are a no-no. It will trigger his hyperactivity. Perhaps curious, he opened his candy and licked it. Because he wasn't used to too much sugar, he handed it to me and said: "Mommy, eat it. Candy is not for Miggy."

Asleep

Sept. 30, 2009: Bedtime
It was 10pm and way past Miggy's bedtime.
I checked. Miggy was breathing deeply and evenly and not moving.
I tested, whispered: Is Miggy asleep?
"Yes", he whispered too.