A New Milestone

The one who used to not care about what was going on in the world around him now cares.  As soon as the big yellow bus pulled up in front of our house, he turned to go the other way.  Colton did not want to get on the bus to go to school.  You can see it in his face!   

His teacher couldn’t believe how much he had grown over the summer.  She thought he had gained at least 10 pounds.  Not only did he grow physically, Colton also grew in awareness of what was going on around him which is huge in his development.  We have been working on this with him for 2 years.  At 20 months old, when I met him, Colton was oblivious to what was going on around him.   We thought he was deaf because of his lack of interaction, eye contact and response.  I took him to get a hearing test, and he passed with flying colors.  We then tried animal therapy.  Every Friday he got to go horseback riding to help get him out of his own little world and increase his awareness of what was going on around him.  His progress has been slow, to say the least.  

He is finally getting pickier in his food choices, when once upon a time this glutton would eat whatever he was given.  He has wants.  And he cries and gets upset when he doesn’t get what he wants just like any normal kid.  We took the kids to Olive Garden for lunch one day.  Colton was so upset that he couldn’t have a breadstick.  He wanted one so bad.  The rest of us were eating them.  He reached for one over and over.  He didn’t understand that because of his Celiac’s Disease that he couldn’t have one.  But the point is that he wanted something and pointed to it.  His favorite (annoying) toy needed new batteries.  He brought it to Justin for him to fix.  Justin put new batteries in it and Colton couldn’t have been a happier boy.  He points to go outside, and there’s no getting through a drive through leaving him out when everyone else gets a treat.   

So, I guess the moral of the story is to be careful for what you ask for…you just might get it!  Although this new awareness has opened up a lot of challenges, his teacher assured me that as soon as he figures out how to get what he wants, he will go back to being his mellow, sweet self.  In the meantime, we are happy to see Colton hit a new milestone.