Thursday, September 18, 2008

Kyle at School 8 of 8




Kyle is instructed to push his chair in, go get his pad of carpet, and sit for singing.

Kyle at School 7 of 8




The funnest video! Kyle using a walking rope to walk in line with his class to the playground. There, he slides away and takes turns, while waiting for other kids to get off the slide. He finishes up with a rope walk to the bathroom to wash his hands and a trip back to the classroom for a tasty treat...

Kyle at School 6 of 8




Kyle cleans up toys.

Kyle at School 5 of 8




In this one, Kyle is looking in a book, and instructed to identify colors. But, he was not actively participating.

Kyle at School 4 of 19




Here, Kyle matches objects, works a 'Minnie Mouse' puzzle, and is instructed to identify actions within the puzzle.

Kyle at School 3 of 8




In this video, Kyle identifies colors, is rewarded with toys, works on action verbs with object cards, and performs imitations such as "do this" while raising his arms.

Kyle at School 2 of 8




Not much success here, but: fine motor skills using building blocks, identifying colors of blocks

Kyle at School 1 of 8

This video is the first in a series of 8 videos of Kyle at School with his teacher Carol, who is assisting him this month. I will give a summary below each video so that if you don't want to watch all of them, you can find the ones that do look interesting to you.



In this video, Kyle identifies objects by name from pictures. He also discerns them by pointing them out. This method of learning is called Discreet Trial Training (DTT).

Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Letter

Some of you may not have known whyKyle was able to go to summer school this year. It was because of a grant we received......here's a thank you letter which explains more:

To Whom it May Concern,

My wife, Jana, and I would like to express our heartfelt gratitude and thankfulness for the gracious and unmerited gift of therapy provided to our autistic son Kyle during the summer of 2008, thanks to a grant provided to the Child Developmental Center by the Carson Kolzig Foundation. Without their support, Kyle would have gone without critically necessary intervention during the entire summer after the school bell rang on the last day of pre-kindergarten. But because of your generous support, Kyle was able to immediately transition into his stable and accomplished program with Christine Lindgren, whose oversight originally preceded early intervention by the school district.

It was through Christine's autism therapy sessions at the CDC that Kyle was able to develop from the age of two to three in the most professional, helpful, loving, and nurturing environment, outside of his home. The five months that Kyle spent away from Christine's classroom while in Richland School District were simply the changing of the tide for Kyle. Because of the foundations of trust and comfortable routines, Kyle was able to easily and willingly transition back into Christine's classroom. There, he regained his ability to perform neurotypical functions such as increased eye contact and other crucial cognitive abilities.

Honestly, we were surprised, but thankful, to learn that this grant was only available to one child, thus fatefully ours. As you know, in the state of Washington when children turn age three, they transition to the school district. But, when summer quickly arrives, as it did just five months after my son transitioned, the child is left to himself or herself and whatever means the parents or caregivers have. This is an unfortunate crack in the system of absolutely necessary full time early intervention of our young autistic children.

Therefore, as receivers of this wonderful gift that we could not imagine any autistic child without, we do testify of the accomplishment and value that it has contributed to this family. By any means necessary, I encourage the continuation of your philanthropic efforts to support the endeavor of helping and healing the most beautifully gifted children on God's Earth. If I may support your cause in any way, please feel free to contact me personally.


With my Deepest Regard and Thankfulness,



Nathan Long.
Richland

Boys at Bechtel Annual Picnic

These "Vimeo" videos are best viewed in high definition. In order to see them this way, hover your cursor over the video and click on "HD Off" and follow the link.

Friday, September 5, 2008

Sunset


Jana got a good sunset shot right out our front door last night.
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Kyle's Ready for School!


Kyle wanted to get ready for school a little bit early today. He was ready to go about 30 minutes early, but happy nonetheless.
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Thursday, September 4, 2008

Sillly Boy


Kyle decided he was going to stuff his entire french toast into his mouth. He looks like an ape! :) He gets to eat in the bathtub sometimes when he wakes up late and needs to rush off to school.
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Tuesday, September 2, 2008