Good Luck Max!

Max started Pre-School today.
We tried to get pictures, but he heard "car, school, go!" and wanted nothing to do with pictures.
So we caught a few going down the stairs.
A few college students passing said "awe cute!"  And I agree he was pretty cute walking all grow-up with his backpack pack on.
I am feeling so blessed to have a pre-school like Sunrise so close to our condo.  I am so lucky to have teachers who know how to teach a child with Autism.  I am one lucky Mom.

I can't wait to see him after school today!
Here is hoping for a tantrum free school day.

 Love you Max Strong!
You are going to love school this year!

UPDATE:  Will went and picked him up at school because I was a work.  His teacher said that for the first 30 minutes he was on the floor not moving, upset, and mad.  Then after about 30 minutes she said he started to move and play with toys.  She said after that he was fine for the rest of the day.  HE was VERY happy to see Will and the big buses outside after school.
It is going to get better each day.   He is going to get into a routine and I know he is going to love school.
DAY TWO:  This was a rough one.  He was upset going to the car.  He was upset walking in to his classroom and he was upset when I left.  But I had to leave.  His teacher, Mrs. Becky, is darling.  She knows I am a teacher, and she knows I worry.  So she emailed me during my prep time and told me "Max cried for only 5 minutes after you left, drank his juice, and then played with magnets.  He is currently doing great."  This is exactly what I needed to hear.  I know everyday is going to be different, but I know we are doing the right thing by sending him to preschool even on the hard days.  

Pretend play

We have been in California for the last three weeks.
Cousins are the best.
Older patient cousins are amazing.
Max mimicked them.  He observed their behavior and watched what they did.  By the end of the three weeks he had more words and was even trying new foods. 
If this is ANY indication of how pre-school is going to be I am super excited.
Max is very lucky to have such good role models in his life.

Pretend Play

"Young children learn by imagining and doing. Have you ever watched your child pick up a stone and pretend it is a zooming car, or hop a Lego across the table as if it were a person or a bunny? Your child is using an object to represent something else while giving it action and motion. But this pretend play is not as simple as it may seem. The process of pretending builds skills in many essential developmental areas." -Scholastic Magazine


Max has never done pretend play until this last trip to California.  He is just starting, but any movement forward is progress and we get very excited.  He started pretending to be on the phone, pretending to brush his stuffed animals hair and even feeding a stuffed baby.  He knows what to do, and is pretending to do them.  He usually will come and "show" us his new found skill and then go back to playing with cars or trucks, but we get overly excited.

Children on the autistic spectrum have a very hard time in social situations and pretend play is very social.  Some children pick up pretend play quickly and others, like Max, don't.  He has never showed an interest in anything other than his cars and trucks and things that move.  

Pretend play is important for three major reasons:
1. Imitation skills. Typically-developing children watch how others play with toys and imitate them. For example, a typically-developing child might choose to line up blocks one next to the other the first time they play with them. But as soon as the typically developing child sees others build with the blocks, he will imitate that behavior. A child with autism may not even notice that others are playing with blocks at all, and is very unlikely to observe others' behavior and then intuitively begin to imitate that behavior.
2.  Symbolic play skills. Symbolic play is just another term for pretend play, and by the age of three, most children have developed fairly sophisticated tools for engaging in symbolic play both alone and with others. They may use toys exactly as they're designed -- playing "house" with a pretend kitchen and eating plastic food. Or they may make up their own creative pretend play, turning a box into a fortress or a stuffed animal into a talking playmate. Children with autism rarely develop symbolic play skills without help: They may enjoy placing engines on a track, but they're unlikely to enact scenes, make sound effects, or otherwise pretend with their toy trains.
3.  Social communication skills. In order to be successful in pretend play and imitation, typically developing children actively seek out engagement and communication, and quickly learn how to "read" the intentions of other people. Children with autism tend to be self-absorbed, and have little desire to communicate or engage with playmates.

Here is a great article on pretend play and Autism.

California and Cousin David.

Cousin Andrew graduated from High School.

Pretending with his trucks instead of just lining them up.

But always with a lot of concentration.

Pretending to fix things like Bob the Builder.

Pretending to work like Daddy.

Bottom line - Family rocks.  Learn is amazing.  Growing together as a family with understanding is so important.  Max is so lucky to have a supportive group in his life all over the country.

Max's Third Birthday

Max had a very "Max" birthday.  It was perfect for him.  Quiet and not full of any crazy party.
He played in the dirt.
He got new cars.
He had pasta for dinner.
He had tons of raspberries.
He played with water.

 He LOVES balloons!  Grandma Strong got him a ton.  It was perfect.

It was a perfect day.

And this video made me tear up.  This was the first year we sang Happy Birthday to him with out a meltdown or tantrum.  It was amazing.  We sang soft, we cheered soft, and he was happy.
We are entering his world and he is responding.  He is growing, and we are too.

Happy Birthday Max!  This year is going to be your best yet!

We love you.
~Mom and Dad and Dexter too!