Apparently, you want some help

Quite a remarkable day. Some days you get up and you think today is going to be alright. Today was one of those. It seemed, despite the lack of Epsom Salts Bath the night before, that you were much calmer, more levelled this morning. Eye contact was excellent and I don't know if that should be a sign or an indicator but it always was before. You always avoided eye contact when you were stressed or distressed, and you always made it when you were happy. Things have definitely improved thanks to the Communications Therapist telling me to not reward everything you say, and trying to force you to make eye contact before giving you whatever you want. It has also been something the Occupational Therapist has said, basically don't rush to understand, a little frustration is a good thing sometimes. Forces you to communicate more, and with more determination and variety. The salts have helped too, they make the therapy easier and your interest in participation much stronger. The diet too must be doing wonders with the concentration. It does make me think, those who just try therapy, or there those who just try GF/CF - or don't actually try enough therapy or whatever...I think it would be beneficial to take on what Greenspan says about a 6 pronged attack on autism: the last two factors being addressing biomedical issues and nutritional intolerances. From the guy who invented Floortime.

We took Mummy to work after a very good hour, lots of eye contact and you have been asking for more and more cuddles just for the hug lately. It's been lovely. We played the plasticine numbers game, and the channel hopping game, and we got you asking for what you want and making good eye contact. That has really worked, Greenspan and Clive Mantle in After Thomas both said don't fight the obsessions, use them and they were right. It is much easier to teach you in the context of a game you have chosen. I also encourage you to give me five, and we do it a lot. It helps with reciprocity and is useful when I am trying to do Floortime and I can't get the eye contact for whatever reason - lack of will/poor position etc. And then you've always given lots of kisses in exchange for things. Which is selfishly the best, though I guess it would be better if you said "thank you" more often.

You were fine with the lift, and fine saying goodbye to Mummy. It's funny. For a while - a long while - you didn't say goodbye. Now, I have a picture of you waving at Darren with your left hand, bye-bye, and Darren was hopeful you were left-handed like him. You were around 16 months - though when I find it (it is a bit blurred so I might not have printed it) I'll know the date. Then you stopped. For about a year or so, till we started to work on it again - implementing our own training/therapy program. We counted all

You sat and looked at the cat this morning, and she looked back. And you said 'neshika'. It was really sweet,

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Today's Food

Breakfast: Freshly squeezed orange juice. Banana & Date Smoothie with Calcium, Adama Cornflakes with Natura rice milk.

Snack: Corn Puffs. Chocolate cake.

Lunch: White boiled rice (didn't finish even at 5pm, ate at 6pm), homemade Baked Beans (didn't touch). Apple juice (double helping)

Dinner: Fried potato cubes - one potato eaten. Mango juice.

Snack: Chocolate cake, apple.