Our Son-Rise Journey

What does your attitude say about you!?

15/08/08 at 11.24am   /   by sdcarlson   /   0 Comment

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If there is one thing this program has taught us is that this statement is so entirely true!  It is fundamental and necessary in helping our children break through and grow.  If we look at their abilities as subpar and measure them based on this, they feel it and know your intention in teaching them new skills.  The growth is so much slower and deliberate.  However, we have found through these fundamentals that if you embrace your child, love them for who they are in every moment and take the emphasis off of what you wish they “should” be doing or what is deemed “normal”, they respond more and love themselves and us in the process.  When we feel love, we learn the ability to relate and love those around us.

One of the biggest things I have noticed about Lucas in the past month or so is his awareness level. He is now hitting milestones that he never hit as a toddler.  Some of those being climbing up to get into cupboards, finding creative ways to get what he wants and playing with EVERYTHING, pulling toilet paper off the rolls.  Nothing is safe these days.  LOL.  We are now childproofing at 7 years old and I am so happy to do so!!  You may find this a funny thing to be excited about, but I remember when Lucas was about 2.  I was childproofing the kitchen cupboards, excitedly leaving one on the bottom with all the stuff he could play with (plastic utensils, bowls, tupperware, etc) only to find him never interested in exploring this space.  There is a joy to knowing that he is aware and interested in his surroundings and exploring all of the things around him!

I have the cutest story to share as well on this awareness and his determination.  I came downstairs and Lucas was sitting in a chair with no shirt on and a big smile on his face.  Of course firstly I am wondering why no shirt as he hates to be shirtless.  I look over and I notice a chair pulled up to the sink where I had previously hidden a half drank can of pop (a safe hiding spot in the past) and noticed the pop was all over the floor and the shirt on the floor soaked.  I look back at Lucas and he says proudly with the hugest smile, “Lucas drank pop!”  Instead of  being angry at the mess and of course the can of pop which is horrible for his dietary issues, I immediately felt  joy and excitement at his curiosity,  pride and his ability and desire to verbally share this with me.  I could only think of one response as I cleaned up.  With pride and joy, I turned to him and said “Yeah, you did buddy!!!!”   This fundamental of knowing how my attitude and emotional state can shape and form how my son relates to and sees our world has made our world together full of joy, possibility, hope and most importantly undeniable growth!

 

So I had to add one more!

15/08/03 at 4.07pm   /   by sdcarlson   /   0 Comment

Although I do give weekly feedback to my volunteers, I do not watch their entire sessions. So my volunteers will tell me when there is footage I absolutely have to watch.  This is where many of my blog videos come from.  The video I posted this past Sunday with Lucas playing the guitar was one of the instances.  I was so excited to show his development in being able to take an active role in an interaction and truly enjoying it that I was sure this was the guitar moment she was talking about.

However……she later told me that I missed a MAJOR development during a similar guitar interaction later in the session.  She was right!

I went back and watched another portion of their time together and there is a whole 3 minutes of Lucas not only verbally leading the interaction but also physically participating (one of our goals)….but the amazing part  was that Lucas chose to lead this interaction with this physical participation!  The physical participation was not a result of us directly asking him to participate but of his own volition!   He ends up picking up the guitar and playing and singing for our volunteer and her enjoyment!!  This takes this goal to another level and rightfully needs to be shared! So you get two posts in one week!  Guess I am making up for lost time.  LOL

 

We all just want to be loved and accepted for who we are!

15/08/01 at 9.24am   /   by sdcarlson   /   0 Comment

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Well….I am finally back from our hiatus!  Thanks for being patient while we moved.  : )  Firstly, the move went well.  Lucas has really taken to his new home, especially the fenced-in yard, and more importantly his Son-Rise playroom.  It is considerably smaller than his last playroom, so I was unsure how he would adjust, but it has been a wonderful adjustment for him and the program overall.  With a smaller room, we are able to position easier for more eye contact and therefore are noticing more opportunities for interaction.

A few awesome things that we have noticed with our Lucas this past month:  He is dressing himself!!  (this is a big victory for mom.  lol)  I’m not just talking putting clothes on, but actually going into his drawers and picking out an outfit.  I can’t tell you the countless hours I spent to no avail having him break the task down into digestible bits prior to this program, only to have both him and I frustrated in the process.  Not to mention he had absolutely no interest in the activity.  Was he learning to do it previously, yes, but he was more interested in the reward and therefore was not independently wanting to do it.  Like I said…huge victory!

Here was the big one for me, actually gave me tears.  Lucas picked out decorations for his room.!! He actually told me what he wanted without it having to be in front of him.  I have decorated his room three times in the past with no interest from him, even with choices in front of him.  So, as my daughter and I were excitedly talking about her new room in the car and what she wanted, I decided to give it a try with Lucas.  I turned to him with a big smile and asked him what he wanted for his room, expecting no answer as usual.  He turns to me with this sly smile and says, “I want car and mater.”  I ended up having to order his wall decals from Israel of all places, but that kid was going to get car and mater if I had to travel there myself.  LOL.  And yes I cried tears of happiness over this, as it was one of many firsts we have been experiencing since starting this program.  My son is showing interest in our world!!!!

I’ll just share one more, but an equally big development.  Lucas is REALLY enjoying ALL people these days.  He is happier with people here than when they are not.  This is definitely a polar opposite to a year ago.  He used to retreat to his room when we had anyone here.  When we first moved in, a group of young boys came over excitedly to introduce themselves and welcome us to the neighborhood.  We, of course, trepidatiously introduced our family and Lucas.  Telling them that Lucas is sometimes quiet but loves to be around people.  The boys accepted this answer and went next door to their home.  We began unpacking and could not find Lucas.  He had wondered over to this group of boys, chewing on the end of his pine tree branch (LOL …something I’ve begun to adore) with this great big smile as if he was part of the group.  Also, his cousins came over last week to see the house and he wanted to be in the heart of all the action the entire afternoon!

Finally…..I am sharing a video of Lucas in his new playroom with one of our volunteers.  I like this video because at Christmastime, when we went to intensive, he had a similar interaction with one of the Son-Rise facilitators.  However, the stark contrast is that Lucas is completely in charge in this interaction.  He is not afraid to tell her what he wants, how he wants it and is throughly enjoying this interaction with his friend!!  Please enjoy and I am happy to be back with you all!!!