Little triumphs that are HUGE

Celebratory first week lemonades

Hunter had a great first week at his preschool.  I can't say enough about this staff that is going out of their way to make this a positive experience for him.  He has participated in most tasks, even painted last Friday with little prompting, chose Legos for a center today (instead of his usual books on tape), and has been telling his knock knock jokes at lunch. 





The director went up to our therapist and commented what a great job he was doing- I think my initial prep talks might have sounded a little intimidating.  I guess he is surpassing my expectations. 

Today, two mini, but absolutely HUGE triumphs occurred.

As we were leaving school, he said to me, "Mommy, do you think my new friend Christian can come to my house to play?"

ONE WEEK IN...and we are making friends!  I cannot even express how happy my heart was to hear this question from Hunter.

And tonight, as I was cleaning up dinner in the kitchen, I asked Hunter several times to go and meet daddy in the bath.  He didn't respond, which isn't atypical, so I walked around the corner and saw this:

To any other mother, it might just look like their child playing with cars on the ground, the way little boys do.

But that is just it.

He was playing the way normal boys play- he wasn't staring at the McQueen words; he wasn't flapping in excitement over the lightning bolt; he wasn't just looking at the mechanics of the vehicle; and he wasn't scripting from the movie.

He was actually playing cars...making them drive, having McQueen talk to Mac, playing like a neurotypical boy.  I honestly haven't seen him play like this since pre -17 months.

All I can say is that things are clicking.  He is starting to show intrinsic motivation for socialization, relationships, and playtime. 
 
Couldn't ask for anything more from this bonus year.