Spelling is going really well. Still some problems with the 4 letter words but otherwise he's doing as well with spelling the real way as he was with the guides. And he seems to enjoy it more. I was really amused, and happy, when he set up the magnetic chalkboard for spelling one morning. He really does seem to view it as a puzzle. And he is starting to remake the connections between letters and their phonetic sounds.
Reading is good. Yesterday I laughed because he decided he wanted more reading and went to his bookshelf, got a book, and brought it to me. So we had an extra reading session. I really like when he prompts for activities.
Math is good. He's still hit and miss with numbers as far as doing something so many times but he's got number of objects solid. I'll keep working on both so that he learns them.
He really likes to make things. So I'm working on ideas for educational arts and crafts. Like the cards. I'm slowly building up things he can do at his current skill levels so that he is encouraged to work without prompting as much as possible.
He has made some amazing leaps in other areas of life as well. He will now bring me the tea jug and a glass when he is thirsty. He will "prompt" me for activities he wants. Lately his favorite has been to walk behind me while guiding me to where he wants me to go - normally to the trampoline. Tonight he want me to change into a dress that he likes. It's one of my favorites but I'm not changing this late at night.
Words had faded for a bit but are now back as strong as ever with a few new things thrown in. I can't share the new ones yet because I'm either not sure of the word or I have only heard it once. I normally wait until I've heard it enough to know that he's making a word association before I decide that it is a word for him.
On other news, his eating schedule is finally settling into something like normal. He no longer needs to eat lunch at 10:30 am. Although if he's getting grouchy/grumpy I will make sure that he gets a snack to tide him over to lunch at 12.
Mark is also showing much better receptive language skills. He is showing the ability to comprehend and follow two or three levels of instructions at a time. Although sometimes he gets in one of his moods and I can only get him to do one step at a time. He's got many things solid now. Stuff like where his backpack goes, where his belt goes, where glasses go when he's not wearing them, where to put dishes when he's done eating, etc.
And he's come to almost fully comprehend just what is allowed to be worn out in public vs what can be worn in the house vs what can be worn in the yard. This has been something that has eluded him for many years but has begun to sink in lately. Unfortunately, it also means that he's going through several outfits a day as he decides to change from activity to the next. It really shows when he decides that we will be going somewhere because he will show up dressed appropriately for going in public vs going into the back yard. It's also funny when he decides that he's done swimming and he swipes new clothes from the clothes line to avoid coming in the house. He's also become very good at getting his shoes where they belong all by himself.
All in all, Mark is making amazing progress in many areas. All of them parallel about where he is education wise. I'm looking forward to him continuing to make progress.
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