A few nights ago when Dar opened the door to let the dogs out one last time, he heard a wonderful sound. Frogs croaking! That is the first time we have heard them since winter set in. Spring must be around the corner! With all the crazy we have had lately, I was beginning to wonder if it would ever come!
I got a new ipad for my birthday. I am so excited to try to use it with Ken, my almost thirteen year old who has a mild form of autism and who stutters. I found all kinds of applications I can download onto the ipad to help with his communication disorders. It will be interesting to see if any of them help, but it's worth every penny if it helps Ken even a little bit!
I have heard about delayed auditory feedback implants for people who stutter. They are expensive and children sometimes don't want to leave them in or they out grow them. I found an app for my ipad called, DAF assistant. When the stutter puts on head phones with a microphone and they talk, it helps the person slow down his speaking rate and trains the central auditory processing disorder which they have. Once the person takes off the ear phones, they don't have the help like the implants do, but hopefully they are learning to slow down their rate of speech.
During the past few months, I have been making the three hour trek to Salt Lake every other week to take Ken to a stuttering specialist for two hours. I feel like we aren't making any progress though. The trip to Salt Lake is a great excuse to see my family and I have been able run around and do things I can't do in a small town. But with the price of gas plus the cost of the therapy it is costing us a small fortune. As a very proactive Mom, I am willing to try anything to help my poor little guy.
Ken's IQ test results were lower than the specialist expected last time we had him tested. She said she felt like they weren't accurate because he couldn't communicate the answers, so he said, "I don't know" instead. This is a common answer when he is asked questions because it is easier to say that then to try to get all of the words out. He won't pray in church, read in groups at school or church and very rarely will he answer questions in school.
There are a ton of apps on the ipad for younger autistic children. But what about the older kids? I haven't been able to find much to help Ken in that area. I wish these applications would have been around when Ken was first diagnosed because we have struggled through everything they claim to help with. He has made huge progress since he was diagnosed, and I am looking forward to all the new developments in technology that will hopefully help him in the future!
Even though Ken has his challenges, I feel so blessed that he can see, hear, walk and talk.
His thirteenth birthday is next week. I was going to try to make him a scuba diver cake out of homemade fondant, but I don't have the time because I'm trying to burn all the weeds, trim trees and get ready for a fun spring break trip. So I asked my friend Melanie Starr to help me. She is an amazing cake decorator. I can't wait to see what she dreams up!
Here is a recipe I found for homemade fondant - one day I will try it!
Rolled Butter Cream Fondant
In a large bowl, mix together 1C. shortening and 1C. light corn syrup. Mix in 1/2t. salt and 1t. clear vanilla extract. Then gradually add 2 pounds of powdered sugar until it is a stiff dough. If you are using a stand mixer, use the dough hook attachment. Otherwise, knead by hand. If the dough is sticky, add more powdered sugar until it is smooth. Store in an airtight container at room temperature or in the fridge.
To use, mix in a few drops of desired food coloring and then roll out on a clean surface that has been dusted with powdered sugar until it is 1/8 inch thick.
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