As I discussed in a previous blog I had thought about setting up a rewards board. I saw the idea of a white board and magnets from an episode of Nanny 911. However, due to a lack of available resources (in this case interesting magnets) I went with a different approach. I have a large blue poster board taped up on the front door to my apartment. Then above it (out of my son's reach) I have placed two sets of fish scrapbooking stickers. Around here it is hard to find decent sticker suplies other than for scrapbooking. One set is of small colorful little fish, and the other of larger more glittery or shimmery fish. When Michael is exceptionally well behaved he gets to put a small sticker on his board. I extended this to the bathroom and his bedroom as well. On those doors I have a white tagboard put up, and a sheet of Cars Movie themed stickers we found on clearance.

For the moment we have not ventured into the bedroom for sticker worthy tasks, because we both have had horrid colds as a result from walking around the fair on cool nights. But the bathroom stickers are reserved for toilet poops only. Michael seriously regressed in that department, and I fear fighting him to realize underwear or tub poops are bad I fear I scared him into thinking all poop is bad. We have earned three poops stickers this week though! The first one was only halfway earned, but the last two he really tried and succeeded. In an effort to really reward him and getting him pooping in the toilet, I also let him place a larger fish on the Be Good Board.

Michael does seem to understand the relationship with the stickers an slowly how to earn them. He likes to point to the larger ones and tells me "poop" as to how he earned it. We are trying to get him to communicate more stories about things he has done, so sometimes when in the car I will guide him through telling Grandma he got a sticker for pooping in the toilet.

I just wish I had thought of this idea AGES ago. But in truth maybe Michael would not have been ready for this type program then. He has made so much progress. People like to tell me that I have been really on top of things and try to give me credit, but in truth I know preschool was his miracle. Yes the therapy set it up so he was really able to transition into that, but school made the sudden and positive change in my son. And hopefully things keep improving.

Even if my son does progress off the technical Autism scale, I think this has been a lesson of life that only living this nightmare can teach. The tears, the obstacles, and seeing the progression he has made, nothing can teach a lesson like this. I see things in such a different way that few people let alone mothers my age could really understand. And this blog feels more like home sometimes than my own personal blogs because I feel here people actually understand. Here I do not get comments like "it must be so hard, you do such a good job, I could never do what you do" because all of you understand, this is our life, there is no other option except the inconceivable choice to stop loving the child we have come to rotate around like a drone.