#unlockCallum: Could Callum orientate himself without the NOIT…ABSOLUTELY!!

Yesterday evening we enjoyed supporting the Blue Jays Baseball team at the Rogers Centre in Toronto with the locals hence my lack of a daily update, it was a late night!

Prior to the Blue Jays game Desmond and Callum took Hamish, Euan and I swimming. This was a really important day for Desmond and Callum because Desmond has been requesting more of Callum’s brain and although Callum has been following Desmond’s lead brilliantly there’s been a shift and some downtime, without the NOIT was required. In addition Desmond wanted to see how Callum coped without the NOIT, would he be able to orientate himself naturally?

Here’s Desmond, Callum and Euan making their way to the pool:

When Desmond carried out his training he wore the NOIT for 8 hours a day and as a result he has a deep understanding of how demanding life is wearing the NOIT constantly. The NOIT’s main function is to help an individual re-focus every 8 seconds, this has been tremendously powerful for Callum but can imagine never being able to ‘switch off?’ It’s very intense for Callum so some playtime without the NOIT was required.
Callum stayed in the pool for over 40 minutes and although it took him about 10 minutes to settle he was so very calm and content once he did and he liked exploring the large steps in shallow water. Callum has always enjoyed the water, I think the water has always helped Callum’s body relax and today it seemed to have the same effect. Callum spent most of his time under the water where he demonstrated his excellent lung capacity as he can hold his breath for a very long time!!! Desmond pointed out how Callum really seemed to be exploring where his body began and ended. As always, once Desmond points anything out to me it seems so obvious and I could also see Callum figuring this out and he couldn’t get enough of this exploration. Callum was showing an interest in himself which is critical at this stage of his journey with Desmond.

We then went out for breakfast and both Euan and Callum were shattered. Despite feeling very tired Callum showed his cheeky personality whilst eating his bowl of fruit. Desmond was encouraging Callum to use his fork correctly instead of his hands. It was going pretty well and Callum was demonstrating how he can carry this task out but at one point he cheekily turn his head away from us and sneakily took the fruit off the fork which was by his mouth and used his fingers. Desmond saw this and said to Callum ‘are you being cheeky Mr Callum?’ to which Callum chuckled!

Callum had proved to Desmond that for two hours he had been able to orientate himself without the NOIT which represented a significant milestone from our previous visit to Canada. Callum was not able to do this during our first visit, he would bolt off or his behaviours would change instantly if the NOIT fell off! Way to go Callum!

Following our swim and breakfast we enjoyed a chilled couple of hours back in the hotel and then travelled on the train to Toronto. Callum coped really well with the crowds, noise and late night. We have never taken Callum to a sporting occasion before because we didn’t think he would sit for the time required. I am pretty certain Callum couldn’t give two hoots about the game but he was very happy to sit and watch his iPad and eat his way through the game. At one point I noticed Callum was gently swinging his legs back and forth and humming to himself as though self-soothing. When we noticed he was tired (just before the end of the game) we grabbed our bags and headed home.

Here we are enjoying the Baseball game.

A very tired Euan here!

The train was packed to the rafters with Blue Jay fans but again Callum coped – better than Hamish and I at some points. Of course we had to hold his hand constantly but he didn’t get distressed or anxious despite the crowds and his own tiredness. This was a great time for all of us to use our Davis tools; the station was really busy and we had to wait 10 mins for the train, once we got on the train it was really hot and we noticed Euan doing the ‘release’ to help him cope with the hustle and bustle. Hamish also explained to Dr Cathy this morning he used the ‘release’ during the train journey home. Just brilliant. The Davis tools can honestly help any individual be more aware of themself and cope better with any situation as a result – it really is very simple too!

We finally arrived home and following quick showers and supper we all fell asleep. Thankfully the boys slept until 7am!

Day 5 with Desmond: Friday 18^th August 2017

Callum waited with eagerness for Desmond this morning and kept opening our hotel door and shouting his noises, he was ready! Once Desmond arrived in our room, Callum immediately gave Desmond fantastic eye contact a number of times and he signaled very quickly he was ready to go by opening our room door, so off we went! Whilst walking down the corridor Callum held Desmond’s hand and made lots of sounds – he was clearly telling Desmond all of his news. He barely paused for breath and it was lovely to listen to, I just wish I could understand what he was saying! Callum got straight into Desmond’s car without any hesitation. There had been a clear shift in Callum today and I am sure it was a result of yesterday’s ‘non NOIT’ day with Desmond. He needed the break and was raring to go again today!

Hamish, Euan and I drove to Dr Cathy’s office and completed our final session. We discussed ‘change’ ‘consequence’ ‘before’ ‘after’ ‘cause’ and ‘effect’. I am going to really struggle to explain the detail of today’s session because it is broken down into many parts so I am going to summarise them instead.

In a nutshell Callum does not understand any of these concepts, he doesn’t even know they exist, however The Davis Autism Approach method of teaching these concepts will help Callum understand and apply them when he’s ready. Through the clay (the visual prompt), the real life experiences linked to practical activities and the scripted verbal sentences the understanding of these concepts will be cemented in Callum. Whilst exploring these concepts I could think of so many children I work with at school who would benefit from The Davis Autism Approach, however Dr Cathy pointed out that the clay is the most fundamental part of the program as the children who need help are more than likely visual learners.

This morning’s session really helped me see how the tools are all there for Callum to understand these concepts and I felt very excited for his future – I know he will have an understanding of all of these and begin to live life to the full when he’s ready. For further information please do visit the following website: http://www.davisautism.com/davis-stepping-stones.html

Desmond and Callum met us at Dr Cathy’s and as ever we enjoyed listening to everything that Callum had achieved. Desmond explained how Callum went straight up to the box of clay when he entered Desmond’s office and started squeezing the clay in his hands. Callum didn’t pull as many little bits off the clay today, which is a change. Callum was squeezing the clay that much Desmond had to give him 3 new balls of clay as they went quite soft.

At one point Callum was squeezing the clay with one hand and had a raisin in the other. He paused and Desmond observed Callum squeeze the raisin and then look at the clay and squeeze it and appeared to be recognizing the two were different. Callum ate his raisin and then placed the clay in his mouth and Desmond responded with ‘it’s not food Callum’ and Callum promptly spat the clay out. This was a great series of events because Callum was showing he recognised they were different!

Following lunch the boys did not move off their bed and we all watched two movies – this never happens in our house but it was a very welcomed rest! We then popped out to the Supermarket for some groceries. We bought Callum some sunglasses as he really doesn’t like the sun in his eyes in the hope he would wear them, as normally he doesn’t. For the first time Callum was very happy to keep his sunglasses on but more importantly I saw Callum recognizing the path was looking different. He really dipped his head down and was staring at the path. Callum was noticing there was a change, the path was darker and this intrigued him! I don’t think I would have recognised this subtle observation and verbalise this ‘change’ to Callum had we not completed our training with Dr Cathy. It was great knowing I could help him in the right way.

Callum proudly wearing his new sunglasses!

I’ve noticed Callum becoming increasingly more independent and less reliant on Hamish and I during his bedtime routine during the past couple of nights. Whenever we have need Callum to sit still and relax his body before bedtime either Hamish or I have needed to sit with him. However, this evening, Callum lay on the bed by himself and enjoyed watching his movie whilst I put the clothes away in the same room. You can see in the picture below how content he is with himself, he did not need us to reassure him and help him rest – he was self-regulating. He’s also crossing his legs one-way and folding his arms another. I noticed he got a little bit fidgety when he got really tired but by his own accord he rested his head on his horse toy and immediately relaxed. This is such a change in Callum!

Here’s Callum calming down by himself before bedtime:

Tomorrow we are going to be tourists for the day followed by dinner at Desmond’s house– we cannot wait to see you Jo-Anne!

Before I log off tonight I would just like to say thank you to everyone who has sent their well wishes and comments of encouragement. Please rest assured that we read them all and they really do help.

xxx