This week I've been thankful for the immense progress Owen has made in recent months. Only about six months ago we were really concerned he may be autistic (which we could still find out is the case one day) but he has made so many steps in the right direction that it makes my heart leap. Even as recently as September Owen never had showed interest in other kids or played with them (he was periodically curious about his brother but even when they played in the same area it wasn't together), his vocabulary was then still not more than 40-50 words, and he was having on average 2-6 major meltdowns a day (we're talking inconsolable for at least 15 minutes and sometimes for over an hour, all over not being given the correct cup or the pink fork, etc.).
Now his meltdowns are few and far between, having been replaced by truly minor temper tantrums compared to what I had been dealing with. His vocabulary is over 200 words at this point and while he still hasn't quite learned how to create sentences, I can see he's starting to grasp it slowly (lately he tells me, "Cape on," and has me put on his little superhero cape from the dollar store). He plays with his brother and his cousins now for the first time ever - which basically makes me want to watch in wonder for hours at a time as well as cry just from the pure joy of seeing him finally enjoy this milestone that so many others experienced so long ago.
He's still incredibly picky with food, and has his rough days when things get too intense for him or we break too far from his routine, but seeing him make these strides is still so fulfilling I can't help but repeatedly say "thank you" every time I see him do something I've been working on with him for the better part of a year. We're on a break from his speech and occupational therapies right now but soon it'll be back on track and I look forward to seeing him continue to show us how amazing he really is. :)
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