Up, up, up!

DH decided to start a jogging routine with Little R since reading that jogging for 20 minutes could help control about 67% of symptoms (we're hoping to reduce the babbling and licking of the windows). So they went out for a 20 minute jog this morning and again another 20 minutes before supper. I think that this routine will also help them sleep better; Little R seems to sleep very well at night, but sometimes it takes him about an hour of babbling in bed before he falls asleep, so let's hope that the jogging help him to sleep soon after he is tucked in.

Little R seems to be catching on well to our "game" of request-and-get. He seems to have mastered "up". He says it sometimes without me modelling it. However, it's a little tough having to pick him up, carry him (he is 45 pounds) while pushing Little S in the stroller. But what can I do? I want encourage him to speak. I've also noticed that he wants a cookie or something else, he says "up". I can kind of see how words are in him, but they're not called on accurately for the appropriate things yet. I also heard him reading with DH before going to bed. Most of the words were very mispronounced, but he was practising. DH mentioned that Little R seemed to have the sounds of the words memorised (in his speaking days his pronunciation and comprehension of the words in the picture books were much better than now) because in one instance, Little R read "King" and then "lamp" while the picture of lamp came before king.

While trying to find a book today on autism and diet (I think the title of the book is something like Special Diet for Special Kids 2, Little R kept running away, trying to go down the stairs, babbling, pushing the water fountain lever and opening the washroom doors. People, including the librarians at the desk, were beginning to look at me with less patience. Well, what could I do? Normally I would have left, but I was sure that I had seen the book before, and I really wanted to get started on the diet for Little R's sake. The unfriendly-looking librarian couldn't find the title on the computer and didn't offer to look on the shelves for me, so I thanked her and left. I hope to be able to find information now how to control Little R a bit more out in public.

Little S has been absorbing what we're doing with Little R like a sponge. Today I was going to give her some smoothie but before I gave it to her she said "goo" (this is what Little R says for "juice"). I gave her a sip. She swallowed. "Goo." I gave her another sip. Again, she said "goo" and drank. It was quite cute.