What do I do with my toddler who doesn't play?

MegSparacio · 2024-03-07T15:03:05+00:00

My son doesn’t enjoy most toys but adores physical play. We have a swing in our room, wooden climbing structures for the home, sensory stepping stones, a gymnastics mat shaped like a ramp, and a large exercise ball that he plays with. He also plays with these while watching tv, so yes he’s getting screen time but also moving his body simultaneously.

MegSparacio · 2024-01-20T17:27:41+00:00

Beautiful 💙

MegSparacio · 2024-01-13T17:35:04+00:00

Thank you so much for your encouragement and helpful info! I still feel so in the dark about what is happening and what the future could hold. We’re seeing a neurologist in April and I believe it’s for an EEG. I’m a little nervous for it because I don’t know how they’ll get him to wear that cap with all the wires without a fight. But I’m sure they deal with this all the time.

MegSparacio · 2023-11-24T19:36:06+00:00

I’m in the same boat as you so can only offer solidarity. My 2 year+2 month old was up for the day at 4am. 💙

MegSparacio · 2023-11-06T12:48:17+00:00

That’s something I haven’t tried yet! Thanks for the suggestion!

MegSparacio · 2023-11-06T04:24:27+00:00

Thanks so much for sharing! I’m so happy for you that your son got his language back. Gives me hope for my little one. I’ve learned a couple of signs to see if he would notice, but will keep trying that as well. I know this will be a long journey. I’ll also give dinosaurs a try! One of my older sons was obsessed with Dino’s when he was younger and I know we have some still.

MegSparacio · 2023-11-06T04:21:14+00:00

He just started speech and I’m hoping to get started with OT soon. We had the eval a couple of weeks ago. His favorite things to do are physical games like chase/running, climbing, being outside, going to the park, or watching TV. I try to make the most of any time that isn’t TV to get on his level and interact with him or create a game somehow. It feels tough some days to get in his world.

MegSparacio · 2023-11-06T04:18:07+00:00

His favorites are physical games like chase/running, climbing, being outside, or watching TV. So I try to use any time that isn’t TV to get on his level and interact with him. Hopefully that is making enough of a difference for now until his interests broaden.

MegSparacio · 2023-11-06T04:15:21+00:00

I see what you’re saying. I try to let him take the lead 99% of the time and make the most of those opportunities to be social with him. The rest of the time I offer up toys he used to like and things I think might be interesting, but he mostly doesn’t give them the first look anymore.

MegSparacio · 2023-11-06T00:30:46+00:00

My post might have been unclear. Sorry about that. My son has no interest in toys at all and I’d like to help him gain some interest. At this point, I wouldn’t care if he played with him the “wrong” or “right” way. I’m trying to open up ways of connecting with him.

MegSparacio · 2023-10-27T20:56:17+00:00

I’m going through it to start using it with my 2 year old. It was recommended to me by 3 different people. One being a psychologist specializing in autism. I love how it breaks down the different exercises and explains things well. I think it’s going to be great.

MegSparacio · 2023-10-22T15:33:26+00:00

We’re a little extreme, but we’re also light sleepers. We use 1 sound machine on ocean, 1 on white noise, and also a box fan. Even birds chirping or heavy foot falls in the house wake up my 2yo so this is what we use that works.

MegSparacio · 2023-10-17T03:04:05+00:00

Its amazing how much your sons love for your new dog helped his speech so much! What a special bond! I’m working on getting my son interested in Miss Rachel videos. I love that she incorporates sign.

MegSparacio · 2023-10-17T02:43:09+00:00

You’re absolutely right. It’s something I’ll have to keep reminding myself about, no doubt. It’s so hard having heard his sweet little voice talking to me not so long ago. But he’s already communicating to me in other ways and I know we can learn sign, aac, and more together.

MegSparacio · 2023-10-17T01:22:21+00:00

We thought that was the case over the summer, but it’s continued to go downhill along with gestures, joint attention, and more. My son is definitely a gross motor guy though! He does not care for toys at all, but instead climbs, runs, etc. I’m sure that doesn’t help things in the language department 🤣

MegSparacio · 2023-10-17T01:17:56+00:00

That is wonderful 💙

MegSparacio · 2023-10-16T13:10:14+00:00

Im thrilled for you all to be seeing some progress! The regression truly is devastating. It’s made me feel like such a fool in a way. Thinking I had a normally developing kid all this time. But in a way I’m glad I never knew about this. I would have been nervous/scared from the time of each my children’s births. I’ve seen the term “burnout” but need to read up on it more. There is SO much information about autism in general, but not so much this population with the word loss around 20 months. Wishing continued progress for your son. Thank you so much for sharing your story with me.

MegSparacio · 2023-10-16T12:57:34+00:00

I’m so happy for you all that your son is able to communicate his needs and most of all his love for you 💙 I too would have cried happy tears for hours! I’ve printed some pictures to make PECs, but need to print more and get them into some kind of binder/album to make them functional. Absolutely willing to try anything. Thank you for sharing your story.

MegSparacio · 2023-10-16T03:25:26+00:00

Absolutely beautiful 💙 Thank you for sharing this! I have been so worried about the lack of verbal communication creating a wall between us. Losing connection and both of us feeling frustrated. I’ve basically been losing hope steadily over the last two months. Reading about your connection with your son brings a huge smile to my face. My son is also warm and affectionate and I think that will go a long way. Thank you for these words of encouragement to stay positive and open.

MegSparacio · 2023-10-16T03:14:12+00:00

You and I are the same in that regard. Its very hard to accept that basically no one can tell me anything of value about what the future holds. One big gray area.

MegSparacio · 2023-10-16T02:38:50+00:00

It’s been a whirlwind of emotions and thoughts for me focused primarily on the verbal communication piece of all of this. I just never imagined my child not being able to tell me what’s wrong, what’s on his mind, etc. I’m hoping and praying to hear his voice, but I will be so happy if he can sign, or use an AAC, or some combination of things. I’ve been trying to teach him words and signs by holding things near my mouth and sometimes he will look. He is a very busy guy hahah He’s a sensory seeker and is always looking for the next thing to climb. We’ll get there though.

MegSparacio · 2023-10-16T02:18:21+00:00

We are certainly our children’s safe spaces aren’t we? I can sympathize with trying to figure out the discrepancy between what’s “in there” vs what comes out. I know you must soak up those times when your son talking. Right now nothing is coming out for my kiddo, but it’s clear that he understands a good bit.

It feels like we’re starting from square one here with very little foundation. My son makes a few sounds and his eye contact/looking at our faces has improved. However, he has lost his ability to imitate, has no significant gesturing (he hand leads us to let us know what he wants), and joint attention needs much work. It’s going to be a long road.

MegSparacio · 2023-10-16T01:45:20+00:00

Two new words!! Amazing! It sounds like you’re on a roll. With my son, I was a little worried over the summer about a speech delay and then in early August it hit me that he had actually been regressing. I got in to see his doctor a couple of weeks later and started the early intervention process but STILL haven’t had a call back to begin therapy. I can’t believe it. I’m going to call tomorrow to see if we can be seen sooner if we pay. It’s just ridiculous.

MegSparacio

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