I rented a DVD called Potty Power from Netflix for Cooper. I didn't exactly expect him to watch it, but I thought I would try. He loved it. He would not take his eyes off the screen the whole time and really seemed to be concentrating. Then when Matt sat him on the toilet tonight he actually peed in it! It may just be a coincidence but that is the first time he has ever done anything in the toilet. Thank you mister talking toilet paper roll, if you can convince Cooper to go pee-pee in the potty more power to you!! :)
I can't wait for school to start! Quinn really misses it, he is bored just staying at home. I keep telling him to enjoy the free time while he has it since next week he will be going to school everyday all day. I don't think he understands that yet though. I am sure he is going to love it!
Cooper pretty much entertains himself. We are still working on naming family members and letter sounds/words. He is at the point where he can repeat anything really. I think he can talk, he just choses not to most of the time. Before he went to bed tonight I had on a show about a girl who never grew, she has some syndrome that makes her look like a baby even though she is 16. Cooper was watching and started laughing, then he started saying "baby!" over and over and laughing. It was weird but good that he recognized what looked like a baby.
School will be really good for him too. I wonder if they will be willing to put him in the inclusive class more often now that he is talking!
We survived the dentist. Cooper was not thrilled but all he did was whine a lot and Matt did have to hold him. The dentist said his teeth were very clean and we were doing a great job with brushing, who knew? Then he said his front teeth were all very overcrowded and he had an overbite. Poor kid got his teeth from his Daddy. I was pretty amazed that they could look into a 3 year olds mouth and be able to tell you he is going to need braces, but they did and he will. So do we start saving up for it now? When you put what we are going to have to pay an orthodontist together what we already have paid (and will pay) for all his therapy, Cooper is turning out to be one expensive kid! All I can say is he better get a good scholarship to college!!!
On the other hand there was a slight miscommunication and the nice people at the dentist office had no idea that Cooper has Autism. I realized right away that we were getting a very different treatment than when I brought Quinn. No private room, seeing the assistant before the dentist, etc. When the assistant (who had already been interacting with Cooper for a few minutes) asked me about the check mark next to "speech delay" on the form, I said "He has Autism". She got this shocked look on her face and ran off to find us a private room and talk to the dentist. It was nice to know it isn't obvious, even to someone who works with special needs kids all the time. After Cooper was done with his exam she told me that he handled it just as well as most of the typical three year olds do. That was nice to hear, although when I thought about it later I realized if she had said it about Quinn it probably would have pissed me off.
I am taking Cooper to the dentist for the first time tommorow. Wish me luck! This time I am bringing Matt with me (he was out of town for Quinn's appointment). I have no idea what to expect from Cooper, Quinn's experience at the dentist taught me to expect the unexpected, who would have thought he would be so good? Cooper has no problem letting me brush his teeth, but what will he do when the dentist tries to take a look? I hope he doesn't have any cavities, the kid does eat an awful lot of sugar!
