Koleman's Story part 2
As our daughter Addie started to get a little older and was able to understand a little better, we told her about Koleman in terms that a five almost six year old could understand. From that second on, she has been Koleman's biggest protector. She is the ONLY one that is allowed to pick on him!! If anyone ever even looks at him funny she is over there and telling that person what is what in five seconds flat!! She is amazing and having Koleman has helped her grow and accept EVERYONE for who they are no matter what they look like, or how much money they have, or if they wear cool clothes or not. She is the BEST big sister!!
Our pediatrician suggested that we enroll Koleman in the special needs preschool. I just didn't feel as though that was the place for him. I wanted him to just go to a regular preschool and be surrounded by peers that he could learn social skills from. So I enrolled him in the Dixie College preschool with his best little buddy Hunter. He did so well there and absolutely loved preschool. He really started to adjust to being away from home a few hours a day and loved to go and be with his friends.
Koleman began reading when he was two and by the time he was 3, he was reading pretty fluently. I videoed him reading a Disney/Pixar Cars book. To see it click here here. Then scroll all the way to the bottom and click on the video under the post entitled "Koleman's very favorite thing to do.".
We tried putting him in gymnastics, t-ball, football, and tennis. He liked them all for a minute and then didn't want to continue. When he was in gymnastics it was a challenge because he was in the middle of being potty trained. He was at the stage when they go to the bathroom they have to take underwear and pants completely off! So he would go to the bathroom and the next thing I knew he would be running out with pants and underwear in hand trying to get the gym coach to help him put them back on! One thing about Koleman, is he really doesn't see or understand why something like that would be inappropriate! We have worked on it since and other than occasionally catching him going to the bathroom at a random tree at the park or even out at recess while at school, he is finally starting to understand that it is not appropriate for him to be doing that in public. In his mind I think he still sees the logic in just going when you need to if it is that convenient!
When he played t-ball it was quite the entertaining thing to watch. He would run around the bases with the helmet over his face, sit out in the dirt and play in it, try to chase butterflies, or sometimes while in outfield, he would just lay down and have a little rest for a bit!! That boy was the entertainment for sure!!
Koleman is definitely a technology guru. He LOVES all things technical! Another thing that we also found that he loves is swimming! He is a little fish. We put him in swim lessons, but he didn't really care to be told what to do. He would have much rather just ventured out on his own in the pool. He pretty much did teach himself how to swim and LOVES to go whenever he gets the chance.
He continued to do really well in preschool! He seemed to have a lot of confidence and was making friends. He loved that he could go to school just like his big sister!!
At this point in his life he didn't seem very different from his peers. In fact when people were told of his diagnoses they were surprised. He just seemed so "normal". He had a pretty good year in preschool. The more I would help in his classroom or watch him at church or interact with cousins, the more I could see he wasn't interacting the same or sometimes even at all.
We tried putting him in gymnastics, t-ball, football, and tennis. He liked them all for a minute and then didn't want to continue. When he was in gymnastics it was a challenge because he was in the middle of being potty trained. He was at the stage when they go to the bathroom they have to take underwear and pants completely off! So he would go to the bathroom and the next thing I knew he would be running out with pants and underwear in hand trying to get the gym coach to help him put them back on! One thing about Koleman, is he really doesn't see or understand why something like that would be inappropriate! We have worked on it since and other than occasionally catching him going to the bathroom at a random tree at the park or even out at recess while at school, he is finally starting to understand that it is not appropriate for him to be doing that in public. In his mind I think he still sees the logic in just going when you need to if it is that convenient!
When he played t-ball it was quite the entertaining thing to watch. He would run around the bases with the helmet over his face, sit out in the dirt and play in it, try to chase butterflies, or sometimes while in outfield, he would just lay down and have a little rest for a bit!! That boy was the entertainment for sure!!
Koleman is definitely a technology guru. He LOVES all things technical! Another thing that we also found that he loves is swimming! He is a little fish. We put him in swim lessons, but he didn't really care to be told what to do. He would have much rather just ventured out on his own in the pool. He pretty much did teach himself how to swim and LOVES to go whenever he gets the chance.
He continued to do really well in preschool! He seemed to have a lot of confidence and was making friends. He loved that he could go to school just like his big sister!!
At this point in his life he didn't seem very different from his peers. In fact when people were told of his diagnoses they were surprised. He just seemed so "normal". He had a pretty good year in preschool. The more I would help in his classroom or watch him at church or interact with cousins, the more I could see he wasn't interacting the same or sometimes even at all.
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