Intensive Home Therapy

I can't believe it's been almost a month since I've posted! So much has been going on that I've hardly been able to catch my breath :) One of the biggest things happening here right now is that we have started INTENSIVE home therapy with Issac. When they say intensive they mean it (LOL) He has a team of three people, two ladies and one man.  Someone is here Monday-Friday for TWO HOURS each day! Our life is already hectic and I struggle to do appointments, school, etc., but add in this for two hours a day and it's really been hard.  Issac prefers two of the people and really doesn't care for one of the ladies. It's basically because she called him out on his behavior one day and he hasn't liked her since.  Things are going as well as can be expected I think. It's hard having people in your house and watching what you say and do all the time. I feel like Issac really connects to Chaz, the one guy on the team.  He's been working with him on his feels, actions, behaviors, etc.  I think that's going to be huge for Issac because he often feels things that don't seem valid to the rest of us. He's talked to him at length about it's ok for him to have his feelings, but they might not get communicated appropriately to us.  The lead on the team started working with him on coping skills this week and told us to practice them daily. I think that will help him when he needs them because before we were trying to direct him to certain behaviors, but we were doing it in the heat of the moment. The hope is with practicing them when he's not upset that he'll recall it when he is upset.  The coping skill she's started him off with is what she calls 5, 4, 3, 2, 1.  He's suppose to list 5 things he can see, 4 things he can hear, 3 things he can feel, 2 things he can smell and then 1 deep breath.  I'm hoping this technique can and will help when he's upset.  She also talked to him about when he's frustrated or confused what he can do. They made a card to remind him to ask someone to explain what they said, tell someone he's confused or ask them to please repeat themselves.  We've completed two full weeks and I was originally told the plan is for six months. It's so hard to imagine six months of this, but I feel like this is really what we need. It's very hard for people to imagine Issac in a rage when they see the sweet side of him.  I do have to say it's not been as bad as I expected (LOL) The people are nice and I really do feel comfortable with them in the home. Hopefully this is going to be the answer to prayers I've had for a while! :)