Yes, he understands you....

The rest of our weekend was absolutely lovely. On Saturday night, we helped celebrate Leslie's parents' anniversary. This had originally been scheduled to occur the weekend that Ike hit. At long last, we were able to coordinate schedules. A grand time was had by all. Henry had fun playing with his buddy Jack and cooing with baby David. He LOVES shrimp, so I ordered a combo that included grilled shrimp and he was quite the happy camper.

On Sunday, we went to Benihana's for lunch...always a favorite of ours. Henry enjoys it as long as I confirm with the chef that he will not make fire at our table. Of course, he again ordered shrimp. So it was a shrimp kind of weekend for him.

Afterward, we decided to do a spot of shopping since we were right there at the mall. Hmmm, you know how they say you should never go food shopping on an empty stomach. I think it should be added that you should never go clothes shopping for adorable little boys on a content stomach. I went a little crazy. I can't wait to post some pictures of the cute outfits we picked up.

The rest of the day was spent at home. I wish we could say were were lounging, or watching football. But there is currently a TV ban in the house (at least for everyone 5 and under). So instead, Henry spent some time practicing his piano (we started lessons again last week). I like his new teacher, at least so far. The most important feature: he's 2 minutes from home. I also think that Henry will benefit from having a male teacher.

Me, I was working on a "project". Henry did great keeping himself occupied while I work. After piano practice, he played in the backyard with his sand and water table. He's really been enjoying that. He usually will blame his invisible "co-worker" for getting all wet and sandy while playing. Too funny. Afterwards, he got some of his cars and just zoomed them around...never too far from me.

And sweet Leslie ran off to do our grocery shopping. Fortunately, it was a short list for our short week and she wasn't gone long. The most important item she brought home was the fly swatter. Ever since Hurricane Ike, we've had two obnoxious houseflies that we just could NOT get rid of. They're both gone now. Yippeeee!

So, now, to the title of the post. As mentioned earlier, there is a one-week TV ban in process here. Apparently, Henry has made some choices at school to not listen to the instructions he has been given by his teachers. This has resulted in discpline while in school and even gotten to the point that phone calls and notes home have been involved.

I was beginning to wonder if this was strictly a behavioral issue or if there was something more at play. Since I stay involved in the adoption community, I am aware that there are cetain things that are prevalant among "post-institutionalized" children, including sensory issues, high-functioning autism, attachment disorders, etc. I try to be vigilant in looking for signs that he might need help. After all of these issues at school, I thought maybe he was having some auditory processing issues (failure to understand what was being asked of him).

The timing worked out that a speech therapist was doing a screening at Henry's school last Friday. One of the things you could request screening for was auditory processing. I figured it wouldn't hurt to have him checked out since the opportunity to do so pretty much fell in my lap. So I left a note requesting what I wanted checked and granting permission for the therapist to also speak to his teachers. I got the results when I picked him up this evening.

Basically, he is in the 98th percentile for his age group in his auditory processing skills. So yes, he understands (well) what is being asked of him, he's just excercising his free will to choose not to comply. :-) Looks like there may be more TV bans in my future. (On a good note, I got word from two of his teachers today about the awesome day he had!)

And just for your visual enjoyment, I'll include a couple of pictures. The first is Henry while eating dinner last night. He's got the wink down pat.

And this is a picture of Henry's bean plant that he brought home from Zoo Camp (in August). We were excited when it sprouted and grew, and since then, it's just gone gangbusters. If you'll look, you'll see a beanpod (or whatever they're called) that is about the size of my pinky. There are two more blooms that will turn into beanpods, too. I doubt we'll be able to make a meal out of the produce we reap, but it's been a fun little project that Henry has enjoyed. Besdies, we don't even know what kind of beans they are.