These last few weeks I’ve learnt not to take anything for granted in regards to Z. 
When he was two he was flying through at 35 piece jigsaw puzzle easily. Then he stopped. Now he struggles with a 9 piece. When it happened I was a little gutted. That part of you that’s excited  that your child is advanced compared to the others his age in that one thing, everything else he’s behind. Then other children catch up and over take and we’re back to being behind. 
He had a fascination with letters and numbers, we quickly learnt that he knew his numbers, we’d have lines of numbers, going in 10’s 20’s to 17’s to 100’s. Now this was impressive. Until he showed us what he could do with letters. We had lots of words from shadow to stupendous. Then over Christmas he stopped. 
It was at the back of my mind has he regressed, have he forgotten that he can spell these words? I know it’s common in children with autism. 
Tonight for the first time since the week before Christmas he brought out his numbers and we had them in 10’s and 25’s. Yes he’s not forgotten. I was so relived to know that some where it’s still stored in his little head. 

It’s like he’s ill and he regresses. Looking back it seems the way it goes. 
At 15 months he was in hospital and after that his eating was restricted to dry foods. This Christmas he had what everyone has had just that viral infection that no body can shift. His sleep has been badly effected since Christmas. Now he’s gone to only drinking from his beaker, he would drink from anything. The smoothies have changed colouring packaging and he refuses point blank to drink them. 
But, there’s always a new skill emerging. The other morning it was snowing, he came down and kept looking out the window whilst sitting on my lap, I said it’s snowing, go look out the window. Up he got, ran and looked out the window. Tonight I said, come here give me a hug, he came running over and arms reaching out for a hug.
How long these new skills will last I don’t know. I know I can’t get my hopes up that they’ll be here permanently because they could go as fast as they have come. 
Let’s hope they are here to stay, hope all his new sounds eventually make more words and those words make sentences and those letters remember how to make words! 
For now I have to take each day as it goes, take in each new skill!