Holy canoli! I haven't posted here in almost 3 months. Better get cracking if I'm going to meet my goal of 52 posts this year!
Thursdays are rough around here. They are very busy days and because I am near stores, I usually also try to fit in some necessary grocery shopping. This wrecks Levi's world just about every week because if it were up to him, he would leave the house much less than we do and only go one place per outing. In my world, I just don't have time for that.
To add to the roughness of leaving the house at all, Thursday is swim and gym day for us. Forty-five minutes of swimming lessons followed by a forty-five minute gym class with other homeschoolers. This has been Levi's first year with the program and it has been a S.T.R.U.G.G.L.E. For a while, the Y gave me free child watch for Esther, so that I could be right with Levi for the entire program and not have to worry about what Esther was doing. We have weaned off of that totally in the swimming area and about halfway in the gym portion. For Levi, this program is not about learning to swim or play games. This is social skills therapy and occupational therapy. This is helping my little boy learn to live in a world where everything doesn't always go your way and where not too many people care about your low tolerance for frustration. These are lessons in stretching our comfort zone, and they are NOT fun.
Today, though...TODAY...while I was watching through the glass into the pool area, I witnessed an amazing thing. My little boy FINALLY was able to put his ears in the water and really swim on his back!! This may not seem amazing to anyone but me, but I can assure you that this is a miracle that has been 28 long weeks in the making. Then, not ten minutes later, I look up and see him putting his face in the water and blowing bubbles! No way... I would be lying if I told you that I remained calm. No, I was that crazy mom out in the viewing area, jumping up and down, demanding that everyone look at my little man and SEE the amazing thing he just did! With tears just rolling down my face, of course. Then he looked over, to see if I was watching, and I gave him our standard sign for 'you're doing great, keep it up!'.
Two thumbs up, Levi, two thumbs way up!!
Then gym came...and that is always a little rougher. There is a new teacher, who only observed last week and was on her own this week. She has a natural, wonderful knack of working with my boy (and all of the kids, really). He did struggle a couple of times (very minor, for him), but she was able to capture his attention and got him back in the games quickly. After gym, she headed straight for me and asked me how she can best help him. She also asked, before I could get to it, if he is on the spectrum. She recognized it in him because she has worked with other kids just like him. Ahhhh...the relief in knowing that the person helping your child really gets it.
Suddenly, life is looking a whole lot brighter...
Showing posts with label ASD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ASD. Show all posts
Friday, April 26, 2013
Sunday, January 27, 2013
Save me from myself
Dear Lord,
Save me from the insanity that is my life this week.
When I look at what needs to get done, there is no way to do it all and do it well!
We're going to be out of the house every darn day this week.
Monday...music/art, Noah has an appointment, and AWANA.
Tuesday...Hannah and Esther have dentist appointments and then we'll go to the zoo for a bit.
Wednesday...Levi has OT, then someone is coming out to evaluate the boys for services.
Thursday...swim and gym, free community skating, Hannah starts skating lessons (birthday present), home group.
Friday...family fun day, probably Chuck E. Cheese and somewhere without cardboard pizza for dinner. Celebrating our birthday month before we officially go GF on Saturday!
Saturday...HOME. I'm not leaving for any reason. So there.
Of course, semester #7 has also started, with Advanced Accounting, Business Ethics, and Human Resources Management on the queue until May. Only 3 discussions (and replies), 2 written assignments, 2 accounting problems (doesn't sound like much...but they take hours each!), podcasts to listen to, articles to read, and 300+ pages of not always exciting reading.
Whose brilliant idea was this anyway, to go back to school? Oh yeah...mine...
Here we go! Going to try to knock out 100 or so pages before Brian gets home in 3 hours! Go, me!
Save me from the insanity that is my life this week.
When I look at what needs to get done, there is no way to do it all and do it well!
We're going to be out of the house every darn day this week.
Monday...music/art, Noah has an appointment, and AWANA.
Tuesday...Hannah and Esther have dentist appointments and then we'll go to the zoo for a bit.
Wednesday...Levi has OT, then someone is coming out to evaluate the boys for services.
Thursday...swim and gym, free community skating, Hannah starts skating lessons (birthday present), home group.
Friday...family fun day, probably Chuck E. Cheese and somewhere without cardboard pizza for dinner. Celebrating our birthday month before we officially go GF on Saturday!
Saturday...HOME. I'm not leaving for any reason. So there.
Of course, semester #7 has also started, with Advanced Accounting, Business Ethics, and Human Resources Management on the queue until May. Only 3 discussions (and replies), 2 written assignments, 2 accounting problems (doesn't sound like much...but they take hours each!), podcasts to listen to, articles to read, and 300+ pages of not always exciting reading.
Whose brilliant idea was this anyway, to go back to school? Oh yeah...mine...
Here we go! Going to try to knock out 100 or so pages before Brian gets home in 3 hours! Go, me!
Monday, December 24, 2012
Caroling with Autism
Noah had the great idea for our family (well, the kids and I) to go Christmas caroling in our neighborhood and hand out plates of cookies. Sounds great, right?
Actually, it went against every sane bone in my body (admittedly, there may not be many). This involved knocking on doors of near-strangers and singing at the top of my lungs because I have to if I am asking the kids to. But the scariest part of all...taking Mr. Unpredictable (a.k.a. Levi) on a walk in the dark to sing on porches of people who don't know us.
We made a few rules before we left:
1. No touching snow with anything other than the snowboots on our feet. This was because we knew it was going to be a long walk and touching snow means you get to be wet for the very long walk.
2. Stay together. Always. No exceptions.
3. Do not go into anyone's house unless Mom says so.
Turns out, my fears were well-founded. The following is a list of all the crazy things Mr. Unpredictable did on our 2 hour long walk...
1. Immediately walked through the highest snow he could find.
2. Bent down and made a zombie snowman (his words) every 5 feet or so. Again, touching the snow.
3. Fell off a random neighbor's porch. This was not accidental. Yay for porch-side bushes.
4. Inspected about 20 people's Christmas ornaments, no matter where that meant he had to walk.
5. Opened the door and let a German Shepherd out, right at face level. :S Thankfully, we know this particular pup.
6. Waltzed right into one person's house and took off his boots. Thankfully, we know this family well. ;)
7. Sang probably two lines total.
But what he didn't do was more important. He didn't...
1. Refuse to walk.
2. Scream or cry.
3. Run away.
4. Say anything inappropriate. At least where people could hear.
All in all, I'll call it a success. Considering that when we got home, he was soaking wet from all of his "snow-touching", I'd say he did far better than I would have expected. We'll do it again next year, I hope.
Rule #4 will be...only ring the doorbell once.
Actually, it went against every sane bone in my body (admittedly, there may not be many). This involved knocking on doors of near-strangers and singing at the top of my lungs because I have to if I am asking the kids to. But the scariest part of all...taking Mr. Unpredictable (a.k.a. Levi) on a walk in the dark to sing on porches of people who don't know us.
We made a few rules before we left:
1. No touching snow with anything other than the snowboots on our feet. This was because we knew it was going to be a long walk and touching snow means you get to be wet for the very long walk.
2. Stay together. Always. No exceptions.
3. Do not go into anyone's house unless Mom says so.
Turns out, my fears were well-founded. The following is a list of all the crazy things Mr. Unpredictable did on our 2 hour long walk...
1. Immediately walked through the highest snow he could find.
2. Bent down and made a zombie snowman (his words) every 5 feet or so. Again, touching the snow.
3. Fell off a random neighbor's porch. This was not accidental. Yay for porch-side bushes.
4. Inspected about 20 people's Christmas ornaments, no matter where that meant he had to walk.
5. Opened the door and let a German Shepherd out, right at face level. :S Thankfully, we know this particular pup.
6. Waltzed right into one person's house and took off his boots. Thankfully, we know this family well. ;)
7. Sang probably two lines total.
But what he didn't do was more important. He didn't...
1. Refuse to walk.
2. Scream or cry.
3. Run away.
4. Say anything inappropriate. At least where people could hear.
All in all, I'll call it a success. Considering that when we got home, he was soaking wet from all of his "snow-touching", I'd say he did far better than I would have expected. We'll do it again next year, I hope.
Rule #4 will be...only ring the doorbell once.
Monday, September 24, 2012
The Corn Maze Experience
It seemed like such a good idea at the time.
(Hint: not everything that seems like a good idea, actually is.)
It was a sunny, fall day. The best kind of fall day, it started out just right for sweatshirts and jeans and by the middle of the day, our sweatshirts were tied around our waists.
It was a family fun day. Better yet, a free family fun day, sponsored by our local autism group along with several corporate sponsors!
Our first stop was the corn crib...a great sensory experience! Basically a sandbox filled with corn! The kids could have spent all day there easily, but we knew there was so much to see and do.
Second stop...pedal karts! Go-karts with pedals in lieu of motors. Great fun! The kids pedaled a few times around the track before handing the karts off to the next in line.
We were having such a good time that I didn't think twice about trying out the corn maze. There were even signs inside and quiz sheets to help us figure out which way to go. No problem. Our family is full of intelligent people who love adventure. Sounds like just the thing for such a family, doesn't it? Again...it seemed like such a good idea at the time. Ha.
By the time we reached the first sign, I realized this was going to be a long process. And a longer walk. No way could Brian do this. So, I sent him back and told him to relax while we finished the maze. Four kids and one mom alone in the corn maze? No problem. We can do this.
Except Brian decided it would be a great idea to lurk there for a little while, knowing that our trail would loop around and we'd be near him again (I never was one for reading a map, though there was one to be read). And so...he lay in wait for his victim.
His victim? Oh yeah, the kid with high anxiety and at times a low tolerance for Dad's baloney. The kid who I'm sure jumped high enough to see the entire maze from above. The kid who showed every ounce of his Asperger's in the next few minutes. Dad received a one-way ticket and strong encouragement to the "door".
The kids and I continued on. We would conquer this beast! Or not. With every step, the mud on the bottom of our sneakers was building up until we felt we were walking on stilts. Still, we reached sign #2 pretty quickly. That, apparently, was the last of our luck.
On the way to sign #3, we lost a kid. This, I should have expected. Noah and Hannah had been racing ahead and though I had been telling them to stay within sight, they did not. Before long, I could not find Noah, but we did find sign #3. I figured...he's 12 and would be able to find his way out. The younger kids had had just about enough of the super-fun mud walking, and having 8 more signs to reach, we decided it best to turn around and find the entrance.
Except...we couldn't find it. None of the twists and turns twisted or turned in the way we remembered. Great.
Hannah had the bright idea (I'd love to say it was my own bright idea, but I do not wish to be struck by lightning) to simply listen for the music and then walk toward it, even if it meant following no path at all. We did find the very last part of the path and walked back out the entrance. Much to Brian's amusement. Oh, and missing kid was also there, laughing at the rest of us.
Never again. Or should I say...never again under those circumstances.
Never again when it has rained the night before.
Never again with most of my children. (There is one I would go with...alone. And possibly with a tent and provisions for a week.)
Actually, the list of people I would enter a corn maze with has shrunk to nearly zero.
See, I learn new things every day. ;)
(Hint: not everything that seems like a good idea, actually is.)
It was a sunny, fall day. The best kind of fall day, it started out just right for sweatshirts and jeans and by the middle of the day, our sweatshirts were tied around our waists.
It was a family fun day. Better yet, a free family fun day, sponsored by our local autism group along with several corporate sponsors!
Our first stop was the corn crib...a great sensory experience! Basically a sandbox filled with corn! The kids could have spent all day there easily, but we knew there was so much to see and do.
Second stop...pedal karts! Go-karts with pedals in lieu of motors. Great fun! The kids pedaled a few times around the track before handing the karts off to the next in line.
We were having such a good time that I didn't think twice about trying out the corn maze. There were even signs inside and quiz sheets to help us figure out which way to go. No problem. Our family is full of intelligent people who love adventure. Sounds like just the thing for such a family, doesn't it? Again...it seemed like such a good idea at the time. Ha.
By the time we reached the first sign, I realized this was going to be a long process. And a longer walk. No way could Brian do this. So, I sent him back and told him to relax while we finished the maze. Four kids and one mom alone in the corn maze? No problem. We can do this.
Except Brian decided it would be a great idea to lurk there for a little while, knowing that our trail would loop around and we'd be near him again (I never was one for reading a map, though there was one to be read). And so...he lay in wait for his victim.
His victim? Oh yeah, the kid with high anxiety and at times a low tolerance for Dad's baloney. The kid who I'm sure jumped high enough to see the entire maze from above. The kid who showed every ounce of his Asperger's in the next few minutes. Dad received a one-way ticket and strong encouragement to the "door".
The kids and I continued on. We would conquer this beast! Or not. With every step, the mud on the bottom of our sneakers was building up until we felt we were walking on stilts. Still, we reached sign #2 pretty quickly. That, apparently, was the last of our luck.
On the way to sign #3, we lost a kid. This, I should have expected. Noah and Hannah had been racing ahead and though I had been telling them to stay within sight, they did not. Before long, I could not find Noah, but we did find sign #3. I figured...he's 12 and would be able to find his way out. The younger kids had had just about enough of the super-fun mud walking, and having 8 more signs to reach, we decided it best to turn around and find the entrance.
Except...we couldn't find it. None of the twists and turns twisted or turned in the way we remembered. Great.
Hannah had the bright idea (I'd love to say it was my own bright idea, but I do not wish to be struck by lightning) to simply listen for the music and then walk toward it, even if it meant following no path at all. We did find the very last part of the path and walked back out the entrance. Much to Brian's amusement. Oh, and missing kid was also there, laughing at the rest of us.
Never again. Or should I say...never again under those circumstances.
Never again when it has rained the night before.
Never again with most of my children. (There is one I would go with...alone. And possibly with a tent and provisions for a week.)
Actually, the list of people I would enter a corn maze with has shrunk to nearly zero.
See, I learn new things every day. ;)
Wednesday, July 11, 2012
Through the fence
A conversation overheard between Levi and the next door neighbor (7 yo), through the fence...
Levi: Hey, you know why I'm home all the time now?
Neighbor: No, why?
Levi: It's because I'm homeschooled now. So I'll be home always. Except when I leave.
Neighbor: Actually, it's summer break. That's why you're home. And I'm home.
Levi: Really??
Uh-oh. I may now be in trouble for having him do school work when it's supposed to be summer. LOL
Levi: Hey, you know why I'm home all the time now?
Neighbor: No, why?
Levi: It's because I'm homeschooled now. So I'll be home always. Except when I leave.
Neighbor: Actually, it's summer break. That's why you're home. And I'm home.
Levi: Really??
Uh-oh. I may now be in trouble for having him do school work when it's supposed to be summer. LOL
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