I’ve mentioned before how much I love the programs for children with special needs at the JCC.
No, not just because they decided, against all sane judgement, to let me take over their blog for a day, though let’s be honest – anyone crazy enough to do that is my kind of people.
No, it’s because they get him. Continue reading
One of the Monster’s goals on his IEP is social turn taking, in the context of a game with other children. This isn’t a new goal for him – it was on last year’s IEP, and I think it was on the year prior’s – but this year’s was redefined to be more achievable. Specifically, it allows for more adult guidance/redirects to keep him on target.
Which anyone who plays with kids will tell you is a good and necessary thing.
The wife decided we should take the kids to the circus this past Saturday.
Setting aside that I’m not a fan of the circus – I just find them boring, I don’t have anything against the circus – we’ve avoided taking the kids to a lot of these kinds of events since we don’t know how the Monster is going to respond. Yes, we’ve taken him out to the Science Center, or to other places where there are going to be crowds, but the circus (or any show) is really very different – it’s a sustained period where he’s going to be in a seat in a darkened room, where a meltdown of any kind will disturb others around us. So I get very hesitant when we’re talking about this kind of thing… Continue reading
I’m about to say something that’s absolutely abhorrent to so many other parents in my Autism parent circles online.
I love daylight savings time. Continue reading
Tomorrow is the Monster’s annual IEP meeting.
Now, I know it’s not been “a year” since his last IEP, since we agreed on the IEP that sent him to Gateway at the end of July. Still, his annual IEP has always been March-to-March, and in spite of how long last year’s took… it’s that time of year again.
But I’m feeling good about tomorrow. Continue reading
I’ll admit it freely – I’m rough on my kids. I pick them up and throw them through the air, and watch while they land with a whump. Or I chortle merrily when I just shove them over, simply because I like to hear them shriek when they fall.
Mean dad? I think not.
I’ll admit that most of the time, I’ve somewhat reconciled myself to the “normal” around our house. The shrieking, the single words or canned phrases to express needs, the way toys get played with…
And then, when you least expect it, ‘normal’ just pops out of nowhere.
I wonder sometimes how much my kids really miss me when I’m not around.
R has gotten to that annoying age where he’s definitely Mommy’s boy, and… well, let’s say he’s fairly verbal about it. He’s made it clear that he’s Mommy’s and the Monster’s friend, and not my friend. Hurtful, but he’s four.
The Monster, on the other hand… Continue reading