The Morning Report

Mornings can be a bit traumatic around our house.

Due to the long bus-ride to school – it hasn’t dipped below 75 minutes for him in the mornings – we have a tight schedule with getting everyone to where they need to be.  The Monster has to be up and ready for the bus before 7:45, and I have to usually leave shortly thereafter for my own job. Continue reading

I Want Pets, Please

As I’ve posted about at least once recently, the Monster’s gone into what I’ve been calling a tactile mode lately.  He’s just been craving all sorts of physical stimulus.

It’s not so bad when he’s just running his hands over things – I’ve long ago gotten used to the fact that he’s going to pull grass, or watch dirt/sand/wood chips spill through his fingers, or touch every single last bush along a planter when we’re walking. Continue reading

A Proposal for Special Access

So I’m going to wade in with my thoughts about special access cards at amusement parks… not that I’m anywhere near the first autism-parent blogger to actually do so this week, since we don’t have a concrete idea yet how Disney is changing their program.

I will be honest, that I have my… reservations about what I’m hearing about Disney’s replacement to the Guest Access Card (GAC). Continue reading

Rubbing Off

As R is closing in on his second birthday – yes, it’s still a few months off – he’s starting to develop more and more of his own personality.  Setting aside the spots where I haven’t the foggiest what to do with an NT child, since he’s hitting milestones that I’ve forgotten to watch out for, it’s definitely an interesting process.

Of course, involved in this is the issue of being a second child, which means that he’s also playing a lot of monkey-see, monkey-do. Continue reading

Compulsion

The Monster’s always been somewhat sensory seeking rather than sensory adverse.

Sure, he doesn’t like fans – not ceiling fans, not rotating fans, not box fans, nor anything that’s fan-like (hand-dryers, air filtration systems, etc).  On the other hand, though, the kid loves fireworks, and used to be all for loud drums and the like at the renfaire. Continue reading

Shul Time

So last night, after Yom Kippur ended and we broke the fast, we came home, put the kids to bed, and settled in… with my tikun (Torah readers’ bible) and another plain-jane copy of Etz Chayim.

This coming Saturday, my wife’s reading Torah, in honor of the twentieth anniversary of her Bat Mitzvah. Continue reading