Much of the time, I laugh at the troubles that my friends who are parents of only NT children, at least insofar as their children are concerned.
As I constantly remind folks, R is nearly four years younger than the Monster. We spent a long time debating the probabilities before having a second child… and thus far, we seem to have beaten the odds. Continue reading
As one of the parents brought up on the local Autism Facebook group, it’s hard for us sometimes to know what’s going on with our kids health-wise, depending on their tendencies.
In the case of the parent on the group, her child was complaining she didn’t feel well, but didn’t have the verbal tools to explain what was wrong, and therefore why there was a request to stay home from school. Continue reading
Part of the kindergarten curriculum here in Maryland includes learning to appropriately write letters, using a proper grip on a writing implement.
Now, the Monster’s known his letters for a long time – he’s semi-obsessed with Sesame Street and has no problems recognizing upper and lower case letters. He also knows, quite well, how to spell his full name. Continue reading
Yesterday was our annual trip to go visit some friends for a seriously-massive BBQ that has been going on uninterrupted for over a decade. (Well, if you include the mini-edition we had last year in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, when most of the attendees couldn’t make it.) Going to this party involves a two-hour-each-way car ride, sandwiching several hours of trying to keep the kids engaged.
Setting aside that R did not really want to go down for a nap – he refused to sleep in the van on the way to the party, and wasn’t quite willing to hit the hay in a pack-and-play there, but went down eventually anyway – the NT end of our party was fine. Continue reading
So, in light of yesterday’s posting… I think I was fairly clear in what my opinion was. Certainly, it’s “nice” to get to go out for Halloween and give the Monster the experience, but… where he is now, it’s mostly for making us feel normal, rather than for him to enjoy Halloween.
I got home yesterday from gymnastics to find the wife having prepared the boys’ costumes to go out. After a few terse words (mostly about how I disagreed entirely with her thought to take them out), we had dinner and went out to a nearby development to go trick-or-treating. Continue reading
Tonight’s Halloween. While my neighborhood isn’t really the hub of all activity for such things – Orthodox Jews don’t really “do” Halloween – there’s neighborhoods close enough by that will have trick-or-treating galore.
My only thought is whether or not I really feel a need to take the kids trick-or-treating. Continue reading
On one of the many fora I visit, a parent recently asked what “non-verbal” really means.
The line between verbal and non-verbal is a difficult one, I think, when it comes to Autism. To most folks, “non-verbal” implies “no speech”… which isn’t the truth of the matter. Most of our kids make some kind of noises, after all, which may or may not be words… Continue reading
I’d be inclined to say that quiet is good, and the last few days, it’s been quiet around the house. Continue reading
The Monster likes baths.
Rather, the Monster likes to play in the bath. Unfortunately, when we’re on a tight schedule before school, bath time’s not really an option, so the Monster gets stuck with a shower… which he hates. Continue reading
As I’ve mentioned a lot of times around here, R seems to be skewing towards the NT end of things based on the milestones we’re seeing. We’ve recently made the decision that he’ll go to pre-school starting in January so that he gets more interaction with other NT children, rather than simply holding him out till next September.
One of the weirdest parts of it is watching how R’s progress is rubbing off on the Monster. Continue reading