As the Monster is getting older, we’re trying to find new ways to teach him independence from us.
When he was first diagnosed with Autism – back when he was wholly non-verbal – we were struggling with getting him to express his needs so that folks could help him. In the years since, he’s slowly acquired the scripting to have a simple phrase, “Can I have [x], please?”, to get himself past some of the stumbling blocks. Continue reading
I suppose on some level, I’m not all that surprised that at some point, the Monster’s behavior has shown a few more violent tendencies.
We’ve been dealing for a while now with the fact that he’s inclined to throw himself on the floor and be otherwise difficult if we’re trying to move him to non-preferred activities. This has moved into flailing about, since that makes it harder to manipulate him into position to do said activities… Continue reading
Yesterday afternoon, I got a note from the school psychologist at the Monster’s elementary school, letting us know that they’re setting up a group for parents of children with Autism and Developmental Disabilities at the school. It’ll meet the last Thursday of the month (on the same day as my Dads’ Talk meeting in the evening) at the school.
Problem? I work, and the meetings are planned for 10 AM. I’d skip work to go to the meetings, but at the moment, I have a standing meeting at that time.
For about two months now, we’ve been going on a decent schedule vis-a-vis the Monster’s school. He has some predictability with regards to his morning routine, followed by school, followed by homework, gymnastics or therapy…
And then this morning, the bus had to go and screw things up. Continue reading
Yesterday was another of our trips to Sesame Place, making the most of our season passes by trying to take in the Halloween festivities at the park before it closes for membership year.
We already knew before going that it was going to be difficult compared to our other trips – without the water activities being open, the Monster isn’t quite as set on doing much of what the park has to offer. Continue reading
Last night, the wife and I were sitting around after the kids went to bed, checking out the news while playing around on Facebook. (Though, when did this become a thing, a married couple sitting in the same room, both perusing their own Facebook accounts on separate laptops?) Due to the groups that we’re in on Facebook and elsewhere, we were reading quite a bit about the search for Avonte Oquendo.
And that brought us back to the incident two weeks ago in our own lives. Continue reading
R desperately wants to be involved with everything that the Monster does.
I don’t think, of course, that R causing strife is really the intention – I think he just wants whatever the Monster has at the moment. As a result, though, he’s always doing things that cause problems from Monster’s point of view. Continue reading
I mentioned a few weeks ago that we had to replace both cars, and that it took a while for the Monster to get used to my new ride.
Of course, it has now been a few weeks. The Monster has been riding in my car every Thursday to go to gymnastics, and the wife’s car every few days to go other places. Continue reading
Just one of those mornings today – I got back late last night from curling, and so it figures that the Monster would wake me up at 5 AM.
In his defense, I don’t know why he was awake. I don’t know if it was a matter of a bad dream, or just being bored, or whatnot, but I woke up to him screaming, and decided to intervene before he either woke his brother or his mother. Continue reading
Last week, my open enrollment for health insurance through my employer opened. This was coupled with getting a robocall from the Monster’s school on Friday night, asking why we’d not submitted paperwork for the free-or-reduced-price lunch program.
Both of these come from the whole, complex issue of “paying” for the Monster’s Autism. Continue reading