I’ve probably mentioned a few times that R is enrolled in a couple of studies for siblings of children on the spectrum. Framing this weekend are the two-year appointments for these studies, where the wife’s having to take him into the lab for him to be evaluated… but that also means loads and loads of paperwork, where we’re answering questions ad nauseum about his development.
It also makes me think about those times where our children are particularly normal or not. Continue reading
This has been a really bad winter, weather-wise.
Granted, we live far enough into the “South” that folks around here don’t seem to have a grasp on how to handle winter weather. Snow sends folks into a tizzy – even the threat of it is enough to send folks to loot the local supermarket. Continue reading
After the doctor’s office yesterday, since the Monster’s school is closer to my office (and KKI is around the corner from our house), I took him to school myself.
Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be that huge of a deal, since… well, it’s school. And yes, he’s accustomed to being taken on the bus rather than having a parent drop him off, but that, to me, wasn’t that big of a chance.
Except for the fact that the only time he, I and school all cross paths is when I’m picking him up on Thursdays. Continue reading
So, today was R’s birthday party.
I always tend to be concerned about how the Monster’s going to handle having so many people, familiar and unfamiliar, in his familiar terrain. He’s not that bad when it comes to the sensory overload of the folks being here, but… there’s always the aspect of not quite being in an interacting mood. Continue reading
Yes, we got dumped on last night.
Thursdays are one of the busier days for me with the Monster, since I pick him up from school to take him to gymnastics. (Again, I’m very grateful that my employer is flexible enough to understand that I need to do this, and to make up the time later.) Though, yesterday was filled with the concern about the weather turning. Continue reading
I have never been a big believer in the moon affecting my child’s behavior.
I do know plenty of Autism parents who swear that they tell what the phase of the moon is by their child’s moods. I see plenty of posts on Facebook and my Twitter feed that talk about how their child is bouncing off the walls as the moon waxes full… Continue reading
The Monster likes pressure. I know this is not uncommon for children with Autism – there’s the Wilbarger Brushing Technique (see Yes, I Brush My Child) that we’ve employed, off and on, to sate his need for the tactile stimulation and to help control some of his more sensory-seeking behaviors.
Recently, though, he’s also been applying his own squeezes to other people. When it comes to me, he’s actually applying his nails as well, which has ended up with my having interesting cuts along my forearms. To date, this level of problem has been only my problem, though he’s also been taking recently to squeezing his mother and little brother as well to a lesser extent. 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
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