It’s frustrating, sometimes, seeing the things that the Monster can’t do, compared to other children his own age.

Granted, it’s not like he’s fully non-verbal, or that he’s entirely incapable of doing things for himself.  I do count our blessings on that regard, because it could always be much worse.  (Though, for the record, “it could be much worse” is a horrible, self-defeating outlook on life.) Continue reading →

As the year is drawing towards its close, and we’re trying to assess where the Monster is with things – especially in light of the possibility that he might be integrated next year (with help) into a ‘normal’ classroom… we’re left with trying to evaluate what more we can do to encourage his independence.

Most of the time, he is fairly independent.  He can use a regular cup (though with us, he prefers not to), and he’s shown that he can use a fork and spoon just fine at the table most of the time.  I might not be prepared to let him have milk in his cereal, were he to show willingness to do it, or to give him soup, but he’s mostly handling things himself on that regard. Continue reading →

So in the midst of everything else we’re trying to teach the Monster for his life-goals, we’re also working on the ever-popular if-then relationship.

Such as, “If you eat your dinner, then you can have a cookie.” Continue reading →

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 →