We probably were asking for trouble, but I think we lucked out in the end, in terms of how things worked.
Most of the time, dealing with a child with Autism and the occasional sensory issue, we take into account what we think he can handle. This means one, maybe two activities, with trying to quiet things down between them to ensure that there aren’t problems…
And then there are the days where we massively throw the whole thing out the window and roll the dice. Continue reading
Here in Maryland, we have this wonderful thing called LISS, otherwise known as Low Intensity Support Services. I’ve written about it before – LISS is a means for people with disabilities to receive funding for items not covered by insurance. This year, Maryland lowered the limit to $2000 (from $3000) to cover more individuals, and there are now two lotteries for coverage – one in July and one in January – instead of a first-come-first-served system in July.
The problem, despite this seemingly more fair system… is that none of us know what in Heaven’s name is going on. Continue reading
And the march from ballpark to ballpark continues.
This weekend is a double-header for us. We’ve the opportunity to go catch two of the Baltimore Orioles’ farm teams this weekend – the Bowie Baysox (AA, Eastern League) on Friday night and the Aberdeen Ironbirds (Short-Season A, New York-Penn League) this evening. Both teams are doing their Autism Awareness games this weekend. Continue reading
Yesterday, my family went to the “Rock the Block” party over at the JCC of Greater Baltimore. It was advertised as a “community block party”, featuring inflatables, art projects for the kids, games, shopping and booths from community partners.
To us, the more important thing was getting out into the sun and enjoying the weather with the kids. But the interesting surprise to us was the number of booths dedicated to services for children with disabilities. Continue reading
Last night was my monthly trip to the “Dads Talk” group at the ARC of Baltimore. I’ve missed two months in a row – I had a bonspiel in February, and had that disastrous flat last month on my way there – but it feels very good to be getting back into things again.
One of the questions raised last night, though, was the sparse attendance at the guys’ group. The mom’s group often has double or triple the number of attendees – so much so that they’re dividing that group along child-age lines. And, as you can imagine, I had an answer. Continue reading
The wife and I belong to a number of local support groups – sometimes, it does feel overwhelming with their sheer number.
I belong to a “Guys Talk” group – unfortunately, I’ll be missing meetings for a while due to my other obligations. (My schedule changed abruptly and it conflicts with the support group schedule. As much as I like going… I need my extra-curricular activities too.) Continue reading
I don’t know if this would actually surprise people who know me or not. It probably shouldn’t be a shock, but who knows?
Going to the Please Touch Museum brings out our major issue when we’re in public – the fact that our Monster is a runner.
In specific, if we’re not really paying attention to what he’s doing, he’s liable to take off in any given direction. Even with us paying attention, there were times that he dashed off and it took us a few moments to lock on to where he’d disappeared to. Continue reading
We bit the bullet.
Obviously, nothing we’re doing is getting through to the Monster vis-a-vis discipline – there’s a lot of times that he’s either listening or not, and we’ve been blowing our collective stacks. (Or I’ve been coming home to find a very stressed out wife due to the Monster choosing not to behave and giving her additional grief while dealing with both kids at once.) And yes, we’ve seen the suggestions that have been made on other posts regarding 1-2-3 Magic. Continue reading
When the Monster had his IEP meeting a few months ago, one of his providers had recommended an end to his physical therapy.
Now, he’s hardly uncoordinated or a threat to himself when navigating around. The boy does like to run, and he’s got decent motion even on uneven ground. Our major protest was the fact that he’s still not doing some of the age-appropriate behaviors, like switching feet while ascending/descending stairs. Continue reading