Summer Concerns

So we made it through most of the weekend without the Monster having an accident.  (We had two – one at the game and one on the ride home – but by and large, it was a successful weekend during the waking hours.)

This is after a week where he’s had few enough accidents at camp as well – of course there’s always the chance he’s just peeing in the pool – and we’ve been feeling very good about the whole thing.  At least that was until the wife was checking his bag this morning and realized that the Mio in it is still nearly full. Continue reading

Regression

The biggest thing that we were worried about this summer, in terms of having ten weeks off from school without full-time support there from a special-educator and his specialists, was the possibility of regression.

This school year saw a good deal of progress from the Monster in terms of at least not falling further behind than he’s already been.  He started to write and read, and he was most of the way to the point of being toilet trained during the day, at least in terms of minimizing accidents.  Because of the school’s concern that he might regress, he was given ESY services. Continue reading

Potty Time!

Two words that I really thought that either a) I’d hear only for a little while, or b) wouldn’t fill me with half the dread that they do.

Shockingly, I think it’s been a while since I’ve written about the progress being made in the Monster’s toileting, perhaps because it’s not been the foremost issue on our minds of late.  We’ve been concentrating on so many things while summer’s drawing closer, like homework and his IEP, that it’s perhaps just because we have our semi-annual visit to the developmental pediatrician tomorrow that brings it into focus. Continue reading

Two Steps Back

Earlier this week, given that toilet training seems to be going so well, we decided to transition the Monster into regular underwear for his trips to and from school.

Now, obviously, this wouldn’t normally be newsworthy at his age, but everyone who’s been following this blog knows how much we’ve been working to get the Monster to this point.  Toileting is even one of his IEP goals. Continue reading

Hit Or Miss

As I’ve mentioned a number of times, one of his IEP goals for the coming year is, with fading prompts, to get the Monster to announce to us – on his own – when he needs to go to the bathroom.

At school, he’s on a relative schedule – they take him to the bathroom before/after lunch, once or twice more throughout the day, and then before he gets on the bus to go home.  Since sometime in the fall, they’ve moved to a classroom that has a bathroom actually in it, so that they don’t have to take the kids (several of whom are in the same boat ) through the hallway to the bathroom. Continue reading

Making a Splash – The National Aquarium, Baltimore

Last night was Pathfinders for Autism‘s night at the National Aquarium, and we took the kids to go see the fishes.

The wife and I haven’t been to the aquarium in years.  (We went there on one of our early dates, and then again after the Australia exhibit opened.  On the other hand, as a child visiting Baltimore, my grandmother used to take us and it was one of my favorite places.)  The biggest issues, normally, are the space – the National Aquarium can be a bit claustrophobic when it’s crowded – and the design of the space being not-quite-stroller-friendly. Continue reading

Well…. Poop.

To us, the major goal of the Monster’s IEP isn’t necessarily to fully catch him up this year with his peers.  It’s to get him ready for life in the real world without all of the supports he needs at the moment.  This means socialization, expressive language… and toilet training. Continue reading