http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34480829/ns/health-mental_health/
1 in 110 children have autism. Amazing, and yet we still live in a world where people have no idea what it is.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Tuesday, December 15, 2009
great sensory task...
Making paper airplanes!
It requires hand/eye coordination, concentrating on instructions, and manipulating the fingers to make the creases....and....all you need is a piece of paper!
We went on a fieldtrip to the Henry Ford Museum and they have an airplane exhibit where you can make different paper airplanes and then fly them through these targets...quite fun.
It requires hand/eye coordination, concentrating on instructions, and manipulating the fingers to make the creases....and....all you need is a piece of paper!
We went on a fieldtrip to the Henry Ford Museum and they have an airplane exhibit where you can make different paper airplanes and then fly them through these targets...quite fun.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
ok...my ultimate favorite funny story!
So, I took the kids to the child center at the gym while I went to work out. They love going and always have such a great time. Well, when I came to pick them up Boy was waiting for me and looked pretty nervous. As soon as I walked up to him he told me that we had to leave right away because an older kid was going to KILL him. I couldn't imagine what could have happened to cause someone to want to KILL him so I asked him...
So, the story is that he read the kid's name tag on his back and the kid's last name was "McDonald". And, with the most serious and sincere face, he proceeds to tell me that he tapped the kid (who was older) on the shoulder and said "Hey, so is your Dad Ronald McDonald?". And, he was completely serious. I am guessing the kid didn't realize that Boy truly thought that his Dad could be the big redhaired guy and instead probably thought that he was making fun of him.
....we spent over an hour that night explaining to him that there really was no such person as Ronald McDonald, yes we understood that he was on commercials and appeared to be in the stores, but really and truly he doesn't exist. I am not sure he is convinced!
It reminds me of another story from last year when he met a boy named Luke in his class. Luke happened to ask Boy "Do you know who my Dad is?" and Boy said "yeah, Darth Vader." -- the more I think about it, I think he probably really did think his Dad was Darth Vader until he met him!
So, the story is that he read the kid's name tag on his back and the kid's last name was "McDonald". And, with the most serious and sincere face, he proceeds to tell me that he tapped the kid (who was older) on the shoulder and said "Hey, so is your Dad Ronald McDonald?". And, he was completely serious. I am guessing the kid didn't realize that Boy truly thought that his Dad could be the big redhaired guy and instead probably thought that he was making fun of him.
....we spent over an hour that night explaining to him that there really was no such person as Ronald McDonald, yes we understood that he was on commercials and appeared to be in the stores, but really and truly he doesn't exist. I am not sure he is convinced!
It reminds me of another story from last year when he met a boy named Luke in his class. Luke happened to ask Boy "Do you know who my Dad is?" and Boy said "yeah, Darth Vader." -- the more I think about it, I think he probably really did think his Dad was Darth Vader until he met him!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
all over the place
"You can't catch a hard baseball in your mouth" ~Joseph age 10
Things that have started to upset Boy:
1)The kids yell at him because he laughs too loud. His solution? He does not understand why they do not realize that his loud laughing is a result of his Aspergers. I tried to explain to him that it could be a result of his Aspergers, but it is a behavior that he has the ability to control.
2)One of the kids tells him he's a "manial freak". He doesn't have a solution for this one and really, neither do I. This seems like pretty typical 7 year old behavior, but is he being called names because of his quirky aspergery things or what? My advice to him was for him to tell the kid that it was not a very nice thing to say...
3)He was not picked to be a student council rep from his class. His solution? He will raise his hand higher next year. To me this is an amazing breakthrough...he actually wants to join a team of other kids whose goal is not Star Wars, Batman, School House Rock related?! awesome!
Keep moving forward, keep moving forward, all we can do is keep moving forward...
Things that have started to upset Boy:
1)The kids yell at him because he laughs too loud. His solution? He does not understand why they do not realize that his loud laughing is a result of his Aspergers. I tried to explain to him that it could be a result of his Aspergers, but it is a behavior that he has the ability to control.
2)One of the kids tells him he's a "manial freak". He doesn't have a solution for this one and really, neither do I. This seems like pretty typical 7 year old behavior, but is he being called names because of his quirky aspergery things or what? My advice to him was for him to tell the kid that it was not a very nice thing to say...
3)He was not picked to be a student council rep from his class. His solution? He will raise his hand higher next year. To me this is an amazing breakthrough...he actually wants to join a team of other kids whose goal is not Star Wars, Batman, School House Rock related?! awesome!
Keep moving forward, keep moving forward, all we can do is keep moving forward...
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
thank you for your comments!
awww, thank you all for the comments! They really are helpful to read. Everyday is a journey to another day and another day and it is always changing. I know that if we weren't battling these issues it would just be some other mind warping situation that would make me feel like a failure! haha. I guess the only parents who feel like failures are the ones who are trying their hardest not to be failures.
Of course...it is so easy to beat yourself up and imagine that had you gotten in that extra 5 minutes of sensory yesterday he would not have scribbled a picture and would have stayed inside the lines for once, but that isn't realistic.
With the girls I am pretty certain they will figure out coloring in the lines and handwriting and learning to ride a bike, but with boy I know it is more difficult for him...the things of childhood don't come naturally to him.
But with all of that aside, I have to remember that there are other things that he does amazingly well that most other people are completely incapable of doing...the girls won't memorize full length movies, or remember exactly what they were wearing the first day it snowed last year, or be able to add or multiply any numbers together quickly because they've stored the answers to memory... I have to get my brain out of the mold of what a child *should* act like, be like, think like...we are all uniquely different. Gotta remember that!
Of course...it is so easy to beat yourself up and imagine that had you gotten in that extra 5 minutes of sensory yesterday he would not have scribbled a picture and would have stayed inside the lines for once, but that isn't realistic.
With the girls I am pretty certain they will figure out coloring in the lines and handwriting and learning to ride a bike, but with boy I know it is more difficult for him...the things of childhood don't come naturally to him.
But with all of that aside, I have to remember that there are other things that he does amazingly well that most other people are completely incapable of doing...the girls won't memorize full length movies, or remember exactly what they were wearing the first day it snowed last year, or be able to add or multiply any numbers together quickly because they've stored the answers to memory... I have to get my brain out of the mold of what a child *should* act like, be like, think like...we are all uniquely different. Gotta remember that!
Thursday, October 22, 2009
overwhelmed
I think things are becoming overwhelming at school for boy. I am going to email the teacher after this blog. It seems like he comes from school and just becomes out of control kid, which I think is a reaction to trying so hard to keep it together all day. It has to be a lot for a kid to try to bear.
So, because of the fact that he comes home and turns into a tangled mess of unfocused'ness, he cannot sit to work on homework and he melts down super easily. Tonight we are going to try to not do homework directly after school and instead let him have some playtime first. I now recall his therapist suggesting that immediately after school he goes to his room and gets to play with whatever he wants until he feels as though he has unwound himself enough, with no interruption from the girls. We have tried to implement it with him, but he insists that he does not need to do that. Today I am going to insist that he try it out.
Another thing that is becoming increasingly more difficult is the fact that our morning routines are completely out of control. We have a pretty simple routine that is charted out for him to follow and everything works well up until showertime -- he gets up, lets the dog out, eats breakfast and takes a shower...
...when he gets out of the shower, he gets out as a totally different kid! I wonder if it is the water that jostles him to life and into a frenzy? Maybe some kind of sensory situation...whatever it is, it is unbearable. When he is in this mode, he is no longer able to follow the routine chart. I tell him simple things to do like "Put your underwear on" and he just sits there, even if he repeats it back to me. It seems as though he is in a daze that he cannot be shaken out of. "Put on your underwear" "Put on your underwear" "Put on your underwear" is what I chant throughout the house with "What are you supposed to be doing?" and then I start just saying "underwear", "underwear", "remember underwear" and it goes on and on, then we get those on and we move to the undershirt. It would just be quicker for me to dress him myself, but then what happens? He's 13 and can't dress himself for school?
*sigh*
So on top of all of this craziness, I also get to sit everynight and contemplate the things we didn't accomplish during the day that we should have...
..oh crap, we didn't do sensory today or
..oh crap, I bet he had milk today or
..oh crap, forgot to track his anxiety levels today or
..oh crap, we should have studied spelling tonight or
..oh crap, I should have had him do his callirobics or
..oh crap, I forgot to brush him this morning or...
...it just goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on and I know that is true with anyone who has kids, all of the "oh crap" moments, but I swear I feel like our "oh crap" moments are detrimentally affecting the progress we are trying to make with him.
so...blah.
So, because of the fact that he comes home and turns into a tangled mess of unfocused'ness, he cannot sit to work on homework and he melts down super easily. Tonight we are going to try to not do homework directly after school and instead let him have some playtime first. I now recall his therapist suggesting that immediately after school he goes to his room and gets to play with whatever he wants until he feels as though he has unwound himself enough, with no interruption from the girls. We have tried to implement it with him, but he insists that he does not need to do that. Today I am going to insist that he try it out.
Another thing that is becoming increasingly more difficult is the fact that our morning routines are completely out of control. We have a pretty simple routine that is charted out for him to follow and everything works well up until showertime -- he gets up, lets the dog out, eats breakfast and takes a shower...
...when he gets out of the shower, he gets out as a totally different kid! I wonder if it is the water that jostles him to life and into a frenzy? Maybe some kind of sensory situation...whatever it is, it is unbearable. When he is in this mode, he is no longer able to follow the routine chart. I tell him simple things to do like "Put your underwear on" and he just sits there, even if he repeats it back to me. It seems as though he is in a daze that he cannot be shaken out of. "Put on your underwear" "Put on your underwear" "Put on your underwear" is what I chant throughout the house with "What are you supposed to be doing?" and then I start just saying "underwear", "underwear", "remember underwear" and it goes on and on, then we get those on and we move to the undershirt. It would just be quicker for me to dress him myself, but then what happens? He's 13 and can't dress himself for school?
*sigh*
So on top of all of this craziness, I also get to sit everynight and contemplate the things we didn't accomplish during the day that we should have...
..oh crap, we didn't do sensory today or
..oh crap, I bet he had milk today or
..oh crap, forgot to track his anxiety levels today or
..oh crap, we should have studied spelling tonight or
..oh crap, I should have had him do his callirobics or
..oh crap, I forgot to brush him this morning or...
...it just goes on and on and on and on and on and on and on and I know that is true with anyone who has kids, all of the "oh crap" moments, but I swear I feel like our "oh crap" moments are detrimentally affecting the progress we are trying to make with him.
so...blah.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
School House Rocking...
...a kick off the block, for our favorite School House, School House Rock!
Oh wow, School House Rock is back in full force as one of our obsessions...oh joy! Nonstop listening to the music, which at least we are on something educational so that is a bonus.
Handwriting is still such a huge issue for us, oy! Sensory therapy is helping, but we just really need to slow him down a lot. We are at sensory therapy right now doing homework until his therapist comes out and let me tell you...nightmarish! UGH!
To me the worse part of his aspergers is his inability to focus on homework!
Oh wow, School House Rock is back in full force as one of our obsessions...oh joy! Nonstop listening to the music, which at least we are on something educational so that is a bonus.
Handwriting is still such a huge issue for us, oy! Sensory therapy is helping, but we just really need to slow him down a lot. We are at sensory therapy right now doing homework until his therapist comes out and let me tell you...nightmarish! UGH!
To me the worse part of his aspergers is his inability to focus on homework!
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