We’ve been lucky so far, in terms of how the Monster’s diet has slowly shrunk, that we’ve not yet gotten to the point that we have nothing to feed him when we go out to restaurants.
Once upon a time, he ate just about anything – much like R does today – and we had few problems at all with planning meals. These days, we’re fortunate if the Monster is willing to accept one of a list of options that we know he’ll still eat… and that’s never fun. Continue reading
Sometimes, no news is good news.
As I’ve mentioned before, the Monster’s one-on-one aide, J, is generally very good about writing us notes about what happens at camp. Yesterday, for instance, we got a note about how he went on the zip-line for the first time, about how he’s having a good time in music, and how he loves swimming.
Today? Not a word. Continue reading
I, myself, really prefer winter. There’s just a heck of a lot more you can do about being cold than you can about being hot, and besides, you don’t often get all disgusting because of the cold.
Unfortunately, it’s not winter now. It’s summer, and here in Maryland, that means absolutely disgustingly hot and humid when it gets into full swing. Continue reading
So, while watching the kids playing in the back yard yesterday, the wife made a comment to me about how I seem to be dealing with the issue of the Monster’s Autism differently than she is. The thrust of it was that I seem to internalize it more than she does, and that I’m not really “showing” that it bothers me as much as it does her, et cetera…
It does bother me, feeling like my kid isn’t where other children his own age are. I just find other outlets for my frustration. Continue reading
I hear all the time about how my friends with NT kids are running around from activity to activity. Be it little league, dance class or something else, their kids seem to always be on the go.
I’m starting to get a sense of the same thing with the Monster. Continue reading
There’s always tradeoffs when you’re dealing with what’s best for your children, weighing what is in their long term best interests versus the shorter-term benefits and trying to figure out where to strike a balance.
The decision on where that balance is really is different when it comes to parenting a special needs child, and I don’t think that’s something I was ever really prepared for. Continue reading
In theory – as far as the wife’s aware – the Monster starts his ESY speech therapy tomorrow.
We’ve noticed, as I mentioned earlier, some regression in his skills since school let out. Aside from the issues in the bathroom, we’ve been dealing with the fact that he’s not been quite as verbal as he was during the school year, though the fall-off hasn’t been quite as bad in terms of absolute slip. What we have noticed is a slide back to more familiar patterns that he used to use earlier in the spring. Continue reading
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
So as I referenced on the tweet feed this morning, I’m sick. Apparently, in his second week at camp, the Monster contracted a cold or something and passed it on to me.
The real problem, though, is trying to figure out when he’s really, actually sick. Continue reading
I don’t know about other parents with children with Autism, but we tend to let a lot of things slide because we’re tending to the Monster’s care.
Now… messy houses with multiple kids aren’t anything that weird. (Though I do seem to know quite a few folks with multiple kids who have folks to help them clean…) I know that. And our house usually isn’t that much of a disaster. The problem is… the garage. Continue reading