I have never been a big believer in the moon affecting my child’s behavior.
I do know plenty of Autism parents who swear that they tell what the phase of the moon is by their child’s moods. I see plenty of posts on Facebook and my Twitter feed that talk about how their child is bouncing off the walls as the moon waxes full… Continue reading
I’m a software developer by training, as I keep mentioning. Part of my job as a manager in a software firm is managing the changes to requirements as they come in, ensuring that they cause as little disruption to the ongoing projects as possible.
We’re about to get thrown a requirement change. Continue reading
The Monster likes pressure. I know this is not uncommon for children with Autism – there’s the Wilbarger Brushing Technique (see Yes, I Brush My Child) that we’ve employed, off and on, to sate his need for the tactile stimulation and to help control some of his more sensory-seeking behaviors.
Recently, though, he’s also been applying his own squeezes to other people. When it comes to me, he’s actually applying his nails as well, which has ended up with my having interesting cuts along my forearms. To date, this level of problem has been only my problem, though he’s also been taking recently to squeezing his mother and little brother as well to a lesser extent. Continue reading
I think my crowing about the Monster’s being willing and able to share at times has bitten me in the backside.
When the Monster got home from school today, we had about a half hour before he had to dash off to his therapy session. Because he hadn’t finished the snacks in his lunch, the wife gave him the bag of pretzels. Continue reading
Most five year olds have a little trouble sharing things with other children.
The Monster, like most children with Autism, is not particularly good about turn-taking. It was a big struggle, when he was two and three, to teach him to signal (mostly sign-language, but building up to the verbal cue accompanying the sign) “my turn” when it came to things he wanted to play with. 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
My wife tells me sometimes about friends of hers who post to Facebook about how they have “surprised” their children with a trip to Disney World, the morning they are going. Most of this is a lament about how we really can’t do that to to the Monster… both because of how it would backfire in terms of his schedule, and because of his not really being in a place where the surprise would mean anything to him.
No. I’m more fixed on lots of advanced warning, so he knows what’s going on. Continue reading
Much of the time, I laugh at the troubles that my friends who are parents of only NT children, at least insofar as their children are concerned.
As I constantly remind folks, R is nearly four years younger than the Monster. We spent a long time debating the probabilities before having a second child… and thus far, we seem to have beaten the odds. Continue reading
As one of the parents brought up on the local Autism Facebook group, it’s hard for us sometimes to know what’s going on with our kids health-wise, depending on their tendencies.
In the case of the parent on the group, her child was complaining she didn’t feel well, but didn’t have the verbal tools to explain what was wrong, and therefore why there was a request to stay home from school. Continue reading
Part of the kindergarten curriculum here in Maryland includes learning to appropriately write letters, using a proper grip on a writing implement.
Now, the Monster’s known his letters for a long time – he’s semi-obsessed with Sesame Street and has no problems recognizing upper and lower case letters. He also knows, quite well, how to spell his full name. Continue reading