Month: January 2014

The Straight Dope

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I think, for a lot of us parents with children with Autism, there’s this fantasy of a “magic treatment”.  Something that we can give our child – if not a wand that we could just wave over them – and take away the worst of their challenges, and our challenges for coping with their behaviors, and make things as close to normal as possible without ridding them of their personalities…

On the other hand, there are the parents who would prefer not to tinker, for the concern that the other side of it isn’t all that rosy.  That treatments and medications have all those side-effects, some of which might not be known for years, that might rob their child of what makes them unique.
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Silver Screen

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I think the thing we miss out most on, being a family with a child who has Autism, is going to the movies.

Certainly, AMC goes a long way in having those sensory-friendly screenings that make it possible for us to occasionally catch a film, in theory.  (There are a lot of days where it just doesn’t work out, when we’re hoping to go.)  And we could hire a sitter so the wife and I could catch a film, but… we’ve still not done that any time recently. Continue reading →

Out Of Order

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After the doctor’s office yesterday, since the Monster’s school is closer to my office (and KKI is around the corner from our house), I took him to school myself.

Ordinarily, this wouldn’t be that huge of a deal, since… well, it’s school.  And yes, he’s accustomed to being taken on the bus rather than having a parent drop him off, but that, to me, wasn’t that big of a chance.

Except for the fact that the only time he, I and school all cross paths is when I’m picking him up on Thursdays. Continue reading →

No Doctor

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Today was the Monster’s check-up with the developmental pediatrician.  We have these checkups about every nine months or so, a touch-base to decide if there’s things we need to be doing to try to get him caught back up, and to watch for any places where we might have been less than diligent about doing what’s best for his development.

But first, there’s always the simple physical. Continue reading →

Extending the LISS Lifeline

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After the debacle that was the LISS funding process this year, the state of Maryland conducted a survey to talk about how the program could be improved (shy of, say, giving LISS more money).

For those readers who don’t remember – LISS, or Low Intensity Support Services, is the program that gives funding to individuals coping with disabilities to cover things that are not covered by insurance.  For us, this can include the Monster’s summer camp, or his adaptive gymnastics at Rebounders, or music therapy, or the like. Continue reading →

Worst Aid

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After I spent Friday evening and most of yesterday at my curling club for a bonspiel, I spent a few hours with the kids so my wife could get away from them.

In the course of this adventure, I decided that the Monster’s nails needed a trim.  As I’ve mentioned on multiple occasions, he likes to squeeze things when he’s not happy – usually me, but sometimes his brother – and tends to dig his nails in, so I thought I’d just take care of it really quickly.  He was being nicely compliant, letting me cut his nails with a clipper… until he wriggled and I missed. Continue reading →

Parking Lot Safety

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On Thursdays, I pick the Monster up from school and take him to gymnastics.

In each case, this means navigating busy parking lots on foot.  The school’s lot is nothing short of chaos, with parents in their personal cars and the larger busses steaming in and out of the lot and trying to navigate around in aisles that really aren’t large enough for the traffic that comes through.  (Not to mention that folks can’t seem to be bothered to pay much attention to the painted arrows.)  The lot over at Rebounders is a little less chaotic, but is a fairly confined space due again to the plot of land and its alignment next to two busy streets. Continue reading →

Baby, It’s Cold Outside

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Between last week and this week, we’ve been caught in something that feels a little bit like The Day After Tomorrow, even if it’s hardly living up to that kind of cinematic hype.

Despite the snow, the Monster didn’t get a chance really to go play in it.  On Friday, it was entirely too cold for the kids to get out into it – it was bone-chillingly cold, and they don’t really tend to like to be too bundled up… or at least to wear gloves. Continue reading →