There’s always the question of what to do with a special needs child over the summer. There’s school-provided ESY, or other enrichment programs, or perhaps doing some home schooling… or there’s regular camp.
As we did last summer, this summer we decided to send the Monster to Camp Milldale. Continue reading
As I mentioned a while back, the wife and I are hiring someone to watch the Monster and R while we’re out of town.
This is going to be our first vacation without the kids since… well, my sister’s wedding, back when we only had the Monster, and well before his diagnosis. (For reference, he was a 10 month old at the time, and stayed with his grandparents.) We’re fortunate enough to find someone with experience with children with Autism, coupled with the fact that the Monster is going to be out of the house for most of our time away, as he’ll be at camp from 8 AM to 5 PM each day.
Still, we’re trying to make it as easy as possible for the sitter, so the wife is making her all kinds of papers that talk about what passes for normal around the house.
Sorry for taking a few days to do a write-up – I’ve been a bit distracted with preparations for my sabbatical, and then with actually pretending to be a stay-at-home dad for a few days. 😉
So, as the summer’s been progressing, we made our annual visit to the Aberdeen Ironbirds for Autism Awareness Day. Continue reading
One of the biggest stumbling blocks that we face, when we’re going out to an amusement park, is how to cope with the water park.
Most water parks are not really built to accommodate people with disabilities. It’s easier with a land-based ride, since there’s usually an exit and an entrance, and most parks seem to use the exit as a ‘fast-pass/disability’ access point. But a water ride… usually has one way to ride it, and going in the exit doesn’t work. Continue reading
It’s unusual when I’m home for a day and none of it has anything to do with the Monster.
Of course, my morning did start off with getting the Monster off to camp. Because I did not have to be at the office, I did most of the work for a change at getting him up and going. This is usually a two person job – me in the kitchen packing his lunch and getting breakfast on the table, while she’s getting him dressed, lotioned, and his bag packed. Continue reading
So I’m back, now that things are squared away.
Beyond all the other reasons that I’m very grateful for having my job – for the good insurance it gives me, for the flexibility I have about dealing with things for the Monster, and for the fact that I genuinely like my job – there’s this once-every-five-years perk of having a sabbatical. I’m officially – as of tonight at midnight – on a paid vacation from work for four weeks. Continue reading
And the march from ballpark to ballpark continues.
This weekend is a double-header for us. We’ve the opportunity to go catch two of the Baltimore Orioles’ farm teams this weekend – the Bowie Baysox (AA, Eastern League) on Friday night and the Aberdeen Ironbirds (Short-Season A, New York-Penn League) this evening. Both teams are doing their Autism Awareness games this weekend. Continue reading
So, since we were actually in Langhorne this weekend to go hit Sesame Place, I thought I would touch back on the prior reviews and update them. Part of this is because, as I go through more places, I find new things that I want to concentrate on… and partially because there’ve been some changes at Sesame.
For starters, you might look at my prior reviews – the trip we took to Sesame Place for their “A Very Furry Christmas”, and another review from last year. Continue reading
So I clearly should not have said something.
Around 1:30 AM, the Monster woke up and started talking to himself, despite the melatonin. By 1:45, it was clear that we had to leave the hotel room, or he’d end up waking up R, and ensuring that his mother would be up all night. So, as happens when we go on vacation, I decided to take him out in the car and pray that he’d go to sleep eventually.
Yeah… ‘eventually’ was about 6 AM. Continue reading
The biggest problem we’ve had, since the diagnosis, honestly is traveling. We usually handle the ‘travel’ portion of the entire itinerary just fine, but as you, my faithful readers, have seen, it’s the overnights that give us trouble.
I can handle meltdowns in amusement parks, and I can handle the Monster’s finicky eating when we’re out and about. What I can’t handle is a constant lack of sleep. Continue reading