Normal families have Super Bowl parties.
We’re more fortunate than a lot of families that are dealing with an ASD, in that the Monster really is not sensory adverse. We’ve taken him to plenty of places – amusement parks, fireworks displays, bowling alleys and the like – where other children with Autism have trouble coping with all of the sensory overload. Continue reading
Of all the things that I never knew about before dealing with having a child with Autism, it is often the sheer number of activities that are out there that stun me the most.
I mentioned the trip to Sesame Place a few days ago – that was through Variety Philadelphia – but that’s really just the tip of the iceberg when push comes to shove. I’m sure there are similar resources around the country, but here’s a smattering of what I’m talking about: Continue reading
I know that I said via Twitter (you can follow me at @dadenoughblog) that I likely wouldn’t post today. I felt I had to – even though we just piled out of the car.
First – one huge damn success: The Monster was dry the entire trip back from visiting my family. We’re talking 5 hours in the car including two stops – one to get me coffee, and one to get dinner. And then, upon getting home, agreed that he needed to use the bathroom before bed and peed in the potty. (We had two accidents today, one on waking up and one en-route – that’s it.) Continue reading
Every year, we have the king of all barbecues at a friend’s place. It used to be held on the weekend of the Ohio State-Michigan football game for the sake of having an excuse to set it up, but more recently, we’ve simply moved it to a convenient weekend where everyone was available. It’s always been at said friend’s pad – whether he’s lived locally in a tiny apartment, a nicer place up in a high-rise or now in his townhouse with his wife.
So the Monster’s been going to this annual event with us since he was a baby – everyone’s watched him grow up, and all of the regulars have been aware, year after year, of his diagnoses, moving from ‘delayed’ to ‘maybe on-spectrum’ to ‘Autistic’. So there really are no surprises – everyone knows to watch out for what he’s doing, where he’s going, and how to help cajole him back to where he’s supposed to be. Continue reading
So, because I was up early yesterday for work, I also got to come home early, which meant that I was the one who met the school bus when the Monster returned. Continue reading
Halloween is next week, and we’re still scrambling to figure out how we’re handling everything. Continue reading
It’s easy to concentrate on the concrete items in the IEP, when we’re dealing with the Monster and school. Concrete goals have easily measured results – is he learning to use the potty? Is he handing basic pre-literacy skills?
Soft skills are harder to concentrate on and evaluate, which only makes it harder that we’re honestly more worried about those soft skills. Continue reading
Tomorrow is picture day at the Monster’s school.
This isn’t anything new for him, since he’s had picture day at camp and nursery school before now. So this is perhaps the fourth or fifth time when he’s gone before the cameras to get snapped. Continue reading
We’re coming up fast on Halloween.
I’m not a horribly huge fan of the holiday – I just think it’s silly and meaningless, really – but it’s one of those things that a lot of children grow up with. In our neighborhood, there’s no celebration of it whatsoever.. but we don’t just live in our neighborhood. Continue reading
My wife and I belong to more than a few support groups, at this point.
Besides the “Guys Talk” group that I go to monthly, she attends the Autism Society of America local chapter meetings as well. This group does a social event every so often, giving our children with autism an opportunity to be out and about and work on social skills, and we’ve had the ability to attend a few over the last couple of months. Continue reading