by beagoodmom on March 18, 2010
Geetle decided to spend the rest of her birthday money tonight. I let her place on order on Amazon. She was very torn between another Liv doll and a Razor Scooter. She really wants the Liv doll that comes with the Golden Retriever puppy. But she decided to order the scooter. Since she is doing so well understanding the value of money, we decided to increase her allowance to $5 a week. We counted how many weeks until she could get the other Luv doll and that made her very happy. She made a count down on her dry erase board.
The recent purchases say alot about her personality. The way she has spent her money says a lot about her maturity too.
by beagoodmom on March 17, 2010
Lately Giggles has been remarking that everything is beautiful.
BAGD is beautiful.
My new coat is beautiful.
Her potty is beautiful.
The cart at Walmart is beautiful.
She is a girly-girl and she likes to dress up, so sometimes she runs to the mirror to see if she is beautiful too. She is.
by beagoodmom on March 17, 2010
This is not PhotoShopped, I swear, although I am proud that you think I could do that. This is what I saw when I flipped our Tuna Burgers tonight. I told you this was a special recipe.
by beagoodmom on March 17, 2010
Geetle bought this doll tonite, with the birthday money she has been squirreling away for nearly 2 months.
Horse not included.
Its a Liv Doll named Sophie
and she might be going back to get some extra clothes and wigs (yes, I said wigs). She already has a Kleenex box bed and a horse.
We were surprised, but its adorable. Geetle is a multi-faceted individual. Just like we like her.
by beagoodmom on March 17, 2010
by beagoodmom on March 17, 2010
Pookie has gotten in trouble at school every day this week. He keeps pushing another boy. This started weeks/months ago when Pookie would push this boy when he felt frustrated over other issues. Pookie would get punished and it usually did not happen too frequently. It was never about the boy at all. It was usually when Pookie did not want to transition between activities.
Now, the situation is different. Remember, Pookie likes patterns. Most kids with Autism like patterns. Turns out this other boy likes patterns too. The other boy has fallen into a pattern in which he likes Pookie to push him because its a game; he gets to fall on the floor dramatically and it makes him laugh. So lately he pokes Pookie in the arm until Pookie quickly pushes him down.
Today, the other boy poked Pookie. You will never guess what Pookie did. Pookie yelled “NO NO NO! Leave Me Alone!” and the teachers separated them. That makes me so proud. Pookie yelled “NO NO NO! Leave Me Alone!” He did something to control the situation. He had an idea of the proper response and he did it. He used his words. Parents are always telling kids to use their words. But to have a kid with Autism do it…that’s huge. We were very proud. Its really the first time he has done it.
We were not so proud when he did push the other boy an hour later. But at least he got it right once.
by beagoodmom on March 16, 2010
The mother of one of Geetle’s friends told me that her husband fell off a sled-type ride on vacation. He slid 50 feet down a concrete track on his shoulder. She said he was injured so bad that he scraped off his tattoo.
I wondered if this could be possible. So I googled it.
Yep. It’s possible.
Ouch.
by beagoodmom on March 16, 2010
Pookie draws a big distinction between the toys that belong in the house and those that can be played with in the car. If Giggles carries a toy over the border into the other zone, he is bothered. We have caught him sneaking into the garage to put toys back into the car. We have also complied with his wishes when he finds a house toy in the car and wants us to put it back into the house before we leave.
Giggles gets up to pee 2-3 times between 7:15 and 8:15 each night. She usually really has to go, but tonite I have decided that she is beginning to regard this as a game. When I let her up to use the bathroom, she pranced in there, sat down and asked me “which one should I do? Pee or poopie? Which one?”. So, I guess she takes requests now.
Geetle asked me for $.50 tonite at the grocery store. I asked what it was for. She replied “I need a fake moustache.”. I said “Is it worth $.50?”. She assured me that it was, so I gave her 2 quarters. She ended up with a fake beard and she said it was totally worth it.
by beagoodmom on March 15, 2010
Every March we meet with the School people to discuss Pookie’s IEP (Individual Education Plan). Its a report of how he is doing against last year’s goals and a chance to set next year’s goals, and to lock in the services he needs to reach them. These meetings are usually hard for me. In a nutshell, this is sort of what it sounds like coming from the teacher:
Yesterday she would have said : “Its so cute how Pookie loves that Toy Story puzzle. He does it every day!”
Today she says : “Pookie shows tendencies to towards repetitive and non productive play.”
Tomorrow she will say: “Its so cute how Pookie loves that Toy Story puzzle. He does it every day!”
So, basically, its a day when they don’t sugar-coat anything. They call him out on his echolalia, his refusal to stay on task, his need for prompts, his poor large group skills, etc. Its hard to listen to. But, we know its all true, and it needs to be said, so that he can get the support he needs in school.
I gear myself up for it every year. This is our 5th one. I just go into them knowing that its a hard day for me, and that its worse before and after the meeting than during it. This year, I thought it went better than most, from an emotional perspective. every year, I know what they are saying is true, and I know they only want him to succeed, but its hard to listen to anyone say a negative word about him. This year, I thought there were fewer negative things…not that they were ignoring points, just that he is doing very well and there were less things like that to say.
He is reading at grade level, he can tell time to the hour, he can add and subtract with pictures. He can answer comprehension questions with prompts. He works independently. He follows classroom rules. He is beginning to seek out peer interaction. He understands the calendar and can count the number of days to a special event. He has a big vocabulary. His cutting, coloring and gluing are age appropriate. He is aware of his classroom, peers and teachers; he was the first to ask about the girl that moved away.
On the flip side, he has to be coerced into participating in gym (yet he loves the Motor Room and Occupational Therapy). He pushes another boy when he is frustrated. His echolalia is disruptive. He writes in all capital letters (although he knows the lower case, just refuses to use them.) He misuses pronouns and has trouble with positional concepts.
So, really not too bad this year. He has made tremendous strides. In alot of cases, its things that we always knew he could do (like color nicely, read aloud and write legibly) but that he just did not WANT to do and therefore refused. He understand that they want him to be quiet at school and he tries, but it only works for a second or two. The teachers are trying various techniques to work on it (like chewing gum, music and visual prompts). They are going to try to figure out what he likes about Motor Room vs. Gym and the teachers are going to collaborate. The speech teacher will continue to work on pronouns and getting a listeners attention. The Social Worker will continue to work on large group skills. In the class room they will continue to use written schedules, quiet work space, direct instructions and examples of finished work to help him perform his academic tasks.
He will be in the same Autism program (Individual Learning Program- ILP, they call it) next year. Same school, probably same classroom. However, his teacher is resigning to stay at home with her kids, so he will get a new teacher next year. That is OK, he has had a new teacher every year and he has adapted each time. The ILP program will be in its second year and the entire program is working towards mainstreaming periodically. We want that for Pookie too, we want him to spend a short block of time in a typical classroom a few times a week. He is not really ready for it now, but he rarely appears ready for anything we push on him….yet he does fine. He flounders for a little while, then he does fine.
As always, the staff all commented on his sunny disposition, his willingness to follow rules (even if its begrudgingly) and his intelligence.
We left feeling good.
by beagoodmom on March 12, 2010
In a recent comment, a reader asked to see a closer look at our Table Rules. I am happy to oblige:
These rules speak to the discipline problems we have had at the table in the past. They are probably not a comprehensive list for every family or child. Let me break down what they mean for our family:
1. Eat. That is pretty much the goal for every meal. Sometimes Pookie is a slow starter. Sometimes Geetle is being dramatic about the food selection and spends 10 minutes making what she thinks are subtle faces about it. We remind them that they are at the table to eat, so do it.
2. No banging on the table. This one is for Giggles now, but it started with Pookie. He re-enacts a script that ends with a crescendo of table-slapping and banging. He doesn’t do it any more, but for a while it was part of every meal; the boy gets stuck in a rut with his echolalia and repetitive scripts.
3. Stay in your chair. Also one for Pookie, who used to wander a bit. We solved that problem. Now, this reminds the big kids about sitting nicely in their chairs.
4. No playing with silverware, cup or plate. That is pretty self- explanatory. Pookie used to spin things like a top. Geetle is always trying out circus acts involving her utensils. Giggles thinks alot of things can be used to make music.
5. No whining. We cook real food. The kids do not always like it. No whining or Mom puts your plate in the sink.
6. No smooshy-smooshy. This is one for Giggles. It means no smearing food around on your plate or highchair tray.
7. No spilling food or milk. I guess to some kids this means, be careful while you eat. At our house it means something different.
8. No toys at the table. An obvious one.
9. No yelling. Again, this speaks to a Pookie issue, but would be relevant to alot of kids.
The 3 things you can do at the table are really the rules we refer to most. It reminds the kids that mealtime is supposed to be productive. Its also a social time, but its not a vaudeville show. I like the way this part is phrased because often when someone is misbehaving, I just ask them “what are the 3 things you can do at the table?” They immediately know they are doing something wrong, but I don’t have to be all “sit down. eat. don’t do that. sit up in your chair. don’t poke your sister. that is food, not a hat.”
So, there you go. How nice of you to ask.
