I expected MJ to have more than one grade in the online gradebook after 5 weeks of school.
I expected a return email after emailing the head of the ESE department.
I expected a progress report to be sent home when it was “interim report” day.
I expected MJ to already be receiving the OT that is required on his IEP.
I expected to NOT have to go through this after the research I did to place him in this school.
Silly Me
Am I the only autism parent that believes some behaviors are not directly related to autism?
Am I the only autism parent that actually believes that early intervention is key-That we have to begin teaching our kids early on?
Am I the only one who believes that our kids can learn to say please, thank you, and excuse me etc?
Am I the only one that believes we need to teach/discipline our kids when we know that they are purposefully being defiant or disrespectful?
Am I the only one that expects her 11 year old child to know now that it is inappropriate to throw things across the room.
Am I the only one who has to teach her child not to yell at adults when he doesn’t get his way?
Am I the only one that didn’t take her child to church/ restaurants because there was no way he would be able to sit through a church service or meal; and refused to take him until he was ready?
Sometimes it is difficult to know if the behavior is related to autism or if the child is just being defiant. In my opinion, it is up to the parent to know their child and to know the difference.
This picture was taken just one year ago. It’s funny how so much can change in such a short amount of time. When this pic was taken…
MJ wasn’t a middle schooler
He wasn’t able to swim
He had never tied his shoelaces
Had never told a joke
And He hadn’t eaten a vegetable
Now he is/can do ALL of these things. I’m so grateful to God for the progress he makes every year. My son is amazing.
Remember a couple of weeks ago when MJ tied laces while in therapy? Remember all the celebrating? Well today and every day after that celebratory moment has been downhill in terms of tying shoe laces. He hasn’t done it since that day! At therapy, Ms. E. Tried everything she could, to get him to tie it again😒. When therapy was over we just looked at each other and honestly, laughed. We both KNOW that he CAN do it! It’s obviously just on HIS own time. This is not to say that we are giving up. We will never do that. It’s now time to search out other motivations for him to consistently complete this task.
Week 3 of school is now over. MJ is doing well 😊. I spoke to his teacher and she informed me that he is doing a great job in class and commented on how “smart he is.” She has given the students diagnostic tests and will be grouping the students based on the results.
One of MJ’s stimming behaviors, is having an object in his hand up in the air and continuously waving it back and forth. The issue is that he has been doing that with his pencil. That of course could be dangerous and we need to find something to replace the pencil. I am probably going to find a fidget toy or “squishy ball” in hopes that he will use it instead of a pencil. I’m hoping that whatever I get him doesn’t break his concentration in class.
The special needs before/after care has been awesome. There are several adults in the room and the kids are always doing some kind of hands on activity. MJ is genuinely happy to be there.
He is safe.
He is learning.
He is making friends.
I’m so thankful for all of this and I pray that it continues.
I’m also praying that this long weekend is better than last week’s. 😏
I yelled at my son.
MJ is now sad and crying.
I am angry at myself.
I’m sad.
My kids were not playing together nicely today.
I hate when they fight. I hate that my daughter’s 8 year old mind doesn’t grasp the reality of her brother’s autism.
I cleaned up spilled juice one too many times today.
Then I yelled at him.
Time to go into his room and apologize. He didn’t deserve it.
Mommy is so sorry.
Tomorrow is another day…praying it’s better than today.
Today, was just one of those days.
A few weeks ago Jenny over at Peace From Panic nominated me for the Blogger Recognition Award. I want to thank her for nominating me. It really means so much. I also want to apologize for not responding sooner. I had been so bogged down with back to school “stuff” that I completely forgot…until now!
So, here are the rules:
1. Select 15 other blogs you want to give the award to. Do some digging if you must! Find those blogs. You cannot nominate yourself or the person who has nominated you.
2. Write a post to show off your award! Give a brief story of how your blog got started, and give a piece or two of advice to new bloggers. Thank whoever nominated you, and provide a link to their blog. List who you’ve nominated in the post. Make sure to also attach the award itself! (You can do this by right-clicking, saving, and uploading the image above).
3. Comment on each blog and let them know you’ve nominated them. Provide a link to the award post you created.
How My Blog Got Started:
My husband had actually been telling me to start a blog over a year before I actually started. I was hesitant because I just didn’t know what it entailed and I was not sure that I could do it. I was really just a little nervous about it. I am typically private when it comes to family matters. I don’t have a Facebook or twitter account (only started Instagram for MJ) and would never even think about posting pictures on any website. I somehow knew that it was time to start this blog. I continually remembered how I felt when MJ was first diagnosed and I knew that my blog could/would help someone. I felt lonely, confused, lonely, scared, lonely, anxious, and yeah lonely. There was no one that I could talk to who could relate to anything my family was going through. But for God, I don’t know how I would’ve survived the “early years.” I prayed and decided to get past the “posting pics on the internet” fear.
Advice I would give new bloggers is to take time to read and search other blogs. You can learn SO much from the experiences of others. I am so thankful to the blogging community for that. I also recommend that you comment and respond back to comments as much as you can. You never know how your comment can affect someone. You may say something that could really help a person’s situation.
I nominate this award to all of my fellow Bloggers. You all in one way or another have positively affected my life. We are a family.
Everyone woke up in a great mood today (which is rare lol). I had to take a “before school” pic!
NickysdayWithAutism 