Of late, that position in our house is lying face down on the floor crying- if you are Little Bug. This move has been the most difficult for him by far. He has begun to have some trouble with potty training. At one point, he had three accidents in roughly an hour. His self injuring- specifically biting, hitting, and scratching himself- has increased in frequency.
Nick and I were kinda taken off guard by how challenging this has been for Little Bug. Last time we moved, we had a week to do it in and although it was challenging, Little Bug was not as stressed. This time we had over a month. The house closed on December 9 and we didn't move until January 20, however the change has been tremendous.
I wish with all my heart there was a way to make this better. We have included him in every step of the way- looking for houses, getting the paperwork signed, he painted and decorated his room, and helping with general tasks around the house. We don't have any more suggestions.
Showing posts with label moving. Show all posts
Showing posts with label moving. Show all posts
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Wednesday, January 18, 2012
The final move
You would think that after moving three times previously with Little Bug, this would be something that we were prepared for. You would hope that we would be able to know when it was going to be too much. You would bet that since he is verbal, he would be able to tell us both of those things. You would be wrong on all three counts.
Just because you have done something that was hard previously doesn't mean the next time will be easier. Especially when it comes to change. It mainly just means that there will be a next time. For Little Bug, moving has always been hard on him. He doesn't like the boxes and people touching his stuff. He doesn't like having to let toys go for a little while until we get into the new house. He also has a hard time verbalizing this.
We thought that he was plugging along alright until last night when we found him sobbing by the fridge because his alphabet magnets were on the new fridge and not the old fridge. All I could do is wrap him in my arms and tell him that we were there for him. I couldn't tell him it would get better or easier, as I don't know that. I couldn't fix it. I can't shield him from it. We can only be present.
One thing he has been pretty excited about is that he has the whole upstairs to himself. We are excited because we have been able to make it into a OT play land- also known as a really cool bedroom. There are window seats for sitting and reading at, a spinning chair for vestibular input, a chalkboard wall for as much tactile and visual stimulation as one could want, a crash pad pillow and tent, and that doesn't include his toys. It has always been a dream that we would be able to really set things up for him so that he had access to all the sensory input he needed but without the requirement of furniture movement and adult supervision that has been needed before. Goal achieved.
It should all be complete and move in ready on Friday, which is a great thing because we are moving on Friday.
Just because you have done something that was hard previously doesn't mean the next time will be easier. Especially when it comes to change. It mainly just means that there will be a next time. For Little Bug, moving has always been hard on him. He doesn't like the boxes and people touching his stuff. He doesn't like having to let toys go for a little while until we get into the new house. He also has a hard time verbalizing this.
We thought that he was plugging along alright until last night when we found him sobbing by the fridge because his alphabet magnets were on the new fridge and not the old fridge. All I could do is wrap him in my arms and tell him that we were there for him. I couldn't tell him it would get better or easier, as I don't know that. I couldn't fix it. I can't shield him from it. We can only be present.
One thing he has been pretty excited about is that he has the whole upstairs to himself. We are excited because we have been able to make it into a OT play land- also known as a really cool bedroom. There are window seats for sitting and reading at, a spinning chair for vestibular input, a chalkboard wall for as much tactile and visual stimulation as one could want, a crash pad pillow and tent, and that doesn't include his toys. It has always been a dream that we would be able to really set things up for him so that he had access to all the sensory input he needed but without the requirement of furniture movement and adult supervision that has been needed before. Goal achieved.
It should all be complete and move in ready on Friday, which is a great thing because we are moving on Friday.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
A Tale of Two Tails
We moved this past weekend. For the most part, Little Bug did amazingly well. He was pretty happy to move- who wouldn't want to when they have a sharkified room? Occasionally, he would be upset and have meltdowns, but they were rather short lived. Actually, I think our dog Frank had more anxiety about it than Little Bug ever did.
I think the main reason that Little Bug adapted well was because of Grandma and Grandpa. They are always a special treat to him and he was pretty excited to have Grandma all to himself while Nick, Grandpa, and I moved.
He had an interesting conversation with Grandma that I had to share. As you may guess, Frank is a boy dog. Well, according to Little Bug, that means he has two tails. He explained to Grandma this and she corrected him telling him that it was a pee-pee. Nope! Little Bug pointed at Frank's penis and said, "One Tail!". He then pointed at the dog's actual tail and counted, "Two Tails!".
Grandma about exploded from trying so hard not to laugh. Little Bug takes these matters seriously and you don't dare laugh.
I think the main reason that Little Bug adapted well was because of Grandma and Grandpa. They are always a special treat to him and he was pretty excited to have Grandma all to himself while Nick, Grandpa, and I moved.
He had an interesting conversation with Grandma that I had to share. As you may guess, Frank is a boy dog. Well, according to Little Bug, that means he has two tails. He explained to Grandma this and she corrected him telling him that it was a pee-pee. Nope! Little Bug pointed at Frank's penis and said, "One Tail!". He then pointed at the dog's actual tail and counted, "Two Tails!".
Grandma about exploded from trying so hard not to laugh. Little Bug takes these matters seriously and you don't dare laugh.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Dedication
In our experince, the good of people goes unnoticed. I am so guilty of focusing on a problem to the detriment of providing praise or noticing the positive.
For Little Bug, this week has been an amazing week. He has gotten a lot better about the change in the house due to moving. He has helped us pack some things and was really excited as I cut out sharks made of chalkboard stickers for his room. (A note on that, we are stacking the deck in our favor- we have a Nemo poster, a shark sign, and a shark drawing for his new room. It can't hurt :) )
He has also suddenly blossomed in speech. Two weeks ago, if you had asked me about his language skills, I would have stated that he lacks sponatneous speech without prompting, cannot answer a yes or no question, and also generally uses 1 to 2 words at a time.
Starting on Sunday, yes and no are easy. If you ask him "Do you want goldfish?" He will say "Goldfish... yes" and sign yes. He always repeats a portion of the question- not sure if it is echolalia or just his way of processing- but he is answering.
Yesterday during therapy, he busted out a five word sentence- I WANT MY TURN PLEASE!!! These were accompanied by sign for emphasis and yelling for sheer excitement. His therapist was flabbergasted.
Recently, Nick and I have felt like we are slacking off and not working enough with him as we have been busy getting things ready for the move and also worrying about his lump. Apparently, we have hit our stride for him.
I want to leave you with a positive article I found on yahoo.com:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090324/od_afp/thailandchildrenoffbeat
BANGKOK (AFP) – A Thai fireman turned superhero when he dressed up as comic-book character Spider-Man to coax a frightened eight-year-old from a balcony, police said Tuesday.
Teachers at a special needs school in Bangkok alerted authorities on Monday when an autistic pupil, scared of attending his first day at school, sat out on the third-floor ledge and refused to come inside, a police sergeant told AFP.
Despite teachers' efforts to beckon the boy inside, he refused to budge until his mother mentioned her son's love of superheroes, prompting fireman Sonchai Yoosabai to take a novel approach to the problem.
The rescuer dashed back to his fire station and made a quick change into a Spider-Man costume before returning to the boy, he said.
"I told him Spider-Man is here to rescue you, no monsters are going to attack you and I told him to walk slowly towards me as running could be dangerous," Somchai told local television.
The young boy immediately stood up and walked into his rescuer's arms, police said.
Somchai said he keeps the Spider-Man costume and an outfit of Japanese television character Ultraman at the station in order to liven up school fire drills.
For Little Bug, this week has been an amazing week. He has gotten a lot better about the change in the house due to moving. He has helped us pack some things and was really excited as I cut out sharks made of chalkboard stickers for his room. (A note on that, we are stacking the deck in our favor- we have a Nemo poster, a shark sign, and a shark drawing for his new room. It can't hurt :) )
He has also suddenly blossomed in speech. Two weeks ago, if you had asked me about his language skills, I would have stated that he lacks sponatneous speech without prompting, cannot answer a yes or no question, and also generally uses 1 to 2 words at a time.
Starting on Sunday, yes and no are easy. If you ask him "Do you want goldfish?" He will say "Goldfish... yes" and sign yes. He always repeats a portion of the question- not sure if it is echolalia or just his way of processing- but he is answering.
Yesterday during therapy, he busted out a five word sentence- I WANT MY TURN PLEASE!!! These were accompanied by sign for emphasis and yelling for sheer excitement. His therapist was flabbergasted.
Recently, Nick and I have felt like we are slacking off and not working enough with him as we have been busy getting things ready for the move and also worrying about his lump. Apparently, we have hit our stride for him.
I want to leave you with a positive article I found on yahoo.com:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20090324/od_afp/thailandchildrenoffbeat
BANGKOK (AFP) – A Thai fireman turned superhero when he dressed up as comic-book character Spider-Man to coax a frightened eight-year-old from a balcony, police said Tuesday.
Teachers at a special needs school in Bangkok alerted authorities on Monday when an autistic pupil, scared of attending his first day at school, sat out on the third-floor ledge and refused to come inside, a police sergeant told AFP.
Despite teachers' efforts to beckon the boy inside, he refused to budge until his mother mentioned her son's love of superheroes, prompting fireman Sonchai Yoosabai to take a novel approach to the problem.
The rescuer dashed back to his fire station and made a quick change into a Spider-Man costume before returning to the boy, he said.
"I told him Spider-Man is here to rescue you, no monsters are going to attack you and I told him to walk slowly towards me as running could be dangerous," Somchai told local television.
The young boy immediately stood up and walked into his rescuer's arms, police said.
Somchai said he keeps the Spider-Man costume and an outfit of Japanese television character Ultraman at the station in order to liven up school fire drills.
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Lots of Tears
Poor Little Bug, there were tons of changes. On Thursday, we started brushing therapy. He seemed to really like it at first. He asked for the brushes and would brush himself on his hands and feet. Starting on Sunday evening, his love affair with the brush was over. He now screams, “No, no, no, owa, owa” whenever we try to brush. Honestly, we aren’t sure if this is being 2 and waiting to control the situation or if, to him, it is painful. We are going to take a break and check in with his OT on Thursday.
We also started packing this weekend. Nick and I decided that we wanted to pack while he was awake and around to see so that he can deal with the change. He was pretty excited while we were packing- jumping in and out of boxes, putting his stuff in, taking his stuff out, etc. Once we were done packing for the day, he suddenly began screaming and crying and yelling NO! over and over again. He fell asleep crying and saying No. It broke our hearts. We were hoping that this was a result of him being too tired or not feeling well, but yesterday when I packed a couple more boxes, he again began yelling NO and crying.
We knew that this would be hard for him- new cloths or shoes are a major problem. We just didn’t realize how hard this would be and how to make this better for him. Our therapist recommends that we drive him by the new place every day and talk about it. She also recommends that we leave a box out at all times so that he can “pack” his stuff. One note, we aren’t packing his stuff. Nick and I made the decision to leave his stuff unpacked and haul it over in the car early in the morning and have his room set up completely- therapy swing and all- before we take him over.
The last change that happened was in his routine for school. We had our first school visit yesterday and it didn’t really go well- for anyone involved. Little Bug was hyper focused and very into repetitive actions. He wouldn’t talk or look at anyone with physical and verbal prompting.
Nick and I didn’t like the class room style. It would be very easy for Little Bug to get lost. They have free play for the first 45 minutes. They then have exercise time- either outside or in the basement of the school- then circle time, lunch, and go home. A good majority of their day is free play. We asked the teacher about what experience she had with children with ASD and she admitted very little. She also believes that during free play it is truly free and if a child wants to do something for all 45 minutes, they can. The problem with this is that Little Bug would gladly play Thomas for all 45 minutes and never say anything to anyone.
Another difficulty is that there was no forced interaction between the kids or teacher. When I say that, no one entices the kids to play games together or interact. Its very much, if they want to great! If not, oh well. Also, the teacher and the aides only interact with the children if the children come up to them. This is not to say that they are sitting on their butts all day, just that there is a lack of structure and focus that Little Bug is used to and craves.
The teacher was amazingly honest. She told us that she would strongly encourage us to check out the Autism Preschool. She also told us that she doesn’t get a say even if she doesn’t feel a child is right for her program. When I asked her about the ability for a child to go more than two times a week for 2.5 hours, she stated that if she feels it is necessary she will advocate. She told us that she did this for a child this year and the school district told her that if she feels passionate about it, she can have it her way, but they will flood her class with pupils.
I felt so bad for her. She talked about time outs and breaks and how some parents feel that is too extreme. We heard her tell one child that if they did something again, she would tell their mom. She told us that for that student, it was the only recourse because they weren’t allowed to have the child take breaks or have timeouts unless they actually hurt someone.
I appreciate that her hands are tied- sometimes by lack of knowledge, sometimes by parents, and often times by the school district- but this is not the right program for Little Bug. No offense to her, but this program is set up for failure for the students and the teachers.
We have a visit to an Autism Program and we are hoping that we like this one. The thing is, we really, really wanted to like the first program too.
We also started packing this weekend. Nick and I decided that we wanted to pack while he was awake and around to see so that he can deal with the change. He was pretty excited while we were packing- jumping in and out of boxes, putting his stuff in, taking his stuff out, etc. Once we were done packing for the day, he suddenly began screaming and crying and yelling NO! over and over again. He fell asleep crying and saying No. It broke our hearts. We were hoping that this was a result of him being too tired or not feeling well, but yesterday when I packed a couple more boxes, he again began yelling NO and crying.
We knew that this would be hard for him- new cloths or shoes are a major problem. We just didn’t realize how hard this would be and how to make this better for him. Our therapist recommends that we drive him by the new place every day and talk about it. She also recommends that we leave a box out at all times so that he can “pack” his stuff. One note, we aren’t packing his stuff. Nick and I made the decision to leave his stuff unpacked and haul it over in the car early in the morning and have his room set up completely- therapy swing and all- before we take him over.
The last change that happened was in his routine for school. We had our first school visit yesterday and it didn’t really go well- for anyone involved. Little Bug was hyper focused and very into repetitive actions. He wouldn’t talk or look at anyone with physical and verbal prompting.
Nick and I didn’t like the class room style. It would be very easy for Little Bug to get lost. They have free play for the first 45 minutes. They then have exercise time- either outside or in the basement of the school- then circle time, lunch, and go home. A good majority of their day is free play. We asked the teacher about what experience she had with children with ASD and she admitted very little. She also believes that during free play it is truly free and if a child wants to do something for all 45 minutes, they can. The problem with this is that Little Bug would gladly play Thomas for all 45 minutes and never say anything to anyone.
Another difficulty is that there was no forced interaction between the kids or teacher. When I say that, no one entices the kids to play games together or interact. Its very much, if they want to great! If not, oh well. Also, the teacher and the aides only interact with the children if the children come up to them. This is not to say that they are sitting on their butts all day, just that there is a lack of structure and focus that Little Bug is used to and craves.
The teacher was amazingly honest. She told us that she would strongly encourage us to check out the Autism Preschool. She also told us that she doesn’t get a say even if she doesn’t feel a child is right for her program. When I asked her about the ability for a child to go more than two times a week for 2.5 hours, she stated that if she feels it is necessary she will advocate. She told us that she did this for a child this year and the school district told her that if she feels passionate about it, she can have it her way, but they will flood her class with pupils.
I felt so bad for her. She talked about time outs and breaks and how some parents feel that is too extreme. We heard her tell one child that if they did something again, she would tell their mom. She told us that for that student, it was the only recourse because they weren’t allowed to have the child take breaks or have timeouts unless they actually hurt someone.
I appreciate that her hands are tied- sometimes by lack of knowledge, sometimes by parents, and often times by the school district- but this is not the right program for Little Bug. No offense to her, but this program is set up for failure for the students and the teachers.
We have a visit to an Autism Program and we are hoping that we like this one. The thing is, we really, really wanted to like the first program too.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Muuit!
That's how Little Bug says MOVE IT- as in MOVE IT MOVE IT from Madagascar. It is also what he had to say last night. We finally got the call from our landlord that we will moving into a 2 bedroom come early April. He obviously heard us talking on the phone about it and began to say MUIT MUIT!
Nick and I are extremely excited about this. I can't tell you how cramped our little family has been in our little one bedroom apartment. As with any change, I immediately think of Little Bug and how to communicate this to him and also how it will affect him.
If anyone has suggestions, please let us know. For now, we have some ideas. We are going to do a social story with pictures of him in the new place. We are also going to sharkify his room to make him more comfortable about it. By the way, when we say "his room", we really mean a room to put all of his stuff in as well as a room to have therapy in. Right now, therapy occurs in our living room on the floor because there isn't room for a set up. But there will be!
I forgot to mention that Little Bug has a new skill- two actually, but one is much cooler than the other. The cool one is looking both ways for cars. All of the sudden, he has started looking both ways and saying, "Caahs? Noooo. Caahhs. Nooo." Sometimes, when he sees a parked car, he yells, "CAAHHS!! DEE DEE- cahs!" This is really exciting and we have no idea where it came from. We haven't worked on this with him because quite honestly we weren't sure if he would understand it.
By the way, the second skill is hysterical, just not really appropriate which is the incredible ability to pull his diaper down just enough in the back to create plumber crack. He has been pulling and tugging at the back of his diaper recently and has decided that he likes rocking the plumber crack look. All I can do is smile and shake my head, because honestly, what else can you do?
Nick and I are extremely excited about this. I can't tell you how cramped our little family has been in our little one bedroom apartment. As with any change, I immediately think of Little Bug and how to communicate this to him and also how it will affect him.
If anyone has suggestions, please let us know. For now, we have some ideas. We are going to do a social story with pictures of him in the new place. We are also going to sharkify his room to make him more comfortable about it. By the way, when we say "his room", we really mean a room to put all of his stuff in as well as a room to have therapy in. Right now, therapy occurs in our living room on the floor because there isn't room for a set up. But there will be!
I forgot to mention that Little Bug has a new skill- two actually, but one is much cooler than the other. The cool one is looking both ways for cars. All of the sudden, he has started looking both ways and saying, "Caahs? Noooo. Caahhs. Nooo." Sometimes, when he sees a parked car, he yells, "CAAHHS!! DEE DEE- cahs!" This is really exciting and we have no idea where it came from. We haven't worked on this with him because quite honestly we weren't sure if he would understand it.
By the way, the second skill is hysterical, just not really appropriate which is the incredible ability to pull his diaper down just enough in the back to create plumber crack. He has been pulling and tugging at the back of his diaper recently and has decided that he likes rocking the plumber crack look. All I can do is smile and shake my head, because honestly, what else can you do?
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