Today was a pretty good day.
Sam has issues with pooping on the potty. He is excellent about peeing on the potty and will get up and take himself to the potty no matter what. However, he is terrified of pooping on the potty. He would rather poop on the floor. To accomplish this, he will wander off in to a room (usually the bedroom he shares with his brother) and he will take off all his clothes and poop in a corner. We have picked up on this, and when we notice him wander off, or hear a door shut, we will usually follow him to see what he is up to, and then we ask him if he has to go to the potty and we escort him there. He will then go, though grudgingly. Today we missed him and he went on the floor.
Other than that, however, he has been in a very good mood. He did all his writing assignment without grumping. It was a little rushed, and sloppy, but done with no major fits. There has been good using of the word "please" and words in general.
We ran some errands. We went to the library, where he picked out three books, and even helped check them out, with no stimming. We went to a couple of pet stores trying to find something for our hamster, and to the organic market where he was good about not fit throwing when we told him 'no' (his least favorite word in the english language) about Elmo juice.
He obsesses over the Wiggles quite a bit. Normally, I don't mind TV watching, or computer game playing but he stims off the Wiggles a lot, and today was an exception. He sat calmly on the sofa and watched the Wiggles, and didn't have a fit when it was over. In fact, he said "Sesame Street, please!" and was happy and friendly about it.
Sam is also a picky eater. If left to his own devices, his entire diet would include cheerios and apple juice. Today he branched out and had a waffle with his brother this morning, some chicken nuggets for lunch and even dared to take a sip of my peach-banana smoothie.
Sam was so good. I decided after dinner that he could watch an extra Wiggles movie.
....
This was not such a good idea. After the Wiggles, he was so overstimulated. He had such a hard time falling asleep tonight. I am not sure if he had a stomach ache (he was also passing gas like crazy), or if he was just that overstimulated from the Wiggles, but he laid in bed whining and crying, and singing Wiggles songs for over an hour, while I tried to calm him down. He finally calmed down when his brother came to bed, and as of this post, he is asleep.
*sigh* Maybe tomorrow?
As for cool things today, E found ZAC Browser. ZAC is a neat browser that pulls from sites that Sam loves, like Nick Jr., Disney, and PBS/Sprout, putting all the games and videos in one place, so he doesn't have to change sites every time he changes his mind on what he wants to watch.
Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Introduction
Before I get to the meat and potatoes of this blog, the indomitable Sam, let me first introduce myself.
My name is Jayna. I am 28 years old. I live in Maryland with my boyfriend, two cats, five fish and hamster. I am the guardian of two amazing little boys, who spend the school year (September through June, minus school vacations) with their father in New York . I am a going to be a full time student starting this Fall. I am starting this blog (though I meant to start it two weeks ago!) to document the trials and tribulations of guarding over an autistic child, while simultaneously nurturing his neurotypical big brother.
Now, about the kidlings;
Adam, age 8 (soon to be 9, he says, like it is a big accomplishment!), is going to be starting the 4th grade very soon. He is neurotypical. Like most kids, he dislikes school, likes video games, and finds his brother to be the second most annoying person on the planet (the first being his younger cousin, Makayla).
Sam, age 7, autistic. Sam loves the Wiggles. More than anything else. Ever. He also loves cheerios, juice, and puppies. Sam was diagnosed with mild to moderate autism at 31 months. For about 6 months prior to that he was recieving speech therapy for a significant speech delay. Sam is currently enrolled in a 11 month program specially designed for autistic kids.
This blog isn't going to be about much of the past, but more of the present and the future and day to day frustrations that I, personally, find challenging. If you are looking for information or a "cause" for autism, you're looking in the wrong place. I don't know why Sam is autistic. I don't know that there is a magic cure for it. Being the parent of an autistic child is hard, frustrating, depressing, rewarding, amazing and exciting.
I look forward to sharing my experiences and helpful tools with all of you!
My name is Jayna. I am 28 years old. I live in Maryland with my boyfriend, two cats, five fish and hamster. I am the guardian of two amazing little boys, who spend the school year (September through June, minus school vacations) with their father in New York . I am a going to be a full time student starting this Fall. I am starting this blog (though I meant to start it two weeks ago!) to document the trials and tribulations of guarding over an autistic child, while simultaneously nurturing his neurotypical big brother.
Now, about the kidlings;
Adam, age 8 (soon to be 9, he says, like it is a big accomplishment!), is going to be starting the 4th grade very soon. He is neurotypical. Like most kids, he dislikes school, likes video games, and finds his brother to be the second most annoying person on the planet (the first being his younger cousin, Makayla).
Sam, age 7, autistic. Sam loves the Wiggles. More than anything else. Ever. He also loves cheerios, juice, and puppies. Sam was diagnosed with mild to moderate autism at 31 months. For about 6 months prior to that he was recieving speech therapy for a significant speech delay. Sam is currently enrolled in a 11 month program specially designed for autistic kids.
This blog isn't going to be about much of the past, but more of the present and the future and day to day frustrations that I, personally, find challenging. If you are looking for information or a "cause" for autism, you're looking in the wrong place. I don't know why Sam is autistic. I don't know that there is a magic cure for it. Being the parent of an autistic child is hard, frustrating, depressing, rewarding, amazing and exciting.
I look forward to sharing my experiences and helpful tools with all of you!
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