Christmas is over, back to routine!

Christmas is such an exciting time! Everything is different and festive. Decorations are everywhere, Christmas tunes dominate the radio, Christmas trees go up in the house, and presents start filling up under the tree. This time of year most everyone loves, but for a child on the Autism spectrum the changes can be overwhelming. School is out and everything is different. This year our family had a low key Christmas. We usually have family in town or go out of town. We always have a flurry of activity. This year we had 2 events that my husband and I were a part of at church. However, this year we strived to involve and prepare our children as much as possible in the activity. Usually we just cart them around for the events. This year we involved them. For example, our church sponsors families for Christmas. Well, we had the children help us pick out the gifts for the children. Our Christmas concert that my husband and I do most of the music (in addition to our Awesome piano player) has practices. This time we involved the kids in the practice. For Christmas decorating, I gave our son specific tasks. He did fixate on certain objects and hid them for the remainder of the month, but he enjoyed getting involved. I think these things made a big difference this year, and we did not have one meltdown! Huge, Huge, Huge! We maintained somewhat of a structured day with therapy that we still attended throughout the week and activities at home. The biggest thing I noticed this season was my son's intensity level. About 3 days after Christmas, his intensity was maxing out at 150 percent. When I say intensity, I mean his jaw is clenched most of the time, he sprints the length of the house again and again, he does somersaults, tries to hug and pat the baby too hard, hugs his sister with major force, can't sit still, and slaps his stomach really hard. This could have been a combination of several things: the snow and freezing temps preventing much outdoor play, he was sick, and the change of structure. As school is now back in session, structure has resumed, his sensory diet is back in full swing, and he is healthy, he has began to even out again. His biggest strength and growth has been how I have noticed him trying to self-regulate. He is not always successful, but I can see him trying. We had a wonderful Christmas (besides illness), but I can almost tell he loves that things are back to routine. Just like Jake in "I am Jake: My Life on the Autism Spectrum," Luke loves to have a schedule!

How were the holidays for you?

What did you do to try and maintain structure?

Until next time,

Stefany

Thankful!

As Thanksgiving approaches, I am reminded of where we have been as a family, where we are right now, and where we are going. Lately, our family has been in a really good place and I am THANKFUL! It has been a little over 2 months since we moved, Cole was born, and we had to get a new car. All of these things started a period of time with tumultuous behavior for Luke. He was really struggling. I talked about this in previous posts. Now we have entered a good place. I just had both my children's parent-teacher conferences for preschool. I was thrilled with what they were telling me about Luke. They have seen him now for a year and half in this classroom with this group of specialists. They raved about his interactions, his anxiety being decreased, and his overall lovable personality. Their biggest goal at this time is that he prefers to talk to adults and will continue to seek out a conversation repeatedly even if the topic needs to be focused on something else. I WILL TAKE THAT GOAL! They felt that he tends to talk to adults because he gets the desired response and attention and the adults understand his articluate thoughts much more than his peers. I genuinely enjoyed listening to all the things they had to say and was saying a prayer of thanks for all the progress he has made. I see his personality all the time, but others were not seeing it until this year.

I am so thankful for his team of teachers and specialists. They have been a HUGE part of Luke's progress and growth. They have given me so many good ideas, and as they said at his conference, we have worked together as a team for the growth of Luke. I know this is not the case for every family to have such a great support team. I urge those parents to advocate for what they know is best for their child no matter what. It is tiring and exhausting and can seem hopeless at times, but it is worth every ounce of early intervention that can be had.

Luke is blooming and it is so fun to see! He is in a good place with his anxiety as well. His routine and structure being consistent always helps him to thrive. It is a challenge for me to implement day in and day out (I will not lie), but when I see the results it helps me to push on. This week we had a couple days where I was tired and not able to be as structured as I wanted to be, and I saw the difference in our day. The difference is not as drastic as it used to be but it is there. It is there in the behavior, anxiety, and outcome of the day. But each day is a new opportunity to help him structure his world in a comfortable way, and I will keep taking the challenge head on.

I am thankful for these times, and I want to be sure to enjoy every minute of the blessings that come from calm periods! How am I doing that? I am being inquisitive into his little mind as much as he will let me in. I am stealing lots of hugs and kisses. I am sitting with him and just watching his mind at work. I am entering his world as much as I can. In I am Jake: My Life on the Autism Spectrum I included the page where Jake's dad enters his world to play helicopters with him and use his imagination. I love that image!

How do you treasure the times of calm?

How do you enter your child's world?