Saturday, November 24, 2012
Christmas Cards from Shutterfly
I made and ordered our Christmas cards today. They say Happy Holidays because I have some friends who don't celebrate Christmas so I get ones that say Happy Holidays and then just write on everyone's cards. I think it's more personal that way anyway. I've used Shutterfly for cards for years, for Holiday cards and this year, I made a little "My Family" card for Maria's preschool assignment. It cost like $3.00 and it was so super easy. I also made Father's Day cards for Mike and my Dad this year. I've been trying to take more pictures with my real camera lately and it's nice to use the pictures!
Wednesday, November 14, 2012
PECS at HOME
On Monday of this week, Anthony's speech therapist and the assistant clinical director (I think that's her title) brought Anthony home and we worked on how we'll use PECS at home. It's hard, it's hard to do anything with these GIRLS here, but we managed and it was actually pretty funny. Anthony's speech therapist made a book for the girls, too, which I thought was incredibly smart and sweet. Smart because maybe if they had one of their own, they'd leave his alone and sweet because it is really nice of them to think about Anthony's siblings, too. I read all these articles about GLASS SIBLINGS or SAD SIBLINGS of kids with autism and although I think mostly it's bunk, I do try to be thoughtful of the girls and possible jealousy or whatever.
Anyways, we have his book and it has mostly food in it, as that's Anthony's big motivator right now. It's pretty simple - he is walking around the kitchen, and seems to want something and I say "get your book!" and he does. Yesterday in the morning he was in the kitchen and pulling me around and I said 'get your book!' and he got it, ripped off the raisins, I got some and he ate it. Poof! He's cured! Ha, kidding! Still it was nice to have such instant gratification.
We are going to continue to work away on it, I imagine we'll have better opportunities on the weekend. During the week, we are really only with Anthony for a brief time in the morning and then for dinner time, and bath time, for a total of like three hours a day. On the weekends, we'll have more time to see what he wants and how he can communicate that. I don't know what the weather will be like this weekend, but surely we can't continue to have such nice weekends, right? Time will tell, I guess.
Next Thursday is Thanksgiving already, that's crazy, right? Anthony is just off Thursday and Friday but the girls are off all week, ugh. Every time I mention it on Facebook, I get yelled at, but it is super annoying to me that since they started preschool at the end of August, they have been off for one week in October, now one week in November, and then two + weeks at the end of the year. Lord, that seems like a lot! It's hard for them to get a groove going and it's hard for me to not get really sick of them, ha! Anyway, maybe we'll find something fun to do.
I am hoping to keep track of our PECS stuff here, Lord knows if I'll have the chance but that's my hope. I am only able to type this today because Felicity fell asleep on the way home from preschool.
Oh I forgot! Anthony got a spider bite and his whole face swelled up! Well, just one side and his eye but it's been awful. It's hard especially because he looks so different. When someone doesn't talk to you too much, or at all, it's hard when they look different too, because that's all you have. But that's just how it's been hard for me, it's been hard for poor Anthony because his vision is affected, he's had to take Benadryl which makes his stomach messed up, and it must itch. I would like to state publicly that if ANTHONY COULD CATCH A BREAK, I WOULD APPRECIATE IT!
Friday, November 02, 2012
Halloween
Ugh, I hate when I leave up a sad post for so long! We have been busy and crazy as usual but I am determined to post on everyone's blog tonight. Today is Friday and Anthony was home sick from school this morning but he went in this afternoon. It's not even 9:00 and he is quiet, which is worrisome, I fear he'll be up at the crack of dawn or earlier but what can you do? NOTHING.
Yesterday, (I'm working backward), his program manager called and said that he was sick, he had thrown up 'all over his cube'. He has a cube at school, have I ever said? It's so nice, it's just the size of an office cubicle and it has all his favorite things in there. His old weighted blanket, which probably serves as a lap blanket now, his drums, his DVD player, his iPad, all sorts of stuff. He has all his work in there and work he does, except not yesterday. I guess yesterday he was kind of puny when Mike took him in but then he threw up and Mike went to get him. I had *just* put Felicity down for a nap when she called, our plan was to go get Mike and then go to Mass (yesterday was a holy day of obligation) but it all got scratched because Mike had to go get Anthony. He lay around all day, he wasn't upset and he didn't throw up again. In fact, he had dinner and seemed fine. Then right before he went to sleep, he kicked the HELL out of his door, laughing and laughing. What a whacko he is, he was so puny all afternoon and I felt so bad for him and he must have just BOOM! felt better, which can sometimes happen, but the way that he indicated it was by kicking on the door, ha!
Wednesday was Halloween and he could dress up for school. They always go trick or treating at the office next door, and this year they were invited to a party at a place across the street from their school, so it was exciting! He came home with a bag full of stuff. I didn't know what to do for a costume, we always want him to be comfortable and no masks or anything, two years ago he was Alexander (from the Judith Viorst book) and last year he was a rock star and this year I just couldn't think of anything. So I asked on Facebook and my friend Molly said Lumberjack, AND she posted a link to a do it yourself ax made of duct tape, so that's what he was and it was just great. He brought home a bunch of treats, but he doesn't much like candy so mostly we just added it to the girls' stuff.
What else? I took a bunch of pictures for his PECS at home book. It ended up to be kind of depressing, because I wanted to get pictures of everything he likes, things that are motivating to him, and there isn't that much! No wonder he gets so sick of us on the weekends! But I am excited about starting the PECS at home, so I don't care.
Two last notes: he has not been grabbing at us anymore. They advised us at his school to just ignore it, not to do anything and even though it was hard, it worked. He just stopped doing it.
And my internet friend Jean wrote this great post about What is Autism and it's just great. Her son is on the spectrum, as is she, and of course they and Anthony's autism is all very different but there are similarities too and at the least it's a great post, really clear and smart. So read it!
Here's a picture of Anthony on Halloween, and some other fall pictures. He is damned cute, if I do say so myself:
Yesterday, (I'm working backward), his program manager called and said that he was sick, he had thrown up 'all over his cube'. He has a cube at school, have I ever said? It's so nice, it's just the size of an office cubicle and it has all his favorite things in there. His old weighted blanket, which probably serves as a lap blanket now, his drums, his DVD player, his iPad, all sorts of stuff. He has all his work in there and work he does, except not yesterday. I guess yesterday he was kind of puny when Mike took him in but then he threw up and Mike went to get him. I had *just* put Felicity down for a nap when she called, our plan was to go get Mike and then go to Mass (yesterday was a holy day of obligation) but it all got scratched because Mike had to go get Anthony. He lay around all day, he wasn't upset and he didn't throw up again. In fact, he had dinner and seemed fine. Then right before he went to sleep, he kicked the HELL out of his door, laughing and laughing. What a whacko he is, he was so puny all afternoon and I felt so bad for him and he must have just BOOM! felt better, which can sometimes happen, but the way that he indicated it was by kicking on the door, ha!
Wednesday was Halloween and he could dress up for school. They always go trick or treating at the office next door, and this year they were invited to a party at a place across the street from their school, so it was exciting! He came home with a bag full of stuff. I didn't know what to do for a costume, we always want him to be comfortable and no masks or anything, two years ago he was Alexander (from the Judith Viorst book) and last year he was a rock star and this year I just couldn't think of anything. So I asked on Facebook and my friend Molly said Lumberjack, AND she posted a link to a do it yourself ax made of duct tape, so that's what he was and it was just great. He brought home a bunch of treats, but he doesn't much like candy so mostly we just added it to the girls' stuff.
What else? I took a bunch of pictures for his PECS at home book. It ended up to be kind of depressing, because I wanted to get pictures of everything he likes, things that are motivating to him, and there isn't that much! No wonder he gets so sick of us on the weekends! But I am excited about starting the PECS at home, so I don't care.
Two last notes: he has not been grabbing at us anymore. They advised us at his school to just ignore it, not to do anything and even though it was hard, it worked. He just stopped doing it.
And my internet friend Jean wrote this great post about What is Autism and it's just great. Her son is on the spectrum, as is she, and of course they and Anthony's autism is all very different but there are similarities too and at the least it's a great post, really clear and smart. So read it!
Here's a picture of Anthony on Halloween, and some other fall pictures. He is damned cute, if I do say so myself:
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