Thursday, October 7, 2010

The holiday check in

The holiday weekend is upon us and I find myself looking at my girls with more joy, more understanding and more.. well.. giggles. They are little girls after all!

Winnie is enjoying school, although I have to drive her now as the special needs bus (the safest way for her to get to school) arrives at her school at about 9:15, when school starts at 8:35. This means that she actually misses a good deal of her schooling. We put her on the bus originally so that she would get the experience of the trip, although still within the safety of having an aid with her. Unfortunately, the bus being so late is completely unacceptable. To circumvent this, and still allow Winnie the opportunity of the bus experience, I now drive her to school in the morning, and she takes the bus home. So far, its working out well.

Her TA communicates with me through a notebook that she sends home with Winnie every day, although mostly the entries are "Winnie had a good day today, we painted with potato cut-outs." or something similarly vague. Of course, she is busy, I'm just used to knowing more. Winnie is getting better at telling me what her day is like though, or maybe I'm just getting better at deciphering her slightly erratic attempts at conversation. I think perhaps its a little of both.

Maggie is turning out to be a fashion diva. I dress her, and then she "completes the outfit" every day. A funky hat, some interesting shoes, beaded necklaces or, if nothing else, a princess crown purse made from fuzzy material, bright pink with purple fluff edging. Her compliance has come way up though, and I'm trying to shape her away from getting up at 4 and 5am every day. Today she slept in until 6ish, so I call that a win so far.

I did notice a post on www.circleofmoms.com asking about what books people would recommend for help with autistic kids, and I have a pretty good library right now. All of which are very helpful to me in their own way - MOST of which can be found in Fredericton at Chapters in the Regent Mall or Westminster Books on King Street. (A lot of them may also be available on loan from the Autism Connections Centre on the Lincoln Road).

My recommendations:
- Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew - by Ellen Notbohm
- The Way I See It by Temple Grandin
- Steps to Independence: Teaching Everyday Skills to Children With Special Needs by Bruce L. Baker and Alan J. Brightman
- The Autism Mom's Survival Guide by Susan Senator
- Early Intervention Games by Barbara Sher

I have LOADS of other books, but I find these are the ones I come back to again and again to help me cope, learn and get ideas for helping my kids discover and learn about the world around them. Hope this helps!

Have a great holiday weekend everyone! I'm sure we all can find things to be thankful for this year!

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