Anxiety

What a stressful new year it has been so far.  My brother in law is staying with us and his 3 year old daughter for a while.  He has no job, car, license and a girl pregnat which possibly may not be his child.  Poor guy.  I really wish the best for him.  The good news is that I don't have to load up the kids at 5 in the morning and haul them to work with me to exchange them with their mother.

Dawn is sick and tired of 3rd shift at the factory.  People are grumpy and disrespectful and lazy.  Not to mention the management is terrible. She deserves better and wants to go back into nursing..soon.  But right now she just wants to get off the graveyard shift.

Thank the heavens for Prozac.  I have been on it for the last couple months and has really took the edge off the stress of raising kids like a single father.  Things between my wife and I were awful.  I guess we really had to hit bottom to realize we need help.  We are now very happy again.  We realize how much we need each other and do love each other.  We felt like we grew apart for the past several years.

At Danes last therapy treatment I talked to this single mother who has been taking her 5 year old to therapy 3 days a week for 3 years for behavior.  She had an IPad with her and let Dane play Angry Birds on it.  I have never seen an IPad that close before.  I was amused how much attachment Dane took to it.  He tells me that school lets him play with one and he wants one.  I don't blame him but he just wants to play angry birds on it.

Happily though my brother-in-law got a job interview and orientation at a local meat packaging plant.  He will start at 7 which means the kids can sleep in until my wife gets home, take him to work and then take Dane to school and come home and hopefully get some sleep in.

I have been waiting to get a picture of Danes "squeeze machine" his case worker gave us.  He really likes it.  I will have to get a picture on soon.  His therapist also had him made a body sock.  He knows when to get in it for his own sensory break but the first night in it he hit his head on the table.   Ally, my daughter likes to get into it and say she's a ghost.  "Ooohhhh"  she moans...so funny.

Goals of an IEP

These are a couple links with IEP goals with and without objectives for students with autism.  Some pretty good information to glance at.

Goals with Objectives: http://www.specialed.us/autism/05/g_o.htm

Goals without Objectives: http://www.specialed.us/autism/05/gwo.htm

Liquid Timer - Calming Attachment

Dane found an old liquid timer in my old bedroom at my parents house.  It's one of those, well, it's like an hour glass that you flip over and blobs of liquid colors spin gears inside the thing.  It is so old that the colors faded and it just looks like water.  Now, he has an obsession taking this with him everywhere.

The first night home with it he was getting tired.  I was thinking that it wouldn't surprise me if he watched it until he fell asleep.  My assumption was correct.  It must have taken 45 minutes of him flipping it and watching the little wheels spin and eventually he fell asleep on the couch.  He has always has a visual attachment with spinning objects.  Maybe some day he will be a disk jocky spinning records or maybe he will design roller coasters.  He says he wants to be a scientist and a fire fighter or a teacher.  Its fun to hear him say these things.  Up until he turned 5 I didn't think I'd have actual conversations with him.  His replies are short yes or no answers but he has been asking "Why?  I have to keep my answers short because I see the confusion in his eyes when I talk too much.

His meltdowns have been short to none lately.  He still has no control of hitting his sister when he's mad.  Allyson does bring on the situation when she interrupts him or takes something from him.  Other then that they play really good.

Next Tuesday Dane doesn't have therapy.  I made him his first eye doctor appointment.  Before I go in with him I will show him a video of someone getting their eyes checked or pictures of what will happen.  This will be so he is aware of what will happen.  I will show him an eye chart and possibly the eye drops to dialate the pupils.  Then I will show him that thing that goes in front of your face where you look into and the doctor tells you which one is blurry.  1 or 2?

I think Dane needs glasses.  He squints just like I do without my glasses.  If he does get glasses I want them to have a special tint to them so he won't have to wear sunglasses in certain stores that freak him out.  He goes crazy over the ceiling fans when we walk into Menards.  That's the first department walking into that store.  For some reason it makes him happy so I always make a quick stroll through.

Before I go into a store like that, I have to tell him that we are Not going to look at the fans if we are in a hurry to avoid a stressful situation.  Telling him before hand what I expect from our shopping experience really helps a lot.  Like, "were just here to look."  "We are not getting any toys or candy for you."  "If you are really good you get a treat when we get home."  He replies with an "Awwww man"  Which is better than an embarrassing tantrum from a 6 year old.  Therapy has been helping him a lot.  He has come a long way.

I have always had Dane around kids his own peers to learn from.  Picture schedules were a godsend and Baby Einstein videos were a life saver when he was a baby.  His little sister has helped him learn how to be more social as well.  All the kids in his class really seem to like him and his teachers love him.

Explaining Death Again - R.I.P. Gizmo

Another one bites the dust.  Gizmo, the black and white guinea pig was killed in a tragic accident.  I could have probably prevented it by telling the kids to put the pigs back in their cage while I got ready.  Both Wubbzy and Gizmo were squeaking happily and the kids were petting them.

Dane opened the door and said he was going outside to put Gizmo in the grass.  I thought that would be okay for the next couple minutes while I took a quick shower.  I was wrong.  I got out of the shower with a towel on and Allyson said to me that Gizmo wasn't moving or playing.  I was like, "What?"  I walked around the corner and to my disappointment, there was Gizmo.  She was laying on top of the garbage can on her back, lifeless.  Dead as a doornail.

I admit to myself that I did not much like cleaning up after these pets.  All they do is eat and go to the bathroom.  We got them to teach Dane some responsibility.  He does good keeping them fed and watered.  I need to remind him a lot to look over them.  Not to mention that Dane makes quite the mess taking care of them.  Always spilling pellets everywhere and putting more food dishes and moving the water feeder all the time.  Dane cannot get comfortable with any set spot the food and water are in.  He's always rearranging them.

Okay, so I ask what happened? Dane said that Gizmo is dead.  "Yeah, I see that.  How did Gizmo die?" It took some time but Dane told me that he threw the poor thing.  I don't know if he was playing catch with it or dropped it or sat on it.  I asked Ally and she said she didn't know.

It was an accident and Dane wants another guinea pig.  I had to explain death again to which he has no concept of.  I say that Gizmo is with Jesus and he's in a better place.  Either way, a pet killed by rough play cannot be replaced like a toy car.  We need time to show Dane that Gizmo isn't coming back.  We tell Dane that he needs to take extra special care of Wubbzy now.  We told him that he cannot throw, sit or cover the guinea pig.  He needs to be very nice or the same thing will happen to Wubbzy as Gizmo. The problem now is that Wubbzy is depressed and not eating.  I hope it doesn't starve itself to death.  My wife wants it to have company or it probably will die from starvation.  Who knows.

I wrapped Gizmo up in a small towel and my wife told Dane to tell Gizmo goodbye and that he's sorry. Dane showed concern but didn't cry.  I don't think he realized what he did.  Accidents happen and it happened so fast.

My wife went to get the kids ready to go shopping.  In the meantime, I dug a quick hole by the garage and buried Gizmo.