First baseball practice

So one of the support groups I belong to has decided to create a summer activity for our kids but with the help of a councilman, she has received some funding to make it a citywide event for any and all special needs children between the ages of 3 to 21 years to join. Registration was two weeks ago and I saw about 20-30 children were signed up. Practices are scheduled for late June, but there was discussion about making two practice teams, one for those who live on the North side of the city and one for those on the South side. So to get feedback and a division of children and families, there was a quick meeting Wednesday evening at the park not too far from our subdivision.

Batter up! 

I picked up Puppy from after school care and hurried over to the park. There were already about 15 kids there and one coach.  They had set up and were practicing batting and running. Of course we get there and Puppy is all about not wanting to do anything, just sit on the bench and watch. He was complaining about the heat and too many people being there. Shortly thereafter the kids came off the field to take a water break. At this time I talk to him asking him to go give it a try so he can tell his teacher about it the next day. He finally gives in and goes to try batting, and he did great, ran to first and the rest went equally well and smoothly.

    

Puppy makes it to First base.

Second base

Third base...

       

and he makes it home.
Way to go Puppy!

When he was back at the bench he started to get fussy and asking if Ms. H would be coming to meet us at the park. I'm guessing he wanted someone else to see him play to make it valid. I said yes, and all of the sudden he says he can't stand her and doesn't want her there. Don't worry it's not the first time he does this, but it's one of the few times he does it in public. She gets there and he comes close and tells me to ask her to leave and that he's going to have a tantrum if she gets near him. I can't help but roll my eyes because I know this is already escalating into something bigger. Sure enough, he tries to bang his head on the fencing unknowingly that cyclone fencing basically bounces back, so he was disappointed. I looked at him and he started mumbling bad words...and I said, "Let's go."

When he was back at the bench he started to get fussy and asking if Ms. H would be going to meet us at the park. I'm guessing he wanted someone else to see him play to make it valid. I said yes, and all of the sudden he says he can't stand her and doesn't want her there. Don't worry it's not the first time he does this, but it's one of the few times he does it in public. She gets there and he comes close and tells me to ask her to leave and that he's going to have a tantrum if she gets near him. I can't help but roll my eyes because I know this is already escalating into something bigger. Sure enough, he tries to bang his head on the fencing unknowingly that cyclone fencing basically bounces back, so he was disappointed. I looked at him and he started mumbling bad words...and I said, "Let's go."

The entire walk to the truck was just so peachy with him screaming foul language in Spanish. Luckily, no one paid any attention because each parent had their own hands full watching over their own child. Ms. H followed us to the parking lot and we headed home. On route he was still screaming that he didn't want Ms. H to go to our house. The bad words were so colorful with him taking turns in English and Spanish. Then he mentioned he was repeating words another ex-classmate usually says. So I called him by that child's name and he was furious. So now he's banging his fist on the door window, on the dashboard, on the arm rest, and finally it ends with him biting his hand. However, it must have been a really strong bite because he started to cry and yelled it hurt. Keep in mind he has braces and it only makes it easier for him to break skin.

We had made it home. Once he was a little calmer, he looked at me and apologized. He wanted sympathy for his injury. He leaned his head on my shoulder and said he was nervous. What would his teacher say when she sees his hand? What will his consequences be tomorrow? So much goes through his mind in such a short period. I can't imagine the mental struggles he must go through all day.

Of course he then started up again once we got inside the house because Ms. H was now with us. But he just stormed up to his room, closed the door and stayed there talking to himself. This lasted about 30 minutes, but only because I decided to open the door to check on him.  He had been pacing back and forth, nothing more, but he was nervous and he was about to start escalating again. We sat down together and I tried my best to explain that we can't change the past (he doesn't understand past though), so move forward and don't repeat the biting and swearing. He was probably just satisfied with the fact that I did not express anger. Maybe I should have, but everyday teaches me and reminds me that he mimics and he would indeed mimic my anger if he saw it, maybe not today but someday. He politely gave me a kiss on the cheek and started making his way to the shower and began his evening routines, then a sweet "Good night, Ms. H., I love you." and "Good night, mom, I love you."  Another day is now behind us.

Stuff in His Pockets

It’s not that I haven’t wanted to write lately.  It’s not that I don’t have anything to write about.  I have plenty to write about.  It just takes me a while to collect my thoughts for a new post. Now where do I start?  Let’s try Thursday, February 23.

I had allowed Puppy to wear a watch to school with the conditions that if he messed with it or wasn’t able to focus on his school work, his teacher was going to take it from him.   Puppy also went to school with $15 for the book fair.  He likes going every year and looks for mostly picture books.  He was also excited about going because he knows that they usually sell other trinkets that he can choose from like erasers, pencils, magnets, etc.  The kind of things he can carry in his pockets. 

Puppy’s teacher went over to our home on Thursday as part of our in-home training. I had a few errands to run so Ms. H picked up Puppy from daycare and took him home; where his teacher was waiting for them.  It started off just fine.  Luckily she had good news to report. He did pretty well and the watch was never brought to his attention. Puppy went to the book fair and bought his book and an eraser.

That was in school under the watchful eye of his teacher and the TAs in his classroom.  Apparently, once he was off the bus and at daycare, he removed the watch from his wrist to place it in his pocket.  It’s just a need he has to carry something in his pockets.  I think it was Ms. H whom noticed he wasn’t wearing it and signaled him by pointing at her wrist.  His teacher caught on and asked for it.  One small problem though.  The watch wasn’t the only thing in his pockets. This was not going to end well.  He had purchased a letter sized soft paperback book about how to draw motorcycles.  The problem was that he had folded it as small as he could to also place in his back pocket (you know, to make an impression of a fat wallet).  Well he took it out and his teacher must have drilled him before I arrived because it was tense in the house. Once I was seated, he proceeded to tell me what he had done and his teacher said that his consequences would be spending time at the library helping fix books and magazines.  He didn’t seem to have a problem with it and was apologetic the remainder of the evening. 

Puppy didn’t have classes on Friday or Monday, so Tuesday will be the day to fulfill his consequence.  Now we had a long weekend to manage.  I was not looking forward to this.

So far, so good

Two full days after having his dental appliance put back into place with extra cement/glue, it seems to be holding well. I can even tell that it is not bothering Puppy anymore because he is speaking faster, not that clearly but he's trying and he's more confident about eating. I will be calling the dentist one more time to see if they are open on Saturday so that the pistons can be put back on.  Waiting until his next appointment in March will only delay the process. I can only hope we don't have problems once the adjustments are made.

I also wanted to mention that Puppy wore a watch on his wrist yesterday.  It's the second watch because his teacher kept the other one because he was messing with it in class.  I got a great report.  She told me that she didn't mention a word about it and he was able to focus on his work without giving attention to the watch. Such a big progress on Puppy's part. He wore the watch all day and she rewarded him with a cupcake at the end of the school day. Kudos to him!

Is he listening?

Many, many times I just wonder.  How much of what I tell Puppy is he listening to?  Then I quietly laugh all by myself.  Yeah, he is listening to every word.  He simply chooses when to react or answer to my words. My son is very observant of his surroundings, this includes all that he hears be it voices or noises.

I know, this only leaves me open to give some examples.  One was just yesterday.  Last night Puppy and I attended our monthly autism support group meeting.  It was a small group of parents exchanging good conversation while Puppy was cared for in another room with other children.  Because of the interesting stories we shared, our meeting went beyond its scheduled time.  All this is fine and I have no complaints.  But waiting in the driveway at home was my sister whom had misplaced her key to enter the house.  Unfortunately, she had stressful day at work and was ready to relax and hearing we were running late was not what she wanted to hear.  On our way home I stressed to Puppy that his aunt might not be in the best of moods and he was to try and keep clear of her.  When we got home, he went to his room to get ready for his evening routines and follow through with the instructions before bedtime. He saw my sister sitting on her bed, he went up to her and softly asked her, "Are you angry?"  She simply answered, "No, I'm just tired."  He walked away calmly, smiled, squeaked in his high pitched sounds and continued with his routine.  I must say he did pretty well.  It surprised me that there were a couple of parts to my instructions and yet, he complied beautifully. These are new experiences Puppy is learning.

Another comes to mind easily.  Our mornings are not usually what I'd call hectic, but sometimes they can become stressful for me since I need to make sure Puppy is getting ready for school and taking his meds, while I am also getting myself ready for work.  So our routines start and I begin to shout down the hallway to him to get dressed, tie your shoes, brush your teeth, find your belt, put it on, etc. And like with most kids, I normally repeat myself, once, twice, three times, or more.  But then it happens...once in a while he surprises me and shows up behind me, taps me on the shoulder and says, "Mom, I'm ready."  Whew--I did my job and yes, he was listening.

But I'll finish this post with my favorite example of all.  He loves music and even insists on sleeping with the radio on all night.  He's not really particular to any specific kind of music but I influence his listening to country music because that's my favorite.  But living in a border town, the bus drivers usually tend to have Spanish/Tejano music on the bus rides. I can tell that the music moves him.  And he can sing, sing and sing if he thinks no one is around, like in the shower, for one.  Also, the schools have functions on the holidays where the special needs students have dances, and I'm told he gets up and dances. Did I mention he loves to listen to music?  So once again, yeah--he is listening, loud and clear.