Special Exposure / Wordless Weds: From His Heart

Last Friday was James' last day of SHAPE with one of his most special people ever. The preschool suddenly announced it was closed on that day, so we met at the park and had a kind of picnic/play celebration.

James helped make the card and write the letters, all the while chanting "I LOVE Teacher Nancy!":

Teacher Nancy has helped him feel loved and secure as he stretched his school mornings into days, dealt with the trauma of potty training, made his first efforts at writing, and helped direct him to play socially with other children. Always she was full of patience, caring, and humour. She saw James as a person who was yearning to grow and do, and she helped him do just that.

James even got himself dressed in clothes he picked out for this special day:

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and ... Wordless Wednesday

Scheduling Dilemma

I am not a fan of shoe-horning activities into a child's day. That said, James is getting the last of several services this month. Preschool for special needs kids. SHAPE assistant hours (with constraints but also with a fabulous woman).

M-Tu-F, James has a decent schedule, with only preschool in the morning. W-Th, he has program for most of the day, with a 2-hour gap of doom in the middle. In theory, he can rest in that interval. What it actually does is push him. Sometimes that's good. But other times, he gets pushed over the edge and:

He gets sick. We had carsickness last Friday, followed by a summer cold, which he gladly shared with me.

It's so scarily easily to just sit and do nothing. That's not good for James' growth with speech and development in general. I am constantly striving to balance. A formula for success has so far eluded me.

Fall Change

Fall is in the air and the kids have been back in school for a few weeks now. When did going back to school get so crazy, BTW? So many forms to fill out, things to buy, and schedules to scramble, organize, and rearrange.

It probably does not help that James is attending two different preschools this year, in addition to his regular paperwork and program intricacies.

Between the school bus, whose schedule has varied wildly, and adjusting to the new afternoon program 3 days a week, and dealing with sudden fierce blasts of 100*+ heat, I've been on my toes to cover all the bases and keep the troops running. I am also back at school and doing some contract work, so life is very interesting indeed.

So when I arrived with James at his new preschool this morning and found a new SHAPE assistant there to greet us, totally out-of-the-blue, I was kerflumoxed. Deeply.

Luckily, James was not. I am hoping he stays happy and able to roll with the punches. Heaven knows I find them frustrating!

Weekend Forecast: Cloudy, w/ Upset Tummy

James has had an exciting week. He loves being back at school with his teachers and friends. the different classroom puzzled him at first, but now I think he really likes having the familiar things in new configurations.

We are having problems with the bus. Again. The driver forgot to come to work and pick them up one afternoon and is just not seeming like a good match for special needs kids. We are trying to resolve this situation.

James was puzzled and a little anxious about going to the second preschool on Wednesday afternoon, but he recognized it from when Big Sister went there and knew some of the teachers there a bit. His regular teacher and SHAPE person were reassuring and I was able to melt away in less than half an hour. I heard that he played well with others and sat and listened to a longish story at story time.

On Wednesday, James topped off a very long afternoon with his last Music Together class. He sang along with every song and tried to beat time with his hands and instruments. He was having a ball! The teacher seemed disappointed that we were not re-enrolling. I'd love to, but all their classes happen when he is in school.

James came down sick yesterday afternoon. Poor guy! He's been resting, but I can tell that he's not feeling well. His temperature shoots up a couple of times a day and I've pulled him off milk. He's had water, popsickles, and some tortilla chips.

He asked for PB&J sandwich tonight so I made him one. He commented "Dat's a *brown*" while I spread the peanut butter and "Issa RED!" when I smoothed out the strawberry jam. He hovered over the counter, watching the ingredients being assembled and said "Is fo James!" He also counted the knife cuts that I made(3) and the slices of sandwich they made (4) -- all triangles, because he dislikes the crusts. Tonight James ate the entire sandwich and kept it down. I hope he feels better tomorrow.

Making Plans, Saying 'Bye

Today was filled with busy conversations. We may be zeroing in on a preschool/daycare location for James to attend three days a week next year, with his SHAPE assistant in tow. The biggest hurdle will be the tuition, because I am not working. However, we may be able to get some assistance from the Regional Center, which could help make this a reality.

Especially nice for me is the fact that the assistance becomes available if I go back to work or school. I am definitely interested in going back to school. It's been almost two years since I was actively out there doing web developer work on a regular basis. I am sure there's a lot to get caught up on, although thankfully enough remains the same for me to keep my head above water.

Paperwork has been filled out and submitted to help get our daughter on a better track at her school for first grade.

This afternoon we had our end of term party for the CATS Program. While it was sad to goodbye to some of the wonderful people who were part of our lives for several months, how much we all learned! And some great connections were made. I am hopin to participate again next year.

And now, James has just come up to me and used his pop sickle stick as a tongue depressor on me. He made me open my mouth and go "Ahhhhh", and then he said "Doctor." OMG, he is play acting!!!!!

Waiting for Now

I remember all the waiting when I was a kid. How endless the day seemed as I hung around, waiting for things to happen. I remembered it all well watching James wait for his SHAPE assistant this afternoon. As the wait for Christmas heats up. And the wait for nap time to be over. And the big birthday Numero Four-o ...

More in SHAPE

James has started working with his new SHAPE person! So now he also gets some special one-on-one time Tuesday, Wednesdays, and Fridays, instead of just Mondays and Thursdays.

I stayed out of James' line of sight in the next room, reading a book. Just to check in that they didn't need me. They certainly didn't. So after about 20 minutes I moved down the hall to my office. It's dusty! Kidding! Kind of!

James' speech is getting much clearer and he is now saying 3-syllable words that others can easily recognize. Um, I think 3 weeks ago he could not do this. He is working on letter recognition and has a pretty good grip on the alphabet. Listening in today made me smile. There is so much more give & take in the verbal process now in his SHAPE sessions. It used to be almost a monologue for his first SHAPE assistant. He has better focus and can stay with a task much longer than before.

Except if he is cranky. Cranky=all bets off. Cranky prompted throwing of puzzle pieces into the sink (nice arc on your throws, James, BTW) when alone with Mommy and got him another Time Out. Cranky wipes out speech and brings on the screeches and screams. The tears. Cries of "A-Daddy! A-Nana!" And many many tears. James gets tropical storms of emotional outbursts -- fierce, loud, wet, and mercifully brief.

James likes to work with his word cards and can actually talk about what he sees on them. Not a lot, but he's talking!

Sometimes lately, I catch him sizing me up thoughtfully while I am busy at something. His sister does this all the time. I am seeing him do it more and more. It reminds me that I need to watch out for bad habits -- like swearing. A few weeks ago, he repeated a word I'd really rather he forget I said. Yikes! How about a popsickle, James? A red one? Yes, talk about *that* all you like!!!

Fall Patterns

We are settling into a routine! We all get up, have breakfast, & go to school. First big sister to Kindergarten, then James to his school. I am still driving him. The buses are better at being on time, but still feel better taking him.

James has SHAPE Mondays and Thursdays. He is staying up until about 3:30, when he then crashes for his nap. We are working on getting him to pedal his bike a bit longer each time. He is so good at saying and matching colours and shapes! He counts and is starting to say random letters.

His teacher is getting him to swing each day at school. This is huge because just the idea of sitting in a swing used to send James into a panic, with yelling, crying, and frantic attempts to escape. Each week, his teacher is bringing the swing up a bit. Right now, his toes touch the ground, and he uses this to push himself into some mild swinging. The ultimate goal is to not have his feet touch at all and enjoy some swinging.

We have started the CATs program and I feel very fortunate to have our student partner, who is very motivated, bright, and focused. We attended the monthly parenting class offered by James' preschool and the student had a great time observing James with his SHAPE and teaching assistants. The group was very welcoming of having a student observer and I feel how lucky we are to have such a great support team for James all over again!

We are going through growth spurts again. Before school, James was under 40" -- now he is over 40" and he's up another half shoe size. He is ticklish lately, and very playful and cuddly. I think part of that is because he is growing so quickly he's unsure of where his body is in space. But I am loving the way he puckers up, goes "mmmmm" and kisses me on the lips. So. Sweet!

New Toys

What can perk up a hot, tired little boy after a night of "party of one" in his room and a hot morning at summer school?

A SHAPE assistant with new toys! Especially the foam football and Connect 4 checkers!

And now I am hoping for an afternoon nap.

Getting into SHAPE

I am listening to James working with his SHAPE assistant. He is laughing and singing along to his favourite "walking, walking" song. The tune is like the "Are You Sleeping, Father John?" song. They march, tip toe, and run in circles. What is not to like?

We are working on colours for James. He can say them most of the time, but his matching is not consistent. We also work with his Flash cards, to work on words and sounds. Some cards he really likes, like "happy," "eye," and "apple." Other ones he ignores, such as "noodles," "Heidi," and "oh boy!" We also work on stop and go, as James will run out into the street, looking behind him and laughing at me. It is just a big game to him and one of my worst nightmares.

James also likes to work with the Play Dough, something he wouldn't do at first. He also likes to string beads on a string. He does great, except for that last poke through the bead before he can slide it down the string. After a few "helps" he can do this. Sometimes James will bring out his favourite books for reading, and sometimes the SHAPE asst. will pick the books. I admire so much their patience to work with my son. I learn something new from watching them work together almost every time.