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12.29.2006
It's been so long since I've updated on the kid that I hardly know where to start! It's been a very busy 6 months, that's for sure. He's at a new school with a new (literally) teacher. He seems to be doing well, but I'm not as comfortable with her as with his last teacher. She seems to have a handle on things, but I can't be positive. Taz doesn't tell us much about what goes on at school, and his tendency to mix up when things happen has become a bit more prevalent recently, so it's hard to tell from him how he's doing. The IEP's are coming back okay, but I won't be 100% sure of what's going on until I can peek in on him, and that may not be for a bit.
We're going to have to talk to his doctor about possible changes in his meds. He's having more and more issues with the self-stimming, the humming, and the talking all the time. He literally seems unable to stop himself. I don;t much mind him spinning his glasses, but the constant talking movies to himself is distracting and makes me worry about his ability to work/live in the "real" world. So we're going to have to see if we can do anything to help him gain a little more control over it.
Of course, having dad over for the week has only made it worse. Actually, all of his behavior is worse, and we know it's because he thinks he can pull a fast one on dad or beg his way into anything. This is a problem because dad won't make an effort to stay on the program with him. He hardly even realizes how not normal his son is half the time. For example, Taz was with him whe we left the theater screen we saw "Eragon" in, but he didn't bother to hold his hand or anything. so, when dad went into the restroom, Taz was left out in the crowded hallway on his own. It's this sort of thing that aggravates me about dad and makes me glad dad isn't here year round. Keeping an eye on Taz is work, and apparently dad isn't much into doing work when it comes to the kids. It's an effort for him to even respond to them half the time.
Anyway, Taz's behavior should clear up some when dad is gone. We're trying to enforce it anyway, but it's a losing battle. And we're having trouble with what few chores he's supposed to be doing, which I'm sure is both the autism and the teenager stuff mixing into the "I don't want to"s pretty badly. It's times like these that I really wish I didn't have to work and I could stay home and stay on top of him and what he needs to do until they are habits.
We're also having trouble with clothing. Taz is long and lean. 8's fit his waist, 10's barely fit his height (and, actually, often don't). A sewing machine may be in order soon, whether I have time or not. He just doesn't fit anything store bought that we can afford.
We're trying to figure out things for Taz to do when he's older, but it's kind of a tough call right now. We tried taking photos, but we're not sure if it failed because he had limited things to take pictures of or because he wasn't interested. since his dad didn't get him a digital camera like we initially suggested for Christmas, it may be a bit before we can figure it out. Cameras and processing cost more money than we have. Dad did get him the "Over the Hedge" PS2 game he requested, but it turns out Taz can't play that on his own too well. We also have the same problem we do with "Ice Age 2" -- he keeps starting over so he can see the movie clips. The kid is too smart sometimes. ;)
Beyond all that, he's looking forward to school starting again. And we're looking forward to things settling back into some kind of routine again!
posted by domynoe on 5:35:00 PM | note me
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6.24.2006
Taz does have some household chores and this summer we're having to do some reteaching of how to. He tends to take the easiest, quickest way of doing things so he can get back to his humming and spinning. For laundry, this often means just stuffing things in drawers (if he puts it away at all) or some sort of quick, sloppy folding that's more of piled than folded. Some of this comes from his level of motor skills at the time he was first taught. So, today I taught him a few new things on folding -- like using his arm across the legs of pants to help with that middle fold and am watching him fold. We're doing one type of clothing at a time, so he can get the hang og that one article, put them away, and come back to do something. I'm also cheering him on and clapping and praising him as he goes because he's very responsive to praise. It's a slower process for the both of us, but he's doing very well at it. He also helps with dishes -- mostly putting them away from the dishwasher, but he is learning, making his bed (which we still have trouble with), and cleaning his room. The room thing is the hardest -- he and I have very different ideas of what equals clean, so we're learning to work with him and compromise a little.
I'm really proud of him. He's come so far. :)
posted by domynoe on 12:46:00 PM | note me
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