Halloween is always stressful at our house. Nick is totally into it and Noah usually goes along with it. Nate, however, has always been the issue. He doesn't like to dress up and he really doesn't understand trick or treating. If you open your front door for Nate, he's going to walk in your house. So, I the past, Nate has been the problem at Halloween. This Halloween, was very different.
Tim had a football game on Halloween. So, we were already down one adult. I took Nick to a friend's house and he trick or treated with them. This left me at home to hand out candy and Nate and Noah with their staff.
Both boys put on their costumes with no problem...even Nate. This was encouraging. Since the weather was so bad, they decided to go trick or treating at the mall. I thought this would be better for Nate, since this eliminated the whole going in people's houses. It was so crowded at the mall that staff decided to take the boys to Krispy Kreme for their free donuts and then home to see the neighbors.
When Noah goes to the mall, he wants to ride the escalator and go to the play place. Well, neither of those things happened on Halloween. It was so crowded that they just turned around to leave. Noah was not having any of that. He dropped to the ground and started screaming. For Noah's staff member, it was her first experience with a Noah fit. I am really glad that she was not with him alone. Nate's staff member had plenty of experience with a Noah fit apparently, this one lasted 25 minutes. They said they were surprised that mall security did not get involved.
When he quieted down, they were able to get him in the car. They still stopped at Krispy Kreme. Nate went in and got his donut and Noah sat in the car. He was not going to get a treat to reinforce his behavior at the mall. When they got home, Nate went trick or treating at the neighbor's houses. He said "trick or treat" and did not try to enter their homes. While Nate did this, Noah took a bath and went straight to bed. He was exhausted after his meltdown. Nate proudly showed me his candy and had another donut.
If you had told me that Nate would have a great Halloween, I would have bet against you. It just shows that in an autism house, nothing is a sure thing.
Tuesday, November 5, 2013
Noah update
We had Noah's IEP a few weeks ago. It lasted 2 hours. It's so funny, in my building, the kids don't receive as many services, so the IEPs last about 45 minutes. I think 2 hours is Noah's shortest IEP so far.
Noah's behavior has greatly improved, both at home and in school. He still struggles is school when a classmate is having a meltdown. Noah is an empathetic crier. If you are crying, he will cry with you. I guess he thinks that no one should meltdown alone. They are now trying to get Noah out of the rio when a classmate is starting to rev up.
The OT is concerned with Noah's handwriting. She has not seen much improvement over the past year. She asked about typing, but I said no. I think we need to keep up with the handwriting. I'm afraid that if we start typing, he will never write. He also needs to have a signature when begets older. Our home OT will help get the staff on the same page with handwriting. This way he can also practice at home. I was also pleasantly surprised when the school OT wanted to increase his OT minutes.
The classroom teacher wants to up his academic goals. She wants to move Noah into the Dolce 1st grade words. She also wants to start counting by 5's and 10's. When we get these things implemented in his home therapy, he will master these in no time. All the therapists agreed that he learns so quickly.
It seems that he makes great strides every day. I am anxious to see where we are in another year!
Noah's behavior has greatly improved, both at home and in school. He still struggles is school when a classmate is having a meltdown. Noah is an empathetic crier. If you are crying, he will cry with you. I guess he thinks that no one should meltdown alone. They are now trying to get Noah out of the rio when a classmate is starting to rev up.
The OT is concerned with Noah's handwriting. She has not seen much improvement over the past year. She asked about typing, but I said no. I think we need to keep up with the handwriting. I'm afraid that if we start typing, he will never write. He also needs to have a signature when begets older. Our home OT will help get the staff on the same page with handwriting. This way he can also practice at home. I was also pleasantly surprised when the school OT wanted to increase his OT minutes.
The classroom teacher wants to up his academic goals. She wants to move Noah into the Dolce 1st grade words. She also wants to start counting by 5's and 10's. When we get these things implemented in his home therapy, he will master these in no time. All the therapists agreed that he learns so quickly.
It seems that he makes great strides every day. I am anxious to see where we are in another year!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)