summer speech #2

Last Tuesday, SJ had his weekly speech therapy appointment.  When I got there, I told her how SJ had done on his homework.  She had assigned him to choose the correct definition for each word.  Then, he had to make a sentence using that word. 

For example:  melon 

1. a large fruit with a hard rind and juicy flesh
2. a canoe made of skins stretched over a wooden frame
3. a small animal whose back is covered with stiff spines
4. a large basket used for holding laundry

He was able to correctly choose #1 and the sentence who decided on was Can I eat the melon?

He was also assigned a paper on using adjectives.  He was given a word bank with four words.  He had to decide which word would be best to describe the nouns.  Then, he had to make up a sentence for each word.

For example:  stringy  cheerful  broken  bumpy

the bumpy road - The bumpy road shook the cars.
a cheerful hello - I said a cheerful hello.
the stringy cheese - The stringy cheese is fun to eat.
the broken eggshells - I cleaned up the broken eggshells.

He also had to complete a worksheet that they had begun in their session.  He needed to give an opposite word for each word listed.  We were also to go over the ones that he missed when he was doing this with his therapist.  One that he had missed with her was beautiful.  He needed to answer ugly.  He answered horrible after prompted.  It is not exactly correct, but it wasn't a synonym.  He was able to get 50% of the ones he missed with his therapist correct when I prompted him. 

We also had to review some adverbs that he was having trouble with.  For example: The doctor looked at the patiently seriously.  He kept saying that "seriously" was more of a sarcastic response.  I reminded him that it means "not being funny". 

At his session, she went over the homework that we did.  Plus, she started working on identifying synonyms.  He completely missed two (crumple-crush and beautiful-pretty), he got three correct (ill-sick, begin-start and chilly-cold) and five he got after she prompted him (infant-baby, jog-run, great-terrific, fast-quick and sea-ocean).  She said that when she had to prompt him she found it was easier if she put the word in a sentence.  She asked me to complete the remaining 25 words with him for homework.  She also assigned him another worksheet on adjectives. 

I asked her how his mood was.  He has been very crabby with the new gluten limited diet.  She said he was talking in his monotone voice, but he was still working hard.  I was glad to hear that. 

summer reading tutoring #2

Last Tuesday was SJ's reading tutoring session with Mrs. Banks.  She said SJ did a very nice job.  They continued on with The Island: Survival book.  She said they read two more chapters and answered some comprehension questions about the chapters.  She said SJ was glad that they were down to only one girl character.  She said they are not definitely dead, but they can't be found on the island. 

After they finished their chapters, SJ did a Look and Find sheet.  He had to find 10 items in the worksheet.  It was called "The Sweet Summer Season".  She said that SJ found the items easily.  See the attached worksheet and images that he had to find.

 

 

The last thing they did was play the game Doodle Dice.  In the game, you need to roll the dice to make a doodle.  Mrs. Banks said that SJ was very frustrated at first.  He didn't understand that you can choose to hold some of the dice (like in Yahtzee) in order to make one.  Once he understood how the game worked, she said he started to enjoy the game. That seemed like a fun game, so maybe I will have to pick it up. 

 

 

I am glad that SJ worked well for her.  He seems to not mind going to her house.  I thought that was going to be a problem, but I was glad that I was wrong about that.

 

 

tubing on the river

On Sunday, we were invited to the river to hang out with our good friends.  We were at their house on Saturday night for a fire and they had mentioned that they may be going boating on Sunday.  They said if they did, they would text us.  I told SJ that Sunday morning.  He kept asking me every 30 minutes if they had called yet.  "No, not yet," was my repeated reply. 

Around 3:00, they sent us a text and asked if we wanted to come down to their dock.  Bob was nervous to go tubing, but I told him he could just hang out on the boat with Willie and Topher.  SJ was super excited when I told him about the text.  It took us a few minutes to pack up our towels and grab some snacks.  SJ was the first one in the car. 

Our friends' dock is only about 15 minutes from our house.  We found a parking space and met them at their dock.  The boys started swimming in the river near their dock.  They were diving off the dock or hanging out in the floating tubes.  This went on for about 30 minutes.  At one point, Willie got hurt jumping out of the boat.  Fortunately, he wasn't seriously hurt, but he would have a nice bruise the next day.  The girls (Willie's and Topher's sisters) were anxious to go tubing.  My friends (the other two moms) and myself told the dads to take the kids out. 

The dads piled all 6 kids into the boat and we waved goodbye to them.  They were on the water for about 45 minutes.  It was nice to hang out and chat with my friends.  Every few minutes, we would see them speed by.  There were always two different kids on the tube.  Bob didn't tube, but he at least had fun on the boat.  SJ got thrown from the tube at one point, but he was fine.  He had on his life jacket.  He was laughing when it happened. 

After they were done tubing, we all called it a night.  We thanked them again for having us.  It was such a nice way to end a weekend. 

a visit to the specialist

SJ sees a developmental special every 8 months.  He has helped SJ so much.  Because of him, we have SJ on a vitamin/supplement regimen.  He had also encouraged us to continue with speech therapy and to start the reading tutoring.  He always asks about his progress in school and with his peers. 

He reviews his blood work to see where he has vitamin or mineral deficiencies.  He has been encouraging us to limit his gluten (wheat) and casein (dairy) intake.  His levels in those two areas were way higher than they should be.  This has been an area that I have been very resistant to do wholeheartedly. 

After I told him about the petechiae incident, he told me that it could be a result of the excessive intake of the gluten and casein products.  I tried to argue my case, but at the end of the day I know he is right.  I pledged to give it a much better effort (although I was dreading what this was going to do to SJ).  He told SJ to remember this phrase "Wheat don't eat, dairy is scary."

He also suggested that we take him for 8 sessions of skin conductance and temperature biofeedback.  He said that this treatment could help SJ learn to control his emotions and teach him strategies to calm himself down.  I told him I would talk to my husband about this treatment.  It is not covered by insurance and the sessions are 3 hours long.  (That may be too long for SJ.)

He was very happy with his grades that he achieved in the 5th grade.  I gave him a copy of the IQ testing the school psychologist had administered to him.  Fortunately, his IQ is in the normal range.  I also showed him a poetry book he created for his language arts class.  He was very impressed with his abilities to create the poems and said I should save it forever.  (That was the plan!) 

I told him about him being on the swim team and that he gets social opportunities with neighbors and friends.  He said that SJ is doing well making social connections.  He has been able to attain "invite friends", which he says is the highest level of friendship.  He said SJ should continue to do well socially if he is able to keep these "invite friends".  He told me that SJ will be getting attention from girls as he approaches puberty.  He was concerned that he may not understand how to deal with this attention.  He suggested that SJ meet with a psychotherapist twice a month. 

He gave me a list of supplements to continue to give SJ.  He will continue to take zinc, omega D-3, calcium, magnesium, children's multi-vitamin, therbiotic and vitamin D.  He gave us a prescription for blood work to be done in November. 

Even though I am not happy or looking forward to eliminating the gluten/casein from his diet, I felt the appointment went very well.  Hopefully, the November blood work will show all of our hard work. 

summer speech #1

A couple of Tuesdays ago, SJ continued his summer speech therapy sessions.  We switched his therapy time to a morning appointment, so it won't affect his pool time.  His therapist started working on identifying words from definitions.  He needed many prompts to complete this activity.  She had been working on this skill for a few weeks.  Some of the ones that he had trouble with were the following.

1. A sloping roadway or path used by carts and wheelchairs-ramp
2. A tool used to lift a car when changing a tire-jack
3. The part of the body between the neck and hips-trunk or torso

After we reviewed these unfamiliar words with him a few times, he was able to remember many of them.  This will be a skill that he will have to continue to work on. 

She also worked on identifying verbs from given definitions.  He did fairly well with this activity.  He did have some trouble with a few of the verbs.  These were some of the ones he had difficulty with.

1. To throw trash on the ground or in the street-litter
2. To act or move quickly or with haste-hurry
3. To feel something with your fingers-touch

She has worked on this skill for a few weeks.  With prompting, SJ can remember some of the verbs.  Unfortunately, he couldn't define some of the words in the definitions, such as haste.  She suggested we pick up a dictionary for kids.  That is a great suggestion. 

Another skill she practiced with him was identifying verbs that go together.  He did half with his therapist and the remainder were assigned to him for homework.  A few examples of the verbs are the following.

1. hide and seek
2. scream and yell
3. stop, look and listen

She said he worked very well for her.  He was very chatty.  He told her about our trip to Erie and that he was on the swim team.  He also complained about how tiring swim team is for him.  For homework, she assigned him a sheet on identifying descriptors that go together.  He was able to do 50% of the answers without prompts.  An example of one of the descriptors that he had trouble with is the following:  My leg is black and blue where I bumped it.  He needed prompted to correctly answer blue.

She also assigned him a worksheet where he had to list different items for a specific category.  This was one of the categories.

 

Musical Instruments

horn

tuba

trumpet

drums

flute

violin

piano

 

He did very well with this homework assignment.  He didn't require any assistance.  Great job SJ!

go carts, erie, edinboro, erie

A couple of weekends ago, Bob's soccer team was entered in the PA West soccer tournament at Edinboro University.  His team wasn't playing until Saturday morning, but we drove up to our hotel the night before.  On the way to Erie, we stopped and did a little go cart riding.  SJ isn't the greatest driver, but he had a great time.  After the go cart place, we continued our drive.  We were staying in a hotel in Erie, which is 20 minutes north of Edinboro.  It was a very nice hotel.  They had an inside pool, which SJ was anxious to use. 

We went to a great place in Erie to eat dinner.  It was the Summerhouse Cafe.  The food was delicious.  I had soup, chicken alfredo and a delicious chocolate raspberry cake.  My husband had salmon cakes.  See the following pictures of the yummy food. 

 

When we got back to the hotel, SJ and I went down to the pool.  He swam in the pool for over an hour.  After he was done, we went back to the room and watched television until bed.  Bob's first game was very early in the morning.  I took Bob to his game and left SJ with my husband.  Bob's team didn't do too well.  They lost 10-2.  After the game, we drove back to the hotel and had breakfast in the hotel with SJ and my husband. 

 

We had a few hours until his next game.  We decided to enjoy the beautiful day.  We drove to Presque Isle and SJ went into the water.  Even though it was nice out, it was a little chilly.  The chilliness was not going to stop SJ from getting in the water.  He frolicked in the water for an hour while my husband, Bob and myself watched him from the shore. 

 

After he was too cold to keep going in the lake, we left the lake and stopped at a pub for lunch.  It had a colorful name and outside tables, so we decided to stop.  It was called the Ugly Tuna.  The boys had chicken strips and fries and my husband and I shared a Haddock sandwich.  It was very good.  See for yourself. 

 

When we finished up lunch, we drove back to the hotel and got ready to return for Bob's second soccer game.  SJ was not exactly thrilled to go to the game, but that is why we were there.  We got to the game and SJ was complaining the minute that we got there.  We told him we were there to support Bob and he needed to be done complaining.  He sat in his chair and played his 3DS while my husband and I watched Bob play soccer.  Bob's team did much better in the second game.  They won 4-0.  Yeah Bob!

 

After the game, we left Edinboro and went back to the hotel room.  Bob was very tired, so he planted himself on the bed to rest.  While he and my husband were resting, SJ spotted a couple getting married in the courtyard.  He was fascinated by it.  He asked me to come and watch with him.  We stood there for the longest time watching the ceremony.  Suddenly, I noticed a guest with a large camera taking our picture.  He was waving at us.  I waved back and told SJ we had be spotted.  That will be a funny picture in the couple's wedding album.

 

My husband decided we should go to the local amusement park at Presque Isle, Waldameer Park.  We got to the park after 6 p.m.  There were still a fair amount of people there, but we didn't have to wait in the lines too long.  We decided to eat dinner before we started to ride.  The boys and my husband ate pizza, but I ordered pepperoni balls.  They were interesting.  It was pepperoni stuffed in pizza dough.  Yum!

 

 

 

 

We stayed at the park for a few hours. Bob was not in the mood to ride anything, so he watched SJ share rides with my husband and myself.  I wish Bob would have rode something, but he gets very stubborn sometimes.  We played some games and then SJ wanted to get a hat.  He decided on a Frankenstein hat.  He looked so funny in that hat!  He and I were in line for the Scrambler.  Two boys who were about his age started to laugh at him.  I told them he is proud to wear that hat and I am okay with that.  They stopped laughing at him and apologized.  SJ then struck up a conversation with a boy in line.  They talked the whole time we were waiting.  It was so nice to see him be social with a stranger. 

 

We went back to the hotel around 9.  Bob and I had to get up early for his last game.  Since it was so early, I took Bob by myself to the game.  They played a tough team and lost.  They did very well considering the team they played.  They lost 6-0.  I was very proud of Bob.  We went back to the hotel and picked up SJ and my husband.  It was very rainy, so we decided to head home.  It was a great getaway weekend. 

 

 

summer reading tutoring #1

Two Tuesdays ago, SJ started his summer reading tutoring with Mrs. Banks.  He meets with her every Tuesday for a 60 minute tutoring session.  I am taking him to her house, since she continues to meet other children after his session.  She has some dogs, but she is kind enough to block them off from the room where she tutors him.

Mrs. Banks started off the session by having SJ read from the book, Island II: Survival by Gordon Korman.  SJ had read the first book, Island: Shipwreck in his reading class.  He was very excited to see the new book.  "Hey, I read that book in Mrs. Dudley's class," he told Mrs. Banks.  She told him she knew that and that is why she chose the next book in the series.  She told me that they read the first two chapters and he answered some comprehension questions about it. 

After they finished the chapters, they worked on a vacation packet.  SJ had to fill in the blanks on each page.  He said he wanted to go to Myrtle Beach.  It's located in S. Carolina.  I would like to stay for 2 weeks.  On the next page, he had to finish the drawing of the people who would accompany him on the trip.  Of course, he drew my husband, Bob and myself.  Then, he completed the page on what he would pack.  He included: shirts, pants, tank tops, shorts, swim suit, plushies, 3DS, IPod, socks and shoes.  Next, he had to show what form of transportation we would be using.  He selected a car and wrote that my husband would be driving.  He then had to write about the special things he would like to do on vacation.  He wrote swim, mini-golf, shop, drive golf cars and eat pizzas.  Last, he had to draw some pictures of what he would like to take pictures of on his trip.  See the attached pictures.  They are pretty funny. 

 

Then, she had him work on a Father's Day glyph.  He had to decide the color of the tie (blue and orange dots-his dad does not wear a tie every day), the color of the hat (pink-his dad wears hats a lot), the color of the remote (orange-when we watch tv, his dad likes to be in charge of the remote), the color of the sports car (blue-his dad would like a blue sports car), the color of the golf ball (blue stripes-he sometimes plays golf), the color of #1 (orange-his dad is great at fixing things around the house) and he had to write on the line how many times he gives his dad a gigantic hug (3-4).  See the attached glyph. 

swim team

SJ loves the water.  He loves the water so much that he and I even went on Memorial Day when it was very COLD!  SJ's previous educational assistant had suggested that SJ join our pool's swim team. I was apprehensive at first.  I wasn't sure if this was going to be like when he was on a baseball and soccer team.  SJ gets so upset when he loses and I was worried that this would happen on the swim team too. 

My husband started taking him to practices a few weeks ago.  The team practices Monday-Friday.  It is very casual, which I like.  SJ really likes the breast stroke.  That is his favorite.  I was surprised to learn that.  I thought he would have been more of a freestyle kid. 

A week before the first meet, my husband took SJ to time trials.  The coach has the kids swim the different strokes and times them for a base time.  SJ only participated in freestyle and breast stroke for time trials.  He ended up with a 1.01.44 for freestyle and 1.05.56 in breast stroke. 

SJ doesn't love going to practice.  He gets very exhausted, but we have made him go a few times.  On Monday, he had his first meet.  He was swimming for points in back, breast and butterfly.  He was swimming exhibition in freestyle.  I was slightly shocked that he was swimming for points. That was going to be a lot of stress for SJ to do well.

At Monday's meet, my husband was a timer and I was in the audience rooting SJ on.  I reminded him that he is just trying to improve his last best time.  He started with freestyle.  He finished the race with a time of 49.66.  That was a great improvement! 

His next race was the backstroke.  He didn't want to do that one.  He said it was too hard.  I reminded him to try his best.  He clocked in at 1.09.38 and was disqualified for flipping on his belly.  He was very upset when he got out of the water.  Oh no.  This is what I was dreading.  "It hurts my brain," he kept saying.  Then, I remembered they had pizza at the concession stand. "Do you want pizza?" I asked him.  "Yes," he said and a smile appeared on his face.  Thank goodness for pizza.

His next race was his favorite, breast stroke.  He was also swimming for points in this race.  His time was 1.06.81 and again he was disqualified.  Fortunately, you don't find out about the disqualification until the next day. 

The last race was the butterfly.  He kept telling me that he didn't want to do that race.  I reminded him that he was on the schedule for it and he was swimming for points.  I said, "Just try your best."  He finished the fly at 1.08.84 and earned 4 points for his team.  Way to go, SJ! 

He was finished for the night, so he and I left my husband there to continue timing.  I was so pleased with his attitude and swimming abilities.  Hopefully, the next meet will go just as smoothly. 

last day of school :(

Two Fridays ago, it was the boys last day of school.  They had a half day.  I went to the building that I work at and before I knew it I was back at their school.  My day flew by.  The last day of school is always emotional for me.  This year it was especially emotional. 

For SJ, he just finished 5th grade.  However, Bob was finishing his time in elementary school.  As I walked in the door, I felt myself get a little teary.  It hit me when I saw one of our friends' daughter (also in Bob's grade).  She was crying and her face was red from the tears.  When I saw her, it all felt very real.  My baby was moving up to junior high.  It is unbelievable how fast those 6 years went by. 

I walked past Mrs. Valentine's room.  I thanked her once again for everything she did for SJ this year.  We have been so blessed with great teachers for both of our boys.  I don't know if SJ would be doing half as well as he is if he didn't have such great teachers.  Mrs. Valentine, Mrs. Dudley and Mrs. Kennedy went out of their way to make sure SJ was as successful as he could be.  SJ finished the year with 4 A's and 2 B's (and they were high B's).  I am so proud of how hard SJ works to get the good grades that he gets.

On our drive home, I asked Bob if he was sad that he was done with elementary school.  "No, why would I be?  It is not like I won't ever be here again," he said.  I thought to myself, "If you only realized that a chapter of your life is over."  I know he is a kid and you don't realize in the moment what is happening, especially when you are a kid. 

So, I will realize this fact for him.  I will be sad my baby is not a baby anymore.  He is now a preteen 7th grader.  Wow, it chokes me up even writing that sentence.  That is the last of the sadness.  Summer is a happy time.  Bring on summer!

typical is boring 2013

On June 1st, we once again participated in the Walk Now For Autism Speaks walk.  Our team did great this year.  As a team, we were able to collect $1800 in donations!  That is a new high total for us!  I am so grateful that our family and friends are so generous.

This year's team was expanded.  My sister-in-law DJ and my husband's cousin TK joined our team.  My husband's niece Nicole, Nicole's boyfriend, my husband's nephew Jackson and his wife were returning team members from last year.  I was a little concerned.  My sister-in-law had to work on the day of the walk, so we were sad that she wouldn't be able to join us.  Then, I got word that Nicole was moving into her new apartment that day, so I didn't think they would be able to make it.  Thankfully, she was able to get everything moved in before they joined us at the stadium. 

Since we did so well with getting donations, our team was able to become Grand Club members.  We got to go to a special area where they had refreshments, gift basket raffles and free tickets to our local baseball team.  We all put in our tickets in a basket of our choice.  I wasn't very hopeful that any of us would win (Nicole won a basket last year) and we don't tend to be very lucky people. 

While we were waiting for the walk to begin, I was looking around at all the people who come out for this event.  It always amazes me to see the volume of people that support kids like SJ.  There were fun things for the kids to do (bounce house, obstacle course, ball toss, Smiley cookie decorating), many informational booths and movie characters greeting the participants.  I love seeing all the creative t-shirts.  My favorite didn't win the contest, but the group who won shirts were pretty nice.  I designed our shirts this year again.  I tweaked them just a little.  I changed the color to yellow, added this blog's website and used two tone lettering.  Even though we didn't win the t-shirt contest, I think they turned out great! 

The walk started around 11:00.  We did one complete loop around the football stadium.  After we were finished, I wanted to get a team picture.  Last year, I just grabbed a lady that was walking by.  She had a little trouble using my camera, so I was looking for someone who looked more tech savvy. 

I happened to see the emcee, who is a local radio sportscaster.  I asked him if he would take our picture.  "Do you want me to take 'your' picture?" he asked me.  Then, it occurred to me that he is probably used to people asking to take his picture.  I didn't want to bother him in that way, though.  I said, "Yes.  Can you take our picture?"  He replied with a smile, "I certainly can."  He took two pictures for us and then we talked to him for a couple of minutes.  He was a very nice guy.

As we were walking to our car, Jackson's wife got a text that she didn't recognize.  It said she was a winner.  She had won one of the baskets.  (Maybe our luck is changing?)  She had put her ticket in the Go Ape basket.  It was for a zip line tour through a local park.  That was the one I was hoping for too.  Good for her!

I am going to strive for a goal of $2000 for next year's walk.  Hopefully, you will be able to join us or support us.  Remember typical is boring!

 

sj's field trip

SJ's fifth grade class took their field trip three days before school let out.  They went to the Science Center.  SJ didn't want to wear his class shirt (it is purple) since he said it is a "girl's color".  I told him that purple isn't a girl's color.  Regardless, he had to wear it. 

I assumed he would enjoy this field trip.  We have been down to Science Center before and he always enjoys it.  I asked him how it was.  "Fun and boring," he said.  "What do you mean by that?  What was fun?" I asked him. 

"Fun was the room where you learn about the stars in the sky," he said.  "Oh, the planetarium," I said.  "Yeah, the planetarium.  That was my favorite," he added.  SJ has always been fascinated with stars and planets.  He regularly brings home library books on those topics, so it was not a surprise to me that he liked the planetarium. 

"What was your least favorite part?" I asked.  "The arctic movie in the Omnimax theater.  That was boring!" he declared.  I don't know how you could be bored in that theater, but movies are always subjective.

I asked him what else he liked.  "I liked the sports part too.  You know, you can test your might," he said.  There is a Sports Works building where they have exhibits on the science behind athletics.  I believe he was describing the exhibit where you test your reaction time against a goalie.  There are many cool hands on things for the kids to try out in that building. 

I am glad that SJ enjoyed most of his field trip.  Even if he had to be bored for a small section of it, he was able to hang out with his friends and be a typical fifth grader.  That is definitely a small price to pay for blending in. 

science olympiad

At the boy's elementary school, the 5th and 6th graders participate in a Science Olympiad.  They are randomly paired up with students from both grades and get to choose a team name.  SJ's team name was the Orange Octopus and Bob's team name was the Scientific Squirrels.  When they initially got their teams, SJ was very upset.  He had mostly girls on his team and he wasn't placed with any of his friends.  I told him that he would be fine (my reassurance wasn't convincing him though). 

They participated in the Science Olympiad two weeks before school was out.  It was a two day event where the teams go to various science themed events.  At the end of the first day, I had several teachers walk up to me and tell me how well SJ did.  He even willingly held a girl's hand when they were doing a team building activity.  One of his teammates (a 6th grade girl) said that SJ did "awesome".  (If only you could have seen how happy my face looked!)

I was so proud that he was able to do something that normally would make him so uncomfortable.  My husband had volunteered for the first day's events.  He was able to see SJ, but Bob's team didn't make it to his event. 

The second day, SJ had some difficulty with some of the events, but nothing that derailed him.  He was concerned that he didn't do well and wasn't going to get a medal.  I told him that if he tried his hardest then we would still be proud of him.  I reminded him that Bob's team didn't win any medals last year.

When I picked him up at the end of the day on awards day, he was very sad.  I immediately thought he didn't win any medals.  That was not the case, however.  His team had won a bronze medal.  He was so upset that he didn't win a silver or a gold medal.  I told him that he should be happy that his team won any medal.  Bob said the same thing.  He cried a little longer and then hung his medal on the wall in his room. 

He is to this day grumpy about that bronze medal.  Every time he brings it up, I remind him that everyone wants to win silver or gold.  I also tell him that I am sure some of those students who didn't win a medal would love to have his bronze.  Just saying. 

field day 2013

Two Fridays ago, SJ and Bob's elementary school had their annual Field Day.  I love this event!  They go from station to station by classroom.  The stations are snack, DJ/dancing, face painting/tattoos, volleyball, bouncy houses, obstacle course and sack races/tug of war. 

Once again, I was a volunteer on the tug of war station.  I love that station.  It is so much fun watching the kids.  It is even more fun to jump in and join them.  The students in 4th through 6th grade were the first group to come out.  They rotated through the stations until lunch time.  After lunch, I got to see the 1st through 3rd graders.

Bob's class came to my station before SJ's.  I love that Bob completely ignores me when I am volunteering in school.  Not really, but he is a pre-teen.  The girls in his class were dominating.  I saw Seth's class a few groups later. 

Again the girls in SJ's class were dominating the station.  Where Bob was fine with the losses, SJ was not.  He was so mad that the girls kept winning.  I could see his temper starting to flare.  I kept reminding him that it was just for fun, but the more his side lost the more agitated he got. 

We tried to switch up some of the kids, but SJ's side was still losing.  I jumped onto his end, but another mom helping jumped onto the other side.  I know she had no idea that I was just trying to get SJ one win, but I was thinking please get off of the other side.  She didn't and they lost again. 

They went one more time.  A different mom and I jumped on the opposing side and I swear she read my mind.  We just pretended to pull and SJ's side got a win.  Fortunately, that was enough to defuse his bad mood. 

As other groups came to my station, I could see Bob and SJ from a distance enjoying the other stations.  I am so grateful that this is something their school does for them.  I know this event will be a well remembered event for the rest of their lives. 

family picnic ups and downs

SJ and Bob's elementary school has a family picnic every year.  I always take the day off of work so that I can be there.  It was Bob's last year, as he was a 6th grader.  SJ's homeroom came out first.  I was waiting in the lobby for him to appear.  I don't know why, but I got a little teary as I saw him. 

We went through the line and I selected some chicken and baked beans.  SJ packed as he usually does.  We went outside to find a spot at one of the tables.  We sat with a few of SJ's friends.  It was very nice to spend time with him and see him interact with his friends.  I had someone snap a picture of us and then he was off to play with his friends.

As his class went back inside, Bob's class was coming out.  I met him inside the lobby and I repeated the ritual.  We went through the line.  This time I selected some rigatoni and a cookie.  Bob was also buying, but he did nab a few cookies.  We found a seat with one of his good friends.  He eats much more quickly than SJ, so he was done in half of the time.  I had his friend's mom take our picture and he too ran off to hang with his friends. 

I love this event that their school has.  As I was driving home, I got very melancholy thinking about how this was the last time for Bob and I to share this ritual.  I did remember that it is fine to feel sad as long as we got to share something so happy. 

I went home to get some things done until it was time to collect the boys at the end of the day.  When I picked up the boys, Bob kept asking SJ what was all over his face.  I assumed it was eczema, so I wasn't too concerned.  I shouldn't have made that assumption.  His face looked terrible.  He had a rash all over his face and shoulder area. 

SJ told me he had seen the nurse.  I asked him what she said it was and he isn't the greatest communicator.  He said, "I can't remember."  So, I immediately called the school nurse in hopes that she was still there.  Fortunately, she was and I asked her what she thought was causing the rash.  She said she had seen him after gym class and he was very agitated.  She asked him if he ate anything different today, but he eats the same lunch everyday.  She suggested that I take him to the doctor. 

I thanked her and called the doctor's office.  They asked if I could bring him right away.  I told them I could and we went in.  The check in nurse was a little perplexed.  She thought he may have had an allergic reaction.  The nurse who took us back to the exam room thought maybe he had a tick bite.  When the physician's assistant came in, she said it didn't look like an allergic reaction or Lyme disease.  She thought it was petechiae.  She asked him if anyone choked him or if he was holding his breath.  Petechia?  The only time I have ever heard that term was when I am watching CSI or Law and Order.

I was shocked when she asked him that.  Choked?  Who would have choked him?  I asked him if he was wrestling with anyone at school.  I couldn't believe another student would have done this intentionally.  She wasn't 100% sure, so she called in the attending doctor.  He asked SJ all the same questions.  He kept saying that no one touched him.  The doctor said if it was petechiae it would fade in a few days.   

We went home and I tried to get more information out of SJ.  He still insisted that no one touched him.  I asked if he had wrapped himself in ropes at gym class or the swing chains at recess.  "No Mom," he said repeatedly.  The rash did indeed fade after a few days.  I guess it was petechiae.  I just hope he wasn't so mad that he would have been holding his breath. 

I reminded him that he can't hold his breath when he is in one of his "rages" (his expression, not mine).  I also told him that no one is ever allowed to place their hands on him.  A few days later, I ran into a mom who was volunteering in school.  She said SJ got so frustrated at the task he was doing he put his hands around his neck.  She was concerned about him and wanted me to know.  I thanked her for telling me.  Mystery solved.  He was probably doing the same thing on the day of the picnic.
When I saw him at the end of the day, I reminded him he can't wrap his hands around his own neck either.  Hopefully, this will be an isolated incident and never happen again.  The alternative is just too scary!

after school speech part 55

I am so sorry that I haven't posted in a while, but it has been a very busy few weeks.  There will be a few posts in the next couple of days.  I am going to begin with SJ's last after school speech session.  He is not finished with speech, but we are switching to daytime appointments starting next Wednesday.  (That wasn't my original plan, but due to a scheduling snafu we are on a break from speech.  SJ wasn't too upset about the mistake.)

At his last appointment, his therapist continued to work on forming compound words.  She said he is doing much better with this skill, but I have found that he continues to have difficulty when she assigns this for homework. 

She also had SJ do an and/or direction exercise.  She explained to him that if she read a sentence with an "and" he would have to do both items.  She also told him if the sentence said "or" he could choose either option.  Here is an example of one of the sentences. 

Say your name and say your age.

He did fairly well with the exercise.  He got 8 out of 10 of the sentences correct.  I will work on this skill with him at home. 

She assigned SJ a few homework assignments since we were going to have a few weeks off.  I haven't made SJ do any of the assignments yet, but we will be working on these assignments next week.  The first assignment is for SJ to name as many different items as he can for 6 different categories.  The categories are insects, tools, vegetables, musical instruments, birds and body parts. 

The second assignment is two vocabulary and semantics worksheets.  SJ needs to read the stories and answer questions on main idea, details, vocabulary and semantics.  The last assignment is for SJ to identify descriptors that go together.  He needs to identify an adjective or adverb associated with the word in bold.  For example:  The new store is bigger and better than the old one.

I will let you know how SJ does on these assignments when he finishes them next week.