My Family's Experience with Autism: Summertime

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Summertime

Today, summer truly begins in my house. School is ending and all 3 kids will be home by (probably) 1:15. To me, "summertime" means no strict school schedules. It means playing more. It means going to the pool. It means time for camp rather than school. It means time for fun.

Well, with 2 kids on the spectrum, that's not QUITE the way things are going to work around here. We have summer school to consider for Rachel and Simon. Rachel will start on the 27th, Simon will start the following week. Even their camp will be about learning rather than about fun (but they will have plenty of fun as well).

But at least through the weekend, I intend to make sure they have FUN. Assuming health and weather cooperates, we're going to make it to a playground tomorrow. Rachel will have her last gymnastics class on Saturday morning which the teachers have promised to make it a favorite session. If the weather cooperates, we'll be heading to the pool on Friday, Saturday AND Sunday. Next week, Rachel is going to try a new camp for a day with her big brother. One that is NOT geared towards kids on the spectrum where she is enrolled in gymnastics (with her favorite teacher). Simon and I will be staying nearby (if it doesn't work), probably at Simon's favorite playground. But it will be interesting to see what she thinks of that.

But we have to remember to be safe. Especially at the pool. This is a link I shared on Facebook, on every page that I typically go to. Now I want to share this on my blog. 18 seconds goes by so fast. But that's all it takes to change lives forever. My heart goes out to Joannie Logan's family. Hopefully others will learn from this tragedy.

Pools are a lot of fun, for everyone. And I know this story isn't something that happens to everyone. But we all have to be aware. We all have to be careful. We all have to take precautions. We all have to be safe.

I hope everyone has a wonderful start to Summertime!!!!!!

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A Little Bit About Me and My Family

Every once in a while, something happens to a family that seems to change everything, whether that change is positive, negative, or in an uncertain direction. One such thing happened to us in March 2009, when we were informed our 26 month old twins (girl/boy) were BOTH on the autism spectrum. Their older brother (nearly 4 at the time) had always been ahead of the curve for most developmental milestones, so we had never really considered that some of the delays the twins were having had anything to do with autism. Well, we were wrong. Since then we have been learning about learning techniques and doing everything we can to make sure they get any and all help they need so that they can live normal lives. This blog chronicles that journey.

The Autism Pizza

I don't know where this came from originally, but I found it on a post on Circle of Moms. It's a good explanation of how things line up on the spectrum.

1. The Crust: Lack of Social Interaction (poor eye contact, not sharing interests with you, no pointing/gesturing)

2. The Sauce: Impaired Communication (possibly no speech, poor conversation skills, repetitive language, echolalia, no make-believe play)

3. The Cheese: Stereotypical Activities & Interests (extreme routine, strong interest in certain things, stimming [flapping, atypical play, etc.] -- like spinning wheels, lining toys up, stacking, etc.)

If you have all of those things: crust, sauce, cheese, you made an Autism pizza. It might have different toppings, but you can look at it and know it's still a pizza. If your pizza doesn't have sauce, that's Aspergers's. If your pizza is missing more than that but still kind of looks like a pizza, that's PDD-NOS (Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Not Otherwise Specified)