Someplace

Many years ago I was on a date with a guy who noticed I had a bruise on my arm. It was from an autistic student that had pinched me while working with him.  My date became even more upset and confused when I shrugged it off as just a typical day at work.

Date:"That's terrible! He shouldn't be there!  He should be sent someplace else."

Me:"Dude, guess where I work?  Someplace."

Date:"But... oh."

We didn't date much longer after that.

"Someplace" has always been in the back of my head since we have started the long and strange trip with our Kiddo and autism.  I kind of always felt that as long as he was in our town's school district, things weren't so bad.  Having worked in a private school for special needs students, many of which had autism, I really was happy he wasn't in one.

But then shit happens. ;-)

Our school district is unable to provide a free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment for him.  Now I am shopping for "Someplace" for my own son.  How the feck is this even happening?  And I get to do with him in tow because I will be damned if I am getting a phone call EVERY. SINGLE. DAY. like we had been about him while we are trying to tour schools.  Last week I had enough.  Kiddo had enough. I was tired of seeing my son be a completely different person. One filled with so much anxiety and fear.  Even at home some of the things he's been saying and scripting about his school day was making me think "WTF?" on a daily basis. Like some really shitty statements that were said to him or classmates and yes I believe him because HELLO! Autism. Scripting word for word is his superpower.  He's been bit by another student.  He's taken to eloping out of the classroom, a behavior he has NEVER done.  Banging furniture. Throwing things.  Grabbing staff and students. These are the behaviors of pure fear, not malice.  So I yanked him.  I guess we'll be setting up some home bound instruction till we figure it out.

I told the director of Special Services "We're done. Get his stuff.  Get his meds from the nurse and my son.", which she did. Then the case worker packed his stuff and brought it to the main office. Not a single staff from his room came down to say goodbye to him. That said it all to me. I took his hand and we left.

I have explained to the Kiddo that we are on an extended vacation.  He still doesn't fully understand that he isn't going back there.  Until I have a place to say that he is going to, I won't say a word.  It will just confuse him more and to not have an answer will make his anxiety even worse.  I'm sad he will be leaving kids he's known since he was three.  I hate we won't have his bus driver anymore who was an absolute joy. It is what it is though.  His heart will be broken but what other choice do we have other than to deal with it.

I feel bad too because I know I'm not the only unhappy family with that school and class right now.  I worry for those kids. I can only take care of our situation though.

So wish us luck as we tour some "Someplaces" for him.  I hope the process isn't long and I dread the trauma and confusion that's about to happen when we tell Kiddo about the new "Someplace" he's going to go.  I am very concerned about how this will play out.  I know not all private schools are like the one I used to work at but I can't help but be very worried all the same.

Somethings can't be solved by just ordering another side of fries but if any of these schools just so happen to have fries on their lunch menu, it wouldn't suck. ;-)

I am tired of fighting.

"I am glad to see he enjoyed trick or treating. He was excited to do it. 

We are also glad to see he and his classmates went to watch science experiments yesterday for exposure to the science curriculum. 

If a typical six grader is doing something, we want our son and his classmates to be given the same opportunity. Inclusion is as simple as that.  It is vital to presume competence in autistic and special needs students." 


Off goes my latest email to the school team.  Making sure I thank them for what they give us even though all I want to do is scream how it's his right to have it.  Plus adding a little at the end to remind them why I fight the way I do for my Kiddo.

Because believe it or not school staff, it's not my aim in life to be the crazy parent.  However with all the stuff going on in our lives lately, it's been very hard NOT to come off that way.

And because we have a Kiddo who just hit puberty like a freight train and still can't accept the transition of being at this new school, I feel like I'm playing monkey in the middle right now. Between trying to get what he needs at school set up and then how he is being. I'm not Willy Wonka so I won't sugarcoat this.  It's very hard to fight and push for your child and then still have your kid acting out.

Today I had my own meltdown crying over just that.  How am I to get them to give him a chance when he still keeps acting the way he does?  All I want to do is yell at him "Don't you know how hard I am fighting for you?" I'm at the point now where I wonder why do I do it?  Why can't I be the piece of shit parent that doesn't care and isn't involved? I would love to be that parent.  Who would like to be Mama Fry? The job title is for sale. I really don't want to be her anymore.

I knew motherhood was a thankless job but lately I am seriously ready to run off to Australia and never come back. And I could too. You should see my blog stats from Down Under. You know how Jerry Lewis is big in France. That's me with the Aussies.  I could couch surf for weeks and live like a king!  (Okay, so yeah. Maybe that Mama Fry thing does have it's perks.)

 I used to be able to accept the thankless part of it.  Really. If I saw him happy and thriving,that's all I needed. Now?  Not so much so. I'm fighting and pushing. It's still not working.  He still isn't getting what he needs. He's not happy.  Where do I go from here?

Well apparently it was to be called into the school again to go over his behavior and their complete inability to give him what he needs.  It's a real special moment when a school district tells you that they can't give him the free and appropriate education in the least restrictive environment as he is entitled by the law.

Before you say "SUE", which trust me, I pondered.  I sue to buy time to keep him in a place where they clearly do not want him nor can keep him safe?  There are other parents of his classmates that currently wondering if their kids are safe too.  There is just way too much uncertainly in that environment.

And since the second day of school when the principal turned to me and said "I sure hope you don't write about me in your blog.", I knew that Kiddo had a target on his head.  She did not want to deal with us.  So they are happy to send us on our way.  And frankly when she told me "Just lie and not tell him" about canceled appointments so he could have time to process things, that NEVER sat well with me that I was sending him to a school that had a staff member who could say things like that.

I'm heartbroken and scared.  I am starting all over again.  Now we scramble to find another placement for him and traumatize him again by taking him away from the classmates he has grown up with since he was three.


Licking our wounds.  Trying to figure out how we tell our son about this next direction we are all taking with him. Trying like heck to be okay so I can convince him it will be okay.

Current mood. 

Let it go or let it rise?

I tried to make my peace with why the Kiddo wasn't included on the general education trip. I rationalized in my head that this wasn't the hill I needed to die upon. I said to myself "Self, just blog it up. Get it out and then you can move on."  I did and many of you shared very similar stories of the same thing happening you and your child. While it felt good to know I wasn't alone, it was still eating away at me.  

My breaking point was receiving an email from one of the Kiddo's classmate's mom. Her son and mine have been together since they were three, so we go way back. She's also one of those rare breeds that isn't on social media, so she probably hasn't read my blog or in fact know I even have one. She's a cool, calm, and collected kind of gal.  This email from her though was the 180 of her.  She was PISSED about the fact our kids were left out.

The line that broke me was "Why am I selling all this fundraising stuff to pay for trips if he can't go on them?"  Exactly.  Why are we asked to do some things but not all things. Our money is good but my Kiddo's company is not?  

Oh and a lot of you have been asking me what was the trip.  Medieval Times restaurant.  Yes, there's a show that goes on in front of it of knights on horses and all that jazz, but at the end of the day it's a essentially a restaurant.  The 6th graders went to this as part of the social studies component because that's what the general education is currently studying.  Great!  I am sure that's a fun way to explore a topic but you think my Kiddo couldn't do that?  Especially since most of his class trips or "Community Based Instructions" as they like to call them are in fact to restaurants. 

While I'm sure his OT wouldn't be thrilled with the lack of utensils, I think even she would get on board with the theme. I mean, you do get a crown.

So no, I couldn't stay silent anymore and I sent an email. In fact, I sent a lot of emails.  To all the players.  From teacher to principal. Directors and supervisors and yeah, the Superintendent of our school district because this needed to be discussed.  I've included it here for you to see and also for you to use.  I heard from way too many of you how this has happen to your child too. It needs to stop. Feel free to copy, paste, and adapt it as you see fit.  (Please note, I have removed my son's name and name of his school for his safety and privacy.)
To whom it may concern, 

My name is "E"  and I am the mother of "Kiddo". He is a 6th grader at "I". He is also autistic and in the self contained classroom.  The transition from "A" school to "I" school has not been easy due to the nature of his disability.  The "I" team has been working with us to formulate a plan to help him succeed in this new placement.  

While I am glad to see several CBI (Community Based Instruction) outings scheduled for the class, I have some concerns regarding the areas of inclusion with my son and that of his classmates. 

I received a general email info "blast" from "I" school. regarding a class trip for 6th graders on Oct. 21. I waited to hear more information and receive a permission slip. Or even to hear from the team at "I"  how they wanted to handle a class trip with "Kiddo". (Would an aide from the class attend with him and his peers? Behavior strategies? etc.) "Kiddo" also saw it on the calendar as he can go on the school site and does to look up days off, school events and the lunch menu. He too, knew it was coming. 

I was very disappointed that we heard nothing about it and that our kids were excluded from attending. Past practice had "Kiddo" and his special needs classmates attend every class trip that their typical aged peers went on as exposure to the curriculum.  (For example, plant science was a trip to "B's" nursery.) 

I worry what kind of message it sends out to the neurotypical students when things like this happen. While I am happy to hear that "I" school does an event like "Volleyball for Autism" and the "buddy" program, the simple act of inclusion can teach about autism awareness and acceptance so much more. Several students and their parents that know us even questioned why "Kiddo" and his classmates weren't allowed to go.  That is a testament to how well the inclusion program was done at "A" school.

As this trip was to Medieval Times, which is essentially a restaurant with a show, how is it possible these students could not attend?  As several of their CBI trips have been to restaurants! It would have been a wonderful opportunity for the typical peers to model for these special needs students. Not to mention a way for our kids to carry over previous lessons they have learned on their own CBI trips.  

If this could be done at the elementary grade level every single year, there is no reason it couldn't happen at the middle school level.

In the future, I will be happy to act as a chaperone on school trips if they need parent volunteers.  

And I sent it. A couple of emails and phone calls later, I'm still not sure if they get it.  

I was told there would be a trip in the spring where both his class and the "buddy program" would be going to together.  Okay, that's cool.  I'm glad that's coming in the future. 

I was encouraged to look over the calendar and basically let them know what I want the Kiddo to go on and discuss it with them.  I'm kind of put off by that.  This is where I'm thinking "They don't get why I am upset." It's all "let's move forward" and not a real acknowledging of the problem.  Not a lot of "Yes, let's fix this." More like "Oh ok. You go do the work and let us know and then maybe, we'll see. Yadda, yadda, yadda." 

So,you want me to be the one on top of this?  You're going to see me be ON TOP OF THIS. You think my Kiddo can fixate on a subject?  Where do you think he learned it from? ;-) 

Things that still sting

To say that the start of middle school has been bumpy would be an understatement.  It's been a downright cluster fuck.  We keep chugging along because we are determined to get this to work. I will email, phone call, and or meet with anyone and everyone under the sun to get all the ducks in a row for my Kiddo.  It's not even an option.

But I would be lying if I said this stuff wasn't it taking it's toll on my own mental well being. When you are the parent and number one advocate for you kid, you don't get a choice to hide under the covers and give up.  I used to work with this population as well and I think back to those parents who it seemed to me just didn't give a shit about their kids.  Maybe it wasn't that they didn't give a shit. Maybe they had just decided they were done with all this never ending stuff.  They had just had enough.  I mean, how many times can a person be overwhelmed daily before they just say shut down?

Or maybe they just never started. I'm not sure but I'm too far in to walk away.

There are things I have gotten used to with my Kiddo.  Things I have become numb to and things I know longer get my knickers in a twist about.  I am focused on getting Kiddo comfortable with middle school. I can't care about the stupid little stuff because I cried over that long ago.  Then something comes up out of the blue that knocks the wind out of me.

This time it was the 6th grade class trip.  That he wasn't included in.  I saw it on the calendar.  I received the general email blasts that all the parents got about it but it never came up that he was joining all the other 6th graders on it.  No permission slip came home.  No word was mentioned.  Not even an explanation.  Nothing. Nada.

Prior to this school, Kiddo went on every class trip that all the other typical kids his age went on.  He and his classmates were included.  It wasn't even a case of "Oh gee, we're going to be swell and LET him go."  It was "This is the date and pack a lunch.".

And this is where stings.  His behavior has not been ideal. I know if I bring it up the trip, I'm going to get that thrown right back at us.  While the one to one aide has finally been hired, that person still has to be approved by the Board of Education and be fingerprinted.  So I can't even say "But he'll have his one to one!".

It hurts that we weren't even given the awkward phone call or email about it though.  Not even a "Hey, he's still adjusting.  Maybe next year?".  I could come to terms with that.  Right now, it's just another thing that just makes us feel left out.  He heard other kids talking about it in passing.  He knows it happened.

Did I mention this is also the school that does a big fundraiser "Volleyball for Autism" event every year? Which is great that they do because they raise a crap ton of money for local autism charities. I think that rocks but there is a part of me that thinks "How about some charity towards my Kiddo? How about including him? How about giving him a chance to prove that he can do it?  How about at least giving us the courtesy of explaining why he's not included?" I'm pretty sure when this event rolls around the school will be quick to send home information on it and how we can help promote and fund raise with them.

There's just something about that which makes me think "Don't call us. We'll call you, when we need you."

The thing is inclusion means the good and the bad and at least an explanation as to why something won't work and perhaps trying to find a way to make it work in the future.  Not just bits and pieces here and there.
This damn trip was like a line the sand.  I have to pretend it doesn't sting as bad as it does because I have to pick and chose my battles.  But all I can think is if the Kiddo noticed there was a trip he didn't go on, I bet the typical kids noticed it too.  At the same time, he's still in the weeds with this transition.  I guess we'll just have to let this one go.

Till next year. ;-)

#TeamQuirky will rise again.  After this round. 

Planning to be spontaneous

One thing that the new BCBA noticed about the Kiddo and his behaviors as of late was his fixation on the motivators he was working to earn.  He would get so worked up about getting to the reward that he could not focus at all at anything else. Which then usually led to MORE BEHAVIORS and no amount of reminding him "What are you working for?" could settle him back down. It was just like pouring gas on a fire. It only made his feelings that much more intense.

And because the Kiddo is a product of years of behavior therapy, if we don't specify a reward he will simply create one in his own mind.  Once that is decided, well, if you know autism you know that is etched in stone.

So what is a gal to do?  Plan some "Non Contingent Fun!!"  Doesn't that sound like a freaking hoot? We have to surprise him with random outings and activities off the cuff that have no ties to anything.  The idea being he will then let go of the fixation of the place and not build it up attached to it as only an earned reward that he could possibly lose.

Basically, we have to plan to be random. ;-)

It also means most conversations about any future events have to take place by my husband and I texting each other so the Kiddo doesn't hear about them before we spring them on him. Good thing we have unlimited texting on our phone plan!

We also need to work on Kiddo's need to hyper control everything.  Because even giving into him doesn't help and frankly, I don't want my Kiddo to become a raging douche.  I kind of feel once you decide to become a parent, you are promising the world you will not create an asshole.  You're going to raise a good person who is kind and flexible.  Of course, we got one with autism so that flexible thing gets a little tricky. It's not impossible though.

We're doing a lot of "Forced Choice".  Meaning, making him pick between two things but the secret is they aren't huge things. Just things that make him feel in control but it's not going to really alter anyone's world if he gets to decide between the green or blue straw. Like you have to wear pants but you get to pick which ones.  Hit him up with a non negotiable that sort of looks like there is some wiggle room.  We're learning to aim small.  Like Daddy Fry said this weekend "You want to go for run or a bike ride?" and then Kiddo immediately replied "Run AND Bike ride" and Daddy Fry got all his cardio in this weekend.  See what I mean? Next time it's "We're going for a run. Want to wear your red baseball hat or your #TeamQuirky one?" (And clearly the answer is the #TeamQuirky one.)   So the little stuff, we're letting him have the power as much as we can so he feels some control without controlling us.

The biggest change in what we are doing is giving extremely short notice when there will be a big change to the schedule and this one dude, I will not lie.  It is scary as feck! We had always been that family that gave him plenty o' warning with stuff because he needed the time to process it.  Since he started this new middle school, he simply cannot handle knowing a change is coming.  It's just an anxiety bomb ticking away.  It was suggested we tell him pretty much the moment before something has to switch.  So he doesn't have time to really stew on it.  It ties in with that whole "non contingent fun" I wrote about earlier.  So far, he's been doing okay with it.  I guess the element of surprise is working in our favor.  It's been a big adjustment though.

I think the biggest challenge though is school knows the plan and we know the plan but the general public, they don't. It's just another thing I have to be on alert for with the Kiddo.  Conversations I have to have before I go places to give folks the heads up.  Plus damage control when someone innocently mentions something because they didn't know it could cause upset.  Like the Kiddo's music therapist has been coming to our house for the last few weeks because he's moving offices.  Well his new office is finally ready and he mentions it at our last appointment that we can meet him next week at the brand new place and POOF!  I can just see the anxiety switch on with the Kiddo.

Did you ever watch Scooby Doo as a kid?  Kiddo's reaction upon hearing changes is very similar. 

And it's a completely normal thing to say to someone. "Next week we'll meet here." but there I was spinning the redirection wheel on the Kiddo.  "Don't worry about it Kiddo. New is Good. Hey, look over there. French Fries!" and I spun that kid out of the house to go score some "window fries" at the Drive thru so fast I think my car left tire marks on my street.

So here we are almost a week later.  The night before the latest schedule switch that he wasn't suppose to hear about but did and I can see some of the anxiety coming.  Daddy Fry and I, we just got to keep this Kiddo busy though.  It means slapping on the smiles even when we might not always feel that chipper but we have to because Kiddo smells fear.  It means planning out every move of our life like a military operation and I don't remember enlisting.  It means having to say goodbye to what used to work and trying something new because what other choice do we have?  It's always having to be "on" even when I am so desperate to find the button to turn it "off".

But that's what it is, so we try.  We tried before and stuff got better.  We can do it again.

Maybe Scooby Snacks would work? ;-)

Kiddo's Shot.

"I prob’ly shouldn’t brag, but dag, I amaze and astonish
The problem is I got a lot of brains but no polish
I gotta holler just to be heard
With every word, I drop knowledge
I’m a diamond in the rough, a shiny piece of coal
Tryin’ to reach my goal my power of speech, unimpeachable."

"My Shot" from HAMILTON

This is the Kiddo. This is where we are at the moment.  We know he's got so much in him but damn, getting it out of him is ROUGH right now.

We are in week number four of the new school and things are still bumpy but the good news is the FBA (Functional Behavioral Analysis) and the BIP (Behavior Intervention Plan) are done.  Time to meet up with the team and nine people came together for one Kiddo. You know there's a lot to go over when they have to pull in chairs from over rooms to cram all the people needed for this meeting around the table.

Reenactment of what I wore to the meeting. Okay, maybe not but I didn't wear yoga pants to it. Real pants, people. Real pants. 

That being said, the BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst) had a lot of interesting insights about the Kiddo and his behaviors as of late.  Some of which were some light bulbs switching on moments of "Oh, that's why." and some were "Yes! I knew it!  That's what I have been saying!"

And it sure was nice to realize "Okay, this guy gets him."  I had to restrain myself from leaping across the table and kissing him full on the mouth.  My husband would have understood. He was glad to see this guy seems to get the Kiddo too.

The behaviors. Oy, these behaviors already.  I am so OVER them. I'm not gonna lie. We have been sad about them and we have also been "Oh FFS, Kiddo!!! Why????" about them too. I am trying my hardest to be patient which is ironic because that's one of the issues Kiddo has been having trouble with handling. Zero patience. Zilch. He sees a thing he wants, even if it's an event that's several hours or even days away from the moment and he just WANTS IT NOW.  This isn't just a spoiled kid tantrum about it.  This is an autistic person fixation on a subject.  There's not much one can do to correct this behavior other redirect, redirect, and did I mention redirect?

We are also seeing so many attention seeking behaviors.  For a Kiddo with autism, he has been CRAVING eye contact and constant social interaction like mad! So the best plan to tackle that is keeping him busy, giving him lots of praise for "catching him being good", and no reaction/planned ignoring all the behaviors. Most of these behaviors are seen during periods of less structure, so the suggestion was made to continue making him the classroom "beotch" and keep giving him work and jobs to do.  I've seen this at home too. If he's busy helping, he's happy.

Let's talk about that planned ignoring thing though, shall we? So much easier said, than done.  Especially when the other kids in his class can't stop from being kids and reacting to said behaviors. So even when the staff is all board with the plan, he can still get his negative attention fix from his classmates who are autistic and/or special needs and can't just be reminded "Hey, ignore Kiddo. It's in his BIP."   This becomes a challenging part of this behavior situation.

Funny side story, a bunch of us parents of these kids hung out at "Back to School" night having a good chin wag over things and taking turns apologizing to each other over what our kid might have done to their kid.  "Oh my god! My Kiddo grabbed your kid?  I am so freaking sorry."   "My kid bit another kid. It was yours? Oh damn. I'm so sorry."   No one was upset about it. I mean, hey, I don't want my Kiddo to be bit or to be grabbing anyone.  I get these are the behaviors though in a self contained classroom.  Comes with the territory.  As I told the mom of the boy that just so happened to bite my Kiddo, "I'm surprised it hadn't happened till now."  (And to that mom cause I know you read this, seriously.  I ain't mad at ya or your kid.  I know he's having a rough adjustment too.)

But I digress.

Needless to say we still have a lot of work to get done with the Kiddo. We are doing everything on our end and now the school is doing their part of the load which includes hiring a one to one aide to be assigned just to the Kiddo.  That's right, from now on it's going to be Kiddo plus one.  Now having had worked in a school, this is the part that I am both hopeful and nervous about.  This person will have a lot on their shoulders. I'm hoping like Hell they can not only do the job required but see past the behaviors to that "diamond in the rough".  I'm also eager for them to be hired as soon as humanly possible.  (Hey School Staff that reads this Hey! How's that hiring processing going? You got someone yet?  Get them to get that fingerprinting appointment ASAP.  You know those slots fill up fast. Oh, let that paraprofessional know that I give nice gifts at the holidays and the end of the year. Thanks!)

"It's time to take a shot
Rise up, rise up, it's time to take a shot
Rise up, it's time to take a shot
Rise up, take a shot, shot, shot"

Hopefully this is the shot that works or Daddy Fry and I are going to be "doing shots" of whiskey.  I am so not ready to give up on this working. I know it can. He can do it. We can do it. The school can do it.

Can't press "pause" on autism!

"Wait. You still took him to go see The Lion King on Broadway? But he's been so anxious and his behaviors!" 

You're damn right we did.  For a few reasons I'm about to list because for some reason, autism parents love to read lists! 

1) The performance was a special sensory friendly showing just for the autism/special needs community and their families/caregivers.  Nobody was gonna care if my Kiddo was loud or flappy.  The whole #StimSquad was out in full force representing #TeamQuirky.  

Show tunes and fries. This is living! 

2) Those tickets were expensive. I wasn't going to "eat them" because of what's being going on recently.  We could do it.  We have done it before. The prior experience was something we could use in our favor and did. 

That's 73.50 times 3. You know how much speech and OT that can buy? Exactly. 

3) I bought these tickets months ago.  Once an event is uttered out loud in this house, do you think we could cancel it?  Oh no, my friend. You are not familiar with the ways of my people if you think it's that easy.  We were committed! 

Kiddo has been studying this since it came with the tickets.  You think all the sudden I'm going to tell him "No Simba for you." Hahahahahahaha! NOPE. 

4) Most importantly. Life does not stop for autism.  Ever. Even when I could really use autism doing me a solid and being like "Oh, let's just give the old girl a break. She needs to catch her breath.", it ever does. God, I wish it would.  To quote another Disney character here, I'm like Dory. I have to just keep swimming while Kiddo keeps stimming. 

"But his behavior!  How do you teach him about consequences?" 

Agree with you there. I do have to teach him about his actions and how to be accountable for them. He does not get a free pass.  However, this is autism, intellectual disability, OCD, anxiety disorder, and ADHD we are dealing with at the house that fries built. This is not a child who doesn't understand the concept of time.  Things have to be very clear. Abstract thinking is not something he can do. We are not dealing with a run of the mill typical 12 year old.  I kind of wish it could be that easy. I'm not saying you parents of those neurotypical kids have it easier. I know the grass is always greener and stuff but I sure wouldn't mind a crack at it though. Just to mix it up. ;-) 

Now the Kiddo did have an activity he wanted to do after school on Friday, which he promptly lost as a result of his behavior at school that day. Was he happy about it? No, of course not and he whined and pleaded but this ain't my first rodeo with him and I stood my ground. He then asked "Work for it tomorrow?" while sniffling and I agreed.  I allowed him to be sad. I validated his feelings even though in my head I was like "Really Kiddo? You want me to feel bad for you about this? Really?" But at that moment sarcasm would be a HUGE mistake. (Before you go "Oh Autism kids don't get sarcasm.  Yeah, they can. Or at least, mine can.) 

And you know what happened with allowing him to cry, and be sad, and script like crazy?  I got some more information out of him. Valuable insight as to what is going on and it broke my heart.  He is seriously homesick for his old school.  Worse than I had previously thought.  His hyper focus is on that and well, if you live with autism in your house you know that focus does not shift easily.  

And because he is super sad about that, he's doing his usual "Let me list every meltdown, every little bad thing that has ever happened to me, every time I have ever been wronged or have done wrong." thing. Which is just depression wrapped in anxiety and marinated in sadness.  Oh man, that's a vicious cycle.  This is not going to get solved in a simple matter. Nothing with autism is ever that easy.

But by far the best reason to still go out and do big things like going to see that show on a weekend is it is one giant distraction for all of us. The weekends with no structure or plans in them can be way hard on a child with autism.  This gave us an all day activity and anytime he brought up "No school!", it was pretty easy to redirect him.  The day went by quickly, whereas staying at home the day would have been no less than ten thousand hours long.

Plus, because of his communication issues I am never truly sure of what he is absorbing. So we like to give him a chance to experience as much as he can. Maybe giving him a happy memory to think about when he's feeling sad at school that can help get him out of a funk.

You know, one of the reasons I started this blog is because a lot of my friends and family were commenting on my Facebook status updates about the Kiddo and his love of looking for excuse to NOT go to school back when he first started at the school he now misses.  If you know us, who can forget his requests of "Turn off school!" and "No Monday. Put away Monday."  Or his personal best of refusing to go to school because he was in fact a penguin and penguins do not go to school. (Hard to argue with that logic.)

And yet, I still made him go. And yet, he eventually got over his hatred of the new place and grew to love it.  So I know he has the potential to do the same here at this middle school if he just gives it a chance and if the school gives him one too.

Just like any good production, it's going to take some rehearsals, patience, and maybe some jazz hands here and there. ;-)