2007...Plenty to say but no time to say it

Life was moving at a fast pace...and well, I was pregnant. Enough said.

5/24/07

Summertime, and the living is easy. Or at least we hope. Today was the first day of summer break. We all headed over to Kristi’s for a “waterslide party”. Bathing suit and Nemo towel in hand, we headed over for a great day among new friends and old. We were there from 11 until 4, when we shut the place down. Overall, Jack did awesome. He ran around, tried to engage the kids at times, played alone at times, and had a great time. He did start to cry when it was time to leave, and he said that he didn’t like leaving. I was thrilled that he had so much fun. We came home, grabbed a quick bite and were off to Daddy’s double header softball game. Jack was disappointed to learn that he was the only team kid attending tonight, and got bored easily. He was ready to go after 20 minutes or so, but managed to stick it out for the entire 2 hours. He tumbled into bed tonight, wiped out from a funfilled day. No therapy, no special efforts (other than his gfcf lunch!). It almost felt normal! I watched him harder than the other moms did with their own kids, and I worried when he played alone for too long, but then as the kids began to leave and the crowd became more manageable, he came more into his own. The best interaction of the day was in Kristi’s garage with just 5 kids. He was riding a bike and the girls were commanding him to stop/go. He thought it was great. I don’t think his interaction was age appropriate, but it was good enough for today. He’s made giant leaps…and this summer just might allow us to reap the benefits of all of his hard work.

We talked today in the car about fun things that we could do this summer. He loved the idea of his very own “waterslide party” and offered that he wanted cake and ice cream at HIS waterslide party. We talked about going to two twin birthday parties this month and other fun activities, like a visit to the library, zoo and aquarium. There will be group speech and private OT, and summer school with an aide, but the days of scheduling around nap, aba, potty training and various other autism related events are behind us…perhaps temporarily and perhaps for good. I’ll take either one right now!

I’m determined to figure out the root of his scripting, the evil that sets him apart so strongly in social settings. Without it, it is so hard to see his weaknesses. With it, it’s a 2 x 4. So summer, here I come! I’m headed toward the fountain of knowledge, and I’m coming with a sword. Viral, yeast, or something else? I warned Scott that this is my summer goal. He better put his thinking cap on…