Saturday, December 27, 2008
baby steps
Baileyanne used the mixer!!!!! For years, she was deathly afraid of it, not wanting anything to do with cooking... well, we hit a milestone this past week. (that is what we call them around here) She was cooking with Granny making cupcakes and she asked to help! This is HUGE! My 7 1/2 year old will now cook with us! We have come a LONG way... now, all we need for her is to not be afraid of the vaccum or the hairdryer and life would be A LOT easier! baby steps...
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Twelve Tips of Christmas for families with children with Autism
I enjoyed this article and hope that you can benefit from it as well.
Helping Your Son/Daughter and Family Have a Happy Holidays: The Twelve Tips of Christmas
Contributed by Dr. Cathy Pratt, Ph.D.
• Preparation is crucial for many individuals. At the same time, it is important to determine how much preparation a specific person may need. For example, if your son or daughter has a tendency to become anxious when anticipating an event that is to occur in the future, you may want to adjust how many days in advance you prepare him or her. Preparation can occur in various ways by using a calendar and marking the date of various holiday events, or by creating a Social Story that highlights what will happen at a given event.
• Having decorations around the house may be disruptive for some. It may be helpful to revisit pictures from previous holidays that show decorations in the house. If such a book does not exist, use this holiday season to create a picture book. For some it may also be helpful to take them shopping with you for holiday decorations so that they are engaged in the process. Or involve them in the process of decorating the house. And once holiday decorations have been put up, you may need to create rules about those that can be touched and those that can not be touched. Be direct, specific and consistent.
• If your child has difficulty with change, you may want to gradually decorate the house. For example, on the first day put up the Christmas tree, then on the next day decorate the tree and so on. And again, engage them as much as possible in this process.
• If your child begins to obsess about a particular gift or toy they want, it may be helpful to be specific and direct about the number of times a child can mention the toy. One suggestion is to give your child 5 chips. They are allowed to exchange one chip for 5 minutes of talking about the desired gift. Also, if you have no intention of purchasing a specific toy, it serves no purpose to tell the child that maybe they will get the gift. This will only lead to problems in the future. Always choose to be direct specific about your intentions.
• Teach your child how to leave a situation and/or how to access support when an event becomes overwhelming. For example, rather then having a behavioral episode, the individual should be taught ahead of time that they should go to their room when feeling overwhelmed. This self-management tool will serve the individual into adulthood.
• If you are traveling for the holidays, make sure you have the child’s favorite foods or toys available. Having familiar items readily available can help to calm stressful situations. Also prepare them via social stories or other communication systems, for any unexpected delays in travel.
• Know your child and how much noise and activity they can tolerate. If you detect that a situation may be becoming overwhelming, help your child find a quiet area in which to regroup. And there may be some situations that you simply avoid (e.g., crowded shopping malls the day after Thanksgiving).
• Prepare a photo album in advance of the relatives and other guests who will be visiting during the holidays. Allow the child access to these photos at all time and also go through the photo album with your child while talking briefly about each family member.
• In preparation for the holiday season, you might want to practice opening gifts, taking turns and waiting for others, or giving gifts to others. You might also choose to practice certain religious rituals. Work with a speech language pathologists to construct pages of vocabulary or topic boards that relate to the holidays and family traditions.
• It may also be helpful to prepare family members for strategies to use to minimize anxiety or behavioral incidents, and to enhance participation. Help them to understand if your son/daughter prefers to be hugged or not, needs calm discussions, or provide other suggestions that will facilitate a smoother holiday season.
• If you child is on special diet, make sure there is food available that they can eat. And even if they are not on a special diet, be cautious of the amount of sugar consumed. And while we are talking about health, try to maintain a sleep and meal routine.
• Above all, know your child. Know how much noise and other sensory input they can take. Know their level of anxiety and the amount of preparation it may take. Know their fears and those things that will make the season more enjoyable for them.
Helping Your Son/Daughter and Family Have a Happy Holidays: The Twelve Tips of Christmas
Contributed by Dr. Cathy Pratt, Ph.D.
• Preparation is crucial for many individuals. At the same time, it is important to determine how much preparation a specific person may need. For example, if your son or daughter has a tendency to become anxious when anticipating an event that is to occur in the future, you may want to adjust how many days in advance you prepare him or her. Preparation can occur in various ways by using a calendar and marking the date of various holiday events, or by creating a Social Story that highlights what will happen at a given event.
• Having decorations around the house may be disruptive for some. It may be helpful to revisit pictures from previous holidays that show decorations in the house. If such a book does not exist, use this holiday season to create a picture book. For some it may also be helpful to take them shopping with you for holiday decorations so that they are engaged in the process. Or involve them in the process of decorating the house. And once holiday decorations have been put up, you may need to create rules about those that can be touched and those that can not be touched. Be direct, specific and consistent.
• If your child has difficulty with change, you may want to gradually decorate the house. For example, on the first day put up the Christmas tree, then on the next day decorate the tree and so on. And again, engage them as much as possible in this process.
• If your child begins to obsess about a particular gift or toy they want, it may be helpful to be specific and direct about the number of times a child can mention the toy. One suggestion is to give your child 5 chips. They are allowed to exchange one chip for 5 minutes of talking about the desired gift. Also, if you have no intention of purchasing a specific toy, it serves no purpose to tell the child that maybe they will get the gift. This will only lead to problems in the future. Always choose to be direct specific about your intentions.
• Teach your child how to leave a situation and/or how to access support when an event becomes overwhelming. For example, rather then having a behavioral episode, the individual should be taught ahead of time that they should go to their room when feeling overwhelmed. This self-management tool will serve the individual into adulthood.
• If you are traveling for the holidays, make sure you have the child’s favorite foods or toys available. Having familiar items readily available can help to calm stressful situations. Also prepare them via social stories or other communication systems, for any unexpected delays in travel.
• Know your child and how much noise and activity they can tolerate. If you detect that a situation may be becoming overwhelming, help your child find a quiet area in which to regroup. And there may be some situations that you simply avoid (e.g., crowded shopping malls the day after Thanksgiving).
• Prepare a photo album in advance of the relatives and other guests who will be visiting during the holidays. Allow the child access to these photos at all time and also go through the photo album with your child while talking briefly about each family member.
• In preparation for the holiday season, you might want to practice opening gifts, taking turns and waiting for others, or giving gifts to others. You might also choose to practice certain religious rituals. Work with a speech language pathologists to construct pages of vocabulary or topic boards that relate to the holidays and family traditions.
• It may also be helpful to prepare family members for strategies to use to minimize anxiety or behavioral incidents, and to enhance participation. Help them to understand if your son/daughter prefers to be hugged or not, needs calm discussions, or provide other suggestions that will facilitate a smoother holiday season.
• If you child is on special diet, make sure there is food available that they can eat. And even if they are not on a special diet, be cautious of the amount of sugar consumed. And while we are talking about health, try to maintain a sleep and meal routine.
• Above all, know your child. Know how much noise and other sensory input they can take. Know their level of anxiety and the amount of preparation it may take. Know their fears and those things that will make the season more enjoyable for them.
I want to go deeper
I am a horrible blogger... I know. No, really... I am. Please be patient... I have really have been praying about where this blog should go. I want to go deeper and maybe change the lives of those strugggling with children with Autism... next year (next week) I plan on going a little deeper, sharing with you the daily struggles and obstacles that I face both emotionally and physically with our daughter Baileyanne. I think it will both help me and others struggling with the same things that we do on a daily basis. sooo... with that said, please be patient and stay posted.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Our week in pictures
The kids FINALLY got a chance play in the leaves. Everytime we go over to my folks, the leaf removal man HAD just been there... so this time, there was a huge pile on their driveway just waiting to be played in!
Saturday, we went up to Skiatook and cut down our Christmas tree. The kids had a lot of fun though it was FREEZING! We didn't stay long and didn't get many pics because I was so cold!
Poor Dan... the previous owner took all of our gas logs and I was really wanting to light up the living room fire place. I told him to go to Walmart and go get some gas logs... well, it wasn't that easy. $160 dollars later, he comes home from Lowes with a whole fireplace set that he had to put together! Poor guy... but a WONDERFUL husband! He didn't complain one bit! He even had to go back to the store a second time because the gas pipe that we originally had was too small... hence, he needed a smaller one... only a few bucks later the second time. Noah had more fun with that box! The thing that really stinks is that after all of that hard work and money spent, the darn thing doesn't put off any heat!!!!
We got out all of our Christmas stuff down from the attic. I am having my preschool kids over this week for a Cookie Exchange so I told Dan that I needed to have everything decorated by Friday. We are still working on the tree... I will take pics once it's done.
The kids after a nice warm bath, enjoying a movie and a bowl of popcorn.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Blog Games
My 5 favorite present addictions:
Kisses from my children. As much as they hate to be kissed, I love kissing them!
Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks. I know I shouldn't be drinking coffee while I'm pregnant though I can't get enough of it!
Zofran... wouldn't call it my favorite though God has blessed me with nausea meds and I can't seem to wean myself off... that or I am deathly afraid too!
Jamba Juice... I need to take stock out in the company! My allowance every week is gone... Carribbean Passion, no boost, extra ice which makes it extra COLD!
Facebook... I enjoy getting in touch with old friends.
WHO'S WHO?
What is your husband's name? Daniel Scott Duncan (people call him Dan)
How long have you been married? almost 9 years. We got married in March 2000
How long did you date? Uhhhh.... probably not long enough. 2 weeks, got engaged and then got married 3 months later. we had been friends for 6 years.
How old is he? 6 years older... you do the math. okay, I am 32...
Who is taller? He is 6, 4 if that tells you anything.
Who can sing best? I am the better singer.
Who is smarter? He knows everything... and knows how to DO everything... just ask my dad!
Who does the laundry? I DO! He will help if I ask him... though that rarely ever happens.
Who pays the bills? I do. It is a control issue. They get paid that way.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He always has, in all of our houses... what kind of question is this???
Who mows the lawn? Dan does... I have NEVER mowed a lawn in my life. I know, call me spoiled.
Who cooks the meals? I do most of the cooking though not feeling well lately, I have let him in our kitchen.
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? we both are pretty good about admitting when we are wrong. I am better at it.
Who kissed who first? uhhhhhhh...... me. I kissed him. He told me that the next girl that he was going to kiss was the girl that he was going to marry... this was BEFORE he asked me to marry him. He asked... and it still hadn't happened... so, I took the plunge. yes, we got engaged... never had kissed each other.
Who wears the pants? we both do... he should more though I am a control freak and tend to "wear" them more.
Kisses from my children. As much as they hate to be kissed, I love kissing them!
Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks. I know I shouldn't be drinking coffee while I'm pregnant though I can't get enough of it!
Zofran... wouldn't call it my favorite though God has blessed me with nausea meds and I can't seem to wean myself off... that or I am deathly afraid too!
Jamba Juice... I need to take stock out in the company! My allowance every week is gone... Carribbean Passion, no boost, extra ice which makes it extra COLD!
Facebook... I enjoy getting in touch with old friends.
WHO'S WHO?
What is your husband's name? Daniel Scott Duncan (people call him Dan)
How long have you been married? almost 9 years. We got married in March 2000
How long did you date? Uhhhh.... probably not long enough. 2 weeks, got engaged and then got married 3 months later. we had been friends for 6 years.
How old is he? 6 years older... you do the math. okay, I am 32...
Who is taller? He is 6, 4 if that tells you anything.
Who can sing best? I am the better singer.
Who is smarter? He knows everything... and knows how to DO everything... just ask my dad!
Who does the laundry? I DO! He will help if I ask him... though that rarely ever happens.
Who pays the bills? I do. It is a control issue. They get paid that way.
Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? He always has, in all of our houses... what kind of question is this???
Who mows the lawn? Dan does... I have NEVER mowed a lawn in my life. I know, call me spoiled.
Who cooks the meals? I do most of the cooking though not feeling well lately, I have let him in our kitchen.
Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? we both are pretty good about admitting when we are wrong. I am better at it.
Who kissed who first? uhhhhhhh...... me. I kissed him. He told me that the next girl that he was going to kiss was the girl that he was going to marry... this was BEFORE he asked me to marry him. He asked... and it still hadn't happened... so, I took the plunge. yes, we got engaged... never had kissed each other.
Who wears the pants? we both do... he should more though I am a control freak and tend to "wear" them more.
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