So I skipped the last 2 days for no reason. Actually I kind of forgot about it. However if anything meaningful would happen I would be typing away. If you have noticed he has been having very average days. Thank goodness for that.
No meltdowns or high stress situations. In reference to his academics at school we are still talking about it and we will make some decisions in the next IEP. I notice more and more how little he can read. Last night I made some Tollhouse cookies and I asked him to read the directions. He was able to read half (with a struggle) I was pretty surprise. Now instead of having him read every night quiet in his room I'm going to ask him to read out loud.
His behavior with his sisters has been good. If they tell him to stop he does it the 2nd time, not bad compared to never. With us he has been very responsive and asks permission for the most part about everything. Also he keeps on going to his neighbor friend and does good there. Overall he has been awesome lately. Happy and not worried.
Saturday, January 31, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Learning disability??
Here we are again, trying to figure solutions out. I think we had some breakthroughs today. As we know Carlitos has a very hard time at school. Specially regarding writing. Well...after observing him lately and after sitting with him doing homework some questions came to my mind. He really has difficulty with some basic concepts, 1st and 2nd grade level. then it occurred to me that he could have 2 different situations.
First, maybe he has a learning disability, if that is the case I think Dyslexia may be an option. Second, maybe during the first grades we were so focused on his behavior (priority at the time) that we assumed academics were fine. But now that his behavior is not the same it became obvious he is missing a lot of concepts he needs to understand to get what they are teaching in his class. This idea would explain the level of frustration he 's been having all this time and why he is quiting everything.
They are evaluating him at school to find out of he has a learning disability separate from his Autism. If all this is true then we can plan what direction to go about it.His teacher and I we discussed more resource room and compared ideas. She agrees and has noticed the same things I did.
He did incredibly well today at school. He had a perfect day. And in the afternoon he did great too. Not a hiccup. Very nice for him.
First, maybe he has a learning disability, if that is the case I think Dyslexia may be an option. Second, maybe during the first grades we were so focused on his behavior (priority at the time) that we assumed academics were fine. But now that his behavior is not the same it became obvious he is missing a lot of concepts he needs to understand to get what they are teaching in his class. This idea would explain the level of frustration he 's been having all this time and why he is quiting everything.
They are evaluating him at school to find out of he has a learning disability separate from his Autism. If all this is true then we can plan what direction to go about it.His teacher and I we discussed more resource room and compared ideas. She agrees and has noticed the same things I did.
He did incredibly well today at school. He had a perfect day. And in the afternoon he did great too. Not a hiccup. Very nice for him.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Unexpected
Wow, today was a day full of surprises. But let's start from the beginning. Carlitos had a slow morning, took a lot for him to get out of bed. Eventually he got himself ready for school. At school he had some trouble with work.Once he was home we sat down to do some math homework. Well...as we were doing this I noticed a few things...
First, I actually noticed that he is missing a huge piece of critical thinking in math. The problems were very basic but he could not organize it in his mind to create a multiplication set up. I tried to go around it, kind of hinting which way to go but clearly he could not see it. And the other thing is that at the end of 3 exercises he broke down crying because he could not do the right answers, he was truly sad about it. I did see him trying very hard but not being able to do it or get it. he was pretty much devastated by it. I talked to him about the fact that we go to school to learn things we do not know, otherwise why we would go??. Something to think about.
Later in the afternoon, in the middle of nothing, suddenly all my smoke detector went off, I mean OFFly loud! We all jumped immediately and got out of the house. I could not find any smoke, smell of fire. After 2 hours we came to the conclusion that the batteries were running low and they decided to let us know. I am very proud of the kids following direction and not freaking out (they did that a second later). It was interesting.
he did have a hard time going to bed. He end up falling sleep on the sofa. I think he is still nervous over the fire alarm.
First, I actually noticed that he is missing a huge piece of critical thinking in math. The problems were very basic but he could not organize it in his mind to create a multiplication set up. I tried to go around it, kind of hinting which way to go but clearly he could not see it. And the other thing is that at the end of 3 exercises he broke down crying because he could not do the right answers, he was truly sad about it. I did see him trying very hard but not being able to do it or get it. he was pretty much devastated by it. I talked to him about the fact that we go to school to learn things we do not know, otherwise why we would go??. Something to think about.
Later in the afternoon, in the middle of nothing, suddenly all my smoke detector went off, I mean OFFly loud! We all jumped immediately and got out of the house. I could not find any smoke, smell of fire. After 2 hours we came to the conclusion that the batteries were running low and they decided to let us know. I am very proud of the kids following direction and not freaking out (they did that a second later). It was interesting.
he did have a hard time going to bed. He end up falling sleep on the sofa. I think he is still nervous over the fire alarm.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Another week
Seems like the medicine is working well so far. He seems calmed most of the time. No wars or major meltdowns.
He had another good day without incidents or strange behavior. He is eating more than usual but is not an issue. I still keep an eye on it. We have another Dr appointment this Saturday. It should go ok.
Today Carlitos started a new karate class. He was very excited and did a great job following direction. Also he did some homework without a problem. He is doing very well. Went to bed easy.
He had another good day without incidents or strange behavior. He is eating more than usual but is not an issue. I still keep an eye on it. We have another Dr appointment this Saturday. It should go ok.
Today Carlitos started a new karate class. He was very excited and did a great job following direction. Also he did some homework without a problem. He is doing very well. Went to bed easy.
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Uneventful
Here we are, finishing another weekend, it seems like time flies faster and faster every day. This was another day in the book of information. We all got up early as usual on a Sunday. carlitos went to the computer right away. The girls watched TV. As soon as I told him to take a shower he did it right away. His stress level has been rather low. Not sure why, maybe some kind of cycle.
We went to church and he did very well. Got a little fidgety after sitting for a while so eventually got up and walk for a little bit. Then he went to his class. He did good, participated and was part of a group presentation. Not bad.
After that we had some people over for lunch and he behaved very well. Played with his sisters a lot. there were some times when he got a little annoying but stopped right away after been told to quit. He helped with dinner and helped me cut some coupons. Actually he has been very helpful lately.
At bed time he had some trouble disconnecting himself from the computer. However after giving him a little more time he was ok and went to sleep.
Like I said...uneventful.
We went to church and he did very well. Got a little fidgety after sitting for a while so eventually got up and walk for a little bit. Then he went to his class. He did good, participated and was part of a group presentation. Not bad.
After that we had some people over for lunch and he behaved very well. Played with his sisters a lot. there were some times when he got a little annoying but stopped right away after been told to quit. He helped with dinner and helped me cut some coupons. Actually he has been very helpful lately.
At bed time he had some trouble disconnecting himself from the computer. However after giving him a little more time he was ok and went to sleep.
Like I said...uneventful.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Day trip
I am so, so, so proud of everyone. We had an amazingly busy and fun day and Carlitos did spectacular!!.
First we all got up (some earlier than others) and started getting ready to go to the snow!!. We got all their clothe right and snacks. Everyone was really excited. So we left. The kids were entertain in the car and doing very well. After an hour into the trip the kids asked for snacks. Of course we forgot them!, but they did not make a big deal. The trip was about 3 hours total.
They were so excited to be able to play in the snow. We get to the city and there wasn't a lot of snow on the ground. So we started looking for any "spot" we could use. In the meantime Carlitos is doing great and very patient with everything. Finally there it was, a beautiful space with snow. We got out of the car, it was very cold! open the back door and we look for the bag with all the snow stuff (hats, gloves, socks...) oh no! we can't find it. We could not believe such luck. We left that too next to the snacks (my guess). I thought Carlitos was going to get super upset since he has been looking forward this trip for a while and he wanted a snow fight!!. But he didn't, he was content with dad's gloves and had a lot of fun.
Even with all the things gong against the event Carlitos was very flexible and super obedient. It was amazing. After the snow play time we went to an Italian restaurant in the city. They had pizza and all bunch of stuff, the kids did great and I don't remember Carlitos behaving so well in a restaurant, it was great.
After that we got in the car again and went to another city about 1 1/2 hours away. We took the scenic route and the kids loved it. Woods, river, snow, rocks...beautiful!. We got there and went to tons of stores to look around and to a chocolate factory (they loved that!). Carlitos was super helpful with his sisters and with us. He had a fun time.
In the way back all of them were dead tired. He did good, eventually fell sleep in the car. At home I woke them all and gave them dinner. After dinner I asked who wanted to help me clean up the house a little bit and the girls ran for their lives (of course) but he told me he wanted to stay with me and help. I gave him a bunch of stuff to do and he did it very well and with a smile on his face. So cute!.
After that he went to bed. I sneaked in and gave him a "special" coupon for his help to be redeemed whenever he wanted (extra treat). The day could not have been better.
First we all got up (some earlier than others) and started getting ready to go to the snow!!. We got all their clothe right and snacks. Everyone was really excited. So we left. The kids were entertain in the car and doing very well. After an hour into the trip the kids asked for snacks. Of course we forgot them!, but they did not make a big deal. The trip was about 3 hours total.
They were so excited to be able to play in the snow. We get to the city and there wasn't a lot of snow on the ground. So we started looking for any "spot" we could use. In the meantime Carlitos is doing great and very patient with everything. Finally there it was, a beautiful space with snow. We got out of the car, it was very cold! open the back door and we look for the bag with all the snow stuff (hats, gloves, socks...) oh no! we can't find it. We could not believe such luck. We left that too next to the snacks (my guess). I thought Carlitos was going to get super upset since he has been looking forward this trip for a while and he wanted a snow fight!!. But he didn't, he was content with dad's gloves and had a lot of fun.
Even with all the things gong against the event Carlitos was very flexible and super obedient. It was amazing. After the snow play time we went to an Italian restaurant in the city. They had pizza and all bunch of stuff, the kids did great and I don't remember Carlitos behaving so well in a restaurant, it was great.
After that we got in the car again and went to another city about 1 1/2 hours away. We took the scenic route and the kids loved it. Woods, river, snow, rocks...beautiful!. We got there and went to tons of stores to look around and to a chocolate factory (they loved that!). Carlitos was super helpful with his sisters and with us. He had a fun time.
In the way back all of them were dead tired. He did good, eventually fell sleep in the car. At home I woke them all and gave them dinner. After dinner I asked who wanted to help me clean up the house a little bit and the girls ran for their lives (of course) but he told me he wanted to stay with me and help. I gave him a bunch of stuff to do and he did it very well and with a smile on his face. So cute!.
After that he went to bed. I sneaked in and gave him a "special" coupon for his help to be redeemed whenever he wanted (extra treat). The day could not have been better.
Friday, January 23, 2009
IEP
First thing this morning was our IEP. At the meeting we had the principal, OT, speech, class teacher, resource class teacher, psychologist and Behavioral coach. We discussed academics and behavior. Most of it about coping skills and how on the evaluations he shows the intellect but as soon as stress shows up he cannot perform well.
There were a few suggestions and ideas. Officially he is out of speech at school. He has been in speech therapy since he was 1 1/2. This is huge!.
We did not have time to go over all the paperwork, it was mostly discussion time. There is another one set up on Feb 6th.
The behavioral coach stayed at school to observe him there and get an idea of the surroundings. She got a lot of info being there, and noticed a lot of things. Behaviors, interaction and coping skills.
After school he did pretty well, keeping busy with friends. He went to the neighbors house for a while. Later at night we went to someones house for dinner. He did good. Came back very late and he went to bed right away.
There were a few suggestions and ideas. Officially he is out of speech at school. He has been in speech therapy since he was 1 1/2. This is huge!.
We did not have time to go over all the paperwork, it was mostly discussion time. There is another one set up on Feb 6th.
The behavioral coach stayed at school to observe him there and get an idea of the surroundings. She got a lot of info being there, and noticed a lot of things. Behaviors, interaction and coping skills.
After school he did pretty well, keeping busy with friends. He went to the neighbors house for a while. Later at night we went to someones house for dinner. He did good. Came back very late and he went to bed right away.
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