The end of this past January marked three years since I started this blog. It's hard to remember now, but I started it due to my frustration with the whole "defeat autism" attitude that I seemed to be encountering everywhere. It was very refreshing to come across people on the internet who were more accepting of autism, though who still faced incredible challenges in raising their children "on the spectrum". I also found it very therapeutic to share what I was going through at the time with my son.
I don't post on here so much anymore. It's not that I don't want to. I DO, but spare time is very rare for me these days. I'm not going to complain and lament too much, this is just where I am at right now thanks to what is going on in my family.
Samuel is growing up. It hasn't been easy and I think our "fun" is just beginning! Life for him has changed quite a bit since this past winter. He turned 11 just after the new year. He is almost as tall as I am now and has surpassed even his older brother in weight. He can be quite a force to contend with! He is now taking Risperdal to help moderate his temper. That's not by any means where it is ending, that is just the beginning of what has become a new road for us to journey on in helping Samuel to grow and develop. Amazingly, a new social group formed in our area and Samuel was able to attend that for thirteen weeks this past winter and spring, along with 3 other children close to his age. How terrific that something like this came along to help him recognize and learn how to deal with social situations. There are times he is quite vocal about his feelings ("Mommy, I'm so sad!" or "Mommy, I'm very very angry!"). I am so happy that he is able to verbalize these things and I am trying to figure out how to take him to the next step.. getting past those sad and angry feelings. In the coming weeks we will be starting new in-home behavior treatment services for him. I still use his visual schedule but we are definitely at a point where we need some fresh ideas and strategies to teach him how to get through his day with appropriate behaviors.
Well, the "free" time I had to work on this post is about over. Samuel is behind me telling me (thankfully, with a smile on his face) how "angry" he is with me! I promised him a snack a while ago and I suppose I should go make good on it!
Showing posts with label Behavioral outbursts. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Behavioral outbursts. Show all posts
Monday, May 24, 2010
Monday, September 14, 2009
The Tough Reality of Consequences
I wrote this back on August 26, but forgot to post it!
Samuel has had a tough time at his last two Occupational Therapy sessions. Last week he would not cooperate with his therapist when it was time for him to use Wii. All Samuel wanted to do was go into the "settings" menu. (At home he erased all the data we had accumulated the first month we owned it while he played around in the "settings" menu.. so it's not a good thing for him to be there!) His therapist had already endured several sessions of this, so last week she decided that no more would be tolerated, his opportunity to play Wii would be lost once he did not comply with her request to stay out of "settings." Their session ended early. Samuel was upset, but he was over it by the time I picked him up at the scheduled ending time.
Yesterday, Samuel never even got together with the therapist to start the session. Over several days prior to the session and on the way in the car, I had talked with Samuel about how it was important to play Wii as his therapist requested, by staying out of the "settings" menu. This caused him to become a bit agitated. Then, as we were waiting in the reception area, he tried getting on to the computer located there. He has learned how to get into the DOS menu on computers (thanks You Tube!) and has already wrought havoc on the entire office's computer system. Stopping him from getting to the computer caused further agitation. He began to yell and throw toys so I told him we would have to leave the office until he could be calm. A few minutes later the therapist joined us outside, where Samuel was still upset. I gave him a few minutes to calm down and his therapist brought a container of rice for him to play with. He still didn't calm down and then he started throwing the rice on the ground.
The next step was to take him to the car to calm down. I gave him five minutes to become calm. I tried giving him some "sensory toys" that I had stashed in my purse, but they were not helpful. Ultimately, we had to call it a day and had to agree that we would try again next week. He was then upset because not partipating in Occupational Therapy meant that the soda I usually get for him afterwards was not available. It took about another 10 minutes for Samuel to calm down enough that I felt safe driving home with him. He apologized within an hour after getting home and has done so again several times today.
What will I do differently next time? I am thinking about setting up some kind of sticker chart or token system that he will have to fill in in order to "earn" his soda after OT next week. I am going to call the therapist and see how many activities we should place on the chart, and determine within what parameters he will "earn" the sticker for each activity. I will also make up a social story for him to read. It seems the "verbal only" method of talking to him about the problem isn't working very well! I am also going to offer him more verbal encouragement ("I know that you can earn all of your stickers!" "Won't if feel great to show Miss M____ how well you can do your Wii exercises?")
Since then we have had two successful therapy sessions! The sticker chart is helping out and his therapist really likes having it. Samuel is happy that he is earning and able to get something he really likes.
Samuel has had a tough time at his last two Occupational Therapy sessions. Last week he would not cooperate with his therapist when it was time for him to use Wii. All Samuel wanted to do was go into the "settings" menu. (At home he erased all the data we had accumulated the first month we owned it while he played around in the "settings" menu.. so it's not a good thing for him to be there!) His therapist had already endured several sessions of this, so last week she decided that no more would be tolerated, his opportunity to play Wii would be lost once he did not comply with her request to stay out of "settings." Their session ended early. Samuel was upset, but he was over it by the time I picked him up at the scheduled ending time.
Yesterday, Samuel never even got together with the therapist to start the session. Over several days prior to the session and on the way in the car, I had talked with Samuel about how it was important to play Wii as his therapist requested, by staying out of the "settings" menu. This caused him to become a bit agitated. Then, as we were waiting in the reception area, he tried getting on to the computer located there. He has learned how to get into the DOS menu on computers (thanks You Tube!) and has already wrought havoc on the entire office's computer system. Stopping him from getting to the computer caused further agitation. He began to yell and throw toys so I told him we would have to leave the office until he could be calm. A few minutes later the therapist joined us outside, where Samuel was still upset. I gave him a few minutes to calm down and his therapist brought a container of rice for him to play with. He still didn't calm down and then he started throwing the rice on the ground.
The next step was to take him to the car to calm down. I gave him five minutes to become calm. I tried giving him some "sensory toys" that I had stashed in my purse, but they were not helpful. Ultimately, we had to call it a day and had to agree that we would try again next week. He was then upset because not partipating in Occupational Therapy meant that the soda I usually get for him afterwards was not available. It took about another 10 minutes for Samuel to calm down enough that I felt safe driving home with him. He apologized within an hour after getting home and has done so again several times today.
What will I do differently next time? I am thinking about setting up some kind of sticker chart or token system that he will have to fill in in order to "earn" his soda after OT next week. I am going to call the therapist and see how many activities we should place on the chart, and determine within what parameters he will "earn" the sticker for each activity. I will also make up a social story for him to read. It seems the "verbal only" method of talking to him about the problem isn't working very well! I am also going to offer him more verbal encouragement ("I know that you can earn all of your stickers!" "Won't if feel great to show Miss M____ how well you can do your Wii exercises?")
Since then we have had two successful therapy sessions! The sticker chart is helping out and his therapist really likes having it. Samuel is happy that he is earning and able to get something he really likes.
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