Beginning of School

I have wanted to update the blog as to how the first couple of weeks of school started out with Eden. With school comes lots of change and if anyone knows us, none of us take to change well. Least of all Eden, so you can imagine it has been a hard couple of weeks. Our school has a little notebook that comes home with her everyday. The teachers write in it most everyday, and if they don't it's because it is too busy to do everyone that day. They talk about your child's day good and bad. Eden has had trouble during transitions most everyday, and seems to have tantrums at least every other day.

I pick up Eden and talk to her teachers. I take the advice they are giving me and apply it to home. They have found using a kitchen timer has helped in every day things that are expected from her. Getting dressed in the morning giving her a timeline to get dressed, and if she didn't I would do it for you. This works wonderfully and Eden doesn't fight while getting dressed, so far.

Eden has lost words at home. The sentence, "I want...please." Has gone back to, "... please." There was no I want in the front of the sentence. When I prompt her she won't put it there. So the teachers are going to give me some scripting materials so I can use them at home like they do at school. We are also going to get a list of things for a picture schedule, which is exactly what it sounds like. It is basically a schedule that you can Velcro in order to let her know what it going to happen and show her to check things off as she does them so she has more structure just like she does at school. I'm thinking some of her problem at home is that the change from school to home is confusing and she's not sure what is expected of her at home. This I'm hoping will get better as time goes on.

Eden's sensory issues have really been coming forth at school also. After a lengthy after school talk with the teacher we decided that Eden does need OT. The problem is, is that they are short staffed in the OT department at school. At our meeting, we all talked about how to get the OT that she needs and decided that getting it through my insurance will be best. That way she will get specialized care in Sensory Integration. Until then the teachers have decided that if Eden needs a break during the day she will get what they call Gross motor/Sensory breaks. During parts of the day Eden will be brought to the "Big Room" or the OT room and get to jump into bean bags, swing on the swing in there, jump on the trampoline, or things like that to get some of her sensory system to calm down a little.

I was also told of some changes that are going to happen due to budget changes. It may actually turn out better for Eden. I'm not sure what actually is going to happen, but it may end in more hours at school for Eden and more 1 on 1 therapy for her. I'll let you know when I do.

I have had some time to think about what it going on with Eden and I've decided that the things happening with her is a training issue. I have never been a parent of a child with special needs. Autism is a very different issue than a medical issue only for the fact that you can't physically tell what is wrong. I'm in the process of being trained how to handle certain situations and make my home a little more Eden friendly while incorporating it in our everyday lives. It'll happen eventually.