Parenting in the Park

May 15, 2013January 31, 2022 by Jen Myers

arbitrary I took both of my children to the park the other day. It shouldn’t be some sort of big announcement that a mom takes her kids to the park, but I was by myself with my two children, who have very different, needs, wants, and abilities, and I am a chicken. There. I said it. I am a scaredy-cat when it comes to taking my kids out into open, uncontrolled situations by myself, unless Jack is buckled into his wheelchair. He has escaped my grasp so many times, wrenching my shoulder as he goes; there are dangerous situations around every corner, and he is fast. And as mature and amazing Katie is at 5, she really is still a small child who deserves to be looked after on a busy street, or a park… but it is summer, and my children are convincing, so I took them. Katie providing…

Disability

Autism, Parenting, and Summer: Keeping Busy

June 29, 2012January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Shannon Des Roches Rosa www.squidalicious.com What do we do when my eleven-year-old autistic son Leo is out of school for the summer? We plan, and we keep very, very busy. We rely heavily on visual schedules to structure Leo’s unstructured days. These can be laminated paper (below) or via iPad apps like First-Then Visual Schedule, Routinely, or ChoiceWorks. These schedules let Leo anticipate what his day will be like, and help reduce any related anxiety. Plus Leo is a visual schedule pro, and can now help put his schedules together. We figure out what Leo likes to do. We focus on the things he likes to do that we can make happen. Leo likes swimming and hiking. He likes balls, and trampolines. We can make those things happen. I cut out other activities, and responsibilities. Leo is an energetic, 1:1 kid, and I need to keep up with him. This…

Disability

Summer Strategies for Autism Families

June 20, 2011January 31, 2022 by Shannon Des Roches Rosa

Shannon Des Roches Rosa www.thinkingautismguide.com www.squidalicious.com Summer. Now there’s a word that terrifies parents of school-aged kids with autism. We do not necessarily associate the word with “break.” For us, summer means potential implosion of carefully orchestrated school, services, and respite schedules — and the resulting scrambling and scraping to make new arrangements. My son Leo’s last day of fourth grade was Friday, and I am fretting. He is in such a beautiful space in his wonderful new school — progressing on his IEP goals, excited to get on the school bus every morning, arriving home trailed by email reports of successful, action-filled classroom days. Getting him to this point has taken months of routine-reinforced effort. I’m worried that summer will undo it all. Children with autism work hard to gain skills during the school year, and that learning can quickly slip away without ongoing, reinforcing learning opportunities. This means…