The livin' is easy
We are a few days into summer vacation around here and things are going well for the boy child. The last day of school was Wednesday the 25th, and the boy child's class had an end-of-year party at a nearby park to which I went along just in case (I went to the girl child's party at the same park earlier in the day as well). The boy did quite well, with only a few flinches when he saw bugs out of the corner of his eye. Some kids were blowing bubbles and it was quite windy, so there were a few fake-outs there, too, but the boy was able to laugh at himself for having flinched over bubbles. And he was even able to jump right in and blow a few himself!
He played all over the entire park with no signs of anxiety. Thank goodness he's doing well enough that he doesn't need me right there with him when he's outdoors anymore, because I was worn out enough just trying to keep sight of him in a sea of other third-graders all wearing the same shirts! The boy likes to keep me in his line of sight, so I was moving around a lot and it was sooooo hot with not much shade. Whew!
We haven't spent a lot of time outdoors since school ended, mostly because it's just so darn hot here already. However, we try to make it to the park behind our house after dinner at least a few times per week, and starting this week we'll be spending at least one or two afternoons per week at the pool. The pool will be the real test, I think, because while the boy loves to go there, it tends to overwhelm him from a sensory standpoint. All that yelling, splashing (he HATES getting his face wet at all), whistle blowing and of course the bugs. He only had a few freakouts at the pool last year, but they were MAJOR freakouts, so I'll be interested to see how he does this year since he's made so much progress.
Speaking of the pool, this summer we're looking into lessons for both kids. It's past time they learned, and it's really my fault they haven't up to now because I've just dreaded trying to find the right instructor for the boy. With all of his sensory issues, there is no way we can just enroll him in any old swim class. He needs an instructor who can work with him one-on-one or in a VERY small group, and one that understands sensory/developmental issues and can present things in a positive way without turning him off to the experience.
Luckily, though, we received a recommendation from the boy child's occupational therapist. There's a woman in this area who teaches swimming at her home, and though we've never met her, we've actually known about her for years. She and her husband used to attend the largest local church in our denomination (we attend one of the smaller ones, sporadically) and we've seen their names come up on the church mailing list from time to time. Also, they live right down the street from my parents. So it looks like we'll be giving her a call soon to see how much she charges and whether she can take both kids (with the understanding that the boy has special issues she'll have to work with).
We're continuing with taekwondo throughout the summer as well, and that's about to get really complicated because after June 10 the boy and girl will be in separate classes again. They group the classes according to level of ability (belt), and after the 10th the boy will move up to the last grouping before black belt level. Fortunately the girl will move up as well about 8 weeks after the boy does, and then our schedule will be fairly solid and calm until one of them makes black belt, which probably won't be for another couple of years. But in the meantime, argh!
So between taekwondo and the hopefully impending swimming lessons, along with the continuing occupational therapy and hopefully-ending-soon cognitive behavioral therapy, I haven't signed the kids up for any other camps or classes this summer. If the girl child had her way, she'd be in a different class every week for the entire summer. But the boy child needs downtime, and so do I! The kids and I are working on learning Spanish here at home this summer, and other than that and all the above we plan to just sleep, swim, play and relax!
He played all over the entire park with no signs of anxiety. Thank goodness he's doing well enough that he doesn't need me right there with him when he's outdoors anymore, because I was worn out enough just trying to keep sight of him in a sea of other third-graders all wearing the same shirts! The boy likes to keep me in his line of sight, so I was moving around a lot and it was sooooo hot with not much shade. Whew!
We haven't spent a lot of time outdoors since school ended, mostly because it's just so darn hot here already. However, we try to make it to the park behind our house after dinner at least a few times per week, and starting this week we'll be spending at least one or two afternoons per week at the pool. The pool will be the real test, I think, because while the boy loves to go there, it tends to overwhelm him from a sensory standpoint. All that yelling, splashing (he HATES getting his face wet at all), whistle blowing and of course the bugs. He only had a few freakouts at the pool last year, but they were MAJOR freakouts, so I'll be interested to see how he does this year since he's made so much progress.
Speaking of the pool, this summer we're looking into lessons for both kids. It's past time they learned, and it's really my fault they haven't up to now because I've just dreaded trying to find the right instructor for the boy. With all of his sensory issues, there is no way we can just enroll him in any old swim class. He needs an instructor who can work with him one-on-one or in a VERY small group, and one that understands sensory/developmental issues and can present things in a positive way without turning him off to the experience.
Luckily, though, we received a recommendation from the boy child's occupational therapist. There's a woman in this area who teaches swimming at her home, and though we've never met her, we've actually known about her for years. She and her husband used to attend the largest local church in our denomination (we attend one of the smaller ones, sporadically) and we've seen their names come up on the church mailing list from time to time. Also, they live right down the street from my parents. So it looks like we'll be giving her a call soon to see how much she charges and whether she can take both kids (with the understanding that the boy has special issues she'll have to work with).
We're continuing with taekwondo throughout the summer as well, and that's about to get really complicated because after June 10 the boy and girl will be in separate classes again. They group the classes according to level of ability (belt), and after the 10th the boy will move up to the last grouping before black belt level. Fortunately the girl will move up as well about 8 weeks after the boy does, and then our schedule will be fairly solid and calm until one of them makes black belt, which probably won't be for another couple of years. But in the meantime, argh!
So between taekwondo and the hopefully impending swimming lessons, along with the continuing occupational therapy and hopefully-ending-soon cognitive behavioral therapy, I haven't signed the kids up for any other camps or classes this summer. If the girl child had her way, she'd be in a different class every week for the entire summer. But the boy child needs downtime, and so do I! The kids and I are working on learning Spanish here at home this summer, and other than that and all the above we plan to just sleep, swim, play and relax!
posted by Miss Anthrope at 2:17 PM
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