One of the main things we are trying to do to help Baylor with the Asperger's symptoms he is experiencing is to get him into a class through our school district, ultimately in hopes that it will help him feel less anxious when around kids his own age. Our first attempt to get him to his 9:00 a.m. Friday morning class came two Fridays ago, and I am sad to report it did not end well.
It did, however, start out okay. I got Baylor up at 7:00 a.m.; plenty early enough, I thought. Throughout the morning I tried to make things as calm and leisurely as possible so as not to intensify any stress or anxiety he might have been feeling. That approach may have been my undoing in the end.
Regardless, he got to put together some Legos he earned by using the potty the night before.
It did, however, start out okay. I got Baylor up at 7:00 a.m.; plenty early enough, I thought. Throughout the morning I tried to make things as calm and leisurely as possible so as not to intensify any stress or anxiety he might have been feeling. That approach may have been my undoing in the end.
Regardless, he got to put together some Legos he earned by using the potty the night before.
And he got to have his favorite breakfast: a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, crusts cut off, and the sandwich itself cut into two triangles, two rectangles, and two squares (a.k.a. "how Oma does it").
It was right about then that I screwed myself over. Notice how Mollie hasn't been seen or mentioned yet? Yeah, that's because she wasn't up yet; I, like an idiot, didn't wake her up until about 8:00 a.m. Smooth move, Nic.
The morning ended up devolving into a bunch of shouting, crying, and anxiety for both Baylor and me, and I wondered how we would ever make this work. Mollie, for her part, was a trooper; though she absolutely dilly-dallied through her breakfast, she was Johnny On The Spot when it came to getting ready. Even after it was determined that we wouldn't be going to school that day, she still tried to get everyone dressed and ready to go - which also served to upset her brother even more, but hey, at least she tried.
In the end, we didn't go because I didn't want his first taste of school to be a sour one. He has years to build up his dislike for school; this initial foray should be purely fun as all we're really hoping for here is a little socialization. The class he's attending is actually a speech therapy class, only four or five other little boys about his age in it; he's not going to be there for the speech therapy part of it, but it's an ideal-sized class for socializing.
After I relented trying to get us all ready to go and told him we were going to stay home, he snapped back to normal and went on playing. I, unfortunately, was wrecked for the entire morning. My nerves were shot from trying to get us out the door even remotely on time, and I had let myself get my hopes up for an awesome experience. Once I calmed down, I tried reminding myself that this is all new, and it's all about him. This isn't about trying to fix how much I hated school; it's about trying to make sure that his first experiences with school are as positive as they can be. Forcing him into this, or most anything for that matter, isn't going to produce a lot of happy feelings. Yes, he does have to go to school and meet new kids, and yes it will be this Friday morning class; but to get Baylor on-board we need to go more at Baylor pace.
As I said that day ... there's always next week!
The morning ended up devolving into a bunch of shouting, crying, and anxiety for both Baylor and me, and I wondered how we would ever make this work. Mollie, for her part, was a trooper; though she absolutely dilly-dallied through her breakfast, she was Johnny On The Spot when it came to getting ready. Even after it was determined that we wouldn't be going to school that day, she still tried to get everyone dressed and ready to go - which also served to upset her brother even more, but hey, at least she tried.
In the end, we didn't go because I didn't want his first taste of school to be a sour one. He has years to build up his dislike for school; this initial foray should be purely fun as all we're really hoping for here is a little socialization. The class he's attending is actually a speech therapy class, only four or five other little boys about his age in it; he's not going to be there for the speech therapy part of it, but it's an ideal-sized class for socializing.
After I relented trying to get us all ready to go and told him we were going to stay home, he snapped back to normal and went on playing. I, unfortunately, was wrecked for the entire morning. My nerves were shot from trying to get us out the door even remotely on time, and I had let myself get my hopes up for an awesome experience. Once I calmed down, I tried reminding myself that this is all new, and it's all about him. This isn't about trying to fix how much I hated school; it's about trying to make sure that his first experiences with school are as positive as they can be. Forcing him into this, or most anything for that matter, isn't going to produce a lot of happy feelings. Yes, he does have to go to school and meet new kids, and yes it will be this Friday morning class; but to get Baylor on-board we need to go more at Baylor pace.
As I said that day ... there's always next week!
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