Mixed week here I suppose, reading my description of how DS ‘is’ and your responses makes me realise that I suppose it’s hard. But then from our stories I do think which is ‘harder’, not that it’s any competition… a child who struggles to go out, eat a good variety of foods, can’t go to a restaurant, would struggle on a plane etc (we are ok on all of those things), or who is as I describe DS which is typical toddler ‘hard work’ but which isn’t getting better? I don’t know, they are different aren’t they? I suppose I feel for us the NV element of DS is and should be enough, and we don’t have a lot of the challenges others face, yet do have challenges. I often think if DS spoke and communicated I could cope with a whole lot more in terms of behaviour. As Ahna says, it’s a ‘small win’ I feel that we can do all of the things I mention above.
in particular when we talk on this thread about run up to Xmas or Halloween etc, it’s like DS doesn’t have a clue. There’s no excitement but then Is that because he can’t communicate or understand or what? As I sometimes do (but rarely because I find it depressing) I sat down with his communication cards today, he told me accurately what had happened this week and fairly indignantly that yes it’s Halloween tomorrow and he does want to go out with DD trick or treating. But yet if I talk about it generally he shows no reaction day to day.
he is still doing the screaming thing which is (especially in the absence of speech) doing my fucking head in. Imagine if someone said to you open your mouth as wide as possible and make the highest pitched noise you can and just hold it for as long as possible… it’s like that. I sometimes think my head is about to explode.
Feeling quite downbeat about school and any prospect they can change him. He did say today when we were using the cards that he doesn’t like school, he said because of the children although he likes the teachers. He doesn’t like the work and would rather stay here with me. So that sounds really positive!
he has done some quite clever maths and other work with me at his little desk over the hol which at the request of school I’ve recorded and sent to them. This does give me hope with some things but then I wonder if it only really pisses them off if they can’t as the professionals get him to do anything there!
so that’s where we are at. Star dog, I did read your post a few times but my brain is seizing up in old age I feel. What have you been doing to get him to do what? Do you mean in any ABA type scenario?