Some parents feel that autism is a burden. Well if you don't try to know how to help your child of course it can be considered a burden. These are the parents I can't stand. They are the ones I hear about in the news that have murdered their children. I have no patients for these parents. The first 3 years of autism are the hardest but I'm trying to change that. What if I could give you all my tips and tricks that I really should have known in the first three years of autism? Something every parent needs to know instead of feeling like they are wondering around in the desert for 40 years.
Oh hey you're in luck! That's what this blog is all about. If you have been following since the first day, congratulations I haven't bored you to death. And you have found some of my bizarre moments funny and cheered with us as Doodle made accomplishments. More accomplishments are coming. Doodle is going to be making more strides and yes you have more hope. Because if my child can do it so can yours. I don't consider this hard work. I enjoy playing and spending time with Doodle. She's really fun to be around. But she's mine, I'm partial!
This blog is about how you are in a rock star league. And how is it considered a rock star league is you get special treatment for your child. And you need to make sure you get your special treatment. Because children on the spectrum wander off your school might need to be reminded of this. The reason I say this is because I drop Doodle off at school every morning and pick her up in the evenings. We live too close to the school for bus service. Though, if I pushed it I could have bus service. Every single morning, parents line their cars up in the car pool lines. Every single school has these car pool lines. And when the children are called to unload they stream out of the cars and head into the buildings. I've even seen one parent have a difficult time getting her son into the building. He refused to get out of the car. She got out dragged him to the front of the building and shoved him into the lobby. And she bolted for it! By the time she got back to the car pool lines he was hot on her heels! The desperation of some parents and the desperation of children is quiet hilarious.
Every morning I pull up along side the car pool lanes on the opposite side of the barrier. I don't have to be in their lanes because it's not an option for me. Doodle will wander off and has to be walked in. There is no way I could be in the line and the school aide be able to see my vehicle. Although there is no way to miss my vehicle. I have a cross sticker on my front windshield and the word Queen along side that cross. No, I don't think I'm a Queen. It was sent to me by mistake when I ordered my Freddie Mercury stickers. I wanted to send it back but they insisted that I keep it and they would send me my Freddie stickers. The Freddie stickers, well they are on the back of my car. I know what you're thinking. Why do you have his stickers? Because even when Doodle had no speech she was singing Queen songs. I'll explain this one in a later blog. Those songs were truly her voice and I am grateful. She's a huge Freddie Mercury fan and I'm not going to take that away. Hey, I love Freddie Mercury myself. But it's not just Freddie she loves she also loves TobyMac and for good reason. But it wasn't T-Mac she sang along to on the radio. Both sing about love and acceptance. But Freddie did lead her to her first gospel songs. Yes, Queen has two gospel songs they sang. Jesus and Mad the Swine, which tells of the story of Jesus casting out demons and sending them to the swine.
So here I get to park every single morning and afternoon on the opposite side of the carpool lane. In the mornings a school aid is waiting on us. While other parents have to wait to be called to move their vehicles on to work or home or appointments they have lined up for the day. I pull up, drop her off with the aid and move on! I have a cousin whose wife also has children that go to the school and she's not a happy camper that I get to get in and out and she doesn't. But her problems are not my concern. She doesn't have a child that will wander off. Who if I dropped off at the school would never make it to her classroom or to the cafeteria. Make your concerns known to the school during your IEP meetings. You have more rights for you and your child than you realize.
In the afternoons I have to be at the school at 2:00 pm every single afternoon. Again I park in the same spot. Not in the carpool lane but on the other side of it. The school lets out at 3:00 pm. Why on earth would I get there so early??? Well, the kids in Doodle's class get out at 2:15 pm sometimes earlier. Again, I don't have to worry about being stuck in the carpool lane. I'm in and out. She's literally a little Rock Star to me. Because she gets treatment that other children who are not special needs gets to have. Since Doodle went to a great school that helped to get her to her break through I've always gotten special treatment as a parent. I never knew I was allowed to have that. Found out when there was an abusive bus driver for the no child left behind bus she used to ride. I found out that special needs parents got to park in our own lanes away from regular car pool. Once I found that out I was not about to give that up! She did get a new bus driver who I adored immensely! And when we lost bus service the last year where we used to live I cried. Mr. Billy was an awesome guy and still is an awesome guy. He loves Doodle as if she were his own child. He loved all the special needs children and that's what makes him special in all our hearts.
Know your rights and know your child. If you go to a school with a great special needs class(s) consider yourself blessed. This school I had to provide everything to keep Doodle on track. Even insisted that they continue to teach out of the Edmark books that are free from the school board. I don't want my child having a babysitter. I want her to learn. My child is going to college! That I will make sure of. She wants to be a doctor when she grows up. That and Jesus Christ, but I think it's because he heals the sick and she knows that. Doodle will not be the first child on the spectrum to go on to college to be a doctor and she won't be the last. Your child has so much potential, it's your job as a parent to unlock that. Take that job seriously! Going chemical free and using essential oils helped with this process. Like I've said before I tackle the sensory first everything else comes second.
And this school just like all the other schools, every child knows Doodle's name and have to tell her hello. Even kids who see her out from school have to announce like she was a famous singer or movie/screen star. I've had kids drag their parents to come introduce them to Doodle. Yeah, it's a bit weird but it's really comical in a way. God has destined her for something great! I am blessed and the love that she shares to everyone is what important to me. I don't teach her about the color of someone's skin. I don't feel that's important. It tells us in the Bible that God knows our name. It is written on his hand! How great is that? It doesn't say he has a description of what we look like. He knows us by our name, he knows us by our hearts. Not by the color of our skin. And when others finally learn that the world will start to be a better place. Truly accepting of one another. It makes me very uncomfortable to be around others who judge someone by the color of their skin. Or place skin color for a reason to do something. That's madness in my mind. If Doodle can teach other children to love unconditionally no matter what then I know I have done my job through Christ and she is ministering correctly. I will admit that I am limited to what I can teach her and how to teach her but the love of Christ is universal. Teachers love her, students love her. She's even taken over P.E. class at this new school. They let her do that because she was singing the days of the week song and having all the children in the class participate. She's outgoing and has no fear of the spotlight. Which is no surprise to me. She was once on an episode of Regis and Kelly. Shes won art contests. And her pictures are almost always in the paper for events that she attends with the schools. So it will be no surprise that she is about to take the lead in a few businesses that I have my hands in. I'm grooming her to be a model for not only my publishing company but for the JK by 31 that I sell. She is simply precious to me and I can't wait to have pictures that showcase how far she has come on her journey.
Well here I am, letting my words run away again on the screen and I have photo's and images that need to be edited as only a graphics designer can do. Enjoy your day!
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