And then there was the road trip to go see her pediatrician. But Doodle did get to have her first sleep over with her best friend. See my best friend has two daughters and one of them Doodle shows great compassion with. During the summer or right before the summer hit, Doodle got into my chocolate stash. And she actually shared the chocolate with her friend. Most kids on the spectrum don't really do that. The person I brought on the trip with us was my best friend and her daughter. Doodle got to sleep in a hotel room with her friend and even got to see her father.
Conversations aren't the easiest with Doodle but thanks to the new school, she is getting there. And there is nothing wrong with that. It does take a lot of therapy and that is the type of school that she goes too. Lots of school work and lots of therapy. So by the time she gets home from school in the evenings she's pretty tired. And that type of tired makes the melatonin really do it's job. During the first weekend out of school she popped up a couple of times but laid back down and went right back to sleep. She didn't wake up and stay awake. Those naps are killer!
So I'm at the strict routine stage of the season again. She doesn't have homework, because all of her school work is done on the iPad for the time being and she does have two computer labs a week. Computer lab, now that really makes me happy. In the school from two years ago there was no computer lab for the special needs kids. Though Doodle did do a form of computer lab in the best school that taught her to read, write, speak and do math. There were two tables set up for the all the kids to go to the computers and work on reading and sounding out. It was glorious!!! A hands on teacher that had faith in the children that were under her care. And now, we are right back at having the same thing. The teachers at the new school, you can tell they love their job and they love the kids that they teach. You can't find a more loving school in this County where we live. Most of the time, special needs children fall through the cracks and teachers just don't want to be bothered and would rather be a babysitter.
Now we will deviate off our routine in the evenings when she gets off the bus. But that's only to do one of the free classes that Michaels will offer that I think Doodle can do and I'm not teaching. Doodle needs to be hands on on projects and she needs to be used to the real world. Like today for instance. We went to Publix to get a few items for dinner and for me in the morning. Now Doodle likes to compliment everyone she meets. The girl in front of us who was checking out, Doodle kept telling her, "Nice braces!" And the girl just ignored her. So Doodle turned to the person behind us and said, "Nice tattoos." And the guy thanked her. The girl never even glanced her way. Even when Doodle tried again. Still nothing out of the young lady. So I explained to the woman why Doodle was giving her a compliment on her braces. Woman refused to acknowledge me as well. That's okay Honey, not everyone has a heart of gold. The cashier who I normally try to get thought Doodle's way of living was just the best thing in the world. Doodle didn't understand why she and the guy from last week at Walmart refused to say thank you.
And this is where life can be a little hard on us. You get someone who is 11 years old and is giving you a compliment and they just don't acknowledge you. There have been a few times that I've wanted to just say, that's okay Honey. Ugly people don't like compliments. And you find out who's really ugly when you talk to them. Now both instances they were absolutely ignoring Doodle. Heck the woman today rolled her eyes when she did her side glance. But I know this is not the world I'm creating for Doodle to live in. This is about creating ways to get her to understand. Heck life's not fair and she does need to get used to that. And people are cruel and they can be hateful. Which is what she also needs to be aware of.
Heck in my Facebook news feed alone I saw the story of one of the reasons why I started this blog. The enema cure for autism is running around again. Please be aware that there is nothing wrong with your child or the life you live. Once I came to terms that I wouldn't live a "normal" life my new normal kicked in. I now get flustered when I hear brats being disrespectful to their parents and I smile to myself cause my child won't do that to me. It's just adjusting to what the world says is normal. As for the second thing I saw in my feed. Well, that was a group of boys held down an autistic boy and nailed a board into the back of his head. And that's how you know the world is cruel. And that not everyone can be trusted, including parents who are desperate for a cure. Those are the worst parents to have. The parents who are in the news who lock their autistic kids in closets or dog crates or in basements. Instead of working with their child and fighting for better therapy inside and outside of the school system. They are parents that just don't want to be bothered. And then you have the parents who have fought for so long that they give up and kill not only their children on the spectrum but themselves as well. Nothing is worth giving up the life of your child or the life of yourself. It will be okay. Each day is just a small drop in the bucket. And with everything mixed together, you can't tell what is a good day or what is a bad day. It's all mixed together.
I use lots of positive reinforcements with Doodle. We are now having at least 2 slime events a month at Michaels and I will bring home some slime. I can't take Doodle to these events as mush as I would like to. I'm always working those events. It's the price to pay when you bring in high numbers. This is one of the things that Doodle loves to get. So I will make her up a special custom slime and bring it home. If she's well behaved for my mother she will receive it. Sometimes my manager will work on a special batch and if that batch doesn't work out she will give it to me to give to Doodle. And even though she can't get it to work, Doodle is a slime master. She can make even crumbly slime work again to be regular slime. It's her magic touch.
As for strict routine, Doodle isn't the only one that's on strict routine. During the summer I would get to the laundry once maybe twice a week. As I said I was really busy. But now I have to have the laundry washed, dried, folded and put away on Sunday afternoon. Yeah, I'm one of those people. But only because Doodle likes to throw laundry; clean or dirty everywhere! And it's just not fun. School starts early and we have to be sure that all uniforms are ready to go for in the morning.
To make life easier there was a sale on large picture frames during the summer at work. And I picked one up. I drew lines on it with a paint marker. I really don't do sharpies as the smell makes my head hurt. And with some velcro dots I made a new picture schedule. Because let's face it. The last one Doodle ripped off the wall and it had to be thrown away. At least with plexi-glass, it's gonna be harder for her to try to break. And she has been doing really well with it.
Since I'm no longer rushing to cut things on my silhouette machine for Camp Creativity, I now have free time while Doodle is in school to make sure that I get everything done and taken care of. Mediums for the art line. The magazine I've dreamed of creating for the past couple of years. Getting back to this blog and working on Doodle's soap line. If you don't have a happy planner I highly suggest you get one. It's the easiest way for you to keep organized and write down what you need to discuss in IEP meetings and keep your own schedule on task.
Well, it's Sunday night and almost midnight. I've gotten as much written tonight as I can. And I have a huge day again tomorrow. I have to get the last of the school supplies purchased and a few other things for the mediums. I have a class Monday night so I need to practice on that piece. And I need to head into work in the morning and purchase all the supplies that I need to make sure that I can get all the crafts taken care of for the magazine. So I will see you guys on Wednesday. If I don't mess up my days.
See you on the flip side.
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