School, Summer, School again.

So off hubby goes again. It's been nice having him home and we've had some great family time. Back to reality (well suspended for this year reality but not reality...confused yet?).

The boys both did really well on their report cards. Older brother has caught up to grade level for reading and got an A in Social Studies. Patrick met a lot of his IEP goals. It even says on his report card that the effort he's been putting into relating to his peers has caused some of them to actually seek out his company during play time. For some reason that was really emtional to hear.

The school and I have been working together to prepare Patrick for the new challenges of Grade 1. We've got the teacher I want, with a full time one-on-one aid at least for the start, and they're all very aware that my biggest worry is the school yard. He'll have someone out there with him as well. A social story book was put together and used for the last month of school and then passed on to me for the summer. My favorite part is when it says "Other children might not remember the rules, but I will remember to ________." I think they realize that many of the problems will come from the fact that "normal" children aren't all that well behaved.

Also, a meeting was held with all the teachers to discuss autism in general and Patrick specifically. The Grade 1 teacher told me they focused on what they could do to help Patrick be successful. It sounded very positive.

I'd planned a longer update, but I have company coming and I need to clean myself up a bit. I should be back to regular blogging now so....talk to you soon.

Quick Update on Weekend and etc.

Older brother had a fantastic time camping. He came home very tired and with lots of stories to tell.

Patrick and I had a fabulous weekend. We went swimming, played games, watched tv, etc. It was nice. I got to see a different side of him. Enjoyed listening to everything he said and watching him play by himself.

It's gonna be a great week too. Hubby gets home Tuesday and he's home for the rest of the month. Can we say "vacation for mummy"? After we pick him up at the airport we're all heading out for supper at a restaurant (one that offers chicken strips and french fries...it's the only acceptable restaurant food). Boys are excited.

Patrick is slowly learning to deal with his anger. He's still taking swings at me when he is upset, but he seems to be aiming them not to hit...as if the action itself is theraputic. We're still working on it. He has his list, in his head, of alternatives to hitting when he's mad. So when I see him gearing up I say "what can you do Patrick, when you're mad you can...." and it seems to snap him out of it a bit. He'll name an activity and head off to do it. No wiggle room if he tries to hit big brother though. Straight to his room till he calms down. So far it's still mostly me. We're keeping communication open with the school in case he starts it with friends/teachers.

It's hard, thinking there's something about ME that makes him react that way. Still trying to figure that part out. I'm hoping with hubby home for such a long period of time we can do some watching and recording to see what's going on. Perhaps a pattern will emerge?

Busy Beavers...ooops, I mean wolf cubs.

So basically I've been ignoring my blog in order to get older brother ready for cub camp this weekend. I have to say this is a job I would normally delegate to hubby. But, seeing as he won't be home till Tuesday....

Older brother is very excited. It's his first time away from home (not counting family) and he'll be camping in tents for two nights. So exciting.

I'm also excited that he's getting away for a while by himself. And Patrick and I will spend the weekend doing some of the activities he enjoys.

Sounds win-win to me (and we all know how few and far between those can be *wink*).