As I approached Jacob's school, I was able to see right into his classroom. There he was sitting at his desk, doing work with his EA. This is a good sign, especially at the end of the day. It signifies that Jacob has shown restraint at the end of the school day. This is not evident if Jacob has a stressful afternoon as he can often be seen with his coat on and bag packed, way ahead of his classmates. When we see Jacob sitting at his desk at school's end, then mom and I know, that even if Jacob had an outburst or setback, he was able to regulate his emotions and return to an appropriate emotional level. Jacob did spend some time in the coat room today, though he did leave the coat room, once he calmed down, and did some of his math work. He only had about 20 math questions to do at home, which took about 5 minutes.
As parents of a child with Asperger's, we know that any time Jacob is able to regulate himself emotionally,we are very happy, as it shows that Jacob is growing. And the ultimate goal for us is, total self control on Jacob's part. I spoke with his afternoon EA and she told me that Jacob's chair had been removed from the coatroom. Last year in grade 1, Jacob spent so much time in the coat room, away from his class, that he actually had a chair to sit in. This was essential last year because Jacob needed a place that he could retreat to and regulate his feelings. This year, now that Jacob is older, he can go to the learning resource room if he needs a break or stress relief. So the chair isn't needed and as such, has been removed.
We're glad that Jacob only had 5 minutes of math work to do for homework. So, Jacob still received a sticker for his afternoon. Even though he had home work, we still rewarded Jacob because he was able to control himself. And by positively reinforcing his actions, Jacob knows that outbursts are okay, but he has to overcome what ever it is that may have caused the outburst. To us, recovering from an emotional outburst is just a good as not having any home work and we'll take that any time.
This is so much like K. Last year she had a "corner" to retreat to at school. I bought a bean bag chair so it would be more comfy. This year she goes to the special ed room to do her work, if she needs a break, but also hasn't been using the bean bag chair as much. She is also able to stay in the class more than last year, which is nice. I credit our team this year, who has really gone above and beyond in some areas to make things easier. I hope next year goes as well. We never know who we are going to get, team-wise, so it could go either way, depending on what they do on their own b/c they want to help, and what they do b/c they are forced to by law...(our last team leader wouldn't do anything unless we forced her hand).
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