PROOF THAT EVEN PEOPLE WITH ASD'S LOVE FRIDAYS

What an exciting/interesting/emotional/draining week it's been for us.  When I consider all that's gone on here this week at school, I'm surprised that Jacob got any stickers on his reward calendar at all.  So, Monday and Tuesday were great, Wednesday and Thursday were rough, so it's a coin flip to determine Friday's outcome.  At lunch time, Jacob's morning EA told me that Jacob had his best morning ever.  And that he even did all his work without arguing?  That was shocking.  Jacob's afternoon however, was the exact polar opposite.  I guess that it's only fitting that his day Friday, would be the best and the worst.  This week, on his sticker reward calendar, Jacob received:
  6 OUT OF 10 STICKERS

Today had the potential to be completely disastrous and we didn't even see it coming.  We were told about this day weeks ago.  We both knew how important giving Jacob advanced warning of it's approach would be.  But we both forgot about it totally.  Today was the Ontario Dental Health Check Day at Jacob's school.  Which means that he had to open his mouth and say "Aah" for a complete stranger and without mom or I there with him.  In a previous post, we told readers about how important it is to follow routine when going to the dentist.  So when we were told that he let the hygienist freely check his mouth, I almost collapsed.  Jacob could have been rolling on the floor screaming and I would have been oblivious to it.  We can't believe how mature and accepting Jacob was.  Because if I went to school and was surprised by a dental visit, I probably would have ran away.  Then of course we broke one of the cardinal rules about raising a child with an ASD.  We were confident that he'd have a good afternoon.  I mean, he went saw a dental hygienist AND did all of his school work.  How could his afternoon be worse?  He had to have a good day right?

Wrong.  Jacob's afternoon was completely dreadful.  He did nothing in class at all.  And I mean nothing.  He wouldn't even work on the computer.  When I got to Jacob's school, Jacob's class was playing kick baseball.  has anyone tried to explain the rules of kick baseball to a child with an ASD?  Good luck.  When I tried to explain that it's not soccer, even though you use a soccer ball, Jacob yelled "You don't play baseball with a soccer ball Dad!"  I'm just glad that no one was hurt during Jacob's emotional explosion.  I could almost sense that Jacob had a rough afternoon from blocks away.  It's like his energy was finding it's way to me like a sound wave for my ears only.  When will we learn to expect the unexpected when it comes to Jacob's behaviour.  Hopefully soon, but likely never.  We may be able to structure Jacob's goals and routines, but we can't structure his Asperger's, no matter how hard we try. 

I'm also glad that this is a long weekend.  Hooray for Family Day.  After this week, we need it.  And as you can tell by Jacob's expression in the picture below, he needs it the most.  Dealing with Jacob on an emotional level is very hard for us, yet I can't imagine how hard it is for him.  Hey, at least Valentine's day was great and we thought it would be rough.  But Friday afternoon was rough and we thought it would be great.  What a roller coaster ride Asperger's is.  But at least Jacob has clean teeth.

I wonder what he's thinking?