WELCOME TO JIM'S AUTISM BLOG





Hi everyone and thanks for visiting our blog. My wife and I created this blog to chronicle our experience while raising a son with Asperger's syndrome. Since our son was diagnosed with an ASD at age 5, we've had a lot of questions. Lucky for us we have a great support network in place. And our blog gives us an opportunity to share what we've learned with our readers. We hope you find our blog informative and interesting. Thanks again for visiting.


"It seems that for success in science and art, a dash of autism is essential." Dr Hans Asperger 1906-1980



Sunday 22 July 2012

UNEXPECTED EMOTIONS AND SUMMER TRIPS

So it's nearing the end of July and we have yet to take Jacob on one of his summer trips, that we promised to take him on.  We've been so busy relaxing that the summer is slipping away.  The 3 trips that we promised to take Jacob on are;

1)  Chatters indoor family playground

2)  African Lion Safari

3)  Marine land

So tomorrow, we're going to visit Chatters for the day.  It's a lot like Chuck E Cheese with games and stuff like that.  Last night after at about 12 midnight, when we went up to bed, we saw that Jacob was still awake.  Which as of late isn't unusual, but this time he was visibly upset, almost at the point of crying.  When we asked him what was the matter, he said;

"You haven't taken me on any of the trips that you promised."

Talk about tugging at your heart strings.  To kids like Jacob, not keeping a promise can be devastating to a relationship.  And on top of that, Jacob can be very impatient.  He doesn't like waiting for anything, and I mean anything.  So after getting him to settle down, we decided that we have to go on one of the trips this week. 

Then we looked at the choices of trips, and we tried to determine which one should be first.  Trips 1 and 2 take a whole day, they're out of town, and they're much more expensive.  So we decided on trip 1 and tomorrow we're going to Chatters.  The only thing is, that I've never been to Chatters before, so I don't know how Jacob is going to react.  But I'm an experienced aspie father and I should be able to handle it.

Now the other issue is, what time do we go?  I'd like to go in the morning, but when your kid stays up past midnight, it makes getting up early a huge challenge.  There's no point in making Jacob go somewhere if he's angry because none of us will like it.  But we need ample time to thoroughly enjoy the trip.  And since it's 11AM now, and Jacob is still asleep, it looks like it might be an afternoon trip.  Either way, we're not going to worry.  After all, the summer is a time for kids to get a break from their daily grind.

Oh how I love/hate the summer.  It's nice to relax a bit and let the strict scheduling that the school year brings go, but it can also be a catch 22.  We all know how important structure and routine are to kids with Asperger's, yet we manage to let it slip away through all the relaxation.  And getting jacob back on a better sleeping schedule is going to be a tough, uphill battle.

So, tomorrow's trip will be off the cuff.  And without a schedule to follow, we're almost inviting disaster.  So tomorrow's post should be interesting, and to tell the truth, I'm excited to go.



Here's an overall pic of Chatters.


4 comments:

  1. Seems like it's a good idea to wait until after lunch to go since Jacob stays up late and the sleeps late like my son does. I always schedule his appointments in late afternoon if I can. Tuesday, however, we have an 8:30am appt with AL Rehab and we have to go when she can take us and she is extremely busy and this is an important meeting. When these early appts happen, my son will usually just stay up until after the appt. and then I get him something to eat and he goes to sleep for the rest of the day. (he is staying up all night and sleeping all day right now). Good luck! It is a pain and I'm sorry to say, but if Jacob is anything like my son it doesn't get better, but things can be managed creatively when you need to do certain things. At the end of the summer I use to have to keep my son up for 24 hours to get him back on schedule. He would be asleep between 5 and 7pm and then up in time for school the next morning. I would start a few days before school started to get him schedule. That's how I use to get him back on track for school. Crazy, I know!

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    1. Sometimes you just gotta do what works right? And I hate early morning appointments for Jacob. I always explain that he needs a later time, but they don't always listen. And I hope he gets his sleeping under control, but both Shannie and I were night owls so it's our turn now.

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  2. Can't wait to hear how it goes!

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    1. I'll be sure to let you know what happens.

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