ABA AND THE SUMMER HOLIDAYS

Jacob's school year is quickly drawing to a close.  And we definitely need the break from the daily grind of going to and from school, as well as the regular social/behavioural difficulties that we face on a daily basis.  But this summer is going to be different for all of us here, because we're going to be taking a different approach when it comes to Jacob's off season.

Firstly, Shannie and I have vowed to take Jacob out every day, even when it's scorching hot, just to expose him to as many different social settings as we possibly can.  So between his summer trips, swimming at the rec centre and playing at the many parks in our neighbourhood, Jacob's summer should be both exciting and exhausting.  We've found that social settings is where Jacob seems to be having the most trouble.  He always seems to want to be able to control every aspect of an outing, including other people.  But as he gets older, this becomes more and more impossible, so we collectively have to work harder and harder.

Plus, Shannie and I are planning to enroll in a couple more workshops that will teach us how to help Jacob during some difficult social situations.  These workshops, with the ongoing ABA therapy sessions, should help Jacob make great strides during the upcoming months.  They seem to be at least bi weekly so, there should be a steady stream of new ideas and strategies going through our home this summer.

We've always found that the transition Jacob goes through every summer when it comes time to go back to school, often makes his first couple months of class time less than ideal.  And next year, Jacob will be in grade 4, which means more difficult school work and more responsibilities, which we pray he can handle.

None the less, we're prepared for anything, much like most parents of aspie kids.  Because we've found that no matter how hard we work at things, or how many workshops that we enroll in, there's always the potential for something unexpected to happen.  But since the beginning of our ABA therapy sessions, both Shannie and I have learned to not have unrealistic expectations of Jacob and ourselves.  It seems that we want to control all aspects of Jacob's life, yet we always seem to be telling him that he can't be in control all the time.

Oh well, at least we'll be together as a family and if the summer gets hot and we find ourselves bored, we can just look forward to September and be thankful for the time that we do have together.