Field Day 2013

Today Sammy had field day. His temporary school location is beside a giant park. I love the location with the exception of the nightmare that is parking for events.

Today was field day and I took Nate, Grace, and Evie with some help from Tyler to cheer on Sammy and have lunch with him. His friends all sat with us for lunch and I really enjoyed their company. We all played Simon Says and talked about the weaknesses of different Super Heroes.

It was really beautiful ( by my standards) and I enjoyed the warm. I wore Evie and brought our umbrella stroller for Grace. Nate was super well behaved and so was Grace. They played on the playground with Tyler while I hung out with Sam and his friends for a bit. They came and watched some of the games and it was just a great time.

The para that worked with Sammy on the MCAS this year came over to make sure I knew how proud of him she was. She told me that he dd a great job and really worked to the best of his ability and then some. It's nice to hear good news sometimes.

Team sports are hard for Sammy. I can still see how difficult it is when I look at some of the photos. you know the ones where he is facing the opposite direction everyone else is, or when he just looks confused. Then Something awesome happened while he played hockey. He got into the thick fof things and shot the puck 3 or four times. It was so cool. in fact I was so excited I forgot to take a picture. he also shot 2 baskets!


So much has changed in the last few years. This is Sam and the little neighbor girl a few years back

and this is them now.

Time flies doesn't it

I Love You

Sam has a new stim.
I see him doing it almost all the time. In places that we are quiet (church, stores, and school) he makes it a soft breathy sound. When he is alone or outside he does it and he is loud. It's constant. When he is watching TV or playing video games. he's very good at being discreet around his friends. I worry about what that kind of control might cost him. I worry that he is afraid to be himself and be OK.

I wish my boy had a world that understood him. Where people didn't say things like "see He showed empathy , he can't be autistic" or " he seems fine to me"
I want him to be in a place that people defend him and love him. I am grateful because our team does that for him. The kids in his class don't understand. They tease him for his weird behaviors, foods, and clothes choices. They tease him at lunch for his allergies and get mad that they cannot bring the snacks they want to.
But, Our TEAM stands up for him. The school Nurse goes in and talks to the kids about how serious allergies are to protect Sam and kids like him. His principle cheers him on when he makes the right choice. She returns my calls every time.

it's because of these people  working with Sam every day that I think we hit this next milestone ....


Those of you that read know how hard it is for Sam to say he loves me will understand how awesome this new development is.

He keeps repeating it to me,over and over again.
He sounds like he means it.
He hugs me every time he says it

In light of the chaos here I am amazed. It almost makes up for his new stim of sudden yelling in short bursts...

Tomorrow

Tomorrow is Sam's IEP meeting. The sitter is booked, the husband is off, and we are ready.

We don't have an adversarial relationship with our team here. In fact our team is beyond incredible. They have worked with Sam and our family to get the best results possible. Sam has flourished and blossomed at the neighborhood school.

They have put him into the right groups, they understand him, and they support and love him. I know not everyone can say that about their team, but I am blessed with the ability to say that about ours.

I am proud to be a member of our school family.

Sunshine

Today was Sam's open house. I usually hate these things  because I always wonder if people look at me and think "See, that is why he is such a mess" This year was pleasantly different.
Sammy could not wait to go o Open House. He was so excited to show us his class and his desk. We got there and he showed his teachers his treasures that he brought with him. Kids said hi to him and he smiled. He ran off ahead to his classroom, but he waited outside.

The behaviorist, the principle, his teacher, and his reading specialist all said the same thing "he is really doing so wonderfully this year. He is working hard and putting in a real effort. We are so Proud of Sammy" It was enough that I almost cried. I so desperately needed to hear something good about him, because things at home have not been easy.

Sammy in his new obsession ~masks

Then I had a parent come to me and tell me her son talks about Sam C. all the time and was wondering if they could play together some time. Another mom said her daughter says great things about Sammy all the time too.  Some of the kids really wanted to be around him.

I left feeling pleased and happy. I love our team. I love the people who work with my boy and help him over the rough patches. I KNOW this won't last but for now I will just sit back and enjoy the sunshine

Schools out For Summer

The school year ended on Thursday for Sammy and AJ, Tyler is still in until this week. I always forget to do something for Sammy's angels. I always spend the first half of my summer feeling sad and guilty that I forgot to do something for these lovely people who have loved on my son all year long. His team works hard and they listen. We really have been blessed with a fantastic team.

So often we hear parent's of kids like ours complaining about the team they have just not doing enough. I get it, we were there a few years back in a different school district. Now, we are blessed with an amazing team of professionals that love Sammy and work so hard with him.

This year I remembered to do something nice for them all. I made giant GF cupcakes and frosted them with homemade cinnamon chocolate frosting. Sammy made hand prints and I turned them into a hand signing " I love you" I put his name and the year on it. Each person also got a handwritten thank you note. Seriously! I was so proud of myself. Granted they were delivered 20 minutes before the day ended, but still

A WIN IS A WIN

There is no I in Team

There is no I in Team ~ unless you talk about the IEP team, then of course you do find an I, but it's not part of the word team, just part of the phrase.

I feel blessed. seriously amazingly blessed to have the team we do for Sammy.

Sammy has been struggling for a few weeks...months at school. It has gotten steadily worse to a point where he was refusing to do his school work, getting sent to see the principle, bringing home extra work he didn't finish and so forth. Nothing was working. Nothing we tried seemed to help. His principle even called during vacation week hoping we could figure something out before we went back this past Monday.

 We included a friend of mine that works with kids like Sammy , his teacher, the principle and myself on an email. We considered having him stay after school to finish, but given the fact that Sammy asks me every day to pick him up that probably wasn't a great idea.

Here is what we all came up with. If he completes his work during the afternoon he get's video game time at home. 30minutes right after school to play his beloved star wars lego game. If he does not complete his 3 things then he does not get his video game time right after school and looses his choice for the SWL(Star Wars Lego) game for his evening time . He can choose his other games for that time. His principle came up with an awesome visual for him and we are not 3 for 3.

I love our team. I really feel like I am heard. More importantly I feel like Sammy has a voice for what he needs. I really feel so blessed.