Actually, Winter break has been pretty good, despite my "little treasure trove of happiness" having a "moment" at Grandma's house on Christmas Day, because he didn't get as many presents as usual to open. (He's 11, so it makes me a bit disgusted. On the other hand, he does usually have more physical presents than he gets gift cards, so I can be a tad understanding of why he might have been disappointed). "I only got 4 things to open!". Yes, but you just got 7+ things at home, plus a full Christmas stocking!! Ugh. He did get cash from his great-grandmother and an uncle, so combined, he was able to buy himself one particular gift he really wanted from Game Stop.
Big sister got more than enough Monster High dolls. I thought for a moment we were done with dolls after this summer, but they were all drug back out pretty much as soon as a neighbor dumped a gigantic wooden doll house out on her front lawn for trash pick-up. Savannah keeps it out in the garage since there's no space in her bedroom, so at this point, she only uses it when she's willing to brave extreme winter weather. LOL
So the last time I posted, I mentioned going to Jack's school for a meeting on his violent outbursts. They weren't calling them that, but they would definitely agree that his physical aggression, while decreasing in general, has gotten more intense. After that meeting, Jack when a whole 3 weeks without serious incident. In fact, most of those days, there were no incidents of any kind- including negative comments, which have definitely increased this year. I did have a chat with him about his behavior (for the bazillionth time), and I told him flat out that the next time he hit his Intervention Specialist, he would get 2 weeks off from all of his electronics. After his three weeks of great behavior, he did in fact get that time off, through to December 17th, just two days before his winter break started. So you could imagine how much he wanted to earn them back.
There was an incident during those two weeks where he got upset about another student, and he took it out on the IS, who was trying to remove him from the classroom before he could embarrass himself. He decided to take her coat away from her "because she deserved to be cold", and did it so forcefully that she fell back against the wall and onto the floor. He went tumbling down with her, and I guess he decided that she must have caused it somehow. (He cannot just accept responsibility for his own actions!!). I told him that from that day forward, til his two weeks was up, if he laid a hand on her or anyone else for any reason (pushing, pulling, holding, grabbing), that he would get 2 days added on to his time. If he actually hit someone, he would get 2 more weeks away from his electronics. After his time was served, any hitting incidents would result in 4 weeks off. His TV time is also severely limited.. well, he gets none when he acts out like this.
He did manage to get his electronics back on the 17th, and he was thrilled! Even more thrilling was the fact that on the last day of school before the break, an old school friend invited him for a birthday party/sleep over! Jack was the only boy from school (from either their old school, or from the boy's new school) that he invited, so that was really neat. I was pretty nervous about it, but I knew it could be a fun experience for him that, frankly, all 11 year-olds should have under their belts by this point! :) Only one little incident happened, but it was over with pretty quickly. The mom seemed to handle him just great, which I appreciate since she only found out the day she called to invite him that he has Autism.
Jack did have his yearly exam, where I discussed with his regular pediatrician how poor his last blood work/lab results were. (He was back at the lab just after that, for more blood work and another EKG). He could really only tell me that in his belief, the current medications (Elavil and Risperdole) are the main cause for not only Jack's aggression, but also for his declining health. He can't do anything about either unless he is able to tweak the meds... and since the meds basically work (and it's more right now that we have to find good motivation for him to get through school), I don't know if taking him away from this university clinic (as much as I hate the meds in general) is a good idea. Of course he has an appointment there in a couple of weeks, and I don't want the Dr. going nuts and upping his meds, either. I feel like his weight has gotten to the point where his metabolism might keep him from being the fidgety kid he used to be, but who knows. This Dr. is getting funded by the county (at least as it relates to treating Jack), and that's not easy to get out of, much less back into, if needed. Too much paperwork).
Not only does that concern me, but I'm also concerned about middle school already. Pretty soon I'll be taking a tour of wherever the Special Education director says Jack will be going. But all of the other parents I'm talking to are going to have their kids sent to other middle schools. Why? Well, for one thing, this particular school does not have a social skills program. Um, why the hell would an Autism Program not offer social skills for kids with Autism? At this age?! They're also the only middle school in the area not to have a game club, which Jack was really looking forward to. The only positives I can think of for going there at the moment: same mental health specialist he had at his old elementary school (so one "safe" person he can count on!), and then they actually have an Autism program. But what does it actually consist of, and how will it help Jack? Why the heck is this so difficult? :(
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