So we are a couple weeks post transition....

So, March week came and went. My son was super excited to get to his new school. First day was great! Loved it! Was excited about the work, excited about the kids - excited in general!

My husband and I sat down with his new resource teacher, and his teacher. Plans were devised, we ensured everyone was on board and on the same page and everything was going smoothly! At the end of the week we even got a 5/5 day! (He used this system to express how well his day went).

Now not to say there weren't a few small bumps in the road, but he was learning and continued to be encouraged to express his needs within his new school and community.

A melt down about his snow pants being moved was quickly turned around. He found them, all was right with the world again.

The first week was about intergration. Getting him settled into his new environment and routine. Setting up body breaks, expectations for him and to really learn how to manage his work on his own. A colour folder system is currently being worked out. Where pages are being placed in, where he can pull them out do his work and put it back. This is in hopes that when he meets his highschool years he can do the same with his binders to keep himself organized and focused. All in all, things seem to going well.

Long weekend has come and gone and we are ready to head back to school. I get a call at noon saying he isn't feeling well. I trek to the school to get him only to find out that he is enjoying his lunch like a kid who is feeling just fine. The sore belly doesn't seem to have much of an impact on his eating habits.

I have a conversation with his resource teacher to find out there was a melt down in the morning over writing in his agenda. Rough morning ='s get me outta here! Now, to be fair to him we did have a very late night and going back after extended time off from school is always a challenge.

I sat him down before we left school - made sure he knew that if he came home there was no DS. He was to stay on the couch, and he would be stuck watching Barbie in the Pink shoes as that is what his sister was watching when we left to get him. I let him know that if he stayed, he had freedom of his DS and his shows when he got home. He insisted he wasn't feeling well and needed to come home. Off we went.

We get home, all is well until he declares he isn't feeling better! It's a miracle! So, we did some homework. Ok, day isn't totally lost. Then it starts. Where is my DS? Can I play my DS? As I kept saying no - the anger and frustration was growing. Ohhhh - hello melt down!! I stuck to my guns and no DS. We got through that, only for another melt down to occur later in the day because he didn't get what he wanted.

What a way to celebrate World Autism Awareness day! LOL

So, this morning we trekked off to school. We had a conversation which started with *How are you feeling?*. I got a good, mommy! I feel fine. This is when I let him know that he will not be coming home today, and I will no tbe coming to pick him up until afterschool. I let him know again this his DS is all his if he stays the whole day. If I get a phone call, it's gone. He agreed. I gave him a kiss, told him to have a great day and off he went.

I also made sure the school staff was aware of this agreement prior to me leaving as well.

*Fingers crossed* today goes a little better.......

And then there are days......

As you all know, Autism is unpredictable. One day can be like walking with rainbows and unicorns - the next is like the earth is shifting under neath you and you are trying not to get caught in the cracks.

This is how the morning started yesterday. He got up, in preparation to go to school. I made him breakfast and we followed our normals routine of me constantly telling him to eat his breakfast and him pretending to ignore me. On my last prompt to get him to eat, he replied. I can't go. It's too cold, Ill get wet! There is too much snow.

It wasn't long ago it had dawned on me that when he complained about the wind blowing in his face, or the heat, or the cold that it wasn't him simply complaining for the sake of complaining, but that he is just that sensative. What we feel to be hot or cold, he feels just that much more. What seems like nothing to us, has his senses working on over drive. He feels everything just that much more. It's hard to understand, not ever having to cope the way he does. It's real, and can debilatating for him.

So anyway, I tried to change the subject to avoid the conversation totally going south. I then asked him to get dressed and that's when the end of the world came. He missed the TV show Beyblade. The stomping started, his voice got louder and his whole body tightened up. I knew we were done. I quickly tried to reassure him he could watch it tomorrow. Let his know it was an episode he had already seen, trying to get him to realize that it wasn't that bad. Didn't work. The yelling got louder, the frustration was building and the tears were just seconds away from flowing.

I called the school, and emailed his teacher. I knew today was going to be one of those days and couldn't justify sending him to school for his teachers and classmates to deal with.

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally started to come back. Was ready to hear reason and prepared to wait until tomorrow to catch the next episode.

Shovelling heavy, wet winter snow almost seemed like a walk in the park after coping with that first thing in the morning.

You just never know what one day to the next will bring.....