I realize that many of my blog posts tend to be negative and angry. I suppose I just write more when I'm having strong feelings about something. I did want to post on the many many positive things that are happening.
For one thing, we are blessed to have a very very sweet and caring young man as our son. Jake loves his dad, his mom, his Mamaw and Papaw, his Grandy, his dog, his baby brother, and other children. Sometimes his actions can be described as "aggressive" or "violent" however he doesn't have a mean bone in his body. He will pull or push on other children but never with the intention of hurting them. It just seems that he doesn't yet understand how to interact correctly, and thats just what he does instead. At home we find ourselves joking, "Love hurts, especially when it comes from Jake." Jake will just get overwhelmed with emotion and grab and pinch and jump (sometimes almost breaking my nose with his skull). But everything he does is done with the intention of being kind, even if it doesn't come across that way. He loves babies, and will run up to strollers carrying babies of first-time-moms.. peer in and say "BABY'S SLEEEEPIN!" at the top of his lungs. He'll exclaim "I'm so CUTE!" (Jakese for "you're so cute") and wiggle his fingers an inch above the baby's head just barely able to contain his desire to touch the baby. This always goes over well with new mothers. I just shrug.
For a very long time we've dealt with huge tantrums when it comes to transitions, leaving the park or any place fun. We've tried "We're leaving in 10 minutes" then "5 minutes" then so on, but to no avail. A friend who works with ASD kids (thanks Carrie.. you don't know how much you help me) suggested that I get a picture of the car, and show it to him several times before we leave.. giving him a visual cue. I vowed to try it.. then, a few days later, I found myself at the aquarium with no picture of the car. I had forgotten. Instead, I thought about how Jake always signs "Car" when he wants to "ride car" so I started signing and saying "car" several times before we left. No tantrum. Same thing the next day at the zoo. I ALMOST got to the car before I remembered to sign to him, so we walked the long way around and I stopped 3 or 4 times to tell him in words and sign. Again, no tantrum. I'm learning to use a combination of words and sign to transition him to different situations, and it is working wonders. I have to say that we LOVE "Signing Time" around here, and so far we own 6 of the tapes. I can't even watch the songs sometimes without getting all teary eyed.
There are still scary times and times when I am angry, but despite the tone of this blog, sadness and anger does not dominate our lives. This weekend, although we were unable to camp overnight, we had an amazing fishing trip and lots of outdoor play. Jake doesn't always do what you expect him to do or what other kids might do. For example while the rest of the family waded, he found it more fun to run up and down a hill near the creek and occasionally check out the bucket full of critters that we were netting in the shallows. He still had fun even if he didn't care to participate in our selected activity. He is a fun and funny little guy with a lot to offer, and we are blessed to have him here with us.
