A Bus Ride, Riding lessons, and a bit of Frustration for Mommy

Today at 1:30 a strange sight could be seen on our driveway camera. Jake and I have often watched the cars and the schoolbusses go by on our camera (installed because we have no windows on that side of the house), but this time there was a bus. A STOPPED bus. A stopped SCHOOL BUS! I told Jake to look and he ran to the TV breathlessly saying "Schoolbus! Schoolbus!" I already had him dressed and in shoes and had Manny on my back in the carrier, so I said "Lets go see it!" I thought he might trip over himself getting to the door. We jogged down the driveway and Jake was simply delighted to see the bus door open and nice ladies inside waving at him. They were equally delighted to see Jake so excited that he had to stop every few feet to flap and squeal and jump up and down. He climbed right on the bus and hopped into a seat and clapped his hands and exclaimed "Yaaaaaaay!"

After I spoke to the bus driver and her aide while Jake tried out different seats, I asked if they would take him for a ride. They were happy to, and I decided to stay and let him go by himself. I didn't want him to get the idea that Mommy rode the bus with him. They drove around the block and he returned just as happy as he had been when he left. We discussed his schedule (they will pick him up at 7:30AM on Monday morning and drop him off around 11:00 AM) and I led a reluctant Jake off of the bus. He waved to the bus and drivers all the way up the driveway, as it turned the corner, and until it was completely out of sight. I think that the bus is a definite go. I wish I had pictures, but I do not. Maybe there'll be more of his first day of school.

After reading Temple Grandin's book and seeing her speak of how wonderfully children with autism do when exposed to horses, I decided that Jake would probably benifit from being around them. I love horses and I love to ride, and after watching Jake sit so calmly during a pony ride, I started looking around. I contacted Storybook Farm and Equine Rescue which is just a couple of minutes from our home. Crystal, the owner of the farm, agreed to meet with us this afternoon. Jake loved the farm where there are pigs, ponies, chickens, cats, donkeys and of course, lots of horses. Crystal and I worked out a trade. I will groom her three farm dogs monthly, and she will give Jake a half-hour riding lesson every Friday at 3 PM. He will be riding Redwho we met today. Red is a beautiful horse.

Jake is aquiring quite the weekly schedule. School on Monday and Thursday, OT on Thursdays after school, Riding lessons on Friday and Speech on Saturday. Not to mention the activities that I'll manage to come up with on off days. It may seem like a lot for a 3 year old, but it sure beats watching him lay in the floor and stim. It also takes some of the pressure off of me to figure out activities every single day with only me. I think it will help a lot.

And as for the frustration....

Today Dr. Causo's office(the developmental pediatrician) called to remind me of an apointment that Jake has tomorrow. I had no idea. I was quite confused. I told the receptionist that we hadn't had any of the testing done and that Dr. Michaels had told me it would be at least 4 weeks before he got the report from Dr. Causo and that I should call him by the end of the month. "You haven't done anything?" she asked. Ugh. She checked and told me that the report had been mailed to Dr. Michaels on September 6th. Double Ugh! I cancelled tomorrow's appointment and rescheduled for their next closest appointment which is October 22nd. I called Dr. Michael's office and made an appointment for this Friday at 11:30 for a consultation. I am a bit frustrated that things have been delayed for yet another month. I have a lot of questions. One of which is about Jake's toenails, which have always been flat and thin, have begun to look worse and even concave. I worry that this is a sign of something related to nutrition or metabolism... or somethine else weird. Anyway, I can ask him on Friday. I am ready to get some of these things off of my mind so that we can move forward.

So it was a great day if you are a three year old.. school buses, horses. And a long and tiresome day for Mommy. At least we're getting somewhere!