Busy Week! I can’t believe how fast this week went by – some great activities for the kiddos!
Utah Symphony: I wish we had a better picture but as we mentioned in one of our previous posts, the Utah Symphony hosted a “Special Needs” Concert this week. This was our second year going and like last year, it was a ton of fun. We actually had a few meltdowns prior to leaving (I’m going to throw the Smurf DVD away soon) but once we got there, the kids had a great time.
Thanks for a fun night!
The concert date is set for next year but unfortunately, I’ve lost the date – I’ll post it sometime in the future. Another highlight of the night was getting in contact with two of my MBA friends who also have autistic children. One of them saw my, “check in” on facebook and he was also at the concert. Despite being “Facebook Friends,” I hadn’t seen him for years so it was nice that he waited to say hi. Another friend responded to a post and now we’ve found a little group of us that all did our MBA together, all live relatively nearby and all have kids on the spectrum who are about the same age. Excited for a get together when the weather gets warmer.
Annual Winter Festival At Wheeler Farms: The festival was held this past weekend and despite my post that I’d run the 5k, we opted to do the 1 Mile Run as a family but. . . . we got there late of the start time so we’ll have to do it again in the future. I know – I’m a slacker. :)
Balloon Sword at Wheeler Farms Winter Festival
The kids had a blast – I’m glad we got there early (actually while everyone was probably running the 5k and Kid’s Run) because the tent with the free popcorn, face painting, balloon artist, and other activities got crowded quickly. The boys both got balloon swords – probably better to use as a prize in summer versus winter since the balloons were popping left and right but still, they were so excited! We also came home with a new book, “Carl’s Sleepy Afternoon” that we will happily add to our collection. Thanks for a great day and thank you to the Rotary for organizing a great fundraiser that benefits a ton of charities. My goal next year is to get a group together to run the 5k and support the great causes!
Week Accomplishments: A coworker once told me about Dr. Emoto and his studies of the effects of different influences on water. His thesis further constitutes that since our bodies are more than 60% water – his studies and findings also correlate to the human being.
Regardless of whether you believe it or not, I strongly feel that the more a child is praised and brought up in a positive environment, the better it is for them. So the other night, I was sitting with one of our twins and we were talking about the ‘good things’ he’d being doing and what a good kid he is. He looked up and stared at me for a long time then said, “Thanks Dad, you have brown eyes.” Usually he says, “Dad, you’re a rascal” or something to that effect but I liked that he’s expressing gratitude, noticing more things in his environment, and learning to vocalize different expressions.
Frosty the Snowman
Week Opportunities: We’ve had more meltdowns recently and we can’t figure out why. The boys had been doing very well with their transitions but over the past two weeks, we’ve noticed a digression. My wife started using more social stories and visuals to help the boys with transitions which has helped. I was hoping we were moving away from having to use a timer for everything.
We were glad to celebrate one of the boys’ cousin’s birthdays as well – they had such a fun time and it’s neat to see them all play together. We did have some struggles with the presents and the boys understanding that it isn’t their birthday.
Tip of the Week: This is a simple eye exercise that their OT uses. In the picture below, she has two different objects at the top of the paper and then lines of the two objects below. She’s covered everything but the top line in this picture but she has the boys point to the objects one by one, and then point to the corresponding object at the top of the paper.
OT Eye Exercises
She uses this exercise to increase hand / eye coordination and also, develop vertical movement in their eyes. She mentioned that they are noticing more and more children have problems looking from say their desk to the front of the classroom. This simple exercise helps the boys develop some of those needed skills.
Have a great week! Can’t believe that January is almost over! WOW
