Turns out having presents out for the kids from mom wasn’t the greatest idea after all. I thought maybe this year it wouldn’t be a source of “obsession”. I haven’t done this in the past- and thought it should go well. Who am I kidding? I think that I have heard…”Can I open a present?” at least 500 times in the last 5 days. I just keep reiterating that on Christmas they can open their presents. If you give them the tools- they’ll know what to do right? HA! Doesn’t matter how many times I have answered this question- I still get it at least every hour- if not more. I even get the stare down- as if she is trying to figure out a better way to ask. Brendan has only asked 100 times- and he finally stopped asking. When I told him about the man at the Soup Kitchen who was more than excited, and grateful to get a “goody bag” filled with an orange, some snacks and a card, Brendan stopped asking. (Hence, he gets the idea) Phoebe seemed less than impressed with the story- ending with…”so does Santa come both Christmas eve and Christmas day?”
Ideas- some good, some not-so-good
I love the holidays and I refuse to think that I am “missing out” because of the limits of autism. This would just lead to me being sad about the “what could be’s”. So, for now (and I’m thinking for a looooong time) I will be excited to drive her and her brother around every night after Thanksgiving looking at Christmas lights, making cookies that look like someone has mysteriously licked the frosting off everyone one of them, missing many Christmas parties, endure the long nights of getting up every hour, early rising at 4 am…and the general excitement of Santa and what he will bring. This I do for my family…autism and all.
I attempt to do these things with the best of intentions. However, I think I might be causing more anxiety than necessary. (But, who better to push autism to the limits than the mother of a child with the disorder?) If I never tried- how will I know if she can accept it? Or at least tolerate it- at best? My routine girl has a brand new teacher this month, and this has been quite the transition for her. She is giving this teacher a run for her money. Behaviors are at their worst, and the change has caused lots of uncertainly in Mrs. Routines life. In an nice attempt to give us options for holiday break, she sent home some fun activities that Phoebe can do on a wipe board, and a few social stories that can help with the long time off. These have been useful, and we keep reading them over and over. The other idea her teacher sent home was that in order to keep Phoebe busy…”have her read 30 minutes each day.” God love this teacher for trying, but I laughed out loud. How about 1/2 a minute?? She doesn’t do ANYTHING for a 1/2 hour. Ever. Good ideas…bad ideas. She’ll get to know Phoebe over time and see the attention span…but I truly thank her for trying. (It does show she cares)
Well- I am off to sit for a while in anticipation of being up all night on Santa/Phoebe watch. Have a great holiday!!
Phoebe ASD World 