Gabby’s typical week is broken down into four types of
days. Firstly, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday are busy school days. Secondly,
Thursday and Wednesday are relaxed school days. Lastly, Saturday and Sundays
are relaxed weekends.
Because of his autism, and because he has been
mainstreamed already, my husband and I call our son a ‘hybrid student”. And yes,
he can be busy as a bee! His typical
routine every Monday to Wednesday consists of structured activities that cater
to his special needs. He has accelerated grade one classes in the morning and
special education classes in the afternoon. He spends 4.5 hours as a
mainstreamed elementary student, and 2 hours as a sped student. Both are held
on the same school, St. Paul School of Ormoc Foundation, Inc. Gabby only rests
for lunch and his short afternoon nap in between classes. I emphasize rest time
on his posted schedule board at home because he needs enough downtime,
especially since he has childhood asthma, too.
Because of their upcoming school foundation days, his
grade one class has been allotting one-hour sessions for their dance presentation
practices. They were supposed to represent South Korea. Because it was
something new for him, he has been excited as a budding k-pop dancer for the
past three weeks. For a creature of habit such as my son, I take pride on the
fact that having these dance practices is a welcomed change for him.
Nevertheless, the physical stress of constant practicing has taken its toll on
him. He caught the cough and colds last week. Unfortunately, he also had an
asthma attack, and was down with a fever last Friday.
I can say that today was different because I visited him in
the school program area. I wanted to make sure he was not moving so much because
that meant more coughing at night. Because it was extremely hot, I wanted to
make sure he drank his water and changed to his extra shirt. I expected these
to happen because I included them in his written rules in school. Because my
visit in school was unexpected, it changed his behavior a bit. He was really
excited and became more hyperactive. He asked me to help him changed his shirt,
and open his water bottle. These are things he can do for himself.
What I learned today was I should tell him if I will
visit him in school. No more surprise school visits! I should know better.
Children with autism thrive in routine. If ever there are changes in routine,
they should be told in advance. And Gabby is not an exception to this rule for mommy.
No comments:
Post a Comment