Thursday, May 24, 2007

All 4's!

The school has this system. Everyday he gets a number 1-5. 1 is horrible behavior, 5 is "couldn't be better". Michael actually gets 3 numbers a day: Behavior, Academic & Social. Lately, he has been getting a lot of 3's with some 1's & 2's. We had some problems last month where he was making fun of other kids or getting other kids in trouble. His speech & occupational therapists are supposed to give him numbers too after every session.

I've gotten into this habit of opening Michael's backpack when he gets home and checking the numbers. If they are good, I make a BIG deal out of it. Sometimes we use the numbers as a reason to go to the gym or the park.

Well, this week Michael got all 4's. He hasn't done that in months. On Monday his teacher wrote "Amazing today! Great Behavior". She also said how he went to the other building (the school is actually 2 buildings- an old and a new) and did wonderfully with a class of typical kids. That's very exciting to hear since he'll be in that school next year.

The best comment he got was from his speech therapist:

"Such a great week!! I am so proud of Michael. We had a fire drill today, so speech was 10 min. late to start and R & B (the two typical kids who join him in speech once a week) had computer lab, so they couldn't come. I spoke to Michael about it, and asked him what we should do and he INDEPENDENTLY said "It's OK. We can do something else". His sentences have been fantastic and his grammar/syntax continue to improve. Way to go Michael!"

OK. Maybe his good behavior has something to do with the fact that he's planning on going to Adventureland on Friday (amusement park). He loves rides- things I wouldn't even go on. But, it's a great motivator.

Also- I'm going to Chicago for a couple of days for the Autism One Conference. I explained to Michael when he's leaving and coming back and that he can call me on my cell phone if he wants to talk. On Monday Michael was talking to himself and me going to Chicago and he said "I will miss you". Shocked, I asked him "will Michael miss Mommy or Mommy miss Michael"?
(sometimes he says a question because he wants YOU to ask HIM- like "do you want juice?")

He said "Michael is going to miss Mommy". WOW. He has never said those words in his life. I've gone away about 4-5 times where the trip was 3-7 days long. He rarely cared that I was gone or showed a reaction when I returned. How bittersweet it is to know that now he will be sad when I leave.

Another thing I noticed this week. He's been playing in the backyard where there is a tennis court. A lot of the neighborhood kids play there- riding their bikes, throwing balls around, etc. Michael has been asking to play there after school. I watch him from our deck. He's interacting, following the kids, sometimes talking to them. He's still not communicating on a typical level- but he is trying. And it's nice to see him play with a group of kids, since he is an only child.

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