Tuesday, May 31, 2011

Update

There are some things I thought I should share so that they don't seem left in the void.
We recovered the money that Xavier took from his Papa and he returned it with a written apology.
Xavier went out on Saturday and worked hard for two hours to clean up all the glass from the broken windows. He was really well behaved about the whole thing. He worked out payment arrangements. His total for the damage was $80 and he will pay when he gets his first check of the month. He has agreed to write an apology.
We have been working hard to clean out all the non-Feingold approved foods. We were surprised at all the artificial ingredients in our food. Despite that, we didn't end up with empty cupboards. Most of what we buy is ingredients for recipes not complete products - like canned beans instead of canned soup. So there wasn't that much. We're offering the food to family members first because not everything can be donated and then we will donate what we can or find friends who can use them.
Xavier had no problem going to church on Sunday but did have to leave early because he didn't have the right stuff to participate (he needed a laptop and we didn't know). He was very good at keeping himself in check and recognizing when he needed a break. The Sacrament can be boring and he sat for as long as he could and then told me he needed to go out in the hall because he needed to be fidgety. I think this is an amazing improvement now if only we can get him to speak up with his teachers and get them on board with giving him fidget time. High School will be such a big change.
We went to the library and checked out about 5 books on children and anxiety. There is some really good information but the more I read the less I think anxiety is a problem for Xavier. I know he has this paralyzing fear of needles which we will work on desensiting but I don't see where the anxiety is really a problem. Xavier is very much a go with the flow kind of guy so that is way cool. I had to tell him how much I appreciated that quality this weekend because it's not a common trait for children with Autism or PDD.
He's still having some temper tantrums and lost his bathroom door for a couple of days because he locks himself in the bathroom to get away from us. This usually happens when we need to go somewhere he doesn't want to go or when he has to do a chore. I wanted him to lose his door as a consequence because I wanted him to see that 1. I was serious and 2. he needs a better coping mechanism.
Xavier has discovered he likes his room empty. He emptied everything out of his closet but his clothes and is working on building a nest. I am quite supportive of this little hide away so long as his shirts remain hanging. When he goes to his room, he's in his closet reading.
He doesn't seem too interested in getting his stuff back so we're going to give it a little more time and then have him decide if he really needs it all back. It would be nice to get rid of more clutter. We have no expectation of him giving up everything but he has never really been a toy playing kind of child. He loves his Legos and his books. The rest of the stuff just becomes a sort of mess that he likes to create.
School is almost out so we're in for a big change. We're working on limiting technology time so that he does other things. He's picked out a garden plot in the back of our complex and has been discussing what type of plants he wants to grow. He wanted to do an entire plot of watermelon but watermelon doesn't grow well in Eastern Washington. He's looking at strawberries and some herbs. We started some tomatoes, pumpkins and cucumbers in the house (possibly some others that I have forgotten). Last year our garden was such a flop between bad soil and worse weather. This year we have all new raised beds with new soil so that we can have a better foundation for the garden. I am trying to talk Xavier into some blueberries and rhubarb but I may just have to do that in my own plot.

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