Month: December 2012

Day 19 – A test.

Day 19 – A test.

Melissa

Caleb is not a fan of puzzles. He has done a very few willingly, mostly he leaves the room telling anyone within earshot, “No.” very firmly. So, fine, it’s not his thing. Do you think that ever stops me from trying to convince him it’s his thing? No? I guess you do know me!

Last night I thought we’d test the power of Sneaky. Sneaky (mostly) set up a puzzle, a THOMAS puzzle. I thought the power of Sneaky + the power of Thomas might result in a complete puzzle. I even stacked the deck further by suggesting to Sneaky that he only leave the faces out but complete the rest. See! We were even using the fragile X need for closure to our advantage too. It couldn’t fail.

So at bedtime, this is what was left for Caleb to find…

Can’t miss, right?

Yeah. My sneaky child woke up sometime last night and left this response.

*sigh* We left Sneak yet another vitamin to help keep his strength up.

Anyone need a wooden Thomas puzzle that was used 3/4’s of one time?

Day 18 – Sneaky the Adventurer

Day 18 – Sneaky the Adventurer

Melissa

Our elf Sneak appears to have either undergone a name change *or* Caleb’s language has caught up a bit and he’s finally able to say his name properly…either way…the elf is now called Sneaky. Very appropriate.

Sneaky caught a bit of Toy Story with Caleb last night just before bed, it appears to have inspired him.

It really looks to me like he is flying…not just falling with style like some toys!

Day 17 – A special breakfast.

Day 17 – A special breakfast.

Melissa

Sneak can be such a sweetie, last night he set the table for us!

It inspired Eric to make us a big breakfast of french toast and sausages…I might whisper a request to Sneak today to set the table every night if that is the result!

**As an aside, last night as Eric watched me glue all those ornaments to the trees for our place mats he said, “I didn’t think you would take it to this extreme.” Umm, hello? It’s like he’d never met me before 😉

Dunkin Donuts, revisited

Melissa

Last Monday I mentioned that Caleb had taken a “field trip” to Dunkin Donuts while at school (“Um, we have to tell you something.“) I know for parents of typically developing kids this sounds like a complete waste of school hours but those of us with kids with fragile X know that real life experiences are better teaching tools at times than 1:1 instruction. SO, we have no problem whatsoever with these trips.

Yesterday, they did a repeat trip but this time they did an amazing job of tying this in to Caleb’s IEP goals.

Yesterday, they didn’t go just for themselves, they took orders! Caleb had to visit all of the first and second grade classrooms and take the teacher’s order. He did the asking, the teacher wrote the order down for him. Once they had all of the orders, they went to Dunkins.

After one brief misfire, when Caleb tried to order lettuce (that’s a Subway thing), he proceeded to place the entire order with the cashier. There was no line so the cashier was able to take the time to slow down and listen to him and she was able to understand him! He paid the bill, in cash and then they returned to school and delivered the drinks.

How awesome is that? He did a fantastic job and it hit on math, social skills and speech all in one trip. They also noted that he “did better” at sharing the munchkins they brought back to the classroom…I’ve played that game with him before and gotten nothing, the kids are more persuasive apparently.

I’m thinking maybe we need to work on this skill at home, it’s important that skills be generalized beyond a school setting, right? Which means, I get educational Munchkins…my very favorite kind! Mmmmmm…learning….

Day 14 – A message for Caleb.

Day 14 – A message for Caleb.

Melissa

Last night was FXMNO. I rolled on through the door, exhausted, at 11 PM after having enjoyed not one but TWO Tom Bradys (Stoli Raz, Blueberry something and…other stuff plus a slice of lime) that were, sadly, not delivered by the man himself. I had also just made such a pathetic attempt at parallel parking that the neighbor, who was in my spot so he does not earn any brownie points with me, took pity on me and came out to move his car back into his garage. I’m not entirely sure it was pity or absolute terror that I was going to hit his beautiful BMW SUV. By the way he came running out, jacket half on and half flapping behind him in the wind while he waved his arms frantically over his head, I couldn’t really tell. *ahem*

Eric was snoring away, the kid and puppies were snug in their beds (I caught Eric snuggling the puppy, ha!) and I had to move the elf. I was sort of hoping he would have magically moved by the time I got home but, alas, it was not to be. I was stumped, Sneak wasn’t talking to me…it’s possible he was asleep too. Finally I pulled up the list of ideas I created in SEPTEMBER (yes, slightly insane!) and dismissed them all. Then, in between snores, Eric suggested this…

Well, not that exactly. It’s a bit messier than he had in mind, I’m sure, BUT in my defense elves *are* notoriously messy *and* the cleaners are coming tomorrow. So, it’s just a bigger tip and I think they will be amused. Heck, I might even get a toilet paper flower as a reward!

Regardless, Caleb was delighted which really puts that mess in the proper perspective.