Where have you been?

When I am typing, I typically don’t think about whether or not anyone is reading as I prepare a new little note. Although, I do hope it reaches someone who may benefit from it. So, for anyone who was looking for a post to skim through last month, I am sorry there was nothing new to read here in June. I did think about posting something now and again but then life kept sneaking in with other plans. Life can just be overwhelming at times and we just muddle through as best we can. My gratitude for my family keeps me going; I often find strength in knowing what an important job I have as a mom and how so many little everyday things add up to shape their lives.

So, if anyone has read from the beginning, you may be thinking…more tips please. I have thought to myself recently “Where have I been?” and “What have I been doing?”. Turns out life is stressful in so many different ways that I allowed it to pull me away from something that makes me feel hopeful and that is the thought of helping someone else. What I wanted most for these little notes was to help someone learn from my experiences. So, I will just get back to it.

I believe I left off a few months ago talking about how our son was getting his physical needs met after his ASD diagnosis but there was a social piece that I found difficult to find support in developing. I must admit that at that time I thought it is either that I am terrible at web searches or there are just not many resources near me to help him with his barriers with social skills. It was probably a little bit of both. I found the most challenging part was finding a social skills group (as opposed to individual lessons) which is what he needed the most as he was entering Pre-K. I found a local Theraplay but they did not have a group at the time and was only able to provide one-on-one with a speech therapist. The problem with that is that by the time he became more verbal it was clear that he didn’t have problems speaking to adults. Adults are more patient with him and would more easily overlook anything that seemed unexpected or off topic. So, as sweet and kind as the speech therapist was with him, she said she didn’t feel like continuing on with her would be beneficial since it is only with peers that he struggles to communicate.

So, with no new social group forming any time soon, I continued to search for other places that may offer similar assistance for him. I had heard about a place not too far from us that offered ABA (Applied Behavior Analysis) therapy which is a treatment often used with children on the autism spectrum that is used to help shape or develop communication and social skills. Unfortunately, they had a very long wait list and over the next 2 years I received an email from them about every 6 months letting me know he was still on the waiting list and am I still interested in the services. This was very frustrating and discouraging and the months along with social struggles continued. However, perseverance paid off when towards the end of his kindergarten year I began looking for social skills related to summer camps. I finally found something! I will go into that more next time. For now let me just say that I am extremely grateful for the next two programs he was involved with and hope that anyone who is looking for social skill support for his/her kiddo can find it because it is well worth it. At least it was for us. Wishing everyone health and happiness.