I'm not sure why i haven't been sitting down
to keep this blog updated...
oh wait, i do know why - life is keeping me BUSY!!
And when i do have a bit of down time to myself, i have been
choosing to 'escape' through reading my book,
or playing mindless games on the computer,
or watching 'Ellen' :)
My husband said to me just this morning
how D being in part time Kindergarten,
which for her means full days but only 2 days a week
with the odd week where she goes 3 times,
has been helpful for adjusting to this busy routine.
So true.
It is my saving grace, for real.
If all 5 days of the week looked like my Tuesdays and
Thursdays, i would have lost my mind already.
As of now, my brain and body only feels half dead. lol.
Marshall continues to show progress
in all areas at school. We have had several reports from
both Preschool and Next Step which all
state that Marshall is doing great!
He is sitting at the work table (NS) for longer periods
of time now. There have been 2 occaisions where
Marshall's class should've been cancelled when
his interventionist was sick, but
they let him come and the other aides just took
him on and shared him, along with their regular kids.
This tells me that Marshall is totally manageable
even without one on one, which is awesome!
On those days when i picked him up,
there were 2 different teachers who told me about
Marshall's day.
One was Annika, who has been working in this program
for 10 years. She said that Marshall did awesome and
she could not believe what a fast learner he was!
The other time, Patty was there when i picked M up.
Patty helped Warren with Marshall when M first started
at Next Step. Patty is also very experienced and
has a son with Autism of her own.
She came to me and told me that she really cannot believe
the progress Marshall has made in such a short amount
of time. She was shaking her head in disbelief almost.
How cool is that?!
Marshall could not be getting better compliments,
and i am SO happy that he is really embracing this program
and the staff there, and that he is doing so well. PTL!
For the past month at Next Step, Marshall has actually been
working with 2 different interventionists.
Miranda took over full time with Marshall
in September when Warren left.
Then the centre took on a new child that was assigned to
Miranda in October, so now Marshall only sees Miranda
on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
So now M,W, and Friday, Marshall is with Carla.
The first day with Carla, Marshall was pretty
angry and upset when i left.
It was not a smooth transition like it was with Miranda.
Carla works in the same class so Marshall knows who
she is, but he didn't take to her right aways.
But he totally got over that and has been
doing awesome with her too!
Marshall really loves Andy as well.
He says his name every time we drive up to school,
and he looks for him when we go into class.
Andy is another interventionist who is in Marshall's
group, but who Marshall does not work directly with,
or hasn't yet anyways.
I've liked Andy from the first day of meeting him.
He is now the only male teacher there,
so of course, Marshall has taken to him.
Andy's really sweet and seems to really enjoy Marshall's
love for him. lol.
Andy got to play with Marshall on the outdoor
playground recently and Andy said
how impressed he is at M's capabilities as far
as climbing around goes.
We've heard this a lot from different people involved
and it is definitely something we now recognize as
a huge blessing,
and so cursing his physical abilities at age 1 already
is something we take back!! lol
Marshall is really enjoying Preschool as well.
Mary, M's aide, appears to be enjoying working with M,
and Marshall has, as the other teachers put it,
"has a soft spot for Miss Mary".
The 2 teachers Debbie and Julie have both
said that Marshall bee-lines to Mary everyday and
he doesn't even know that they're there!
It is said in a joking and loving way :)
A few weeks back, Marshall got to be the Special Helper
for the day. He got to bring 2 of his favourite toys
for show and tell (it was a surprise for M too as i hid
them even from him to avoid possible drama! lol).
He got to sit on the special chair next to the teacher
during circle, ring the bell, and be at the front of the
line as the children walked to the gym.
Apparently Marshall did awesome!!
Mary was a bit concerned that the next class M might
have trouble with going back to him normal
routine, but he did just fine.
Mary commented to me that Marshall is doing
really well and is loving doing crafts and circle as well as
gym time. She has said that he actually very social from
what she has observed. I would agree :)
She even said to me quietly that
Marshall follows his hand along the wall when
they walk down the halls and he is quiet...
she said that he is more well behaved than some of the
other (typical) children.
Yah Marshall! You show them!! lol.
We have been having a struggle with routine after
preschool is over, but i will save that story for a future post
as it relates to some other struggles we've been having
at home.
I have not touched on Church or Sunday School
in this blog in the past, but today, i will :)
Our church is small (100-150 ppl)
and we meet in a highschool.
The kids program is:
Nursery 0-3
Preschoolers 4-6
Last year, before Marshall was diagnosed, he was
kind of a wild child. He had so much energy
and being in a church that is in a school with
endless hallways and room to run...
well, Marshall was in his glory,
and sweaty every Sunday,
and i was exhausted and sweaty as well. lol.
There wasn't a designated nursery classroom,
but rather, the helpers and the kids met in
a lounge area which had full access to the hallways.
Marshall had no interest in the toys,
but liked to climb the sitting areas
and would attempt to bolt down the hallways...
constantly.
It was too much to ask the volunteers to deal with,
so i have pretty much lived in the nursery area
Sunday mornings since Marshall was 1 years old.
Marshall is the only kid in our church who was
born in 2008, so this year, he was the only
child who would technically be moving
up into the preschool program.
I didn't know back in Spring if we should just keep
him back another year or not.
Prior to Marshall starting Next Step
and Preschool, i did have visions of him sitting in a
structured environment.
Back in June, my sister suggested that we
try a few times. And we did. And it failed.
But in September, my sister and I
worked out a plan to benefit and accommidate to
having Marshall in the program.
In the beginning, my sis and i shared Sundays.
This year they are using playdoh to tell the stories
which was an instant grab for Marshall,
which is great!
He would play with playdoh and sit nicely,
and then as the time went on,
he would get restless
and would end up running around the room
which is a cafeteria with tables set up everywhere.
We'd have to lock him inside
so he wouldn't run down the halls.
My sister got a few other volunteers on board
as it seemed that Marshall was doing better
with teachers and not with Mommy.
I am not upset by this.
I have come to accept that Marshall has some of his
worst behaviour with me. I mean, it sucks, but
i have been told that this is normal by
the therapists as he knows i am a safe person
and provide a safe place for him to tantrum or whatever.
Lovely eh? lol.
Moving on...
I am happy to share with you that over the past month,
with the help of a few loving volunteers,
Marshall is loving Sunday school!!
He sits and does every activity, and is no longer
running around or yelling
or being a distraction at all.
He has come out of the room and i have helped him
use the washroom, and he is eager to
go back into Sunday School without me!!
I am a happy Mommy.
I have been able to listen to the sermons for the past
few weeks. It has been years since Church has been
a place where i get fed, and it's wonderful
to have that back again.
A big thanks to Auntie C for making Marshall's success
at Sunday School a priority :)
So there you have it!
A brief run down of all of the school-type
activites that Marshall is loving and thriving in.
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