Operation Peer Play!

Okay, so I know I went on and on about change and all the things that we do to prepare for any Meltdowns or whatever gets thrown our way.  Don't get me wrong, life is definitely not all doom and gloom over here.  If anything I would say the majority of the time I have a Happy, loving boy.  

We all have a Different Love Language and Our job as Parents is to find out what it is.  If I was Given a choice for Kaden to Not have Autism, I can't say that I would say Yes right away without worrying that I would miss something...Something Amazing.  Because every single day he does just that, he Amazes me.  I don't want to miss that, so I'll take the Good Days with the Bad ones.  I will try not to Complain and will do everything in my Power to Learn how to Live in this World with my Little Boy.


That said, let me tell you how great the Play date went.  I was soooooo nervous, because he had been Violent towards himself and us for a few days now.  But everyone was here, even my Husband took off work.  We primed him up and went over common questions and topics.  And then the doorbell rang and it was the little boy and his Mom and Sister.  The Therapist took over and sat back to take notes.  This being the first ever the Behavioral Therapists needed to take as much Data as possible to develop a Program to help Strengthen his Social Skills.  
Kaden went with his Friend outside on the trampoline.  They jumped and laughed and Kaden looked like he was having the time of his life.  Developmentally he is about 2ish years behind.  So, sometimes the body movement or behavior can seem a little off.  I would say this happens most during extreme emotions.  After playing for awhile they headed upstairs and Kaden sat him down to have a Conversation.  Yes, he actually said, "Why don't we sit down and have a Conversation".  It was pretty cute to watch.  They laughed, they played all was good.  After an hour or so we wrapped it up.  And afterwards we talked about areas that we need to focus on and we wrote up a plan.  Next week sometime I'm sure we will start Operation Peer Play!!!  HAHAHAHA  I'm just Kidding.....we don't really come up with "Program" names.  But, this would be an excellent Program Name! :)

Some of the things he had a hard time with was eye contact and responding to his Friend when called Dude.  Pretty common things, nothing serious.  Kaden didn't stay on topic or respond appropriately several times.  But, hey this is the 1st time....we are Celebrating over here!!!  :)  We did notice Kaden did not take up for himself or respond when his Friend was wrestling.  Maybe it was a bit too rough, but only because Kaden didn't say anything.  His Friend is a wonderful little Boy, Kaden just doesn't have the words to express to someone they need to stop doing something.  I see this at home with his Siblings too.    Later when I asked Kaden about it he acted like he felt like he had to endure through the wrestling.  Like it was supposed to happen.  So, we talked to him about being assertive and how that's ok to enjoy wrestling in the beginning and then decide when you have had enough.  Plus, next time his Friend may say the same thing to you and then you have to respect him and stop.

I could see his wheels turning and I think he enjoyed the experience and both boys didn't want to stop playing.  I think that's a great sign and I hope for many more Play Dates.
While they were playing I had time to talk with my Friend.  I actually had a list that I had been making for a few days now of Skills I think Kaden needs work on.  Independence is Our Goal here.  When you have a Child on the Spectrum, High Functioning or not you are working towards some form of INDEPENDENCE.  So, I went down my list with a pen in hand....Next time I'll let you know what she said I could cross off and the things we realllly need to work on.