Although there have been a few high points, in some ways this summer has been a bit of a “crash and burn” for our family. Specifically, Michael came up against a couple of situations where he was being stretched farther socially and emotionally than he was ready for, and he rebelled big time!
During the school year, Michael had been attending a therapeutic after school program and was thriving there, partly because he had gotten into a good routine and also because he had become the leader within his particular group of kids. He had also been enjoying a weekly playgroup that is run by his psychologist, so we were feeling pretty confident about his progress.
First came the crashing…
As we moved into the summer, however, he started having trouble with playgroup. The psychologist had begun leaving the structure of the time up to the boys so they could learn to negotiate what they wanted to do as a group. This worked well for a few of them, but Michael started exhibiting all sorts of avoid and escape behaviors during the sessions.
Followed by the burning…
Then it came time for summer camp, which was basically an all day version of the after school program he had done so well in. However, the adult to child ratio was a bit higher and there were more kids who had more advanced social skills in his age range, so Michael was no longer the top dog — and he didn’t like it!
Again, the behaviors escalated with each group activity they were asked to participate in, and Michael wasn’t able to control himself, even with the wasted time being taken out of his playground or pool time later in the day. By the end of camp, I had to drive him as he wouldn’t even get on the van.
I shared last week about the struggle just getting to the psychologist’s office and am happy to say that we were able to go in for an individual session with her on Thursday. It turns out she has been planning to start a different group for the boys who need to have a more structured environment so they can work on interpersonal skills at a more basic level, and she and Michael agreed that he should give it a try.
And now it’s time to regroup…
Michael is very happy to be back at the babysitter’s now that camp is over, and I am looking forward to our vacation so that we can all relax a bit before jumping into first grade.
Part of this “regrouping” process for me has been to look at ways to simplify my schedule and commitments for the coming school year, and, sadly, one of the things that I need to say goodbye to is my place on the team here at 5 Minutes for Special Needs.
It has been such a joy to be part of this amazing group over the past year, and I have been blessed by each one of you who has challenged, educated and encouraged me along the way. I look forward to continuing as part of the wonderful community that has developed here, just from the other side of the page (or the post, if you will).
So, how was your summer?
As the host of Try This Tuesday for the last year, Trish has been honored to share some of the solutions she has found to make life easier. You can follow her on Twitter or visit her blog at Another Piece of the Puzzle.