As I mentioned last week, I will be giving a topic suggestion each Tuesday to write about. Of course, it is just a suggestion; you are still welcome to write about any topic you wish.
Topic Suggestion for this Week: Getting a Pet
How did you decide whether getting a pet would be good for your family, including your child with special needs? Are there any special things you considered in choosing a pet, or in deciding not to get one? How did you teach your child to interact properly with it? Any regrets about your decision, whether it was to get one or to not get one?
My family’s decision of whether to get a pet is an ongoing question. My husband did not grow up with animals, whereas I had both dogs and cats in my house. From the time of our marriage until Michael was about 3, we had a cat, but he was very sick at the end of his life and finally had to be put down, which was very emotional for both of us.
Now Michael would really like to get a pet, preferably a dog or a cat. Besides the discussions about how much work and cost would be involved, I am not sure how careful I would have to be about leaving Michael alone with a pet. While he is high-functioning and very smart, he also can be unpredictable when he gets upset and doesn’t always have a lot of common sense.
On the other hand, having a pet to love and play with (and help take care of) could be a great thing for him. This would also be a good time in our lives because, until school gets out in June, I am home in the mornings and usually only gone for about 5 hours a day for work.
As you can see, we are still weighing this decision, so I am looking forward to reading others’ thoughts and experiences in this area.
Please join in and share the creative solutions YOU have found to your own challenges, or feel free to post your own challenge for input from others. For more details on how to participate, read the welcome post.
Topic Suggestion for Next Week: Teaching Impulse Control
Trish can be found writing here at 5MFSN every Friday in addition to hosting Try This Tuesday. You can also find Trish blogging at Another Piece of the Puzzle and Autism Interrupted.