Animal Adventures, Again

Among the things Little A has long loved are animals and musical instruments. Recently, we discovered that a nearby toy store, one we haven't visited in a long time, has opened a pet section! While at first he was scared to set foot inside the "pet room", by the second visit he was brave enough to take a closer look, and within a few more visits had taken to spending time with the animals, playing them classical music and watching them.

Sadly, in a couple of weeks all the pets had gone, either been sold or returned to the other pet store across the road, and the animal room had reverted to what it used to be - a storage area for pet habitats and furniture.

We will come back from time to time and check if the pets have returned. In the meantime, there are other places to see and things to do in the limited time after school, including the duck pond at the mall where one of my stores is located. No shortage of animals in the city, it seems. 

Car Pools and Doggie Dates

Little A's newest "cousin" is of the four-legged variety. While not yet giving up hope on having another child (or two), my sister and her family took charge of a puppy over the New Year, and said puppy is now nearly a year old. He goes everywhere dogs are permitted with his human family, especially on weekends.

One Saturday at my parents' house, Little A and his cousins, plus doggie, got to play together. It was his first time to play with this particular animal, and the photos sent by my nieces show they had a grand time chasing each other around the house. It was very different to his interactions with our cat, and he seemed to enjoy it a lot, as did his new canine friend.

On the human interaction side, Little A now has a schoolmate to share the car with on Fridays after school. One of the mums asked if her son could find a ride to her office a few days a week, and I volunteered Fridays.

All new things require an adjustment period, and this was no different. Little A was used to calling the shots after school, on where to go and what to do. So as expected, there was whining and crying the first two Fridays. By week three, however, he'd gotten used to having to make a drop-off prior to his Friday after-school activity, and on week 4 we took the little boy with us to the shops while his mum was stuck in a meeting.

This little boy is quite the opposite of Little A as he is very, very verbal. I know Little A senses the difference when we are in the car and schoolmate chats nonstop about things we see, and what he is interested in. Still, he has adjusted well and knows he is paid no less attention to simply because I cannot hear him from the driver's seat. The other boy also adjusts to Little A's pace and interests. While I found it physically challenging to monitor two boys in separate parts of a play centre, it was managed, and when the schoolmate's mum came to collect him, we talked about doing it again.

I look forward to more play dates, whether or not the children actually play together. There is awareness, and consideration of the other, which is always a good thing.

Second Trip to Singapore

Since last year's trip was such a huge success, Big A decided the family ought to do a repeat trip to Singapore. This time, Little A was much less anxious, as he knew exactly what to expect.

We added one more day, and ended up returning to the Zoo, his favourite place. This year we skipped Universal Studios, but visited the Cloud Forest, which wasn't a must-see but was a good experience to have ticked off our Singapore lists.

Now that he's a "seasoned" traveller, we are aiming to get him used to longer and longer plane rides. The end goal is Melbourne, London, Hawaii, or even the West Coast. Next up, Japan! 

Sharing is Caring

So, a new school year has begun, and while many of his classmates are the same, Little A has a new set of teachers.

As always, the first few weeks are all about finding a balance. Praying no untoward behaviours crop up or recur, and that the learning continues apace, positively and enjoyably.

It was with trepidation that I opened a very long text message from Little A's main teacher one month into classes. Normally communications from teachers involve issues that need to be addressed as soon as possible.

This message was to tell me something wonderful. One of Little A's classmates, an older boy in an IEP class who joins the Grey Fours for last period, was crying. This happens quite often, and sometimes can be disruptive to lessons ongoing. Today though, it happened during free time, and the teachers saw Little A give this classmate a sensory toy. Thinking he was just returning the toy that the crying boy had dropped, they didn't react.

But then they saw Little A hand crying classmate a second toy, and pat him on the leg the way he did to himself when he needed comforting. And when Little A saw crying classmate mouthing the toy, he grabbed a third toy and made to put it in crying classmate's mouth, since this seemed to calm him down.

The teachers were touched and pleased to see this type of interaction between two non-verbal children, both of whom fall within the moderate to severe category on the spectrum. They might not interact typically, but it was clear that there was awareness, and sensitivity on another's emotional needs.

A+ for my Little A today. I am a proud mama. 

School Grey Four

August is upon us again, and this year marks Little A's fifth at his school. As student number 1, his birthday coincides with their anniversary, but since they started with a summer program in 2012, regular school only began a couple of months later.

Last year's troupe of teachers were amazing, and so was Little A's Holistic Program and its implementation. More so than in all the years prior, he made marked improvements across all areas, and we hope, and pray, this continues.

Summer was fun, but Little A, now 10, was very eager to get back to work, and in the few days' holiday constantly reminded me in writing that he was anticipating "school grey 4", after being told he would be a fourth grader this academic year.

I busied myself making sure he had a new, larger, set of school uniforms and shoes and that these were labelled clearly with his name (trusty sewing kit at the ready).

Grey Four is upon us then. We are ready!

Magic Words

All his young life, I have reminded, prompted, and forced Little A over and over again to say, write, or sign please and thank you when appropriate. No matter his challenges, I am determined to bring up my child polite and well mannered as can be, and these "magic words" are just a beginning.

He apologises without prompting quite quickly when he has done or perceives he has done something wrong. But please and thank you are almost always prompted, until quite recently.

A few weeks ago, he must have requested something - a toy, some food, or art materials - and I gave it to him. He typed something on his iPad and showed it to me, while making eye contact and doing the correct sign. The words were "Thank you for munch". As if to make sure I got the message, he quickly found a favourite YouTube video and set it to the point where the speaker was saying "Thank you very much", and played only this line, twice or thrice in a row.

I nearly burst into tears right then and there. That was the first ever time Little A voluntarily thanked me. I hugged him and told him he was most welcome, and that I was so proud of him for being a polite boy and showing me good manners.

A day or so later, the Au Pair reported the same. While Big A and I were out, Little A had thanked her "very munch" as well, and she was thrilled and elated. Until she corroborated my report, Big A didn't really believe this had happened unprompted.

Since then it has become not constant, but quite regular, and not always with written or typed words, but always with definite eye contact and a clear sign. On Little A's making the sign, he expects the person he is thanking to verbalise his gratitude, and then respond verbally.

Thank you, to all the powers that be, for munch. And now, on to please, excuse me, and I beg your pardon. 

Play Date

After the success of Little A's birthday party, a co-parent and I decided to make play dates, something so common among typical kids and so rare among those like ours, a regular thing.

Within the next few weeks, we managed one, at a soft play centre with Little A and his female classmate. She is verbal, and very sweet, and her mum and I are determined to foster bonds between our kids that will hopefully last a lifetime.

After playtime, we sat at a café and had a snack. The two interacted minimally, again, as is typical, but were quite aware of each other. One sat and quietly sipped a drink, while the other gobbled down food and then plugged into an iPad, but they made fleeting eye contact, and smiled to see each other in a setting outside of a classroom.

There is a week of "freedom" before fourth grade starts, so hopefully in this time we can manage some more together time with schoolmates. Or Little A can just enjoy the last week of home time before fourth grade begins on August 1st.