Jakob's Journal

Entry for June 8, 2006

Jakob's summer schedule is off to a good start. He started an 11-week camp for kids with autism and so far, he's come home every day unscathed. He's been worn out but not miserable. That's awesome for the first week. It's been by-far the smoothest transition that I can remember.

There's only been one incident and I kinda saw it coming. I picked him up at camp early and drove directly to where he has physical therapy instead of home. After only going to and from camp 3 times...he already knew the route. When we didn't turn where we usually do, he knew it. Unreal. Grown-ups don't remember how to get places as well as my 4-year-old.

As soon as I went straight instead of right, he started to whine a little...but not bad. At that point, I thought we might have a shot of pulling this one off. But...as soon as we got to a place that he recognized and he realized that we came in a different way...the whining increased...not good but still manageable.

Into the parking lot at PT, he was still a little whiney. When I tried to get him out of the car, it was a big fat no-go. He kept trying to strap himself back into the carseat. Comical, really. He didn't want to go in. He was making that very clear without using any words. It wasn't tough to figure out. So...how did I get him out of the car??? I don't remember but I got him out.

Next challenge...get him through the parking lot and through the door. Good luck. I tried to sing...he let me know that he didn't give a crap about any monkeys jumping on a bed. If I tried to get close enough to get a good hold on him, he'd grab me and pull me to the door handle. So, I walked away...slowly, as he stomped his feet and whined. He'd turn his back to me, stomp, stomp, stomp, whine, then check to see if I was watching him. Typical kid-thing to do...very dramatic. But he was genuinely upset...very confused...that was definitely not his regular routine. We did something different and he didn't like it one bit. I felt bad that he was so upset, I wanted to keep him calm and happy but I didn't want to give into this one.

I walked through the door alone with one eye on the parking lot and I motioned to the receptionist. She saw me at the door alone and knew something was amiss. I said, "tell Christy we're here, but we're in the parking lot". Thank God for Super PT Christy...she came out in the stinkin' heat, on the blacktop and sat down with Jakob beside the car. He communicated to Christy that he would rather not participate in therapy today...rather emphatically. So she brought a trampoline to him...he thought about it, but decided against it. So I went inside to get one of his favorite toys. He saw the toy, ripped it out of my hands and pulled me to the car, all in one swift move. The kid is quick. So...all good ideas exhausted (didn't have fruit juice snacks or a cookie with me...those may have worked...poor planning on my part and I knew it), it was decision time. Do I: a) put him in the car and take him home or...b) pick him up and carry him through the door kicking and screaming? I chose option b . Rarely do I pick a battle but this time I felt I had to. I didn't want him to think that all he had to do to get out of therapy was kick and scream in the parking lot. No thank you. I figured...do it fast....scoop him up and run...get him through the door. The door would be obstacle number one. He tends to grab onto whatever he can in a doorway...the door, the wall, the frame...and he reaches with both hands and feet. It's like getting a couch with flailing appendiges through a narrow doorway. It's a trick.

It wasn't pretty but I got it done. Once inside, he still wasn't happy and we didn't get much accomplished. Christy managed to get him on the spinning board which he dealt with pretty well but that was it. We were done. We went home. Battle over...we both kinda won. I got him into therapy, he got to get back in the car.

This little incident could've been recipe for an ugly evening but I just followed his lead. We got home and he felt like chillin' out...we watched some tv, jumped on his tampoline and just hung out. I let him show me what he needed to do to pull himself together...he's gotten so good at self-regulating. Sometimes, he just wants to be alone. I get that. I sure need my alone time...so, I respected the kid and gave him his space. He fell asleep happy and we started from scratch the next morning. One day at a time...one incident at a time...