Quarantine Homeschooling - Week 1

Well, we’ve officially been in quarantine for one week and so far, we’re surviving. Hudson has been out of school a little longer, but it has been one week since we’ve started our “Quarantine Homeschooling” and I wanted to give everyone a little update on how that is going.

I have to say the first two days went very well (having nice weather helped A LOT). I came up with a schedule and we had a good mix of educational activities, down time, and some therapy activities thrown in there too, and he didn’t fight me on anything. By Day 3 I had read too many news stories (and we found a tick in the house) so my anxiety was quite high and I couldn’t quite focus on “teaching” Hudson much of anything so he had a little extra screen time, which he loved.

Over the weekend I made the decision to keep our 17-month old from his small in-home daycare. I knew this would be a challenge as the two boys fight and are both equally dependent on us, but I also knew that I needed to do what I could in order to keep my family safe during this uncertain time. Our health is more important than education at this point. As a result, I changed our schedule and have been doing the best I can. Unfortunately, the weather hasn’t been as cooperative as it was last week, and our littlest guy is teething terrible which has made things a bit more complicated and has resulted in a lot more screen time for Hudson.

We’re still trying to keep things somewhat normal, though. Every morning we’re up by 7-7:30am and have breakfast, brush teeth and get dressed. I give Hudson a little downtime before we do any work. Then we will read some stories and do an online lesson through Scholastic (FYI: they have GREAT lessons!!). I’ve been adding in different type of OT therapy sessions such as practicing our writing and cutting, sensory play through beans or water beads, and taking off multiple rubber bands from one of his dinosaur toys. After that, he typically gets iPad time or some of his “shows” that he loves. We’ve also discovered that giving him some alone time in his room with a few toys has been a saving grace for everyone. He gets alone time, Finn gets some one-on-one time, and Mommy and Daddy get a slight break. This has been especially important when meltdowns and/or fighting with his brother occur. It’s like naptime without the nap (that went out the door a long time ago…). Before he goes to bed we try to slip in a game; he’s currently learning Go Fish! and absolutely loving a Jurassic World memory game.

Overall, I feel as if our first week has gone well. Has he learned as much as he would in school? No, definitely not, but I think we’re doing the best we can at a time like this. Some days might result in way more screen time, but I know even if we work with him for an hour or two a day it’s still progress. And in all honesty, it’s not the education part that I’m nervous about. I’m more concerned about all the progress he’s made in his therapies. We’ve come so far this year and the thought of a regression is a bit terrifying.

So far, he hasn’t really had many questions or concerns for what’s happening. Hudson is in his “safe place” here at home that he loves, and that’s all that matters to him. I do think he’s starting to miss friends as he’s been asking to video chat some of them. Today, he told me he missed school a little bit. He even asked to go to Farmland today and I of course had to tell him it was closed, just like everything else around us currently. He replied, “because of being sick?”, which kind of blew me away a bit. We’ve talked about it A LOT but the only response I ever get is a quiet “yeah.” I guess he is retaining some things I have been teaching 😉.

That’s week one, I can’t promise Week 2 will go as smoothly; time will tell. Really, the most we can hope for - when this is all said and done - is our health and sanity, right?!

Pausing the World / Routines (COVID-19)

COVID-19 (Coronavirus) put the majority - if not all - of our worlds on "pause" this week. Daily routines like going to work, grabbing lunch with friends, or making a quick stop at the store to pick up some chicken for dinner (or toilet paper, because, you know...) came to a crashing halt this week.

Routine. it seems so simple and casual under normal circumstances. Google defines "routine" as a "sequence of actions regularly followed; a fixed program." Half the time, we complain about our routines and wish for something different. When you are on the Spectrum, though, following a routine is what gets you through the day; it's what keeps you focused.

For the past two and a half years, Hudson's routine has involved regular SE-IT, Speech, OT, and PT sessions. His services have been a tremendous part of his life, and have helped challenge him to grow in the areas where he has needed it the most. As with any service through the school system, most therapy sessions do not occur when school is not in session. When the difficult decision came to close our school district, for at least the next month, the routine therapies that our family relied upon for Hudson instantly stopped.

The question that any parent of school-aged children is currently asking, "so, what the heck do we do now??" elicits a different response when your child needs special services. Kayla immediately sprung into action when word came down that the district would be closing. She not only compiled a list of educational resources for local families to have readily-available, but she also put together exercises that focus on continuing the progress Hudson has been making with his therapists. She wrote out schedules to help keep Hudson on track, shifting him from one task to another, just as if he were in school. She printed materials and exercises that help cover his academic, physical, and gross motor skill developmental needs. As I work from home, Kayla plays several roles; Mother, Teacher, and Therapist. If you come to read these posts often, you'll read these words frequently - I AM SO INCREDIBLY LUCKY TO BE MARRIED TO THIS WOMAN.

We tried to talk with Hudson about what is going on in the world; why he isn't going back to school for awhile, and how the world is on pause. As a four year old boy, he doesn't really understand. He usually says "Hmmm, ok" and runs off pretending to be in a "Dinosaurs versus Star Wars" battle. For the record, I'm always a Storm Trooper that gets eaten in the end. We're scared that he's going to regress socially, but we feel optimistic that we have the rest of the bases covered.

Through this blog, Kayla and I hope to share with you how home school/therapy works for us as we attempt to survive these difficult times. Day One was pretty successful. With any luck, you'll find something that you can use yourself - or share with others in need.

Stay tuned, and stay healthy!

Hudson's Amazing Super Power

It is well-known that Autistic individuals have amazing attributes that make them stand out. I have read stories of individuals on the Spectrum with incredible talents. Practically all of the Modern World shared tears of joy together in watching Kodi Lee's captivating musical performances that ultimately won him the latest season of "America's Got Talent."

I have no doubt in my mind that this is just one of the many, many "super powers" that we will witness from Hudson, and will ultimately share with you. Tonight, I want to tell you about how nearly-invincible Hudson is to illness.

Kayla and I got word from Hudson's teachers today that he hadn't eaten anything at school, and complained about having a sore throat. He also took a nap - which is NOT something that he has been known to do - so something was off. When I got home from work, I found Hudson running, jumping, and playing in the yard. All signs pointed towards him having long gotten past whatever was bothering him at school. And his throat was no longer sore. Being the cautious parents that we are, something told us that we should take him to be checked out, just in case.

On the way to the Urgent Care facility (since his pediatrician's office was closed, and this place gives out free slushies), Hudson and I cracked up at silly dinosaur jokes together. He hung his head and hands out of the car window, enjoying the breeze on his face. He waved to the people in the restaurant window as we walked into the office, and ran around laughing as I checked us in. All signs pointed towards this being a wasted co-pay.

A few minutes later, the doctor came in and checked him out. He had no noticeable signs of illness; no fever, swollen glands, nothing. I mentioned to her that he had been exposed to someone with strep throat last week, so she took a throat culture. Hudson immediately asked for his slushie afterwards, which the doctor promptly agreed to. The results came back quickly - Hudson had tested positively for strep.

Many of us know strep throat to be a serious illness. If you've ever had it before (and I've had it PLENTY of times), it's no picnic. But for Hudson, it was no big deal. You'd never know he was sick based on how he was acting. A month earlier, we had a similar situation where he seemed a bit off as well. The doctor at the time gave him a flu test, but swore to us that it would likely come back negative. Nope - our energetic, laughable, lovable boy had tested positive that time, too.

Kayla and I were told that one of the effects of Hudson's Autism would be a lack of self-awareness. When it comes to being sick, we think it's more a super power than anything else.