As some of you know, our sweet son Luke is autistic. He has made great strides this year, learning more words than we can count, sleeping through the night, and much more.
So much of his success is owed to his ABA therapy school, Next Steps.
Next Steps has been a God-send for us. Luke has been going 9:00am-3:00pm every day for the past several months. He receives one-on-one interaction with a trained therapist (all of whom are terrific at their job). They give patience an entirely new meaning in the dictionary.
Unfortunately, due to the virus, Luke can’t go to school. So I’ve been promoted to “Teacher Mommy.” No payraise, though. Boo.
So in addition to my full-time job and being everyone’s go-to person for everything:
“Honey, have you seen my notepad?”
"What's for dinner?"
“Where are the stickers?”
“We’re out of diapers.”
“When is the next grocery run?”
“Have you seen Mickey’s other shoe?”
“Mommy watch me hop on one foot!”
“Mommy can I have ice cream?”
“Mommy I want to drive your car.”
“Mommy I want Fruit Loops for lunch.”
“Mommy I want Fruit Loops for lunch.”
“Mommy I don’t want to tinkle.”
“Mommy I tinkled my pants.”
“Mommy I tinkled my pants.”
“Mommy I want to sit next to you.”
“Mommy I want to sit on you.”
“Mommy will you read this book?”
“Mommy will you read this book?”
"Mommy will you read the book again?"
“Mommy will you cover me up?”
“Mommy will you cover me up?”
“Mommy will you charge my nightlight?”
"Mommy, will you sleep on the floor next to me"?
Don't worry, the answer to the last one is no. Without sleep, Mommy doesn't function. ESPECIALLY Teacher Mommy. So now, here I am trying to do my "real" job, be a mom to my kiddos, and create lesson plans to engage and teach my autistic son.
I'm so, so very lost. I have no idea what I'm doing, but I sure am trying. Why?
Because of this.
This boy loves his mama more than life itself and if I can help him in any way, I'm going to do it. If any of you have any resources about teaching autistic kiddos, I would welcome the advice or material.
The folks at Next Steps are doing all they can to help me learn how to help Luke, but I need all the help I can get.
