A good mix

We've had a week around here. Asher started his last summer camp on Monday, an all day camp that was his "trial run" for his new school this fall to see how he'd get along with the other kids and to give the teachers a preview of his personality and behavior. It was also the last week of CCF, our church's MDO that the other three attend. Monday was great because I got to nap all day in peace.

Tuesday, Asher was throwing up, so he missed camp. Disappointing, but not a huge deal. Wednesday, he was still sick, so my plans for another all day nap were thwarted, though I did get a little nap while the others were gone. Before drop off, Eden was running around in her swimsuit and swim diaper and peed on the floor. Because those diapers absorb NOTHING. Thursday, he was STILL sick and Eden threw up, so we didn't go get groceries when we usually do and cancelled plans to go to a birthday party. Luckily, the birthday boy's grandma and mom love my kids so they came and got Elijah and he got to go have fun. That night i wiped something off the floor I thought was chocolate from a cupcake that had been stepped on and smushed into the floor. It was not chocolate. Friday, Asher was feeling better, so went to the last day of camp and got to go to the new water park here in town. Right before we left, though, Eden threw up again and somehow managed to get it on the back of her head while standing. Kind of impressive. Scrubbing and shampooing twice got her at least presentable to leave the house for an hour. Then Friday evening Asher was sick again.

I'm over it. I've cleaned up every bodily function this week. Even some feline stuff.

So yeah. I've been busy. And forgot to update on Thursday after Asher's follow up with the neuropsychologist.

Dr. B was a colleague of Dad's and new him before the aneurysms and treated him afterwards. Apparently I even had a session with him at one point to make sure I was handling everything going on with Dad in an appropriate manner. I have zero recollection of this but he was very friendly and seemed pleased to know that we were John Walke's family.

He confirmed that yes, Asher is smart. He does have some sensory issues but nothing severe enough to warrant occupational therapy. When he curls up in a ball because of noise or does some of the other odd things he does in reaction to stuff are because he focuses on the things that annoy/bother him so much that they're all he can think about. He doesn't know how to shut off that focus just yet but it's something he'll learn. (I didn't think to ask about ways to help him learn that, but we may google that.) Asher's academics are leagues beyond his socialization, which isn't unsurprising. We knew all that already. He needs more social interaction to help him be better around people but we don't want to do too much and overwhelm him.

It's a fine line.

At the beginning of it all, though, Dr. B said that neurologically speaking, Asher is Dad: the way he thinks, the way he processes, the way he explains things are all the way Dad did it. (I'm not sure if that's before or after the aneurysm, but I'm going with before.) After talking to me a bit, he said that the way Asher reacts to social situations is pretty much me. I've just learned how to cope with it and handle situations that stress/bother/annoy me. So he's a good mix of me and Dad. Which isn't a bad place to be, in my opinion.

We talked about the pros and cons of TLCA and A Moore House and Dr. B didn't come out and say he'd recommend one over the other, but did say that it wouldn't be a bad thing to focus on Asher's academics right now, so we've settled on A Moore House. A good thing, too, because I'd already bought all his school supplies...lol Dr. B did recommend that we try to get him into something social outside of school, so that's our next hurdle.

Overall, it was a mixed bag of a meeting. A little frustrating because he didn't tell us anything new, really, he just confirmed everything we'd heard or observed ourselves. But that's also a good thing. Everyone is looking at Asher and seeing the same things. He's a good kid, he makes friends easily, though he says he doesn't have any friends, he's smart, he's socially awkward, and he has some definite quirks.

I'm really hoping that A Moore House will work for him. I know those teachers are great and will do great things with and for him, but he has to adapt to their style. He's basically starting school for the first time this year and he's starting in 2nd grade with a bunch of kids who've kind of done this before and know the rules and each other. They're very inclusive and accepting, so its Asher who'll have to open up and accept them. He gets so frustrated when people don't do things exactly the way he wants them to that he yells and gets mad (and that's totally me, I'll admit it, I just grumble to myself or text my frustrations to a friend) and that's not going to work anywhere, let alone with A Moore House.

In other news, I think (hope) we're on the upswing of sickness around here. I think we've gone a full 36 hours with no incidents! Fingers crossed for a cleaner and less gross week.