I’d Rather Be…..
So we come home from an hour swimming at the pool and Charlie says, “Carrots, lunchbox.” And after I give the “yeah, sure,” he opens a cabinet and takes out a Ziploc. As we have no carrots, I suggest grapes, and go to empty the laundry from the dryer.
When I come back to the kitchen, Charlie is zipping up his lunchbox and talking about the schoolbus and the names of his OT and some teachers, and then puts the lunchbox in his backpack after taking out the stuff he likes to have in the backpack but that he doesn’t take to school: The photo bucket, some photo albums, picture books, the Leapster, and one of my shirts. In goes the lunchbox and he finds his red homework folder and, grinning, puts it in.
“Good night!” Off to bed.
As you know, it’s the beginning still of August and Charlie has about a month of school-less days to go. He also has his annual beach vacation starting on Saturday: Will Charlie scream and cry for the first hour, two hours, three hours, plus of being at the beach? (He did this last year as we pulled up into the rented house’s driveway.) I know he’s trying to tell me about the confusion of too much fun and awful dread to leave the beach and so how can he possibly enjoy it? Whereas, you know what to expect at school.
Charlie’s been expressing his feelings about this by saying “no beach house” and “no ocean” and “no.”
But a big ol’ “yes” to school.
Kid’s got his heart in the right place.
Tags: asd, asperger, autism, autism blog, beach, disabilities blog, disability, Family, family blog, Health, New Jersey, ocean, Parenting, patient, pdd-nos, swim
12 opinions for I’d Rather Be…..
Eleanor
Aug 8, 2008 at 4:03 pm
That reminds me of what my son did just yesterday. He has taken to drawing a lot this summer, and yesterday he re-created, quite accurately, the form that his teachers and bus drivers fill out every day to show how he did at school and on the bus. He had put all of the words and blanks in the correct places, and written in “excellent” and “good” and “awesome” in the comment sections!
He’s definitely enthusiastic about going back to school!
Kristina Chew, PhD
Aug 8, 2008 at 4:21 pm
That is really,totally awesome!
Kimberly
Aug 8, 2008 at 5:21 pm
From the time I told my son (in March) that we were renting a house at the beach (in July) he asked me several time a day–every day–if I could “please cancel the trip.”
He was the only member of the family who was excited to leave the beach and get back home to the regular routine–but he did great while we were there with only a few stressful incidents. I am very proud of him and also happy that he is so content to be home and ready to start school (on August 20th this year! So soon!).
Liz Ditz
Aug 8, 2008 at 6:07 pm
love of academia: perhaps another genetic trait.
Pedro Vera
Aug 9, 2008 at 12:01 am
PJ would get very upset during the first few weeks of school because he did not understand why he was not going to school on Saturday and Sunday. Now he understands weekends, but he doesn’t like the break between the end of the second semester and the start of summer school.
This summer he got a two week extension, so he is getting six weeks of summer school instead of four. He really likes that.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Aug 9, 2008 at 12:39 am
Charlie definitely understands that there’s five days to the week and then the weekend—-he doesn’t exactly look forward to the weekend, though, or feel “TGIF.” He does start calling for school on Sunday…. Glad PJ has two more weeks of summer school this year!
Back to the Beach House
Aug 9, 2008 at 4:33 pm
[...] it down to the beach house with the usual traffic and Charlie making it clear, he’d rather be somewhere else. I unloaded the car while Jim picked up two rental bikes, and Charlie came in to the beach house [...]
Palmer
Aug 9, 2008 at 11:55 pm
It’s so sad to read about kids who don’t love vacation, who don’t jump for joy at being at the beach. Sameness may be secure and comforting but it’s BORING. Thank God my kids like variety and surprises. They dislike going to the same vacation spots twice and they’re happiest planning a visit to a place where they’ve never been before. My children are neurotypical. I used to teach autistic kids and I felt sorry that they seemed so uncomfortable and apprehensive much of the time.
Kristina Chew, PhD
Aug 10, 2008 at 12:01 am
Charlie is always happy in the water—-it’s the change in routine away from home and school that have been hard. When he was younger, he didn’t seem to mind as much and I’m suspecting rising awareness, and his need to tell us, which is good! Yes, sameness can be boring……..we try to strike a bit of a balance with this I guess by going to the same beach on the Jersey shore, but the ocean and the beach are always different. Hope you’re having a good summer—–
Can You Sit By Me?
Aug 10, 2008 at 1:34 am
[...] not been surprised that Charlie’s been calling for home and so uncertain about vacation, although it’s a very familiar vacation, in the same beach house that we’ve rented for [...]
Back to School, Without a School
Aug 14, 2008 at 12:08 pm
[...] about three weeks till Charlie goes back to school. He’s (as often noted here) looking forward to it, as he knows that a good classroom with well-trained teachers and therapists [...]
Surf’s Up, and School Too
Sep 8, 2008 at 1:07 pm
[...] having made it clear since school ended back in August that he’d rather be in school, the night before the big First Day, Charlie got opening day [...]
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