have you ever had to write a "day in the of" one of your children........it is tougher than it sounds because you don't want to make your kids out to be way to much that you can't handle then but at the same point your worker needs to know what each day looks like.....cause well they are here they are different kids.....well I tried I hope i did a good job as this is for there specialized services for another year!
A day in the life of Joshua Mousir For Joshua not having a support worker this last month has been a really hard thing for him, I have gone through this once before, the last time in Edmonton when we had not yet got his specialized services and then again while he waited for them to find a support worker. Joshua is a complex child, he thrives on routine and without the routine we struggle to completely keep him calm and safe all the time. Joshua does not think about the end result of the things he does. Joshua is known to go outside and play without letting anyone know, or dressing right. Joshua does not understand hot or cold so he needs to be watched even when using the washroom so that he is not turning on the hot water to wash his hands. Joshua still needs support in the washroom, he needs to be reminded to watch where he is peeing as he get bored and misses the toilet all together and also with the wiping of bowel movements, otherwise this can turn into a bigger mess. Also Joshua needs to be reminded about using the washroom because if he is preoccupied he is having accidents
Joshua is a fun child, loves attention, but at the same point NEEDS attention but does not understand when he needs to wait or when he is in someone’s space, he needs to be reminded that he needs to be gentle. Joshua has a hard time focusing and staying focused we are using a moving seat with him at table activities but it is still a struggle for us to get him to stay sitting for one meal without getting up and running around, someday are a bit better but most days this is a struggle. Joshua is trying a weighted vest and for the most part we are starting to see a difference, so it is a matter of teaching him how to notice what his body needs, but the more we teach him the more he is not wanting to do the things that would clam him which is causing issues because we don’t want to force being calm but at the same point when he is not and has had a busy full “high” day Joshua tends to throw up on us.
7:30-8:30 Wake up time
8:30-9 breakfast time
9-12 (10:30-snack time) is when Dallin has his support work time and if Joshua had a worker that is when he would work with them,
Joshua gets mad because he can’t go play with Nav (Dallin’s support work) then we spend the rest of the morning trying to keep Joshua busy so that he is able to not have the melt downs of kicking and screaming and punching and biting. Joshua must be watched this whole time because when not watched he will do things to risk safety, as in climb to get treats and or going outside to play weather he is dressed right or not. When Joshua has the one on one time, he is a lot easier to deal with, but that is not always possible, when things do not go his way he will ask for a new option or say he does not like this idea and it takes a lot to get him back on the right track, when we are able to have the one on one time Joshua will most days work on his speech for a min of 15-20mins right now but we are working on get that time frame up again it is tough when we don’t always have the adult for each child.
10:30 snack time with Dallin and Sara, this a time that I try to bring out something that will not always go with the “normal” to work on expanding the repertoire, this can be some what difficult, so I do pick my battles, but using lunch time and OT suggestions to move a little more forward.
10:45-12
Back to trying to keep him busy, and not frustrated, Sensory play, Ball pit or swing time, sometimes both depends on day, working a massager to deal with sensory sensitivities
Try to keep Joshua up stairs so that he is not bugging Dallin, I am not sure how to emphasize more keeping Joshua upstairs is more work then it sounds some days, routine is everything and sometimes as a true parent it is not always easy there is cleaning and cooking and just dealing with life!
Play a game with Dallin, Nav and Sara
11:30-12 is lunch
Joshua is reminded many times through lunch that he must sit to eat, has a move and sit this does help him sit more but sitting is still a very hard thing unless he is totally motivated
Lunch is normally a smooth going as I do not try to make to many waves at this time
12:30 into the van to go to school.
12:55 into school most days this is super exciting to him and he can’t not sit still, Joshua has been wearing the weighted vest we are finding this is working well to bring him down, with out it he does not seem to notice when he is getting to excited.
12:55-3:30-school
3:30-4:15- bus ride home
A day in the life of Dallin
When Dallin is not doing anything he does a lot of stimming as in bouncing back and forth and making noises with his mouth…..Dallin will put almost anything in his mouth, his favourite chew things are soft like clothes but he will chew his hands/toes and his toys….
Dallin needs a lot of sensory time, as in jumping and spinning/swinging so we spend a lot of time down in the basement where we have a ball pit and a swing and a trampoline, and we also have a big trampoline for out side.
Dallin also, is now able to dress himself with simple clothes without help, but with any fasteners he needs help, also needs help so that he gets dressed appropriately for the weather, as Dallin does not notice when it is cold or to hot so must be reminded to wear a coat or take off a sweater depending on the weather.
Dallin is potty trained but still needs help with bowel as otherwise, there will be a mess…Dallin means well but is not at the point where he has the control to clean everything properly
Dallin thrives on routine and does not like change. Dallin also thrives on small groups and knowing the people he is around with strangers he will normally ask to leave the room and go for a walk. Dallin also is not a aggressive child, if someone wants a toy he has he will normally give to them and then cry/be sad till he gets help to get things back, he will let his anger simmer and then when totally anger which has only to this point been used on sibling will strangle or push away, punch to get his point a cross this has been getting more and more as the siblings and him become more aware of the things they want.
A day with Dallin would entail getting up and being told that he needs breakfast, then hopefully the right cereal is there and there is milk…..if there, he will eat 2 to 3 bowls if allowed…..and then he will go downstairs with Nav (his support worker) Dallin for the most part loves this time, but needs to be reminded every day that this is what is going to happen because when not reminded he will be off guard and confused to why she is here, we have started a calendar to help him understand the expectations of what is happening as is Nav in the morning and school in the afternoon, we do have a few meltdowns during the day with Nav especially when there is a language barrier or when pushed to do something he is not comfortable with most days the time frame of recovery is not more than 10mins but other days it seems like it will never end.
Snack time can be a fun time or a melt down time depending what you want, if I put anything with fruit up there he will melt down instantly but if I put out cookies, crackers or something else on the preference list life is good, so we pick the battles we want for the day.
Lunch time for the most part is a time of day I pick to have the least amount of fights as Nav leaves at 12 and we need to be in the van by 12:30 so not a lot of time for fights, so we eat and get ready. Dallin is a very slow moving child and most days causes me to get frustrated and tell him to move quicker, he will then tell me “I need to come down” but he will put on the clothes that I have told him he needs to wear.
12:55 at the school, Dallin is so excited to be there, loves to follow the routine of school!
3:30 done school, the come home on the bus
4:15 they arrive home, Dallin is quick to get out of the “bus van” he is not really comfortable with the bus but he does it without a fight that I know of, but as he walks through the door you can tell weather he is “high” from school or not……most days he is and will do his bouncing/jumping on and off the couch for hours till dinner is ready, if there is a adult available we will take him downstairs for the swing and quiet time to bring him down, but without a adult he does not like to go down alone. Other days he will go close himself in his room and bouncing up and down his ladder to his bed and do his jabbering with his month. After school is a hard time to truly bring him back down because there is normally only one set of hands for 3 kids.
6 is dinner time, dinner is another fun time, we can normally have a quite time, and again we pick our battles with dinner on weather it is a preferred or no prefer or a mixed dinner…..
7:00-7:30 is getting ready for bed, some nights is bath night which they love, some nights they play a quiet game and some nights if they are still moving a lot there is more sensory time in the basement.
8pm in there room for the night, even with there meds most night’s it take a min of a hour to go to sleep, as Dallin will read a book and gabber to himself and to his brother and then he goes to sleep and down for the night with little issues.
the end result.....well after a few were eaten they were very very yummy!
