OMG, schools out for the summer. That thought went racing through my head today. I’d be lying to you if I said that racing thought wasn’t accompanied by a bit panic.
I mean, I’m heading into a three month period of time, where my kids will all be home at the same time, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Don’t get me wrong, I love my kids and I love spending time with them as well. However, with 3 boys on the #Autism spectrum, it’s not that simple.
Individually, my boys are a handful, especially Gavin and Emmett. When you mix them all together, it can, will and very often does, become a explosive combination.
It’s also exhausting. Summer break means that we will have to watch Gavin that much more carefully. Instead of Elliott being at school all day, he’ll be home instead and wanting to play with Gavin. We are going to have to work very hard to keep our zero tolerance policy for touching, enforced.
Further more, instead of letting the school worry about feeding them breakfast and lunch, now we have to do it.
The problem with that is not only a bigger tax on our grocery budget but also the change in routine is a struggle for the boys. Everyone’s routines are going to have to change, much like Emmett’s did when Gavin was pulled from school for health reasons.
The other thing is our neighborhood. It’s not like when I was a kid. We played outside with our neighbors. They became an extension to our family and we all grew up together. In fact, to this day, if I were ever in trouble, they would be one of my first calls.
My kids don’t have that. It’s not even safe to play outside most of the time anyway. Not only are we literally surrounded by pedophiles but also gangs and drugs.
While my childhood wasn’t perfect, I remember it fondly and want that for my kids.
Summer vacation means that I have to find even more things to occupy their time and energy. Because all of my kids each have different needs, having them all home at the same time makes it ever more difficult to meet those needs. During the school year, we can focus on Emmett during the day and the other boys have their needs met at school. We pick up when they get home but that’s usually something we can pull off.
So yes. When I realized that today was the last day of school, I experienced some momentary panic as all of these things went racing through my head at the speed of light.
I have some planning to do. 🙂
Does this make sense to anyone else? Do you have the same or similar fears going into summer vacation? How do you handle it?
I totally know the feeling. Caleb's ADHD tends to set off Serenity's anxiety (sensory stuff). We have the medicaid waiver, but we still have practically no support as we live in a very rural area and no one wants to drive out here for perhaps 4 hours a day. I realized after Serenity had been homebound for a while, how much I loved the fact the school fed her gluten free for 40 cent a day. It's not that cheap to do it at home. Now I'll have to feed her and her brother. To be honest, I'm just hoping the residential placement we're pursuing for her happens ASAP, because my patience is hanging by threads and the kids love playing with scissors.
I am surprised you do not have ESY for the boys… it would seem that it would be beneficial for them. Can they go to any summer day camps run by the DD? There is one through Stark DD and also there is the Akron Rotary Camp (they also have residence camp). You should be able to use FSS funds for them. For next year check out Camp Nuhop for kids with behavior issues (and they can handle kids with special needs of most all sorts), it is not cheap but they have camperships. I used to send my son there he enjoyed it and I had a break.
BTW, I really like the new page much better than the old one!
I only have my one child, and summer vacation worries me… Not only is my 3 year old home every day starting the 14th, the other services are also on hold until September because the school provides his therapies. I couldn't imagine with all that you do! School has become a bit of a respite, a break from hours of high pitched screaming. Good luck to you!