School – Page 2 – The Autism Dad

Let them be who they are

Elliott made his triumphant return to the classroom, if only for a day. He had state testing and it went well, at least as far as he can tell. Mr. Elliott decided to dress up in his cosplay outfit, which I wasn't sure about. Personally, I didn't care if he wore it but I was a little concerned about how people would react. It wasn't anything crazy but it certainly wasn't street clothes. I didn't want him to be in an uncomfortable situation. He told me he wanted to do this while last night and I had my concerns but ultimately decided to let him be him. Apparently, cosplay is a big thing in his class, so no one thought anything of it. Also, I respect the shit out of…

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April 16, 2021

Day 2 of being back in the classroom

I just picked up Emmett from school today and his second day back has been a resounding success. He's so excited and I feel so good right now because after focusing so long on his physical safety, I can finally doing something positive for his emotional health as well. Everything went well for him today and he's anxious to return. Tomorrow will be state testing again, as well as the last day of the school week. He'll return on Monday for regular in person learning. Assuming nothing changes dramatically with COVID, he should be able to finish out the school year. I'm so grateful for all the love and support as he ventures back into the classroom. Unfortunately, Elliott doesn't have the same opportunity but he will be back at…

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April 7, 2021

COVID19 / Emmett John / My thoughts / Planning

Emmett returned to the classroom today

Today was such a big day, especially for Emmett. I haven't mentioned this in a little while because I wasn't sure what was going to happen. Today was the moment of truth and here's what happened. State testing is ridiculously mandatory this year, despite the pandemic. I have made my thoughts on that quite clear. It's flat out fucking stupid that we didn't skip testing this year. We know the scores are going to be lower but it's because our kids were surviving a fucking pandemic, not because they're incapable of learning or the teachers aren't doing their jobs. Sorry, I get pretty fired up about this but I digress. Anyway, Emmett was required to return to school for the testing process and he will be required in and off…

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April 6, 2021

COVID19 / Link / Lockdown / My thoughts

It’s been a heartbreaking day

Remote learning is like a fucking emotional roller-coaster for everyone involved, but especially for our kiddos on the autism spectrum. We have had our ups and downs but today was a particularly challenging. I stopped working today, which is hugely problematic, in order to help Emmett navigate his schoolwork. For some reason, he was completely overwhelmed by the tasks on the screen before him. There's a million reasons he's overwhelmed but I don't know what pushed him over the edge today. How many of you out there have seen similar with your own kids lately? It's currently 3pm and I've been trying to help him work through his anxiety, frustration and whatever else he's feeling that I can't see on the surface, all day now. Remote learning is a necessary…

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October 6, 2020

My thoughts

A slight hiccup to the start of our day

First of all, I love waking up in the morning with my balcony door wide open. The morning sun shines right in and it's just a good start to the day. I've not been sleeping well lately and getting up in time to get the kids to school isn't easy. On this particular morning, Mr. Emmett is under the weather. He's dealing with nausea and I think it's due in part to post nasal drip, with a heaping helping of stress on the side. Anyway, he's struggling a bit and I called him off from his first class this morning. I'm hoping that a slower start will help him work through this and get back to school in time for his second class. I got him setup on my bed…

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September 28, 2020

My thoughts

We kicked off our first full week of school

We just kicked off our first full week of school. As I've stated previously, we've chosen the remote learning model for a number of reasons. Today was largely a success because everyone got into their respective classes and did well. The boys seem to really be enjoying this experience better and I'm so happy with that. They love the face time with their teachers and friends. That's very positive and frankly, a huge relief. In other news. I've been thinking and I spoke with the kids today. Rebuilding my podcast studio has inspired me to make changes throughout the house, one room at a time. This has inspired me to work on the rest of the house It's important to me that we make the best of our current situation.…

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September 14, 2020

Distance Learning / My thoughts / School

Emmett finally got into his first live lesson

I'm not gonna lie. Distance learning has not been a positive experience thus far, but today is a new day. Elliott and Emmett are back at it and giving it yet another shake. Thus far, Elliott's been met with more frustration and technical issues but Emmett seems to be doing pretty good. He's currently in his first live lesson. They haven't been working but he was able to login today. Fingers crossed. So far so good for Mr. Emmett. Elliott was only able to get some of his work done because the rest wouldn't load. The plan is to try again in a couple of hours. The school sent a message saying that due to all the problems, the next 2 weeks will not count against the kids. We're using…

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August 19, 2020

COVID19 / Distance Learning / My thoughts / Planning / School

This school year has me nervous

The new school year starts tomorrow morning and we're as ready as we're going to be. We spent the day working around the house. I sat down with each of the boys an went through school stuff. I tried my best to mentally prepare everyone for what feels like a monumental undertaking. Elliott and Emmett's schedules are going to be a little different because Elliott is taking more classes. I don't foresee that being a huge problem though. I understand distance learning will be challenging. The first couple of days will be spent going through the motions and getting accustomed to their new schedule. For the most part, the boys can create their own schedules. There are some live classes that are required but the rest of the time is…

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August 17, 2020