This week has been a good week. What a blessing! Makes me wonder if I was taking for granted all the other "good weeks" that we had...
A friend asked if "one of the boys has had a set back. I thought they were all doing so well." Yes, the boys were all doing well. I am not sure why Nick is regressing, or seems to be regressing.
One suspicion I have is teenage turmoil. How hard is it for a teen without autism to maneuver high school and puberty? I recall tough times. I have seen Nick's three older brothers, with and without autism, have tremendous struggles in transitions, friendships, and work loads.
Nick is a teen with autism. The autism effects his expressive and receptive language. Nick thinks in pictures, so his brain is firing like crazy to interpret speech and sound. Most kids his age may not have the patience to give Nick time to process what they say.
I brought up this issue at Nick's IEP meeting about two weeks ago. His speech pathologist recommends a program called Best Buddies. The psychologist and case manager said that they'd sign him up. I haven't heard anything so far, so tomorrow, Monday, I'll be calling the school to see what the status is. In this program NT (neuro-typical) kids signs up to befriend special needs kids, and they meet the kids for several social outings.
I am hopeful that the Best Buddies will help Nick through this time. However, this is one small piece that may fit the "puzzle" of autism.
I still am trying to figure out if there are any other issues at hand, but here's to Nick's perseverance!
photo credit:http://www.flickr.com/photos/sean-b/
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