Do you ever know that you need to do something, like clean the house, but once you set your mind to do it, when you look around, it just overwhelms you? Think about that feeling for a moment. I think that may have been how my daughter was feeling today when she was working on her math homework. She was grumbling so I asked her what was wrong. She said, "I...I...I feel overwhelmed." However, when I asked her how she was feeling overwhelmed, she really didn't know how to explain it. Is your Aspie, or other special needs, kiddo ever just overwhelmed? Does that ever frustrate you? Next time, let's both take a deep breath, step back, and think about those times that we have felt overwhelmed. Perhaps we'll both gain some insight as to what's happening inside our precious kiddos at that moment! May God bless you with understanding and insight!
-Noble
Friday, January 21, 2011
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Unmotivated!
Is your Aspie kiddo unmotivated? Are you? How does that affect your day? Evidently, it affects me, too, and has affected me this month.
Please forgive me for ignoring you. My pledge to you for 2011 is this:
Despite whatever comes my way, I promise to update this blog at least once a week. If I don't, what help am I to you?
To begin, tell me how your journey is going with your Aspie kiddo. Was Christmas a pleasant celebration or did your kiddo have a meltdown amongst all the noise and other stimuli? Ours was mostly pleasant. My daughter did get to know a cement wall up close and personally - still doesn't have the concept of steering (her scooter) down. And she's 12. Hmmm. Maybe this next year?
-Noble
Please forgive me for ignoring you. My pledge to you for 2011 is this:
Despite whatever comes my way, I promise to update this blog at least once a week. If I don't, what help am I to you?
To begin, tell me how your journey is going with your Aspie kiddo. Was Christmas a pleasant celebration or did your kiddo have a meltdown amongst all the noise and other stimuli? Ours was mostly pleasant. My daughter did get to know a cement wall up close and personally - still doesn't have the concept of steering (her scooter) down. And she's 12. Hmmm. Maybe this next year?
-Noble
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
I don't know
Good morning!
I sit here, in front of my computer, thinking, "I really need to post something!" and yet, my mind remains blank. Thinking of my daughter's behavior/challenges lately, there hasn't been too much out of the ordinary. But let's look at a couple of past issues.
The most recent one (last week) occurred when my daughter confided in me that she was still having trouble making friends. From what I've read, this is a typical challenge with Aspie kids, and possibly adults, too. She also said it seemed as though people were saying things about her but not to her. Oh, how I've been there! HOWEVER, what I was quick to remind her of is that she is the daughter of the KING of KINGS and she is beautiful no matter what anyone else says!
Have you struggled with this issue? Has your child?
The other issue is physical pain. Either my daughter has a very high pain tolerance or she just got so focused on other things, the pain was a non-issue for her. Around the beginning of the school year, she decided she wasn't going to wear socks with her tennis shoes. At first, I wasn't too concerned about it. Just thought it was a 'stage', you know? Until the day I saw her feet! They had red spots all over them for where the shoes had been rubbing them raw. I asked her if her feet hurt. Her response? "Only when the shoes rub on them." ?! She hadn't told me her shoes were tight and hurt, just that she didn't wear socks! We immediately went out in search of new shoes for her!
What has your Aspie not told you that could have been, or was, critical?
Next topic (coming semi-soon) is The Self and help through the Bible.
I sit here, in front of my computer, thinking, "I really need to post something!" and yet, my mind remains blank. Thinking of my daughter's behavior/challenges lately, there hasn't been too much out of the ordinary. But let's look at a couple of past issues.
The most recent one (last week) occurred when my daughter confided in me that she was still having trouble making friends. From what I've read, this is a typical challenge with Aspie kids, and possibly adults, too. She also said it seemed as though people were saying things about her but not to her. Oh, how I've been there! HOWEVER, what I was quick to remind her of is that she is the daughter of the KING of KINGS and she is beautiful no matter what anyone else says!
Have you struggled with this issue? Has your child?
The other issue is physical pain. Either my daughter has a very high pain tolerance or she just got so focused on other things, the pain was a non-issue for her. Around the beginning of the school year, she decided she wasn't going to wear socks with her tennis shoes. At first, I wasn't too concerned about it. Just thought it was a 'stage', you know? Until the day I saw her feet! They had red spots all over them for where the shoes had been rubbing them raw. I asked her if her feet hurt. Her response? "Only when the shoes rub on them." ?! She hadn't told me her shoes were tight and hurt, just that she didn't wear socks! We immediately went out in search of new shoes for her!
What has your Aspie not told you that could have been, or was, critical?
Next topic (coming semi-soon) is The Self and help through the Bible.
Monday, November 1, 2010
It's November already??
WHERE, I ask you, where, does the time GO?? In October, I promised to write at least once a month and I did but I don't think it was nearly enough. There are so many topics to write about!
So, to you, dear readers, this is my promise: in November, I will write about at least three topics but I shall let you choose! Here are some of the topics currently running around through my head (let me know if they're running around in your head, too!):
*God will never give us more than we can handle.
*Cain, Moses, and Jonah: what did they have in common and what does this have to do with Asperger's anyway? (I know, long title. :^) )
*You at HOW much Halloween candy?? (aka Nutrition, or lack thereof)
*You must have a lot of patience!
Any other topics you'd like to see?
-Noble
So, to you, dear readers, this is my promise: in November, I will write about at least three topics but I shall let you choose! Here are some of the topics currently running around through my head (let me know if they're running around in your head, too!):
*God will never give us more than we can handle.
*Cain, Moses, and Jonah: what did they have in common and what does this have to do with Asperger's anyway? (I know, long title. :^) )
*You at HOW much Halloween candy?? (aka Nutrition, or lack thereof)
*You must have a lot of patience!
Any other topics you'd like to see?
-Noble
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
The Complacent Parent
So my daughter is in public school this year, as I may have mentioned before. We put her there for several reasons, including the one the school gave us: she 'qualified' for Special Education. Now that we're almost to the end of the semester, do I think we needed to do this? In some ways no, in some ways yes.
But the point I really want to stress today is to not become complacent. I've found that since we've had our sweet girl assessed for Asperger's and our suspicions have been confirmed, my husband and I seem to have become complacent. We've been 'resting on our laurels' and have not done any further research. But, who's responsibility is it really to figure out what's best for our kiddos? Who is ultimately responsible for how they learn to cope in the 'real world'? My friends, that's you and I, the parents and guardians. And so, I challenge you, as I challenge myself, to no longer be complacent, but be proactive in researching what can be helpful to you, me, and our kids.
This week's challenge to you: Tell me one NEW thing you've learned about your Aspie kiddo during some recent research.
May you all be blessed by your new found knowledge!
-Noble
But the point I really want to stress today is to not become complacent. I've found that since we've had our sweet girl assessed for Asperger's and our suspicions have been confirmed, my husband and I seem to have become complacent. We've been 'resting on our laurels' and have not done any further research. But, who's responsibility is it really to figure out what's best for our kiddos? Who is ultimately responsible for how they learn to cope in the 'real world'? My friends, that's you and I, the parents and guardians. And so, I challenge you, as I challenge myself, to no longer be complacent, but be proactive in researching what can be helpful to you, me, and our kids.
This week's challenge to you: Tell me one NEW thing you've learned about your Aspie kiddo during some recent research.
May you all be blessed by your new found knowledge!
-Noble
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Why I Won't Obey (aka Meltdown Moment)
Last night at the end of dinner we had a Meltdown Moment. Parents, you know what these are: you ask your child to do a simple task but, because you didn't ask ahead of time, your kiddo (especially an Aspie) has a meltdown. That's what happened. I tried to figure out what was going on and how to make it better for all; my husband simply found himself getting impatient, as all of us who are NT seem to do.
When we had figured out the main mood of my daughter at that time was confusion, I asked her, "Are you confused because you don't know why we're asking you to help (clear the table) or are you confused because you don't know why you don't want to help?" she acknowledged that it was the second part of that question.
As I thought about that this morning, I also thought of how we as followers of Jesus often don't want to do what He asks of us. We want to do what WE want to do. Please don't ask us (even neurotypicals) to do something we deem unpleasant or not fun!
So, basically, I think the root of all discipline issues is our sin nature, regardless of whether we're neurotypical, Aspie, or something else. The difference is in the way that is communicated and understood. So now I'm at the beginning of my journey to help my precious Aspie, in her literal, black and white world, understand and internalize WHY Jesus asks us to do certain things, like obey our parents, and HOW she can do that in spite of herself.
What are your thoughts?
When we had figured out the main mood of my daughter at that time was confusion, I asked her, "Are you confused because you don't know why we're asking you to help (clear the table) or are you confused because you don't know why you don't want to help?" she acknowledged that it was the second part of that question.
As I thought about that this morning, I also thought of how we as followers of Jesus often don't want to do what He asks of us. We want to do what WE want to do. Please don't ask us (even neurotypicals) to do something we deem unpleasant or not fun!
So, basically, I think the root of all discipline issues is our sin nature, regardless of whether we're neurotypical, Aspie, or something else. The difference is in the way that is communicated and understood. So now I'm at the beginning of my journey to help my precious Aspie, in her literal, black and white world, understand and internalize WHY Jesus asks us to do certain things, like obey our parents, and HOW she can do that in spite of herself.
What are your thoughts?
Wednesday, September 1, 2010
Consistency
Obviously, I am not consistent on updating this blog! I promise to do a much better job from here on out. I promise to update at least once a month! :^)
On that note, have you ever noticed that the people you know with Asperger's Syndrome aren't always consistent in their reactions? Or are the Aspie folks in your circle of influence pretty consistent in reacting the same way to the same thing?
I'd like to say that my daughter is pretty consistent in her reactions but sometimes there are things that 'shut her down' that I don't even know will do that!
What are your experiences?
-Noble
On that note, have you ever noticed that the people you know with Asperger's Syndrome aren't always consistent in their reactions? Or are the Aspie folks in your circle of influence pretty consistent in reacting the same way to the same thing?
I'd like to say that my daughter is pretty consistent in her reactions but sometimes there are things that 'shut her down' that I don't even know will do that!
What are your experiences?
-Noble
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