Josh is really good at getting up, into the bathroom, and doing what he needs to do (!) first thing in the a.m. The folks at summer school said they have no problem getting him into the bathroom and walking all over the school. I guess yesterday they had a toad and Josh had a kick touching it - nothing major, you say? WRONG!! OMG, the idea of Josh touching an animal like a toad is just amazing! They also gave Josh the job on Monday of "selling" gloves around the school - not sure what that means but he liked doing it! Today, the summer school folks said Josh "breezed through" the school work (incredible!), transitioned perfectly from one task to another (another amazing accomplishment!), and worked really well all morning. The paperwork he came home with had perfectly written letters and numbers - I'm thinkin' a little hand-over-hand work on those since his handwriting as of last week left a whole lot to be desired! But, just letting someone do the hand-over-hand is quite an accomplishment! And, he also did a coloring thing where there is a "puzzle" - this was a crown - and he had to match the numbers in the different areas with a color assigned to that number - I think he did it pretty much on his own - the colors all matched the numbers but staying in the lines wasn't there. A boy after my own heart! Nothing like coloring outside the lines! LOL!
Camp was pretty good but they never got him over to the pool today. Stephanie wrote that he was really stressed out about getting on the bus to go to the pool so she stayed back with him at the building. They took out the vacuum, though, and actually had it on! He said on the way home that it was "youd!" but he was pushing it! YEAH!! Other than the bus thing/not going to the pool thing, he had a terrific day at camp - attentive, involved, talkative, cheerful, and funny - I guess he was making everybody crack up! Getting in the van to come home after camp is tough - it's just like a regular van so I'm not sure what the problem is. Fortunately, Nicole and Erin are incredibly patient, and Erin has already gotten the hang of helping Josh with his seatbelt. Nicole has some ideas and I forgot to talk to her about the reward idea. I can give her all the mardi gras beads Josh earned from the school year bus driver! Recycling! Josh also, after only three days, knows the route home and who gets off where!
When we got home, he came in with just a little bit of hesitation and laid down on the floor in the family room - I think mostly because he is pretty tired. He is not taking a snooze during the day from what I can gather - another major accomplishment! Anyhow, I was going up to change into shorts and by the time I got from the back door to the staircase, he was up and going into the bathroom - TO PEE!!!! YEAH!!!!!! He had peed just a little bit in his pants so we changed into the depends for bedtime, but YEAH!!!!
I'm not sure if the Friday Field Trips for camp are going to work. They called this a.m. and they are, understandably, pretty nervous about the bus situation. The field trip this Friday involves getting in/out of the bus 4 separate times at different places. We talked at length about why this anxiety is likely there, and I'll talk to the driver and bus aide about strategies for during the day, but I also told them I'd be available in the event I need to come pick him up. I also said that one of the on/off times is at a Colonial Cafe for ice cream - Josh doesn't do restaurants unless they're pretty empty or quiet, and he doesn't eat ice cream, so I said maybe he could hang back on the bus and rest during that time? They would consider it. When we were arranging the Friday deals, we sort of thought keeping him local would work best (some the field trips are quite a distance - one is to Milwaukee!) since, if something went wrong or he was having just too tough a time, I could come get him. But getting on/off so many times - this could be tough. And, it's supposed to be pretty hot, possible rainy, and each of the stops is something environmental (the theme is environmental explorers) so I think outside with lots of walking - hhmmmm.... I said I'd hate to deprive him of the opportunity to give it a try so we will go ahead and do the trip this Friday. We'll see!
I think I've got enough NV for one more day - sure hope it comes tomorrow!!!! I'm seeing so many things, some subtle, some pretty obvious. I was talking to Barry about it yesterday and he said maybe it's just that Josh is growing out of some of the things that have been problematic. I don't know, it's pretty coincidental that so much has changed in such a short time, and since starting on the NV. Obviously, the only way to see if it's the NV that is having an effect is to stop it for awhile but, gosh, I simply don't want to see the progress stop or have regression.
So, we will proceed on this journey. Josh has been through so much over all these years, has had to deal with so many things, and has always risen to the occasion. Using NV is yet another leg of the journey - who knows where this will lead but I like what I'm seeing along this way.
Tomorrow, Day 20.
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