Read this post to know why this is such a special time for us.
Four years later, Adiya plays soccer (football) and a host of other interactive, physical games including wall ball, four square, baseball, etc.
It is a precious moment when we look back at the last world cup, and then come to the present where we can watch a world cup game together as a family!
On that note... we are planning to begin doing that real soon.
After 4 years without TV, we have brought back the TV.
Bring on the sports (and Aditya's favorite BILL NYE The Science Guy)... we are ready!
We are still firmly choosing not to let the TV dictate our lives though.
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Tuesday, June 3, 2014
Really? It's been over 4 months!
What happened? Why haven't we posted for such a long time?
Rather than explain that... I will get straight to posting.
1. We had the third Son Rise intensive for Aditya in early April. Yup! We thought long and hard about the need to do this. In the end, it turned out to be just the most perfect thing we could do to help Aditya with his social and peer-relationship skills. In one word, the Son Rise program is... miraculous. Because in one word, the Son Rise program teachers and facilitators are, phenomenal. They went out of their way to make things happen for Aditya that are probably rare for an intensive... such as outdoor play, a playdate with a child, a playdate with two peers and a walk around the property to help Aditya "unwind" ! Wow! I don't know what else a parent can ask for. The folks over at Son Rise really know what they are doing.
While Aditya was having a blast playing and at the same time, climbing new mountains of social skills, Aai and Baba received lots of effective questions and guidance on how best to move forward from here. When we returned, we knew exactly what we needed to do.
2. And then did we do it? Well, that's a whole different story. We sure have started doing some things differently than before, but we still have a number of recommendations from our intensive to put in practice. Of the things we are doing differently, we are now inviting Aditya to "do" rather than "plan" and "think". This is something we are trying to do in all situations, play or otherwise. The things we know we need to do but haven't done, includes helping Aditya get comfortable using his whole body in play, by enrolling him in an activity like rock climbing. One thing we did try is a local boy scouts club. Well, this club seemed a little too chaotic to us during our visit, and so far we haven't searched for another club.
3. Diet. Oh.. the diet. It is amazing that we gained a lot more mileage in our program in the first 2 years when we were eating a number of things (e.g. wheat) we no longer eat. Recognizing how our constant attention to making special foods is hindering both, our play time with Aditya as well as his ease in social situations, we are deciding to relax our diet just a little bit. We are still not totally completely going back on it though.
4. He needs lots more play dates with kids who are socially inviting, as well as physically active rather than cerebral. This is still a To-Do for us! The good news is Aditya demonstrated he can not just handle, but even thrive in the company of kids. He played with two girls at the intensive. He not only got along nicely with them... but they even wrote letters to each other after coming back! Now all he needs is... practice, practice, practice... playing with different kids.
5. Aditya's program currently has one volunteer... Arjun. At the moment we are not planning to add any other volunteers. When Arjun leaves in a month (as he will go to college on east coast) it will be back to just Aai and Baba playing with Aditya... the way we did before we even got our Son Rise program training.
6. In the meantime, Aditya continues to do well at school. He did great with his animal research, and country research projects. He went up the stage like every year, and sang and played "Country Roads" this time. He has made half a dozen friends on his own! There is only one area now where we feel concerned about him. It is his desire for appropriateness from everyone around him is inappropriately high :) He ends up coming across as crabby... someone who is constantly calling out others' inappropriate behaviors. Other than this, he is doing sensationally well. He no longer seems stuck during unstructured time. He is making choices like finding a book and reading it! Woo Hoo!
The school year comes to an end soon. Aai had a Mother's day celebration with Aditya in his class last month. Baba is about to have his Fathers' day celebration soon.
With all the craziness that comes with having two neurotypical school going kids, we are not prioritizing writing here as we used to. But the awe and celebration for our kids remains unaltered!
Rather than explain that... I will get straight to posting.
1. We had the third Son Rise intensive for Aditya in early April. Yup! We thought long and hard about the need to do this. In the end, it turned out to be just the most perfect thing we could do to help Aditya with his social and peer-relationship skills. In one word, the Son Rise program is... miraculous. Because in one word, the Son Rise program teachers and facilitators are, phenomenal. They went out of their way to make things happen for Aditya that are probably rare for an intensive... such as outdoor play, a playdate with a child, a playdate with two peers and a walk around the property to help Aditya "unwind" ! Wow! I don't know what else a parent can ask for. The folks over at Son Rise really know what they are doing.
While Aditya was having a blast playing and at the same time, climbing new mountains of social skills, Aai and Baba received lots of effective questions and guidance on how best to move forward from here. When we returned, we knew exactly what we needed to do.
2. And then did we do it? Well, that's a whole different story. We sure have started doing some things differently than before, but we still have a number of recommendations from our intensive to put in practice. Of the things we are doing differently, we are now inviting Aditya to "do" rather than "plan" and "think". This is something we are trying to do in all situations, play or otherwise. The things we know we need to do but haven't done, includes helping Aditya get comfortable using his whole body in play, by enrolling him in an activity like rock climbing. One thing we did try is a local boy scouts club. Well, this club seemed a little too chaotic to us during our visit, and so far we haven't searched for another club.
3. Diet. Oh.. the diet. It is amazing that we gained a lot more mileage in our program in the first 2 years when we were eating a number of things (e.g. wheat) we no longer eat. Recognizing how our constant attention to making special foods is hindering both, our play time with Aditya as well as his ease in social situations, we are deciding to relax our diet just a little bit. We are still not totally completely going back on it though.
4. He needs lots more play dates with kids who are socially inviting, as well as physically active rather than cerebral. This is still a To-Do for us! The good news is Aditya demonstrated he can not just handle, but even thrive in the company of kids. He played with two girls at the intensive. He not only got along nicely with them... but they even wrote letters to each other after coming back! Now all he needs is... practice, practice, practice... playing with different kids.
5. Aditya's program currently has one volunteer... Arjun. At the moment we are not planning to add any other volunteers. When Arjun leaves in a month (as he will go to college on east coast) it will be back to just Aai and Baba playing with Aditya... the way we did before we even got our Son Rise program training.
6. In the meantime, Aditya continues to do well at school. He did great with his animal research, and country research projects. He went up the stage like every year, and sang and played "Country Roads" this time. He has made half a dozen friends on his own! There is only one area now where we feel concerned about him. It is his desire for appropriateness from everyone around him is inappropriately high :) He ends up coming across as crabby... someone who is constantly calling out others' inappropriate behaviors. Other than this, he is doing sensationally well. He no longer seems stuck during unstructured time. He is making choices like finding a book and reading it! Woo Hoo!
The school year comes to an end soon. Aai had a Mother's day celebration with Aditya in his class last month. Baba is about to have his Fathers' day celebration soon.
With all the craziness that comes with having two neurotypical school going kids, we are not prioritizing writing here as we used to. But the awe and celebration for our kids remains unaltered!
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