Update!

Of late, many noteworthy moments are going to my husband's facebook page rather than being documented here:) Speak about ease of use...

Early last month, we had a meeting with A's school regarding increasing his hours. He was going for 2 hours, all 5 days a week, till December. Going into the meeting, we were hoping that he would be able to take one full day (3.5 hours) while keeping the 2 hours for the rest of the week. First two weeks went by with him being very tired the day after. But soon enough, HE wanted to go "like all other kids" more than once a week. So we bumped it up to 2 full days, with 2 hours on the remaining three days.

Starting February 1st, they began a very special unit in class - the Valentine's day Post Office. Each child gets to do one of 8 jobs each day - a bank teller, stamp clerk, mail pick up person, facer, date stamper, canceler, sorter and mail carrier. Each day, a child brings envelopes to mail to his classmates. It is an amazing insight into the workings of a post office. Aditya not just loved doing this, he also demanded to know why he is allowed to be in school for about 3 hours on days when he is supposed to be there for 2 hours. Turns out, he actually loved being there and missed playground time which others got after they finished their jobs. He actually said this: "It is not fair that everybody gets to play after they do their jobs and you take me home. I do not like going just 2 hours + post office. I am tired but I enjoy it, so WHY?" We reached an agreement that he gets to play 10 minutes before going home. :)

Aiding in his class has allowed me to experience changes in him and I feel SOOOO blessed to be witnessing some amazing things ....

Till January: Teacher used to ask kids to sit in number order. Most kids quickly found their spot and sat, while some sat wherever they could. Aditya used to go to his spot, but usually had to no space left around the other kids who were faster. He would just push or gently nudge (not use his words) and then give up, go sit somewhere away from the group, towards the end of class. But not any more!
NOW: (I witnessed this at least twice) He actually went up to the boy who was sitting in his spot and told him :"this is my spot. Go find your name spot." If the child ignored him, he would actually make space for himself and sit and wiggle around till he was comfortable. I also noticed that kids around him have started supporting him, telling the child(ren) who are taking his spot that "This is Aditya's spot. You can sit elsewhere."

At school, I have seen him fooling around with other boys. Boys picking each other up and swirling .. running to and tagging somebody out of nowhere .. these kind of small things that little boys do. He seems to enjoying them and laughing .. even participating all by himself, without being invited.

Another BIG event at school this month has been the Variety show. A's sister was in a group performance with 8 other kids. She had rehearsals thrice a week after school and we were mostly there with her. I actually saw him join kids in her group as they were fooling around, chasing each other, making faces ..

We have seen a lot of assertion lately. Around the house with his sister, with other kids outside his Gymnastics class (Yes, he started one!) and even with us. I actually was amazed to see him tell another kid on the playground "You don't tell me to go. I am going to wait for that girl to finish going to the other end and then start. It is not safe for two kids to go on the monkey bars at the same time" He is still more verbose and making up some of his own safety rules, but this assertion was huge!

I could go on for hours but will post again soon!