Samuel started his new school schedule this week. As mentioned in my previous post, it was recommended that Samuel go from three full days a week at school to two half days. Therefore, he started his T/Th half day routine on Groundhog Day. He doesn't seem to be bothered by this change of routine. I'm uncertain how much he understands the difference between a Monday and a Tuesday, therefore that change went very smooth. April has picked him up at 11:30 am both days and she said he appeared surprised to see her on Tuesday. However, he did not complain about leaving early. He told everyone "bye" and gladly went on his way.
On Thursday, another obligation kept April from being able to take him to school. Therefore, I requested to go into work a little later and took Samuel instead. This was the first time I had dropped him off since his first day back in October. I told him when he woke-up that I would be taking him to school so he would be prepared for this change. Everything went smooth as we took the 15 minute drive. However, when we arrived I parked in the same location that I have picked him up from in the past. I quickly realized that this must not be the same place April parks in the morning, because Samuel threw a fit! In muffled words he kept saying, "over there". I did not see any spaces where he was pointing, but I decided to pull out just in case. Unfortunately, there were no spaces so I went back to where I had been parked at. This time Samuel screamed bloody murder! It was also time for me to walk him inside. He was screaming and yelling as we headed into the school office to get my visitor pass. Amazingly, after a moment of being inside the office he started to calm down. I then held his hand as he took me out of the office and down the sidewalk. He knew exactly where to go and everything went as clock work. As his teacher walked up, Samuel let go of my hand and said "bye daddy". That evening I asked April where she usually parked in the mornings and she told me I was in an entirely different lot than where she generally stops. Just having that one change, caused him to have the outcry that he did. However, it was interesting that once we entered the office, he was back on his routine and everything was fine. It is something I have to constantly remind myself about.
Earlier today I took Samuel to get his hair cut. This is the first time I had taken him in several months. (The last several times, my parents took him to our family barber during the week when they were watching him.) Today, when it was Samuel's turn he hopped right into the chair. However, as a three year old with autism it is very difficult for him to stay still. The noise of the razor seems to agitate him. I helped to hold his head still while the barber did his job. Samuel would have sudden movements that could be extremely dangerous. Fortunately, our barber has nearly 50 years of experience and does a remarkable job of not hurting him. I wonder how long it will be a challenge for Samuel to get a haircut? Is this something that will get better with time, or will he always struggle to keep his head still as scissors and a razor are inches from his face. I'm curious about other parents experiences with the usually simple task of getting a hair cut.
As always, thank you for taking time out to read the blog. It is awesome to see how people all around the world are visiting this site each week. We feel incredibly blessed by all the support.
In honor of tomorrow's Super Bowl..........Go Panthers!
Brian
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