First of all, many thanks to all of you who wrote in with thoughts and support following my post. It was much appreciated.
As the actual day of his birth (and the day of his death, which were oddly close together) approaches, I find myself thinking about the things that connect my Dad and I. For instance, he was a rather infamous "absent minded professor type." And I am frequently given reminders by my wife about how I have my own issues in this regard. For instance...she has told me several times that today is Patrick's IEP, and that the schedule of our day would have to change this afternoon.
So when she talked to me today about dropping both of the children off at daycare (instead of my taking Patrick home to work on his autism), did I say "oh, of course, we have his IEP"? Did I say, "yes, I remember"? No. Instead, I looked at her with puzzlement and asked "why?"
I am my father's son. You might think this would cause some irritation at him. But though it might frustrate my dear wife, right now it makes me smile. I am my father's son.
6 comments:
Every once in awhile, someone tells me that my 19yo daughter is, in appearance or gesture or laughter, exactly like my mother, who died a very long time ago. That makes me smile, too.
Steve, I have a boy in my room this year who I believe is undiagnosed autistic. I have finally gained enough trust with the mother to get the child tested, especially before junior high! Mom has denied that there is anything wrong. "He is shy," she claims.Heartbreak! Who can blame you for not wanted to go to your IEP appointment. They are almost always rough. I can tell you this, this little boy in my class has taught me so much. I'll write about him in my next post.
gannet girl,
Thank you for this comment. It's funny how traces of our parents can show up in our kids, isn't it? I often hear remnants of my Dad in the way my kids say "yep" for instance.
liz,
Thank you for the kind words. I should clarify that I wasn't so much avoiding the IEP as I simply became absent-minded about the meeting (we are lucky to have a really great group of teachers working with our boys right now).
By the way, I'd really recommend that the family you mentioned look into a program called Relationship Development Intervention (RDI) if he does turn out to be autistic. I believe there are some RDI consultants in your area -- I could track that information down, if you'd like.
That would be wondeful, Steve. I am so worried about this little guy.
liz,
The two consultants listed for Arizona are:
Jamie Goguen-Joyner
C.A.R.E. (Center for Autism Research and Education)
300 East Osborn Road, #200
Phoenix, AZ 85012
Phone: 602.277.2273
Email: jjoyner@center4autism.org
Kimberly Isaac
P.O. Box 97519
Phoenix, AZ 85068-7519
Phone: 602.595.3307
Email: rdiarizona@yahoo.com
Hope that helps. You can check out the RDI program if you'd like at www.rdiconnect.com.
Thanks! I will contact them today. This is the first real step toward helping this little guy.
Post a Comment