Last Saturday Alex and I went to Jen’s house for an Easter egg hunt. Once again he did really well. To begin with he was amazed with Jen’s incredible backyard filled with swings, teeter totter, etc. There were around ten kids at the egg hunt which is definitely what Alex needs. He is more comfortable with adults and older children. So to have the opportunity for him to be around younger children is very beneficial to him. When the egg hunt began Alex was more interested in playing with the toys, but he did get the hang of collecting eggs and putting them in his basket. It was a fun afternoon!
On March 6th Alex and I went ice skating (actually I must confess Alex went ice skating I on the other hand am too old!) Our good friend Jen and her family rented First Arena in Elmira and invited friends to go skating for a couple of hours. I expected to be there 5 minutes before Alex became overwhelmed and began screaming. However, once again he amazed me and really handled the situation well. He skated for an hour before he began to get tired and lose interest. By the end of the hour he was actually able to skate on his own for a little ways. Spencer and Andrea were very helpful and patient with Alex as he was learning to balance on the skates. Another new experience for Alex that was a lot of fun!
On March 1st Alex became part of my family. I am now a foster parent to an 8 year old autistic boy. The first few weeks have actually been a smoother transition than I expected. Alex is coming from a home that he was allowed to do pretty much whatever he wanted. His family loves him dearly but didn’t display a structured environment. It is much easier to allow Alex to have his way than tell him no and deal with his outbursts. Alex has been with me for three weeks and it is going well. He is sleeping in his room all night without getting up and playing. He tended to get up all hours of the night and play, watch movies, and eat whatever he wanted at his other home. This has been our first victory that he is actually going to bed at a regular hour and sleeping through the night. He seems to be adjusting nicely to my home and my rules. Not that we haven’t had a few outbursts. Alex isn’t used to being told no. When he isn’t getting his way he tends to scream very loudly and at times pinch and bite. It has been a joy to see how Alex has progressed in this short amount of time. I’m looking forward to the next several months of progress. Our main objective at this point is getting Alex to communicate to continue strengthening our bond and obviously to tell us his needs and what he wants.
