Writing to friends

This will be short (my bed is calling), but I'll try to start my e-mail at least...
 
 

How can Hannah express her anger in an acceptable manner?
Well, I'm trying to teach her to talk (or even yell) her way through the
problem.  Just communicate in some way that doesn't involve using
derogatory comments, name calling or disrespectful behaviors (i.e. door
slamming!).

I asked this question because I was curious about what other people do - I get frustrated with Chance because I _try_ to teach him acceptable ways to express anger (and like you, I am willing to accept a little yelling at this point), but then he gets angry at every little thing. And then I am in the situation of telling him it isn't okay to _always_ express your anger, although I'm sure he is feeling angry and frustrated (even if it is accidental or a trivial incident). At this point in my parenting career, the hardest thing I am dealing with is trying to teach the boys how to handle disagreements, taking turn with toys, and compromising when they do have different goals/ideas about how something should happen. I tell you, Jack is more mature sometimes in dealing with his anger and frustration, especially since Chance can be such a pill to him sometimes. I also have the dilemma of having to come up with a physical way for them to express anger that DOESN'T involve hitting a brother, and stomping their feet is the only thing I can think of.  Mental picture...35 year old Chance stomping his feet in the research lab because a co-worker took the pipet from his bench....I can only hope that it is a gradual process of being to handle anger constructively, and that I'm not instilling lifelong habits. I do like how you tell each other you're not feeling respected, I'm going to try that (I stole "unacceptable behavior" from you a long time ago, and never thanked you, so Thank You!).
 
 

Kris, with the onset of the spinning, do you think that perhaps Chance
may be showing MORE of the asperger's symptoms instead of less?  Has the
self talk changed any since you were here?  He is such an intense child.

He isn't demonstrating all of the symptoms he had on the trip (he hasn't had a severe "anger" tantrum since we've been home), but the spinning is new, and his becoming very angry at little things is more prevalent than ever before. I'd get a professional evaluation, but AS is such a new diagnosis, that most doctors would only be able to work with the AS kids on the severe side of the autistic spectrum. It comes down to the fact that mild AS could also be considered as just a nerdy, socially awkward kid. And I am pretty comfortable with thinking of Chance as a possibly mild AS kid, although I could just be barking up the wrong tree completely, and I am keeping my options and mind open to that possibility. I'm sure I'll be boring you all to tears with updates!
 

Anyway, I'm
sure you can understand the trepidation going into tonight's lesson.
She was a champ!  She honestly "worked".  We discussed it all week ..
the whole "trying instead of crying" and she actually DID it.  Which
resulted in her mastering backwards swizzles.  So, hopefully she
correlated the work with the positive result.  Either way, her coach was
very complimentary and we all left on a high note.

That is wonderful! It almost makes you prouder seeing Hannah show fierce determination and an unwillingness to quit than mastering the backward swizzles(highly technical Olympic skating term??), don't you think? I'm not surprised at all, I know she's a toughie when she wants to be.
Susan, that is so cool about Matthew learning how to read! I hate to say this, but next to potty-training, getting your child interested in learning how to read is way up on the list of "Things that Keep Homeschoolers Up At Night Worrying".
Amber, you mentioned the exercise bike in your e-mail about the Wired article, I forgot to ask last time, are you where you want to be in terms of fitness and size? My aunt in North Carolina sent me to her personal trainer for the whole time I was there (which could be construed as an incredible insult, but she knew I've been _trying_ to get back in shape) and Hiro hooked me on the Stabilty Ball (also know as a Swiss Ball). It looks so gimmicky, but I love it. I have some Pilates and strength exercises for it, and it really works out the kinks and keeps me feeling limber and more flexible. I'd keep it just for the stretches alone. I've also been walking with John in the morning, but I need to start putting some running intervals into our walk, or do one of my step interval tapes. Just being nosy...
Off to bed, I hope everyone is doing well.
Kris