Dream of Hopes Ranch

Last week we started yet another after school program.

After we were kicked out of The Children's Courtyard, I found a home daycare with a lady that worked with both typical and special needs children. (As a backup plan I had a list of daycares and home after-school programs from http://www.familyconnectionsonline.org)

Unfortunately, the after school program at this older lady's home lasted about six weeks and ended up with me writing a check for $200 worth of sheet rock damage. James did fine most of the time because they were on trips most afternoons, but there was about 45 minutes to an hour near the end of the day where he had to be indoors while parents came and picked up their kids. Although the lady that ran the home day care did the best she could (she had a physical disability), James was just too hard to handle at times. I had a feeling there would be problems. As usual, James focused on smaller kids. The first time I took James there he immediately ran to the three toddlers and yelled out "babies!" in glee. He proceeded to squeeze each of them by the wrists, and laughed while making eye contact with each one of them. Looked like something out of National Geographic.

Because of my experience with the Children's Courtyard, I made sure that both parties knew what we were dealing with. Communication was a lot more honest and direct: we talked about a backup plan just in case things did not work out. When things inevitably did not work out, this time I left on relatively good terms and I was referred to Laura Stock, who runs the "Dream of Hopes Ranch," another nearby home day care. Laura and her family works with special needs children and adults, and she even helps them train and compete in the Special Olympics. James went bowling with them last week and was very happy. All of us, including the previous daycare, feel that he's better off here for now. Although James is high functioning and is capable of learning from and interacting with typical children, being in a special needs environment that can accommodate him is important at this stage. He needs physical activity to keep busy, and he needs to be socially accepted, not shunned. So far they love him--he's the youngest kid there, and it seems to be a family environment.

We'll see how it goes, but so far I have a good feeling about the place. This Saturday they invited us to their Halloween party, and I got a chance to see the special needs children and adults James will be with. Everyone is accepting over there. They've dealt with far more challenging situations than James. At this stage of his life, I think James will benefit from this environment.

http://www.dreamofhopesranch.org

Halloween

James enjoyed Halloween tonight. When we were going door-to-door he yelled "trick or treat!" in an appropriately gleeful tone. He said "Thank you" most of the time. We went through the routine pretty much like everyone else, except for a few minor things. James kept touching all the cars and tried to open their doors. He also got a little too close to people and went straight for the candy instead of holding out his bag, but he adjusted well after a few verbal instructions.

When we got back to the house he set up a little chair outside of the garage and decided it was his job to hand out the candy. He kept laughing and yelled "trick or treat!" to all the visitors, which of course, everyone thought was cute. Overall, he was very happy and well-behaved.

Earlier he said he wanted to go to a haunted house, but I wasn't so sure--he's only used to the kiddie ones at school or therapy. When I showed him the web site for a haunted house show in town he said, "too scary." It'll be a while for him.

Pimp My Ride

This summer I accidentally backed over James's bike. He didn't miss it at the time because he was preoccupied with his 3-wheeler (Razor Scream Machine; looks like a sturdy Big-Wheel). But after he built up enough confidence with that, I felt it was time for him to try a bike again.

I got him a cool-looking 18" bike, complete with blinking green lights on the valve stem covers. The training wheels that originally came with his bike were sturdier than most, but still not enough for him to ride with confidence. After his training wheels were starting to bend over to one side, he fell back to his Scream Machine. I looked around for "heavy duty" training wheels, but almost everything I found turned out be junk. After some looking, I found the answer: Fat Wheels (http://www.fatwheels.com). They understand special needs and even have adult-sized models (up to 300 pounds).

Delivery was relatively quick. James was excited to see the box because he watched me order it on the Internet. When we opened it we were not disappointed. I almost wept when I saw those thick brackets. Finally, good old-fashioned American steel. I ordered the model with inflatable 12.5" wheels, good for up to 150 lbs. In about five minutes I had the old training wheels off and the new ones on. I gave James about 1/4" to 1/2" clearance under the wheels, and for some reason, he tended to stay more in the center, off the training wheels at times (better-weighted balance I suppose).

This weekend we took his new ride out at for a test drive. Although the helmet bothered James and it took a lot of effort to keep him on one side of the trail, he did enjoy himself. I find after a lot of "heavy work" James seems to be calmer, less impulsive throughout the day.





Now I want a bike.

A Token Economy

James uses a simple token-economy or point system during school to help stay on track and manage his behavior. It functions as a daily report from his teachers to me and supplements his daily log from school. James has to earn so many points in a day in order to get a "treasure chest" reward, usually a junk toy. The other day I went to Michael's (a craft store chain) and bought a lot of brightly-colored, flat wooden trinkets, each about the size of a quarter. I don't know what they are really for, but for James, it's like money. (He especially likes the little yellow school buses.) I also got him some unpainted wooden shapes and unpainted letter trains which happen to also fits with his wooden train set. I've noticed that as a reward his teacher occasionally gives him a little writing booklet to write the days of the week in.

The system seems to be working. We go over the sheet at home every night, and even on days where he doesn't earn the treasure chest prize, he says, "try again tomorrow."

In the first example, James was so upset about getting no points for speech that he hand-drew a smiley face himself. He's tried other tricks, such as changing an 11 to 14. But at least he's motivated. The next example shows how the system was later adjusted so that James could understand the consequences for hitting or pushing.

All of James's teachers contribute to the report (they stamp their parts in front of him), so it gives James the sense that it's an important process that everyone follows. It's a good way to get James to talk about his day, and it gives him a sense of structure.