let’s use your inside voice, I am sure that was the theme of the day at school… Korey finally did go to sleep after getting up/down for over 2 hours after the hotdogs last night! oh, and he ate ANOTHER  4 hotdogs after the initial quantity which I can’t even repeat now as I will definitely vomit!! ( not really but you get the picture) so he slept til I spoke the magic words “Korey, let’s get up, its almost time for the bus!” the key word being “bus”! he got up quickly, ran for the bathroom, ran back in his room running out again with his sneakers and socks on and a tshirt, he has no sense of modesty… thank goodness Kileigh had already been carried away earlier by her bus at that ungodly hour of 6a!! Korey has done the naked streaking more times than we like to acknowledge, even when Kileigh’s friends have stayed over and also relatives have been spectators to his “love of freedom”!

we, me as the director, Korey doing the gathering and dressing, finally are presentable for school, ADL’s are done ( for the newbies or “typicals”-activities of daily living, face washing, teeth brushing, deodorant on, hair at least touched!) breakfast is minimal as he loves to eat at school with the kids, he throws a treat to the dog, flings his backpack on ( after making sure himself that water, chips and fake crystal light are all packed in) and starts pacing in the final 3-4 minutes before the bus rolls down the street… this morning he is out and down at the end of the driveway waiting for that bus!! he gets on, haphazardly waves and is enveloped into the yellow!

once again this afternoon the bus rolls around and deposits Korey home! his communication book looks like a victim of a water fight (open water bottle in side pocket is culprit) and announces AGAIN, that he was loud, loud, LOUD ALL 4 blocks again… have been trying to research, sw doc, rack my brain as to why sleeping  pretty ok equates to an ear piercing day? do we want little sleep and quieter days OR lotsa sleep ( or our version of lotsa sleep!) and loud, disruptive days…?

the frustrating thing for Korey is his inability to tell us and even answer our questions on what he is feeling or what is going on in his head, why the need for loud, why cant he sleep, actually anything that could help us help him. and if I am frustrated imagine how he feels!

we have done social stories, inside voice, whisper, pictures, pointing, mime, you name it, it is in our box of tricks! he tries to tell us and we try to decipher and understand… quietly.

yes, is the most likely answer though probably not like when we older folk were kids. today is the era of “high-priced”” chore compensation, I am shocked the kids haven”t organized yet! (sorry I am a diehard CWA member-retired, actually we are on strike at this moment-that is another thought for another time)

anyway, I ramble… Korey does have chores and since he is not unionized he gets little or no compensation EXCEPT the knowledge that he has done something to help Star (our Schnoodle) and he gets to walk, which he loves to do! He was a lettered”” track team member the past 2 seasons, running the 800, 200 and 100 runs!

getting back to the chore thing, why shouldn’t our kids (ya know the ones with those “labels”) be held accountable for contributing to the flow of their household? even the simplest thing as gathering their clothes “to do the wash” keeps them a sense of accomplishment. so often, they are told what they can’t do or do it better or worse, ignored, what a great feeling to know you are appreciated and you helped mom or dad or bro or sis or whoever does that wash ( the wash fairy!) it may take many sessions (couldn’t think of a diff word) of going over and over what it takes to do what the chore you all have decided will be done, sometimes it only need 1 hands on! use ABA or your own version or make it a game, whatever!  the faster we get away from seeing that label in front of our child ( autistic Korey vs Korey who lives with autism) the faster the world really does open up and there is one less chore you have to do!!! yeh!!!

at this point Korey probably has more chores than his sister, I may have to re-examine that as fair is fair!