Mental Health Day
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| Thu, 03-01-2007 - 12:42am |
Last new post today, I promise.
My therapist made a good suggestion today I thought I would share. Probably doing it on Friday.
She suggested since Mike has been having such a rough time and is steadily going down hill to give him a "mental health day" to just reward him holding it together as well as kind of break the cycle.
I have done this with Cait on occasion but really haven't with Mike. I think we get so caught up sometimes that this stuff escapes us and we think it is so important for them to be at school every day! Not if they are going to be melting down though.
I think a mental health day and long weekend is just enough to break up this cycle before he really crashes (if he doesn't tomorrow that is). I wish I could do it tomorrow but I can't and he has his math benchmark exam (which is part of why I think tomorrow might not be a good day).
So on Friday, Grandma is going to have him in the morning while I go to an IEP with my friend and then he and I are spending the afternoon together.
I am so looking forward to my mental health day.
Renee


Oh these days are SOOOOO important to our sanity. Before Vic was diagnosed with Asperger's, and was dx'd ADHD, we thought his many meltdowns were because Dad was in Special Forces Group and gone a lot. In order to combat this, we instituted the 4 get out of heck free cards.
4 days throughout the year, the kids are allowed to say "I don't feel good" and whether they have a fever or not, I'll let them stay home from school. Now I don't think they ever realized that it was stress that was causing the yucky feel bads, but after that one "Okay, so you're sick" day, they are refreshed enough to go back to school.
I like calling it mental health day tho. I think I'll relabel it and see how things go.
Alexis
I have done this for me and Adam. Granted he is just three BUT I feel he is just overscheduled sometimes.
I am seriously debating sending him to preschool the day we are going to see Thomas Live.
My only reservations are he is out of school all next week do inservice for kids going into their actual school districts next year. That doesn't apply to us yet.
any feed back would be good. He goes to school form 8:30-11 am and Thomas is at 2 pm
Nora
http://i153.photobucket.com/albums/s225/irishwildrose/pp2.jpg
I actually gave Josh a mental health day the Friday before our Winter break.He had complained of a headache the night before. Then claimed he had a small one that morning. Now this was after all of the testing, stress and he had plucked himself a couple of noticable bald spots.
So i let him have the day off. DH was not happy but I did point out the kid had not had a sick day in almost 2 years. Of course I jinxed myself there because the dreaded stomach bug got him this past monday night.
But between the mental health day the winter break a snow day then a true sick day the kid was off for about a week and half.
The reward for this. A good note in his agenda book that said he worked really hard yesterday. So in the end it does help.
And heck if we as adults can have personal days then why can't they once in awhile.
Rina
Well, we have definitely done them before. Mostly for Cait. She usually is the one that needs it.
I haven't had to give Mike a MH day in a couple years because things have been going so well. When he has a rough spot we usually work through it in a week or 2 because he had all the supports he needed. I guess the idea just slipped my mind.
I hope he makes it through today well. It is killing me because I know it could be a bad one today. I got off work an hour early so I am here with an hour before I go and pick up. His teacher is with students so I feel like I am totally out of the loop. The new aide is supposed to be there this afternoon too.
This is a SLOOOOWWWWWW hour.
Renee
You won't catch any heck from me, we're taking several mental health days in a row soon - and Isaac will miss 3 days of school.
Gotta love it.