"What did you do today, mom?"
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| Wed, 08-31-2005 - 6:58pm |
Do any of your kids ask this question? Tyler, of course, does. But he talks just to hear himself..... or maybe for entertainment purposes.....we're not quite sure yet! LOL
Ever since his was in preschool, he asks this question when I pick him up from school. Nathan, has never asked this. Even when I answer Tyler....Nathan says nothing. Does it just not dawn on him to ask? Does it even matter to him? Does he really want to know, yet doesn't know how to ask?
Will his questions always pertain to his own interests and needs? One morning, he asked me, "how did you sleep, mom?" I about fell down!!! But once I regained my composure, I answered him. And then I remembered, that's a question that "I" ask him. So....back to square one!
I realized today that Tyler and Nathan are both in school all day now.....and what a huge difference there is between them. Before the differences seemed more age related....but now, it's not so much age anymore. The way they view everything, it's all sooo different. Like me typing on the computer, Tyler would walk in and want to know what I'm doing and who I'm typing to. Nathan walks in and out, never asking me what I'm doing. Tyler tells me everything about school, Nathan says nothing (unless I pry real hard!) I guess I'm just noting the differences. Having 2 in elementary.....no more preschool or kindergarten anymore. Now the differences are starting to be more noticeable.
Oh! And yesterday, Nathan didn't use the bathroom at school....ALL DAY!!! Do you believe that!! I had a long talk with him, and he went TWICE today!! It didn't dawn on me to "remind" him to go to the bathroom. I mean we walked thru the classroom, I even showed him the bathroom. Oh well....Tyler went 3 times yesterday....and then HAD to tell me today that he went only twice. He even told me WHY!!!!
Michelle

Oh yeah, that sounds familiar.
On the very rare occasion Mike or Cait will ask about my day. But it is really rare and it is a question I ask them daily. It probably started in the last year or so and has happened once or twice per kid. I think part of it is speech and Cait was learning to ask questions like that. Mike probably heard it from his aide or teacher. There is a definite difference.
Telling me about thier day has always been an issue from way back when. The first time I noticed was when cait was 4 there was a little girl in her daycare that was 2 which was the same age as Mike. One day I went to pick up Cait and Mike and this girl went on and on telling me about what they did that day, etc. Cait had never done that, nor had mike. Then one day Cait says, "I bite Jesse" (the 2 yo girl). I about had a heart attack because 1) it was the first time Cait had ever said anything about her day and 2) she BIT! So I called the daycare lady and she tells me Jesse actually bit Cait and Jesse gets on the phone and tells me the whole story and apologizes. It killed me.
I have taught them a routine and drilled them and drilled them until now they are pretty good about telling me about thier day. At least I know the right questions to ask and they usually will provide the answers and sometimes even initiate. They will often tell me they are all done and don't want to talk too.
On the bathroom issue. Mike does that but it is because of the germs and dirtyness. The school bathrooms are often icky and Mike is a bit particular so he will hold it. He is getting better if the bathrooms aren't bad he will use them but make sure that isn't part of it.
BTW, has nathan been eating at school? How did that go?
Renee
Nope, Jake has never asked that question.
Pat
Happiness is a conscious choice, not an automatic response. --
Pat...that is sooo true, about learning what is their personality and what is autism. I'm still sorting all of that out with Nathan. It's still hard to identify sometimes...but I'm learning!! LOL
Renee....Nathan is doing well eating his cold lunch. We did a couple practice runs at home, so he knows what he's doing. He did get confused the first day, and wanted to eat hot lunch (we had talked so much about it). But since the plans changed at the last minute, I think that confused him a bit. But he's fine now. Nathan had mentioned something about the bathrooms being dirty too. But it was a brief comment....so it's hard to tell. I asked him if he even looked at the bathroom...he said no. When I picked him up yesterday, he immediately told me that he went twice.(just like we had discussed) He said it was fine, so hopefully he'll be ok with that now.
I'm just going to keep asking Nathan about his day. Last year, he did "volunteer" information on a couple of occasions. So, we'll see if I can get anything out of him this year! He likes to tell me when he's done talking too. He even gently pushes me away, and tells me he's fine and that I can go now. Funny kid!