Ok, so….

Monday is usually a work out with her trainer who is also the owner and instructor for Gymsters. (which is also where Elizabeth works.) She has been a friend and working with motor skills and now fitness with Elizabeth for over 19 years.

But she texted us that she has to move Elizabeth’s workout to another day because she has to make up a class for Gymsters and that we will talk about when that will be sometime this week.

OK NO PROBLEM, WE CAN ADJUST

Elizabeth has her singing class ( aka mouth work and speech skills..always a work in progress) at 10:30 on Monday but we got a text from her saying she needed to move to 10:00

OK, THAT IS A LITTLE SWITCH, NO WORRIES

Her friend who usually hangs out with her and runs around a bit with her on Wednesdays called to say that she has to cancel this Wednesday because she has to take a family member to the doctors

ALRIGHTY, WE CAN HANDLE THIS CHANGE AS WELL.

Thursday, Elizabeth usually works at a preschool doing Gymster’s classes but we found out the the preschool is having their annual rummage sale and since “stuff” gets piled up all over, there is no class for the next 2 weeks.

YEP, WE GOT THIS ONE TOO!

We go week to week to see if she has the opportunity to get another day of work at her catering job.

SO WE AREN’T SURE OF THAT ONE EITHER

What we have here is a long list of things that require us to be flexible.

The art of being flexible is not new to Elizabeth. We have taught it to her since she was young and her daily written schedule was in pencil. With her special needs, the schedule was important because those with dyspraxia like she has need the schedule to gauge time and prepare for the motor and mental challenges of the next thing on their list.

But we put it in pencil to teach her that life simply does not go as planned or sometimes in any real way we want it to.

So it is not the flexible part that is really the challenge, it is the amount of flexiblity that is a challenge.

Meaning that one or two things on the list is doable but the 5 in a row require some work.

Work to talk about them

Work to teach her how to adjust her schedule to be as accurate as possible

Work to see what we can do to fill the open spots

Work to make sure that she doesn’t have dreaded big amount of “open ended” time.

So this is for the week coming up and we will handle it.

She and I will walk, go to do some fun errands we have put off doing and etc…

But the teachable point in all this is to again, plan ahead for the changes that this time of year brings. The change from School year to summer.

The change from a guaranteed day of school to a _______?____day as in fill in the blank.

The end of the year is busy, crazy and full of end of the year events and then we segway right into summer.

So my little list of crazy for this week reminds me , again, to have a plan B, C, and D for the summer changes that are coming.

I hope maybe it is the nudge for someone who may not have gotten to the point to make these backup plans. Life changes instantly and often and our children need to learn the skill of flexibility as best as they can.

But some proactive planning can make it smoother for everyone involved.

Now, we just have a few things to figure out for our week! Will it be smoothies or coffee on Thursday?

I wish everyone a peaceful week,

Michele Gianetti author of Elizabeth Believes in Herself

I was listening to my friend tell me her son was coming home from college for the summer.

I was also thinking about how much that changes, in a good way, the ebb and flow of the house. She was telling me that she has to think of food and activities and because he has some special needs, driving him to work and activities.

After we were done talking, I went about my day until it hit me.

That I too, need to be doing this same planning. For both Michael and Elizabeth.

Michael because his school year ends in June and he will be off and home more, which makes me happy but means making a weekly schedule to know where he will be, his work etc.

And Elizabeth, not because she is in school and will be off for summer, but because her work with Gymster’s is contingent on the school year schedule and will change one June hits.

Her guaranteed work on Tuesdays will not be there, they will be replaced by work another day.

And so it goes for all her work days at Gymster’s

Then her singing lessons (mouth work for her speech) will changes because HER kids are off of school and they have things they need to do

It is all changing.

And it really isn’t a surprise, I mean it has been doing this for years

But it seems like it is here quick this year or maybe it is just me.

But it got me thinking that I need to be proactive for her and I as we adjust to this change so that she is calm and productive and doesn’t have great gobs of uninterrupted time. This is because her disorders of SPD ( sensory processing disorder and global dyspraxia do better with a schedule.

And that open ended time is not her friend.

So she and I are going to be talking this week about what she wants to do with a bit more time she has and how does she want to use it.

We already talked about her goals for summer which include really focusing on independence and life skills.

We may talk about her getting another job? or maybe more hours on her current catering job.

The point in all this is:

Change is coming!

And taking a good, hard look at what will or won’t be constants in you and your child life is really important. As is having a Plan B, C, D and sometimes E, F and G. But the planning is all worth it to enjoy the time off the best you can.

For your child, you and well, let’s face it, the family!

So with IEP season also comes the entrance of summer!

Good luck to those heading into their meetings, remember you know your child better than anyone does and you are their voice.

I wish everyone a peaceful week,

Michele Gianetti author of Elizabeth Believes in Herself