The time has come, friends. My 9-year-old is asking for a pet that can be his and his alone. Not just any pet though, a gecko. I should have seen this coming as he has been so responsible with his beta fish, feeds and cleans up after the dogs, and always does his chores. My mama heart knew I couldn’t say no to his request, so after much research, we ventured into gecko pet care. My son is now the proud parent of a gecko and to save you time researching, I am here to explain everything you need to know about caring for a leopard gecko. Their feeding is affordable and low-maintenance Leopard geckos primarily eat live crickets and mealworms. It is very easy to find these at any major pet store, and they are cheap (about $3 for a dozen … [Read More…] 4 Tools for Making it Work for a Sensory ASD Kid in Late Elementary Thank you to ARK Therapeutic for sponsoring this post so I could share this post about making it work for a sensory ASD kid in late elementary years. All opinions remain 100% my own! I love my late elementary-aged kiddos! They are so full of opinions, hope and yes…loads of opinions about how Mom should be rocking this whole family gig (because 3rd graders definitely know best how to load that dishwasher! ; ) ). Most of all, I love them because they are so vividly becoming in tune to themselves while still very much enjoying time with me–Mom! 4 Tools for Making it Work for a Sensory ASD Kid in Late Elementary Have a kiddo on The Spectrum? I get it, mamas–I do, really! This is hard, tricky business. The best we can do is to make the most of what we are given, every single day. That said, what does this actually, spelled out mean? How can you actually help your Sensory ASD kid? Get the school staff on board. I know, this can be so tricky in so many cases, but use your smarts to get the school professionals on team, and you will long reap the benefits of this connection. Don’t fear the IEP; use it! Listen, when I was first handed our IEP, I was floored and devastated. Then I took a minute to check myself and…fell in love with it. Seriously, the IEP is now our best resource. Get actual Sensory tools, fidgets, and chewies have been wholly responsible for getting my son through his school years! I am often astounded by the genius of ARK when whereupon realizing we need the exact product they are offering! tools in your cadre: this is where ARK Therapeutic shines! Accept your child for who and what they are. I know this is easier said than done, BUT… it matters. My son will never lead the soccer team, nor will he head the student council with impeccable organization. He WILL lend loads of innovative ideas to the robotics team and likely be band geek rockstar 😉 This works for us. All this said, I genuinely, truly, am-in-these-shoes-get-it, mamas. I have a child very much on The Spectrum, and we very much struggle to do our best every day. Both my on-the-Spectrum son and I work hard to learn and use our tools…and some days we are far more successful than others. The primary truth of our experience is that it ours and that we will fight endlessly to do our best with it. Often we will fail, but we will always try. We will try to meet my son where he is at. We will try to push him on to further heights of normal life experience. We will work hard to fully celebrate his joys while accepting the failings. We will fully love and know our children, to the best of our ability, always. Godspeed, fellow mamas. Latest posts by Meredith (see all) 4 Tools for Making it Work for a Sensory ASD Kid in Late Elementary – December 28, 2023 The Benefits of Participating in Extracurricular Activities for Young Children – November 22, 2023 Bright Young Women Book Club Discussion – November 10, 2023
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