Chet's good day

Chet has had a bit of a challenge behaviorally this summer.  His impulsivity is off the charts.  He has a hard time being quiet when you are telling him a task because he has all ready thought of 3 things to ask you or to change about what you were going to have him help with.  We have had to be vigilent about when and how he interacts with the younger kids and with Fiona because sometimes he blurts out things that are so wildly inapproriate that they would be frightening or inappropriate to them.

But there have been some shining moments.  The day the above beach shot was taken was one.  Another was last week when he and KC made plans (KC spearheaded this) to watch a new Fineas and Ferb movie together.

Yesterday was another great day.  I had spent most of the week trying to lay the ground work with Chet for how the party would unfold. Reminded him who was coming, what we were serving.  Chet loves to socialize but has trouble with social cues and also is easily overstimulated.  The more people who come, the louder things get and the more he ramps up.

However the BBQ allowed him many ways to be involved in physical ways which helped diffuse any of the nervous energies that begin to  consume him. There were things to bring from the kitchen to the back yard. There was cooked food to put on the platters and then on the serving table.  More ice was needed from our cellar.  He did all that and more and then I made sure that he sat and ate.  We had a number of tables so poeple could spread out and this too helped things out. He does not do as well when in addition to the simulations listed above, then there is close physical proximities as well.

After we ate he loved helping to clear things out, while the majority of us stood and talked. I had to cue him not to walk through the circle of chatting people as he bussed tables but over all, he did great. He felt useful and included and part of the whole, which is all I want for all my kids.