The truth is, drop-off for the first day of school was devastating and I’ve spent the entire day sick to my stomach.
All summer long, I have been coaching both children (for
different-slices-of-spectrum reasons) to spend their first days at their new
school observing and listening. We have discussed at length how much there is
to learn from taking a step back and proceeding with care. How great it might
be to get to know people and what is expected of you before charging forth.
Yet when I circled back to check in on G on the swarming
playground, he was standing alone and shouting at the top of his lungs. Kids
were already avoiding him, five minutes in.
When I tried to stop him he said he’d made a friend and
needed to find him, though G, not surprisingly, wasn’t “sure what he looked
like.” I sure hope that’s true, that he’d made a friend and all, but I suspect
he wasn’t going about his friend-finding in the most effective fashion. In
sensory-overload situations G tends to get super-flappy, as some of us do.
Cheers and prayers for all of us first-day-of-schoolers
(workers, etc.) – it’s sense-y and people-y out there!
Love,
Full Spectrum Mama
"It's sense-y and people-y out there" might be my favorite line of yours yet. That what leaving the house feels like for me every day. My corner of the spectrum shares that with your corner of the spectrum, I guess. AG
ReplyDeleteDear Anonymous,
DeleteThank you for your comment. we certainly do share that!!!!
I was just reading a John Elder Robison book last night (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8674411-be-different) and he was talking about how FOCUS helps him avoid getting overwhelmed in some sensorially challenging situations. I think that's all well and good but in order to practice that in certain contexts (ceiling fans, cleaning product aisles, scented candle areas) I would have to risk screaming pain and so I just must avoid.
The swarms of children on the playground environment is a tough one for G, but I think he is developing strategies to narrow down the input. Fingers crossed!
I guess "our" corner enjoys being in a bit more of a peaceful corner, that is, trying to find a balance of being in the world but not overwhelmed or even injured thereby...Hope you find some of that every day.
Love,
FSM