Schedule changes

Joey finished Fast Forward today (Thursday), a day earlier than we anticipated. This means that he begins his new schedule begins today (Friday). Another change.

The good news is we start with 35 minutes less of Mrs. A tomorrow, instead of Monday. She just hasn't been a good fit for my child, and perhaps that is as far as I should now discuss the matter. 35 minutes less there means 35 minutes somewhere that will be a good fit. Specifically, he will get extra 1:1 time working on language arts, social skills, and subjects he needs extra support on, such as social studies. Time is a funny thing for Joey. He is fascinated by clocks, analog and digital, and by time and telling time, and has been for over a year. However, the idea of past and history completely elude him. And I don't mean in the normal, kid-has-trouble-imagining-life-different sort of way; I mean it completely eludes him. The abstract idea of "once upon a time" gives him a lot of trouble, trying to wrap his mind around it. Some more focus will probably help, it usually does. He is good at knowing where he is supposed to be when, but asking him what he did last week- issues.

Joey is usually very good with change, as long as he has a clear idea of what is expected when the change comes. Giving him some warning- even if it will just be this evening and tomorrow morning- will help a lot. Sudden change, not so good. However, we've now shifted his school schedule twice. Winter/early spring is a funny time for Joey, he tends to get ready to "spring" in development (read: we get a huge uptick in anxiety and ritualized behaviors and then mid-spring we see him move forward. All that processing!) This could be a bit of a hairy patch ahead. I think I will stock up on Joey's favorites: popcorn and diet orange Sunkist.