It's another late post, but with some relevant weekend news

   Nixon's usual aide was out of school on Friday. Thankfully, she not only let him know on Thursday but also let me know at pickup Thursday so I could remind Nixon and prepare him for Friday. Even a small change in routine, like a familiar face not being present for a day, can be enough to send Nixon into an emotional tailspin.
   He was prepared and he did just fine.
   The only part that worried me was, when at pickup Friday, the special education teacher told me he hadn't eaten lunch or snacks. He was complaining his tummy hurt, but had no fever. He went to the nurse but nothing came of that.

    Still:

   I'm not sure what's going on at school, but Nixon says he's still being forced to write. I'm hoping it's not as bad as he feels it is, because he's saying he won't go to school because he doesn't want to write. This avoidance of writing is in his IEP and the school agreed to provide alternative methods to the writing part of his classroom work. 

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    In other news, we had one of the 2 birthday parties we've got happening this week, today. I had expected this one to be rough. I thought I was prepared for it. And for the most part I was.
    It was an animal adventure. There were live animals and an animal presentation. Nixon was okay, at first. But when the talking continued and he didn't get to see the animals right away, he got frustrated. When one part was interactive, kids were turning over coconuts, and Nixon didn't get a turn (right away), he lost it. Mac and I took him to a quiet corner and let him cry. It took about 10 minutes until he finally pulled himself together.
    He came over a couple more times, for hugs and quiet. In the end he did have a good time. He pet a baby alligator, a toad and even helped hold a 65 pound albino boa constrictor. When we got home, though, he was wiped. He slept for almost 2 hours until I had to wake him up for dinner. 

    I promised Nixon, that if he ever gets invited to a party at this place again, we'd decline. He liked that idea because he said it was too much for him. And for him to understand and acknowledge it's too much, says something about the environment of the party. And I'm not saying there was anything done wrong by the staff or the hosts, it was a lovely party. It just isn't an environment Nixon can navigate and handle successfully at this point in time.