Gratitude is not generally a feeling I experience when it comes to the Bean’s developmental delays, but at the moment I feel grateful that the Bean doesn’t understand what‘s going on in the world. Grateful, that she isn’t experiencing stress or anxiety (at least, not in relation to this particular pandemic). And selfishly, grateful that I don’t need to figure out how to talk to my almost 5 year-old about world events that I’m having a hard time wrapping my own head around.
For those of you who do need to speak to your kiddos about COVID, I found a link to this COVID-19 Social Story on the National Autism Association’s website:
Also, Autism Speaks has posted a video about how to cope with routines disrupted by COVID-19:
So many of the how-to-keep-your-kiddos-busy-during-COVID-resources I’ve found are full of amazing activity ideas that the Bean simply isn’t ready for yet!
Here are some of the activities that the Bean and I have been really enjoying:
1) Experimenting with Water Beads;
2) Playing ’Keep It Up’with a confetti-filled balloon. (She really got a kick out of it when the balloon popped and it rained confetti!);
3) Giving ’Baby’ (doll) a bath;
4) Going for a drive, Bean’s music blastin’ (okay, playin’) as she gazes up through the sunroof;
5) Triking and walking around the block, with varying degrees of success!
7) Playing with toys we forgot we had!
We’re also trying to use this time to work on the Bean’s:
1) ABA Tasks;
2) Potty Training (okay, well so far, the musical potty, PECS ‘bathroom’ card and books about potty training have appeared in our living room, it’s a first step!);
3) Eating (I plan to set up our family meals on a big plastic tablecloth on the floor, with fake food (‘cuz non- threatening) Beanppropriate snacks and our meal set up on the floor.
Unfortunately, after only Day #3 of COVIDcation, I’m starting to remember why we outsourced this list of things to work on!
Speaking of which, we’d purchased extra ABA services for March Break, hoping to extend those over the next couple of weeks, but our ABA provider has just closed the Centre and cancelled at-home service (the right decision, I think). They sent along the link to a website that has some great suggestions for getting through so many days at home:
I also found this:
This website includes instructions about how to set up many different types of sensory bins and ideas for accompanying activities. My big barrier to making/playing with sensory bins is that the Bean’s fave sensory bin activity is to dump the bin! Of course when this has happened, I’ve very patiently picked up every grain of, say rice, from our very unfortunately white area rug and we start over. Or...I‘ve cleaned up, thrown out the contents of the bin (now mixed in with accumulated dirt and debris from said area rug) and vowed to never repeat the experience again!
The Busy Toddler website has thought of this and come to our rescue! I can’t be the only person challenged by bin-overturning if Susie wrote an article about it, right? https://busytoddler.com/2016/12/introducing-toddlers-to-sensory-bins/
Another site FULL of great ideas is The Mom Kind. My favourite section is: https://www.themomkind.com/12-fun-sensory-activities-for-autistic-children/
One suggestion, shared on FB by a few of my mom friends, was to do a virtual zoo or aquarium tour (my gals must have read my Ripley’s Aquarium post, cuz the Bean loves her an aquarium!). I like this list best, published by Good Housekeeping, because it includes theme parks (will also double as simulation experience prior to our first Theme Park visit - assuming we ever get to leave the country again)!
Hubs and I adopted our cat before Bean came onto the scene and I SWEAR to you that this is true: she has just, like in the past 3 months, realized that we live with a cat! She has been up close at petting zoos and farms and somehow looks right through/past/around each animal. It’s a little eerie. She was once head-butted by a goat and didn‘t even see that goat! In contrast, during the same week as the goat incident we took Bean to a tiny little aquarium, where she ran to the very first fishtank, planted herself in front of it and was transfixed for almost an hour! Anyways, after a long COVIDcation day with the Bean, I couldn’t quickly access the list of aquariums that were providing virtual tours, but the San Diego Zoo had stood out in my mind, as we’d been planning a trip to California before the Covid-19 outbreak. I pressed play on San Diego and watched as she stood, transfixed, right up close to the TV screen for about 20 minutes. This is huge for her; her attention span when it comes to TV is never that long! Proudmament. Tomorrow we will virtually tour the Monterrey Aquarium. Can’t hardly wait!
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