Update!!

 We are SO far behind on our blog! A brief summary of summer basically included swimming every day, taking a few field trips with friends, and celebrating Griffin’s 12th birthday! We also had a checkup with his pediatrician and he grew 2 inches last year and she’s very happy with his progress. Griffin wanted to go back into general education, so we found a private Christian school where the class size is still small and they can manage his needs. We are almost 2 months in and he is handling it pretty well! He said he prefers to eat by himself at lunch because he needs his time to not talk to anyone haha. That sounds a little like his mom to be honest! He has gotten very skilled with his artwork over the summer and I’m going to start posting weekly drawings that he’s done so you can see for yourself. Prayers appreciated for him as we are heading to get an X-ray of his foot and make sure we are looking at just a stubbed toe or two! Thanks everyone!!

The Goally Device (A lifesaver!!)

Ok, all parents need to know about Goally! This is a program that you can completely customize to your child and it helps them become more independent and stay on track by themselves. We have been using it for 2 weeks now and Griffin LOVES it and so do we. First thing to know, you can just order the service to your own tablet or device or you can use one of their devices that comes in a damage proof case. I don’t want another reason for griffin to carry his iPad around so I got the device from Goally. I didn’t even have to show him how to use it, just told him it would tell him what to do and he would press whatever button it told him to in order to complete that activity. Since starting this, we are getting out the door for school on time everyday, Griffin does chores around the house because he earns points (you can choose how many points it takes to earn a reward and what the reward can be), he goes to bed on time, it wakes him up for school without me going upstairs, and it has given him the incentive to find ways he can behave better or do extra work to earn the rewards points. I control his schedule from my computer and I can schedule times for his activities or if something comes up I can create a manual activity to start and finish when I want. If he plays at a friend’s house he can wear the Goally like a necklace and I can set the time for him to come home and it will literally speak words and say “it’s time to go home.” Griff wants to know what he’s doing everyday and now he has the ability to see his schedule and how long each thing will take, etc. This is probably the best thing we have found to help him in several years. I’m not getting paid to say any of this, we’ve just decided to try the program and see how we like it. Read more at the website and give it a try. You can cancel anytime. This has been a life changer!!!!!

https://getgoally.com/

 

Life!!!

 So much to update since the last post (nearly a month ago, my bad)! Most people know by now, but Michael was just moved to an administrative position at the police department which has been an answered prayer! He is now home with us every weekend and we get to do fun things like visit family in the pictures above! His new schedule also lets him get home in time for dinner every night. This is something we have never had in the 15 years we’ve known each other, and not to mention HOLIDAYS OFF!!! So get ready to see us having more adventures and more fun as a family. Griffin is doing great and he and I can’t wait to share with you all a new product we have been sampling. A little hint, it is an amazing device that keeps Griffin on track when doing tasks and he LOVES THIS THING! I’ll let him make a video review and hope to post it sometime next week. Also, Michael and I just booked our plane tickets to Vegas in May and we would love any suggestions on restaurants and must see attractions. This is a business trip for his work so he and I won’t go out until evenings and I plan on relaxing by the pool during the day! 

The photos on this post are from a couple of weeks ago on our visit to South Georgia. We love visiting our family down there and we always have the best time. It is so great for Griffin to get some cousin time and enjoy all the outdoor fun. I was so proud of him, he participated in a kid friendly version of paintball, went walking thru the woods looking for deer antlers, and visited with family members. These are all things he hasn’t done before, and he’s met the family members but never been to their house before and behaved so well. We hope to go back this summer and get plenty of swimming and fishing in! See y’all soon!

Mathnasium

 https://www.instagram.com/p/CaiVtQlJcJQ/?utm_medium=copy_link

Picky Eaters

 We all know how picky kids can be, but imagine a child that has sensory issues and fear of food on top of being picky. So yeah, my kid eats very little. We have tried food therapy and it came down to this being more psychological than a sensory issue, which I think is good because we can work to change his mind. We have tried all forms of bribery for him to try new things and he didn’t care about it. Recently, I found a way to sneak around the being picky problem so I thought I would share what is working for us. My son (and most kids 😆) love watching other kids  play games and compete in challenges on YouTube. I thought of saying each day we will have a taste test challenge where he takes a bite of a new food. It has been working! He’s not eating a whole new diet but he will chew up something he’s never tried before and swallow it if he likes it. If he doesn’t like the taste he gets to spit it out. He gives me his “vote” on how it tastes and at the end of each week he gets a small reward. To make it even more fun, I will let him taste a new candy once a week in place of a food so he sees he may really enjoy other things. This has been a huge step in the right direction so maybe it can work for someone else!!

Voyage ATL Magazine

Special thanks to Voyage ATL magazine for the feature!

 http://voyageatl.com/interview/life-work-with-jennifer-cheek-of-dallas/?fbclid=IwAR0acLnjSzZeAJ6WWaJkEp7j9eGyGA1GFG_kLkNo-JRRZUOji8GLMUnW6xA

Back at it!

 Hey everyone! It’s been awhile but I finally have my energy back from Covid and my son just went back to school. Speaking of school, I have some exciting news to share. Griffin has been voicing that he wants to try something different with school for next year and possibly go back to a larger school again (his school is roughly 25 kids). My husband and I met with another private school that isn’t for autism or special needs but they can provide assistance. They had Griffin come in for a day to shadow and see how he liked it and if they felt like they could service him there.  I was nervous because I do love where we are currently and the new school is mainly neuro typical kids. I think, “what if he loses a game and pitches a fit” or many other scenarios. We were excited when we got the call that they would accept him there and they could provide what he needs! This is huge for us because he will be entering 6th grade in the fall and he wants to be around kids that he can imitate and learn from. I came to the decision that we are in no hurry for him to grow up and finish school by 18 like most kids. I want  him to grow up on his time and if he doesn’t do well at the new school then he can always go back to his current school and repeat the grade if necessary. We also left the decision of switching up to him. Once they called us with their decision, we asked Griffin what HE wanted to do. He has confirmed multiple times that he wants to try this so that is what we are going to let him do. TRY! I have a feeling he is going to blow our minds and do something amazing with his life. I’m excited to see what the future holds and would love positive vibes and prayers from everyone for the fall!! Talk to you soon….