I was able to enjoy some me time again today, while waiting for Elliott to be dismissed from school. I played some ambient noise in the car and caught up on the news. 

I didn’t get much writing done but I did get to sorta zone out for a little bit. 

Elliott is usually one of the first kids out the door when the school day ends and I’m always the first in line for parent pickup. 

One of the things I always do is ask the boys about their day before we get home. I’m looking for how their day went, did they experience any problems and if they enjoyed their lunch. 

On Monday’s, I ask about homework and things like that. 
I prefer to do this before we get home because if there were problems, the boys tend to sorta emotionally re-live it while they’re telling me about it. This can, and often does lead to meltdowns on the way home from school. 

My thought process is that when we get home, I have the answers I need and if they were upset, removing them from the car and relocating into the house seems to de-esculate things. Changing up environment is a powerful tool in the world of Autism parenting. 

As far as Elliott’s day is concerned, it went well for him. He had no complaints and even did his homework without any issues upon arriving home. 

He definitely earned some video game time and that makes him a happy camper. ☺️