I’ve really been slacking off in the writing arena lately. I’ve been doing this for so many years that I get sorta burn out on writing sometimes. Taking a day or two or three off, isn’t a bad thing. 

I wanted to get you all caught up, as well as inspire you to think outside of the box, as I illustrate in this post. 

If I had to summarize our Sunday, I would probably focus on something a little bit newer, that I haven’t talked about recently. 

I spent a large part of Sunday, trying to come up with creative ways for the boys to get some sensory feedback, in a very positive way. If you have a sensory seeker in your home, you’re probably familiar with jumping on couches, and sometimes literally bouncing off the walls. 

I’m trying to somewhat control this energy they have, and channel it into something both productive and positive. If we’re lucky, it might even be fun. ☺ 

We made a couple of attempts to get to the part on Sunday, only to get rained out at the last minute. Shortly before bedtime, we finally made it, and the boys were able to do some exploring. 

Elliott was less interested in what his brothers were doing and more interested in exploring the creek. In order to do this, he had to scale the bank, and balance on rocks in order to get where he wanted to go, without getting wet. 

Both of these things were simple activities, but had a positive sensory impact. 

At one point, all three of the boys were exploring the creek together. They flipped over rocks, and carefully put them back the way they were found. Again, these were simple things to do. They not only enjoyed the activities, but were much calmer upon returning home. 

When we got home, Emmett wanted to work in the yard for a little bit before going to bed. 

He’s really into removing all the stray Rose of Sharon tree/bushes from our yard. They’re beautiful flowering plants, that grow like small trees, attract lots of bees, and spread like wild fire. 

We have so many we have to clear out of our yard, and Emmett is determined to help me with this. 

This is cool for a few reasons. 

1. I need the help
2. It’s nice spending time with him outside 
3. He gets a good sensory fix

He’s pulling the small sprouts out by the roots, and that takes some strength. I’m also letting him use the loppers, and the pruners, to cut down what he can’t pull out of the ground. Of course, I closely supervise him for safety. 

We only worked at this for about fifteen minutes because of the time, but he was exhausted. He used lots of muscles, and got lots of needed feedback at the same time. 

As Autism parents with limited means, we have to be creative in our approach to meeting out kid’s many needs. This often requires outside of the box thinking.. ☺ 

I need to keep coming up with fresh ideas to throw into the mix, but this was a great deal of fun for me, because I was able to use the resources available to meet some of their more difficult needs. ☺ 

What kinds of things do you do to meet your kids needs in creative ways?