Passover and Easter

Friday night, there were a few times when Kai wanted to take over his grandfather’s role in leading the Seder. The next day, he asked when he would be able to lead it. I told him that when he was grown up and had his own family, he could be in charge of the Seder.

He did not want to wait that long.

At lunchtime, he wanted to repeat the Seder, this time with him in charge. And so we did.

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A few years ago, we took Kai to our local Park District’s Easter Egg Hunt. It wasn’t much of a “hunt” as all the plastic eggs were distributed in plain sight in a big open field. When the signal was given, the throng of kids stormed the field and grabbed all the eggs they could. It was an Egg Grab more than an Egg Hunt.

At that time, Kai was still more in his own world. He did not communicate much. He did not listen to commands well. So, when the other kids started running onto the field and going for the eggs, Kai did not move. Mom had to take him by the hand and pull him onto the field. And when they were in the field, it was all she could do to get him to pick up a few eggs before the other kids grabbed them all.

We did not go to the big Easter egg hunts in the years after that.

But, this year, Kai saw a poster for the event the other day and said he wanted to go. With a bit of trepidation, I took him yesterday morning.

This time he waited patiently for the signal. And when it was given, he ran amidst the huge throng of kids and had no problem quickly filling my hat with ten eggs. (I had forgotten to take an Easter basket with us).

He has changed so much since that last egg hunt, and it was a joy to see.

Kai could have easily gotten a lot more eggs. But he had heard the announcement that each child was limited to ten, and he obeyed the rules. I was disappointed when we saw other kids with a lot more than ten eggs. I had to praise him for following the rules, even as he said that next time he would go for more.

In the afternoon, it was time to color eggs. Kai looks forward to it, and had a hard time waiting until we were all ready. But once he had colored about eight or nine eggs, he had had enough and it was up to my wife and I to finish coloring the three dozen eggs we had.

But it was a fun time.

This morning, Kai looked forward to seeing what the Easter Bunny brought. He enjoyed his Easter basket somewhat, but as he doesn’t eat chocolate or most candy, the Easter treats are not all that exciting for him.

It looks like a nice day out. We hope you are enjoying your Easter Sunday.

Getting Excited for the Passover Seder

Passover doesn’t seem like the kind of holiday that would excite most kids. But, for our son, it is a glorious time.

This week’s column in the Patch takes a look at Kai’s excitement over Passover Seders. Click here to read all about it.

Happy Kid

I’m trying to get some work done and I can hear my son in the other room singing “I’m dreaming of a white Christmas.”

Kai has been in a great mood all week during this first week of winter break. I’m guessing that most of it is due to being off from school, the approach of Christmas, and our Hanukkah celebration that we will have tonight.

While some kids with autism struggle with holidays that disrupt the usual routine, Kai looks forward to seeing his relatives and getting presents (of course).

Aside from the yuletide joy, I am wondering how much impact his new medication is having on his mood. Risperidone is supposed to reduce aggression and anger, so the happiness we are seeing may, in part, be aided by the medication. Though being home from school, he hasn’t exactly faced many stressful situations so it is hard to judge. He has, however, been less resistant to doing the extra computer work (on math, reading, and thinking skills) that we had scheduled for him this week.

One benefit of the drug that we are sure of is that Kai is sleeping much better these days. He falls asleep very quickly and usually does not get up until we wake him up. After being awaken in the middle of the night for years, I am enjoying the good nights of sleep. This week, we have all slept in on several occasions, something I rarely did even in my single days. I think I’m making up for the years of lost sleep.

With our Hanukkah celebration this evening followed by Christmas this weekend, it will be a whirlwind of a few days.

And though it won’t be a White Christmas, I’m enjoying the sunshine – both coming in from my office window, and from my son’s upbeat disposition.

Reflections on the Past Year

While New Year’s just doesn’t match up to Christmas in terms of kids’ anticipation, our son is still looking forward to it. We are all staying in on New Year’s Eve and Kai is planning to stay up past midnight to ring in the new year. My wife and I told him that we’re not sure that we can stay up that late ourselves, and he said not to worry, that he will wake us up if we fall asleep.

Last New Year’s Eve, he also said that he wanted to stay up late, but around 10 o’clock, he told us that he was ready for bed. I have a feeling that this time he will last at least a little longer.

Things change in one year, and Kai’s ability to stay up later on New Year’s Eve is but one measure of the change. As we reflect on 2010, we can see that a lot did indeed happen in the past year.

Our son started the year in kindergarten at our neighborhood school, but had to transfer when things did not work out well. At his new therapeutic school, he received more attention and had opportunities that matched his needs. He had some difficult times along with the good, but overall he made progress and reached Level 2.

We had a lot of fun moments. There was our crabby vacation and visits with grandparents. We played sports and played games. We celebrated Mom’s birthday. Of course, holidays are always a big occasion and we enjoyed everything from Passover to Hanukkah, Halloween to Thanksgiving to Christmas.

It is hard to imagine what 2011 will bring. But, knowing Kai, it will be full of surprises. I can’t wait to find out how it all turns out.

Happy new year, everyone!