My son has had a terrible time dealing with the summer vacation transition. He has been literally begging for school every day for two solid months. We did everything we could to get him into a summer program but he was either too young or we didn't have the financial resources to apply to various programs. He's been so miserable that he's reverted to headbanging and spitting and nothing I do calms him.
Two weeks ago I received a call stating that school was starting again on the 25th. We went school shopping, talked about school, and got all excited about it. When the day came he got up early, dressed himself smartly, and even wanted to gel his hair into spikes (first time EVER!) He was so excited.
We got to the school and guess what? No school for preschoolers till Sept. 8th. The message I got was not intended for him.
Both of us were CRUSHED. It took all my strength not to cry. It meant so much to him and we had been talking about it for weeks.
He's not been in a good mood today, though I can hardly blame him. The bus goes by and he can't ride and he doesn't understand why.
I just hope this two weeks goes by fast.
You might be able to
You might be able to volunteer or get paid for a couple of hours per day at a local daycare/pre-school and bring your son along as a job perk. I know it's possible because I'm doing this.
I certainly understand your
I certainly understand your son's distress. Most people with ASD's (actually most people in general) really have difficulty adjusting when the expected does not happen, particularly when it is something we're looking forward to. As parents of ASD children, we seem to constantly walk this tightrope - trying to eliminate the surprises in our children's lives, but then having to deal with the extra level of disappointment if what we've prepared them for doesn't happen. Hopefully, he's now over his disappointment and will have a good day when school actually starts.
PS: My son always did better over the summers after they started him in summer school to make up the classes he missed out on during the year. He seems to thrive on a "daily grind."
Oh no! That's terrible! We
Oh no! That's terrible! We get those kinds of automated phone messages all of the time, too. They don't apply to pre-school usually.
And I know what you mean about summer programs. The Regional Center paid for 1 week of camp this year and the camp made an exception to accept my son even though he is not age 5 yet. It was the best thing my son did all summer. I heard some rumors about low-cost special needs soccer and karate in my area but I wasn't sure my kid was ready for that.
My son couldn't have done
My son couldn't have done soccer or karate either. There is a serious lack of summer programs for kids with Autism. ESPECIALLY for those with parents who can't drive.