February 3, 2010

Groundhog's Day

It's winter. I know this because today was a snow day. Which meant no school. Again. For the umpteenth time this year. And we're expecting a blizzard on Friday, with more snow the following week. At the rate we're going, my kids will be in school until July.

Do you have any idea what all this winter does to a kid with Asperger's Syndrome?

Winter means snow days and two-hour delays and early dismissals. It means holidays and half days and exams. Every day is different. Every day breaks your routine. And that routine is important. That routine helps you stay calm because you know what's coming next.

That routine is toast.

Winter also means gloves and zippers and making sure your shoes are tied and your feet are not slipping on the ice. Not so easy when fine motor skills and balance are your physical Waterloos.

In our school system, winter also means geometry, which for sixth graders is graphing and plotting and spatial relations.

Now picture yourself as a kid with an inspired math brain. You just get it. You know innately how it all works because numbers make a beautiful, simple, logical sense. And yet, because your brain and your hands aren't in synch, you can't make all that graphing and plotting happen on paper. Picture yourself and your low frustration threshold dealing with that. Then picture the social dynamic of trying to find a partner to work with, and not understanding why he won't, or why everyone's mad at you for the way you tried to change his mind. And  this is after you put on your gloves and zipped up your coat and tied your shoes and balanced on the ice and missed a few snow days and didn't eat your lunch because the lunchroom is noisy and distracting and the kids don't make sense and you haven't seen the sun in days.

I'd have gotten suspended, too.

My Aspie and I, we hate winter.

The groundhog saw his shadow yesterday. Six more weeks of this mayhem and madness are on their way. So, yeah, I pretty much hate the groundhog now, too.

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