Have on Hand: Extra Socks

Summer fun with kids often includes festivals with bounce houses, playgrounds, bounce pillows, and other play places.  On the one hand, summer often means flip-flops, sandals, and crocs – in other words, footwear without socks.  On the other, “No Shoes” is a pretty common rule when enjoying these different jumping experiences. But socks are usually required.

So my life hack here is a footwear accessory that we forget but often need during the summer.

Socks

On one recent trip, my Better Half sat barefoot while our daughter donned ridiculously large adult athletic socks up to her knees so she could jump to her heart’s delight. We’ve also been squeezed into purchasing overpriced socks just so our kids could participate in an activity. Not to mention that time we got stuck in a downpour and the kids complained about wet socks and shoes the whole ride home.

We’ve since wised up and now keep an extra pair of socks for everyone in the car. My Better Half took it a step further and put an extra pair for both kids in her purse when she knew there was a birthday party soon at one of those bounce places. Luckily, our kids were in sneakers that day and arrived at the party in sock-covered feet. There was a friend who didn’t remember that detail, and we were able to "come to the rescue" with clean socks for them to borrow. So grab a clean pair of socks for everyone and throw them in the car. Maybe even store them in your plastic bag...

Have on Hand: Plastic Bags

Summer is in full swing.  And in the the whole of Rochester there was a joyous exultation, except for those who now complain that it is too hot!

Now that the warm weather is here to seemingly stay, my family is getting out of the house more for a broader range of activities. Over the last few weeks, we eagerly approached several activities only to realize that we were missing an essential item required for participation or a helpful item for cleaning up after said activity. From these mishaps, I will be posting "life hacks" throughout the summer about basic items we've needed on hand at all times to pull off a successful summer excursion. Without further instruction, I present to you...

Plastic Bags

If you're like me, you probably have bags of crumpled bags lying around your house. After unpacking from a big shopping trip, we amass a pile of them with no immediate use.

I can tell you that one of those piles now live in the trunk of our car. The most immediate summer use was to contain soaked bathing suits after a trip to the pool.  Everything was packed, neatly and dry, for our day at the pool.  However, the end of a trip to the pool cannot be characterized as either neat or dry, and usually involves hungry, exhausted children. It would have been really handy to throw those wet suits and towels in a plastic bag to carry and transport home. It’s hard to believe that something as ubiquitous as a plastic bag is so truly impossible to find when you really need one. And I shudder to share here all of the sanitation-related situations we've encountered where something horrific has been contained within a plastic bag lulling around somewhere in the car. Praise be for those plastic bags!

My very own ADOS kit has arrived!

When does an adult get the chance to spend a ton of money on kid’s toys?  I’ll tell you when…

When they open a private practice and are prepared for ADOS testing on their first day on July 11!

Let me start by first explaining what the ADOS actually is. The formal description is as follows:

The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) is a semi-structured assessment of communication, social interaction, and play (or imaginative use of materials) for individuals suspected of having autism or other pervasive developmental disorders.

In a nutshell, the ADOS is a series of structured play and conversation opportunities that aid in determining whether someone meets criteria for autism spectrum disorder. Now the diagnostic process has many more components to it (e.g., a caregiver interview, review of educational records), but getting down on the floor with kids and interacting with them face to face is one of my favorite aspects of my job. To accurately and comprehensively diagnosis Autism, researchers standardized the “play” components so that each person receives relatively similar social opportunities. This test arrives in the form of paperwork protocols and a giant box-o-toys. My new office mates at the practice on East Avenue were shocked when a huge, heavy cardboard box arrived in the waiting room one morning. The box was big enough to hold a love seat, specifically this one. I had a great time unpacking and organizing the contents. For those of you who know how much I love organizing and sorting things, this was its own reward...

These are the materials for the ADOS for older children, adolescents, and adults.

These are the materials for the ADOS for toddlers and young children.

I have been administering the ADOS for many years and received great clinical training on how to interpret the results of this assessment as part of my graduate and post-doctoral training. Today marks an important day for me because now I get my very own set of toys that I get to share with my patients and their families at both of my office locations.

One added bonus is the shipping box:

It was so huge I brought it home to make a play house – talk about a great investment. 

A new home for favorite toys. Note the Dinotrux "bad guys" figures stored in the back of a garbage truck.

"Why is my kid is crying?"

In a hurry on a Monday morning, we herded our adorable children like wild cats into the back of our car.  And for reasons that remained beyond us both, our son began to wail.

What in the world is he crying about? 

If I had a dollar for every time I thought this about my kids, I’d be a wealthy man.

Crying is a form of communication that evokes so many emotions, both in the self and in others. Crying is a complex and controversial behavior with its own separate domain of critical research. But somehow, many caregivers learn to decode their children’s crying and react emphatically.

How we respond to crying is really important, especially when someone is not able to communicate verbally. This could apply to a child who does not have words yet or a verbally fluent adult who has a hard time “finding their words” when they are emotionally activated.

There’s no one “right way” to respond to crying, but here are a few tips that I’ve found helpful:

1. Listen (rather than trying to problem solve)
2. Observe (rather than act on the other person)
3. Assure (rather than trying to correct or calm) - “I’m here” or “We’ll hug at school”

So you might be asking yourself: What exactly did you do when your son was crying that day?

I’ll tell you:

1. We put him in his car seat (because we were late, of course)
2. I drove as calmly as I could to school (which thankfully was only less than a mile away)
3. We listened through the trill for his words to come to him (which they eventually did)

Why was he crying?

Because we turned off his “movie show” before it was finished. Curse you Daniel Tiger and your end of show skit. Next time, we’ll try to give our little man a warning that we need to turn off the show.

Ugga Mugga my friends. Happy Monday morning.

Be Prepared: The Potty Hits the Road

Summer seems to have finally arrived in Rochester, and for many of us, that means more time in the car traveling to activities or visiting family that lives out of town.

By the grace of God, our son recently potty trained. While in the heavens there was great exultation at this incredible development milestone, our thoughts turned to wise words from The Lion King: Be Prepared.

So…nigh on 2 years ago, our oldest achieved the same milestone as we prepared for a trip from Rochester to Myrtle Beach, SC. So a 30 month old and 6 month old sat like cherubs in the back of our Honda CRV as we disembarked for the beach.

I don’t think we made out of New York before our daughter exclaimed in mild panic:

The virtues of this potty can be summarized as such:

1. Sturdy and portable (with those all important side bars for stability when hunkering down)

2. Separate receptacle for catching waste (so you can pull over and “dump” it)

3. Arm & Hammer insert (to keep the odoriferous factor sanely controlled)

“I need potty!”

Thankfully, I married well and wisely. My wife suggested that we bring the portable potty.

I never realized I could get so close to the steering wheel as my wife helped maneuver our daughter behind my seat to drop trowel and properly relieve herself into said receptacle, which we had packed as a last second precaution for the road.

As fortune would have it, my daughter felt so moved to have a bowel whilst we were stuck in the throws of stand-still traffic outside of the fabulous District of Columbia. As our son was screaming to be fed by his mother, our oldest lost a pound or two in the loo. The loo located directly behind the driver's seat.

So…this is all by way of saying: Be prepared, listen to your wife, and pack a potty. It’s no joke.