Digging Daises

 Diggin Daisies was the first after school program that I signed Aiden up for.  This was in 1st grade.  The program was for any child who wanted to attend and it was about making things for the outdoors.  I probably wouldn’t have considered it but because it was suggested to me by his teacher, whom I loved, I decided to give it a try.  She understood my son almost as well as I did so I really trusted her.  I was super nervous about doing this though.  It would interrupt his typical routine and that would always turn into a big deal, but his teacher assured me that she would prep him on that day, and throughout the day, every week and have him escorted down the hall to the class. The first day was rough! The stray from his routine was too overwhelming for him and he had a meltdown.  Thankfully I had arrived early that day and took him home.  But we didn’t give up.  The next week we prepped him again and he was escorted to the class after school.  Again he had a difficult time adjusting but by the time I got there I saw him, with dried tears on his cheeks, calmly working on a bird house. It was a really significant day for the both of us. He had adjusted, accepted and even enjoyed this new disruption to his routine. And I realized, with the proper preparation and support, after school programs were completely possible for him.  I also wasn’t sure if he would “get” the purpose of the class but I underestimated him. He got it.  Maybe not in the exact same way as most of the other kids did but he got it in his way.  I was so proud of him.

Chicago Puppetolio - Chicago Humanities Festival

This is a puppet show that we went to some years ago. It’s not puppets moving around in a cardboard box.  It’s very elaborate puppets moving around on a stage. It was a good show; well done, cute, entertaining and funny.  Aiden was younger then so he wasn’t able to stay focused as well as he does now but he still enjoyed it.

Brookfield Zoo - Brookfield, IL

We’ve taken Aiden to Brookfield Zoo a couple times when he was younger.  He really loves animals and he enjoyed it but I think he was also too overstimulated by the whole scene in general, so his attention wasn’t always there.  Either more and more he’ll come to appreciate it or more and more I will learn that he’s appreciating it in his way.

NISRA - Northern Illinois Special Recreation Association

NISRA is a part of 13 park districts and municipal recreation departments.  Their programs take place in member district facilities and other public and private recreation sites throughout the area. NISRA’s activities are led by a full-time staff with college degrees in Therapeutic Recreation or related fields, and trained part-time staff and volunteers. NISRA’s mission statement states that their purpose is to enrich the lives of people with disabilities through meaningful recreation experiences.  

I just have to say that I love NISRA! I think I was introduced to NISRA, through Aiden’s school, when he was in 1st grade.  I wish I would’ve learned of it sooner because it really has great programs for kids of all ages, or at least starting at the age of 3 to adulthood.  To me, this place feels like a community college where all the classes they offer are non-credit only, just for fun!  They have a catalogue of classes to choose from with age and ability requirements and prices for residents, non-residents, and transportation if needed.  This was a place I was looking for but didn’t know existed.  Aiden was always working so hard in school and in therapies, I was always trying to find places to go and things to do where he could just have fun.  That’s pretty much why I started this Outings with Autism blog, incase there was another parent out there who was looking to show their child a good time but didn’t know where to go.  NISRA was a really good start for us. 

Adler Planetarium - Chicago, IL

     

Aiden was pretty young when we took him here. I didn’t expect him to leave this place with some newly found understanding of space or astronomy, I just wanted to expose him to something new and thought he might enjoy their Sesame Street movie “One World, One Sky”.  They play it in the Sky Theater, under the big dome.  The chairs are tilted back and the screen is 360 degrees around.  You feel like you’re traveling through space with Big Bird.  I was curious to see how he would react to the movie since, like the rest of his senses, I was unsure of his visual depth perception.  He enjoyed the show because he recognized the Sesame Street characters but he was also easily distracted by pretty much anything. Or maybe he was just overstimulated and was trying to cope? I don’t know. Aiden really didn’t talk then so he was much harder to figure out.  Hopefully someday he will ask me to take him back there.

Cuneo Mansion's Holiday Light Show - Vernon Hills, IL

This is a drive-through display of holiday lights that wraps around the 75-acre estate’s gardens.  It’s a 2 mile route that passes dozens of light sculptures.  The admission was $10 per car when we went. This is a nice warm way to watch holiday lights.  They tell you which channel to put your radio on to listen to Christmas carols as you drive through the different themed scenes.  The line to get into this place was crazy long but you do get plenty to see once you get in.  Aiden was younger at this time. He liked what he saw when he would actually look at it. We had to do a lot of prompting.

Clearbrook Wonderland of Lights - Arlington Heights, IL

This is a drive through holiday lights show.  There are lighted sculptures and a lighted tunnel that you actually drive through.  It features 100 animated scenes and plays out over a 1.6 mile course.  There is music you can listen to through your radio to accompany the light scenes.  This was the first holiday lights drive through show that we took Aiden to so he was very young at the time.  It was still very difficult for him to focus on things that weren’t super close up to him so there was a lot of “Aiden, look at this” “Aiden, look at that”.  It’s easier now, but he’s still gets distracted and/or overstimulated.