In the Home Stretch

School starts for everyone but Wilson on Tuesday and for their sake it needs to start. They are ready for structure, rhythm, and having someone tell them what to do all day long. They are ready to be back with their friends.

All in all we have had the best summer we have ever had. Tony had a PCA (his hours aren't over until October .. and now there is hope for a few more) and Dominyk was in the habit of spending every single afternoon at the YMCA... or at least that is what we thought he was doing. Some of the kids (Sadie in particular) seemed to turn a corner in regards to maturity and is making some very good choices right now. Ricardo has begun to hang out at a Martial Arts gym in town where he is doing submission wrestling and some other things that he loves -- he really wants to start boxing. This is keeping him from making bad choices.

I have a bit of hope that grades will go up this year. It might be false hope, but it seems to me that some of the maturity that has happened over the summer might translate into their school work, and I am more committed than I have been in the past to helping them because, at least for now, they are wanting my help. It looks like we're going to be off to a good start... now if we can all just keep the commitments we're making... me included.

Dominyk's IEP manager has agreed to let us scan and email his assignments to himself and to the IEP manager once they are done. Last year he failed 3 classses after doing ALL of the homework because it couldn't get turned in. We want to help him be more organized, but it is a life skill to teach people with severe ADHD to have a backup plan and the scanning will be his backpack. His PCA was trying to help him keep organized with that, but now I am his PCA...

I wonder if it would make a difference to anyone to know that when Dominyk had a PCA he completely stayed out of trouble but that this summer when dropped off at the Y every day -- he wasn't staying there. He has been caught shoplifting this summer and apparently the past two days has tried a little marijuana. When I picked him up from his supposed afternoon at the Y, he came home, did everything he was supposed to do, was not at all agitated and laid down for a late nap after supper. When he woke up he confessed to having smoked pot. The sad thing about that is that he told us that it was the first time in his life he had ever felt calm. Wow. To me that is tragic that the only thing that has made him feel that way is illegal when everything that is legal doesn't work.

Now before you go off on me, I am not advocating the legalization nor am I advocating illegal drug use and we are going to do everything we can to keep Dominyk away from it... but it just struck me as sad.

Fortunately school is starting in 2 days, the Y is closed tomorrow, and I don't think that he has any access at all to these guys unless he hooks up with them at the Y. Ironically this new smoking buddy is the kid who bullied him and bunched him in the face a few weeks ago.... But he doesn't go to Dominyk's school and I don't even think he knows his last name.

So now we are back to Dominyk pacing around the house chanting endlessly about how bored he is, but that sure beats breaking the law.

And to think that after all this I'm still reporting to you how optimistic I feel! My world is really warped.

Here's pics from Leons game as promised. Wilson played yesterday morning -- I should have those uploaded soon.