Summer, New School, and FOOD

        Summer is always a challenge, whether your child is typical or not. We have been blessed to participate in a summer school program this year with the local university, even though our son does not qualify for summer services with the school district. He did it last summer, and is now looking at finishing up his second summer with them next week. The class is even held at the elementary school down the street for 3 hours a day. The university holds this summer school as a way to give their students experience. The program is overseen by professionals, one of which is Eli's fabulous kindergarten teacher, Miss Dale.

       Since the program is ending next week, we will be doing our best to fill the rest of the summer with constructive activities, and some fun. We have plans for a session of swimming lessons, sessions of speech therapy with a neighbor, day trips to the canyon, and reading at home to gear up for a new and awesome experience in the fall. I don't think I have shared this, but we have found what we feel is a great educational and social situation for our child. It is a charter school. I am honestly still feeling slightly apprehensive about pulling him from the local school district, but we both feel that this school is the place for him. Don't get me wrong, the school year last year ended on a positive note. He learned how to "be" in a mainstream classroom, but maybe not so much how to learn in one. Everything was done which could have in the situation. We decided it is just time to change the situation. Here and here are the previous posts which I wrote over the school year last year. We are looking forward to even more great things in the coming year.

      Oh yeah, and this is nothing new, but food is my nemesis. More accurately, it is a terrible love/hate relationship. I love food. However, it can easily make me and my child sick if we eat the wrong thing. I am not always a stalwart solider. This causes me stress and work which I sometimes whine about. One thing I hate about food is the "allergy bumps" that my son occasionally develops on his arm. When I see these on his upper arm, I feel as though I am a failure, even though this often happens in situations beyond my control. When we see these, my husband and I say things to each other like, "Oh yeah, that bit of cracker a kid on the playground told him to eat yesterday." Or, "Oh yeah, he got into the kool-aid at grandma's."

     My sister and I had persistent bumps like these on our upper arms as children. My mother, who was very conscious of our health, asked our pediatrician about them. Our doctor recommended Lubriderm because she really had no idea that it was all allergy, or food intolerance related at all. At least this is what I attribute it to after all I have learned. For all my complaining, I really do feel very blessed to have some answers now so I can be proactive in the health of my son and I.