05 January 2011

INDEPENDENT TRANSPORT...

As many of you know one of the main concerns in our family is the care and happiness of our man, Denny. The unique view of the world through the eyes of an autistic adult make our day to day life a lot of fun and a bit challenging at times.
CHANGE IS NOT ALWAYS EASY...
  For years we have managed to minimize any serious issues by working through change as carefully as possible with Denny. A new car, change of classroom or adjustments to schedule used to be a major effort for all of us. In recent years things have been a bit easier; Maybe because we have gotten good at it, or maybe because Denny has learned to adjust better in his old age. We recently overcame the hurdle of helping with the laundry, even if he wants to put ALL of the freshly cleaned clothes right back in the dirty clothes hamper - just to help.
AND NOW THE BIG ONE...
 Denny loves his "school". The center is not truly a school, but we always prefer to refer to it as his school and the kids. The current legal term is day habitation and training center, and is for clients. Maybe Mom and dad are a bit autistic as well, but we still think of it as Denny's school.
  Recent changes in budget and program have caused our family to adjust once again. For many years we have delivered Denny to school and picked him up again in the evening. With the new hours and reduced programs we have moved into daily transport on the center's van.
 Some of you may have followed the adventures of Denny's transition to the new system on my FaceBook posting. The short version is; After preparing Denny for a week to start riding the van with his classmates - they forgot to pick him up on the first morning of the new program! We regrouped, got him to school, and in the afternoon he came home on the van, safe and sound.
TODAY'S UPDATE...
This morning Denny was all set to go, on time. Actually he was ready ten minutes early, as the clock shows. 
 When the van headlights showed up in the driveway, Denny was out the door like a shot!
 Seat belt locked! Let's get this show on the road. It appears that our concerns about our special boy were somewhat unfounded. So far, at least, he seems to be taking this latest change in stride.
A LITTLE FOLLOWUP...
 Every day when he gets to the center, Denny has a job to do. He is responsible for placing all the walkers out front by the bus stop for the folk's who need them. He takes this very seriously and does a good job, as you can see here.
Congratulations to Denny for doing such a great job every day, and for making this big transition so well. And thanks to all of you who have been calling and asking about how things have been going. We are all doing OK, thanks.
So, until next time; I'll be seein' ya'...

6 comments:

Sue said...

Great blog! I hope Denny will adjust to the change well. If he doesn't, I am sure he will let us know.

I dislike change as much as Denny.... so I guess I am a little autistic, too. Ha Ha too true.

Victoria said...

Yep, Denny isn't the only one. I'm proud of him!

Jen said...

Woots for Denny!!! And I love the video. It's been so long since I have seen him. It was wonderful to get to see him "in action" again. Thanks!

Peggie said...

Wonderful BLOG and FANTASTIC video!! It's great to see Denny so happy. I'm so thrilled to see his progress and changes.... Keep up the good work!!!

Love ya!

CShore said...

Hey, I'm glad to hear the big changeover went so smoothly!

Lisa Lee said...

That's so great that he gets to ride a bus, and was all ready to go today. That's one of David's great joys in life. You two are the best for always working so hard too.