I have so many things to think about right now that it is
hard to focus on topics for my blog. For
now it will have to be updates. I can’t
tell you yet, about the two projects that I am working on but they both involve
autism and me! Both projects involve
executive functioning skill, some of which I find hard to come by! Organizing, planning, putting things in
motion- it is a slow process and I hope that both projects come off as
expected.
Micah is still doing amazingly well at school and has only
missed one day so far and that is in the current second semester. She was sick.
She had two exams (Science and English) and two projects (Learning
Strategies) to finish out first semester.
Her marks were 95%-98%. Her
anxiety started increasing before then, so she switched back to once a week
therapy. Here is a link to a video about a boy who takes the same kind of therapy at the same farm as Micah. Her self-advocacy skills are
improving at school. She has three
credit course periods and two non-credit course periods (lunch is one) in the
day. In first semester, first period was
in the ASD class and was Learning Strategies; second period is integrated with
an EA along for support; third period is lunch (this year) which the whole ASD
class chooses to eat in their classroom and not the noisy cafeteria; fourth
period is integrated with EA support, and fifth period is non-credit in the ASD
class. It is officially social skills
but it is usually homework help and relaxing before home time with board games
or socializing (those are the true social skills, not rote learning things that
even allistic kids don’t do!). It is now
second semester and Micah has a lighter course load- ASD literacy (prep for the
grade 10 literacy test), vocal music, and computer technology. Because Micah is doing so well, a staff
member suggested to her that since she has a lighter course load, she might
want to take another course fifth period.
She was able to say no and when she told me, I agreed. Yes, she academically could do it but,
psychologically she isn’t ready. She
needs that time at the end of the day to get any homework explained and to just
relax to bring the anxiety of the day down before coming home. She mentioned that her teacher would be
calling to talk to me and that it would be brought up. I reassured her that things would stay the
same. Another day, Micah came home and
said that it had been suggested that she might want a different course for
first period in second semester instead of the ASD literacy in her own
class. The reasoning was that she has
now completed grade 9 applied English so she would already have the skills to
complete the mandatory grade 10 literacy test that is needed for
graduating. It makes sense. The teacher already knew what Micah’s answer
would be and said so to the staff member who had recommended the change. When the teacher brought it up with Micah,
Micah was able to speak up for herself and said no! Another day, she was also able to advocate
for her needs to one of the other boys in her class. They all like to sit side by side at
lunch. Her anxiety is worse right now so
she told the one boy that she could not have him squished between her and
another boy as they usually sat. She has
to be really comfortable with someone to let them be that close anyway. She told him that she needed her space right
now. He got upset, which is understandable
when you are used to something a certain way but Micah stood her ground (idiom
meaning didn’t change her mind) and she told him no for several days. She had been helping classmates with their
end of first semester projects in a couple of classes and one day she even
called to ask if she could stay after school to perfect a project. It was an electrical circuit that was not
working as it should. The science
teacher had told the class that they could come in and work after school so
Micah worked on it through her fifth period and then took it up to the science
room after school to continue to work.
She was the only one in the class who chose to do so! She is doing so many things in school that
she has never done before. High school
seems to be a good fit! Second semester
seems to be starting out well also. A
few hiccups but overall good. Micah even
had a friend over and is going to his house next.
My medicinal cannabis prescription was finally approved by
the legal producer that I chose. I
called and asked which type would be best for me to try and then ordered
it. I know I wrote down what the man
said about the different types but can’t remember where I put it! I got my order and it came with a grinder and
a mat. The product itself smells really
bad- unless you happen to like the smell of marijuana! If you remember from a previous post, I don’t
want to smoke it- I have asthma and my mother died of lung cancer. I came up with other ideas on how to get it
into me. The two things I was certain of
were that it had to be heated to not too high of a heat and it had to be mixed
with fat to release the cannabinoids. I
knew I was also going to make capsules but wanted other options. I thought, okay, then I could also add it to
my pancakes in the morning, baking, tea etc.
The capsules that I bought from the dispensary did not have a strong
taste when I opened the higher dose ones to add half a capsule to peanut
butter. The man I talked to at Tilray
tried to tell me which strain was best for me and my anxiety and said that it
can’t be heated too much or the active ingredients vapourize. He recommended putting cannabutter on my
pancakes instead. I don’t understand
the difference between baking it in cookies and adding it to pancakes but there
seems to be! He said someone
decarboxylates it before using it for her son. Everything seems to be far more complicated
than I thought! I guess it is easier to
smoke it. I figured I would measure a
certain amount, put it in some oil, heat it a bit, and put it in capsules. Turns out, you have to heat it at a set
temperature for the right amount of time, either in a crock pot or double
boiler. The amount of cooking time seems
to vary depending on website 1½-6 hours.
I froze and couldn’t do anything for a few days. Too many things to learn. My decision for my first four grams was to
decarboxylate the whole order and then make capsules. It really made the house
stink! I am learning and I think it will
be easier to make the capsules next time.
When I finally had a day where I didn’t have to drive, I
tried one. I didn’t feel as relaxed as I
did with the type I got from the dispensary.
It could be that I have the wrong strain for me or maybe I messed up in
the making of the capsules. I think I
will try a different strain next time but I will try taking an increased dose
of what I have. I usually take 0.1 grams
and will try 0.2 grams. I might try
baking with it also.
Overall things have been going along as usual. Lots of upsets and some smooth periods. I'm still doing my singing lessons. We working up to being able to perform at a recital. I have worked my way up from lessons at home to the music school, to the stage, and now the stage and microphone. More work to do but I am getting there. It seems to help somewhat with my confidence (even though it also causes some anxiety).
