God never gives us more than we can handle....

Myth: God never gives us more than we can handle.

I have been considering this more and more over the past few weeks in light of the new therapy that we are starting with Andrew. Nowhere in the Bible does it say God never gives us more than we can handle. In fact, I think the opposite is true. God routinely gives us more than we can handle! That requires us to go to Him for the necessary support.

In our new therapy, the guide (mom/dad) is suppose to present activities that are slightly above the competence of the apprentice (child.) In doing this it invites the child to go and seek help and assistance. These activities are not suppose to be extremely difficult; just outside the zone of proximal development. Or we are asked to do a task with our child that is somewhat unpleasant to get them out of their comfort zone. During this time, the goal is NOT to finish the task and we are not to MAKE him do it. The goal is to have the child to eventually want to apprentice the parent. The goal is relationship and this apprenticeship is a key deficit in autism. Much therapy in the autism world is spent on teaching skills. A child with a high IQ and high functioning autism can make it though Harvard being taught skills because life until the 'real world' is static. LIFE however, is dynamic outside the school environment. We need to learn to learn, to apprentice, to develop relationships and to trust!

God is the same way. He doesn't cause trials but he allows them. He has a plan and a purpose to prosper us however he is not concerned with the outcome as much as the relationship. I believe God allows trials for many reasons. He may want us to be able to help and understand others who will be in a similar situation in the future. Or perhaps he wants to put certain people in our path or to soften our hearts to someone. Maybe he is going to jump start you on a new path for life. Above all though, He wants to spend TIME with you. He wants to BE with you. And because we live in a fallen world, He knows there will be trials, so he designs to use them for His glory and His good and to call people to Himself. But he will not make you come to Him. The decision has to be your own. But God desires to spend time with His creation...and He loves you like crazy!

Legend of the Candy Cane and other December Studies

We are doing several lapbooks in December and one is on The Legend of the Candy Cane. You can find the materials here. (It's a free one!) It is a very sweet story tying in the candy cane to the real meaning of Christmas. The first tie in is that if you turn the candy cane upside down it makes the letter J...which stand for Jesus. Andrew says, "It aIso make a letter for Easter...r." I was thinking great... he is tying Easter to rabbits. But no, my little child says, r is for Resurrection. A little whisper from God that he is picking up the good stuff.

There are quite a few wonderful lapbooks on Currclick. Last year we did one on the birth of Jesus and this year we are doing a 'Christmas Traditions' lapbook as well as one on the Salvation Army. I did a quick search and found these current Christmas lapbooks on Currclick. I like the purchased ones because they are all put together. But there are plenty of freebies on the web. Just google the subject + lapbook. It just take a little more time that way.

Lapbooks are wonderful because they are interactive. You can even use them to take a break from the regular routine; 6 weeks of typical curriculum and then a week of lapbook. You don't even need to be a homeschooler to do them! There are tons of preschool lapbooks and a great way to build language. Also if you have a child with special needs whose speech is perhaps delayed you can do lots of language building without having to 'dumb down' to baby activities. I have blogged on several lapbooks we have done and you can find them on the sidebar.

Have a blessed and restful Christmas season.
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Hair Washing

Hair washing is torture for many kids with sensory issues. Even Temple Grandin talks about it in Thinking inPictures. A few weeks ago, Lisa from Sensory Critters posed the question on Facebook..how do you deal with hair washing. There were quite a few great answers.


First, Sensory Critters sells a shampoo rinse cup that is curved on one side to help keep the water and soap out of your kiddo's eyes.

You can try organizing your child with sensory activities before taking a bath. These might include wrapping your kiddo in a big towel or some heavy hugs. Chewing on something before or during the bath may help as well. Here are some additional organizing sensory activities.

Some folks have mentioned calming music during a bath. This wouldn't work for us since Andrew doesn't hear during a bath but it is worth a try for some kids. Also aroma therapy might be helpful.

Last night we tried something new. I washed Andrew's hair in the sink! I took off his clothes..since wet clothes upset him, and then put a washcloth on his face. He stood in front of the kitchen sink where I have a nozzle attachment and we made quick work of it. It worked well. He can still do a bath in the tub but we don't have t do the hair washing there.

I also found a 'bath hat' online. It is like a visor so the soap doesn't get in your eyes. I think I used to wear one of these!