The Islander S.O.S. Vol. 13 – May-June-July 2020

May went so fast…. And June is gone… July is here and we are slowly trying to recover and decide how to acclimate to the rest of society. All the masks, hand washing, lack of activities, lack of staff, lack of routine, it takes a toll! I am sooo sorry that I wasn’t able to get my May/June newsletters out. I don’t know how everyone else felt with distance learning… but me… I’m glad it is done! It was just adding another thing to do to my already endless list of things to check off my daily list. As well as trying to explain how to protect yourself from the virus – to family members who are already very germ phobic, but being careful to not add MORE OCD tendencies to our ALREADY OCD symptomatic family members. And don’t forget the riots and destruction. We live in Fridley, 1 or 2 outer rings from the Twin Cities and the chaos. It was very difficult to decide whether or not we should leave the house and go somewhere else or stay and risk being caught up in the outcome. BUT then where would we go and what would we tell our kids… who already suffer from PTSD. Oh what a whirlwind the last two months have been. As many have said, can we just put an end to 2020 right now and start a new year?

I’ve been trying to keep up with everything, as well as continue grabbing information I find worthy for my autism resources. So many places are coming up with new ways to help our kiddos. Virtual play dates, Virtual tours, someone mentioned going on a ride in Disney Land virtually! We haven’t tried that one yet, but it sounds very intriguing. We were one of the lucky ones to snag a used 13’ pool. Not being able or willing to share germs with others at the YMCA, we decided to have our own pool and it has been worth it so far! We have decided as a family that it is time to let our staff come back in. While we are cautious about the virus, it is also about our own mental health and stability. Knowing that, we are glad to have our faithful staff offer us that short needed break.

In reading many resources that have come out, I’d again like to share my resources on finding things to do and places to go for assistance during this unprecedented time.

https://ausm.org/resources/covid-19-resources/

https://www.autismspeaks.org/events?utm_source=email&utm_medium=text-link&utm_campaign=espeaks

www.youtube.com
Art for Kids Hub – we have been enjoying drawing with this app.

I also have found something that looks intriguing to me and my animal lovers…

https://shop.connectionzoo.com/Connection-Zoo%C2%AE–Family-Toolkit_p_12.html

Tune in next month for information regarding transition (hopefully we will be on a better track then) – what’s after high school?

As always… give me a call if you have questions about my services or have resources you think would benefit others!

Need a Guide? Please call!
Lora Cracraft
763-360-9715 call or txt

Also – if you ever change your mind about receiving monthly emails, please just send me a note saying – unsubscribe – to autismsosmn@gmail.com and I will take you off my list.

Happy Floating!