Jenerally Speaking

This was not my usual Sunday.  I usually like to sleep in on Sundays until 10AM or so and then spend my day reading or catching up on the shows I taped on my DVR.  Nice, right? 

I made a worthwhile exception on this Sunday, though.  My 7-year-old niece Monica has been staying at a care facility for the past week and I was able to take some time this morning to visit her.  She was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome (an autism spectrum disorder) when she was much younger and she has been having a bit of trouble with aggressive behaviors this year in school.  It was rough to watching her struggle these past few weeks and I’m just glad that she may finally be getting the extra help she needs.

Monica is such an amazing little girl.  She’s one of those kids that you meet once and always remember.  She is smart, bold, funny and curious!  She’ll ask questions about anything and everything and her imagination is incredibly entertaining.  She really listens to you when you talk and has such an enthusiasm for learning.  For the most part, you can’t even tell that she is dealing with any type of disorder.

When’s she’s having a good day…there is not a single person who can’t or won’t smile when they are around her.  Her energy is infectious.  On her bad days, though…she can be stubborn and difficult.  It’s almost like she shuts down and just reacts – usually in a manic, wild manner.  That part is what her school – your normal run-of-the-mill public school just couldn’t handle.  They tried…sort of.  I think they seriously just hoped that her mom and my brother would finally remove her from the school.

Last week, an aggressive incident at school finally caused her to be sent to a children’s center for evaluation.  They immediately changed her medication and reevaluated her condition.  She has been away from home for about 10 days now, but seems to be happy and excited to be experiencing something new.  The medication seems to be working and her aggressive behaviors are better…and they haven’t turned her into an emotionless zombie either.  The good news is that she’ll be coming home this Wednesday and they’ll be looking to temporarily enroll her in a special school for a few months.    I hope this will be the beginning of some good things for Monica.  She definitely deserves it…and her mom deserves the peace of mind that comes from knowing her child is happy and healthy.

So, all in all – a very good way to spend my Sunday morning.  We played checkers (Monica won…mostly because she sweetly asked me to be kind to her and to not break her heart by beating her) and we played Sorry….which is a game that can take FOREVER if everyone keeps getting sent back to start.

I actually came home and slept for the rest of the day.  I thought I was catching up on the missed Sunday morning sleep, but I think I might be fighting some type of cold of something.  I’m feeling really, really fatigued.  I’m not sure all that Purell is really doing its job.