Graduation Gift Idea

[Guest guest]

This was posted on another blog, and sounds like a great idea. We hosted a

party for our daughter & invited lots of family friends, teachers & therapists,

and later made up a photo albumn of her special day. She loves to look at those

pictures and remember or script about the people in them. Happy memories!

From a Parent in North Carolina:

As parents of kids with autism, we can get worn down not only from the physical

demands of parenting a child on the spectrum but by the emotional demands as

well. It seems that our teen son needs and has always required reassurance. My

husband and I often serve as his cheerleaders, providing kudos and feel-good

words to foster the self-esteem of our special needs child. As much as we adore

our kids, this can grow tiresome. What if there was something else, something

they could turn to when we weren't around or when they were feeling blue and

needed a boost?

My husband and I had the idea to make a book of memories for our son as a

surprise high school graduation gift this past June. We made a long list of

loving teachers, professionals, family members, and friends who had touched our

son's life, beginning in first grade. We contacted them all and requested

letters, pictures, cards, or any special memories they had of our son.

We were amazed at the outpouring of interest and the written treasures that were

sent back to us by email and snail mail. One special ed teacher from elementary

school had even saved classroom publications that included blurbs about her

students and pictures our son had drawn 11 years ago!

The look on our child's face when he received this surprise gift was better than

all of the words of thanks that we got from him. It was so fulfilling to see him

flipping through the pages and smiling at the names he saw at the bottom of each

personal note.

As our son prepares for college in the fall, he often comments about the book

and what it means to him. It seems that he needs us less as cheerleaders now

that he has this to read whenever he feels he needs a pick-me-up.

We are immensely grateful to everyone who took the time to share their

connection to our son. If your child is young, you may want to start a master

list of teachers and other contacts, because one day you might find yourself

calling on them to share their memories of your child. It really is a gift that

lasts a lifetime!

[Guest guest]

It's a great idea, and not just for your kid.

Won't bore you with the details, but as Neal finished grade 12, we knew that a

particular door of opportunity was being closed, and this was distressing to

us.  So his graduation was a sad time for me, although I knew the transition

program was good.

We had a graduation party, and it's a testament to the goodwill and loyalty that

Neal engenders that over 70 people came.  There was either a speech therapist

or a teacher from every grade K-8 there, church friends, a few special ed

classmates, and a few relatives.  It was a bigger turnout than our 25th wedding

anniversary party the month before.

I hadn't really tried scrapbooking, but I made a scrapbook of Neal's growing up

years through high school, and one for the party.  And the process of doing it

cheered me up, as I remembered all the fun times of Neal's childhood and all the

great people who loved, supported, or taught him.

-Gail

________________________________

From: misslaur57 <jeruefamily@...>

IPADDUnite

Sent: Saturday, August 20, 2011 10:51 AM

Subject: Graduation Gift Idea

 

This was posted on another blog, and sounds like a great idea. We hosted a

party for our daughter & invited lots of family friends, teachers & therapists,

and later made up a photo albumn of her special day. She loves to look at those

pictures and remember or script about the people in them. Happy memories!

From a Parent in North Carolina:

As parents of kids with autism, we can get worn down not only from the physical

demands of parenting a child on the spectrum but by the emotional demands as

well. It seems that our teen son needs and has always required reassurance. My

husband and I often serve as his cheerleaders, providing kudos and feel-good

words to foster the self-esteem of our special needs child. As much as we adore

our kids, this can grow tiresome. What if there was something else, something

they could turn to when we weren't around or when they were feeling blue and

needed a boost?

My husband and I had the idea to make a book of memories for our son as a

surprise high school graduation gift this past June. We made a long list of

loving teachers, professionals, family members, and friends who had touched our

son's life, beginning in first grade. We contacted them all and requested

letters, pictures, cards, or any special memories they had of our son.

We were amazed at the outpouring of interest and the written treasures that were

sent back to us by email and snail mail. One special ed teacher from elementary

school had even saved classroom publications that included blurbs about her

students and pictures our son had drawn 11 years ago!

The look on our child's face when he received this surprise gift was better than

all of the words of thanks that we got from him. It was so fulfilling to see him

flipping through the pages and smiling at the names he saw at the bottom of each

personal note.

As our son prepares for college in the fall, he often comments about the book

and what it means to him. It seems that he needs us less as cheerleaders now

that he has this to read whenever he feels he needs a pick-me-up.

We are immensely grateful to everyone who took the time to share their

connection to our son. If your child is young, you may want to start a master

list of teachers and other contacts, because one day you might find yourself

calling on them to share their memories of your child. It really is a gift that

lasts a lifetime!