From Inside the Puzzle: Raising a Child with Autism Blog : social skills

A Day At Dollywood

Devon Alley — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 14:56:00 GMT

At the end of last week, A. was on Fall Break. So, on Friday, Thomas and I took a day off from work, and we arranged to take A. to Dollywood for the day. For those of you not familiar with Dollywood, it's the largest theme park in close proximity to Knoxville....(read more)

What's A Facebook Party, Anyway?

Devon Alley — Wed, 22 Aug 2012 23:38:00 GMT

Last night, I posted the following tweet: "Watching my daughter have a 'Facebook Birthday Party' is one of the most fascinating anthropological activities I've ever engaged in." This tweet inspired a flurry of replies, most of them along the lines of...(read more)

A Small Vacation

Devon Alley — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 16:19:00 GMT

This past weekend, Thomas and I took a couple of days off from work and drove up to Pennsylvania to visit with cousins who live there. The intention was to have a sort of mini family vacation, as well as to spend time with family members we don't get...(read more)

Learning How To Ask Questions

Devon Alley — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 22:21:00 GMT

Yesterday, there was a gas leak at A.'s school, and the entire place had to be evacuated. A.'s daycare is also on school property, so everyone took refuge in a church next door as the problem was fixed. As you can imagine, this is exactly the sort of...(read more)

Friendship Club Picnics & Dog Shows

Devon Alley — Sun, 10 Apr 2011 00:09:00 GMT

Today, A. and I attended another East Tennessee Chapter of Autism Society of America Friendship Club Event. However, this story doesn't begin with the events of the day. It actually begins the night before with my awesome fiance, Thomas, and how he was...(read more)

Best Day Ever, Part Two - Sword Fighting Social Skills

Devon Alley — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 14:33:00 GMT

Last week, I posted about an especially good day during Spring Break, where not only did A. come to work with me and do a fantastic job of being my office-mate for half a day, but she also went with me to a local volunteer shelter to help serve lunch...(read more)

Best Day Ever, Part One - Unexpected Pre-Vocational Skills

Devon Alley — Fri, 18 Mar 2011 13:20:00 GMT

Before heading to bed last night, A. took a minute to tell me that yesterday was the Best Day Ever. It goes without saying, of course, that Little Miss Drama Queen has a tendency to label every other day the Best Day Ever or Worst Day Ever, but I had...(read more)

Incredible Progress

Devon Alley — Sun, 13 Feb 2011 00:25:00 GMT

On Friday, I brought A. her favorite McDonald's lunch, and sat and had lunch with her in the school cafeteria. This was a long-planned reward for her continued work on memorizing her multiplication tables -- at the end of her quiz periods, she'd have...(read more)

The Other Side of the Mirror

Devon Alley — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 04:00:00 GMT

My mother always told me I was a very emotional girl. She told me this, however, from the lens of someone who had spent her entire life feeling ashamed of emotions, in general. Generations of women in my family have seen blatant expressions of emotion...(read more)

Wikipedia, Twitter, and Neil Patrick Harris

Devon Alley — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 01:22:00 GMT

I think I may be fighting some sort of impending illness. Several people (including my direct manager) are sick at work, and I'm feeling rather under-the-weather tonight. I have several things that I want to write about, including a Long And Intricate...(read more)

Take-My-Daughter-To-Work Day

Devon Alley — Tue, 04 Jan 2011 04:12:00 GMT

A. and I don't really agree as far as our opinions of her day care center establishment are concerned. I see them as extremely organized, amazing individuals, willing to work on the hard issues that matter with A. on a daily basis -- in short, I love...(read more)

It's Been A Long December

Devon Alley — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 03:01:00 GMT

This is probably the longest break I've taken in the history of writing this blog, so my most humble apologies. This has not been due to the fact that December has been a boring and uneventful month -- quite far from it, in fact. Rather, life, work, weather,...(read more)

November's Been A Good Month

Devon Alley — Wed, 01 Dec 2010 02:35:00 GMT

A. brought her mid-term report card home last week. She's making all B's and C's, and she's actually making an A in Work Habits. It's really amazing the progress that A. has been making in school ever since she moved to the CDC classroom. There have been...(read more)

Sneaky McSneak Sneak

Devon Alley — Tue, 30 Nov 2010 03:48:00 GMT

There seems to have been an underlying theme for the holidays, and that theme is Sneakiness. A. started off the holiday weekend by weaseling her way into a shortened school day on Tuesday, the last day of school before Thanksgiving Break. The whole family...(read more)

In Celebration of the Good Days

Devon Alley — Sun, 14 Nov 2010 01:54:00 GMT

While I was at work Friday afternoon, I received a phone call from A.'s teacher. Initially, I was concerned -- perhaps she'd fallen sick, perhaps she'd had another uncontrollable meltdown, perhaps there was some other crisis that would require my intervention...(read more)