Brace Yourself – Summer Is Coming

June.

It’s almost here. The school year has come to a close and a brief shout of joy erupts from the hope of a break in the hectic pace of the school year.

Goodbye shoebox diorama projects due Friday that remain undiscovered until 8pm on Thursday evenings!  See ya later research papers with artificial deadlines! Hasta la vista packing school lunches and washing uniforms every night! Sayanora IEP meetings unless you just want to have one in September for the heck of it!

(Ice Age Diarama – not in a shoebox – using Legos & Star Wars Action Figures because you have them.)

For just a few minutes, you close your eyes, envisioning what could be – waking up to sunbeams with peace, warmth, and relaxation instead of in the dark, before the break of dawn, after you hit snooze on the blaring alarm clock, five times.

Then, a giant surge of adrenaline forces you to check the calendar and you realize it is  in fact – June.

Brace yourself. Summer is here. Reality sets in just one week after that last school bell rings. Goodbye structured days of the week. See ya later continuity. Hasta la vista scheduled everything. Sayanora routine.

June.

That sneaky month that arrives seemingly without warning and smacks you with the reality that you aren’t bikini ready and haven’t made summer plans for any of your children, including the one with autism.

You frantically call summer camp programs to find them already full, while wondering who all these organized moms are that registered their kids for summer camp in February? How did they overcome lifeless cold, gray skies and PLAN FOR SUMMER?

You switch your focus to roping in last summer’s emergency babysitting squad even though you haven’t spoken them since before the flood last August. You anxiously dial them up, pray they haven’t gotten a grown-up summer job, then express your congratulations through gritted teeth when it turns out they did.

Familiar panic sets in.

Your throat is closing with every minute that ticks by in the two weeks of school separating you from surfing the white water, turbulent rapids of 10 more weeks of unstructured summer break.

After you tuck the last kid into bed, you lean against the kitchen counter and stress eat an ugly PinterestFail hedgehog cake that looks more like a squished armadillo because you were determined to start summer off strong by hosting a fun activity with the neighborhood kids to promote socialization.

Finally, you whip out your phone – confessing your #MotherOfTheYear #FAIL status on social media with a plea for help when lo and behold, a friend shares this blog on your thread.

“Have you heard about the new NHS Autism Center in Baton Rouge? Take a deep breath. Read this. I think help is on the way.”

In fact, it is already here!

This summer NHS is offering a variety of programs to individuals with autism and other developmental disabilities.

And we are specifically looking for families that excel in procrastinating their summer planning to demonstrate that sometimes good things come to those who wait…. but don’t wait too much longer because these programs will fill up fast!

What’s happening at NHS Autism Center this summer? Something for everyone!

  • Take advantage of intensive behavioral therapies, occupational therapy, and speech therapy for any child with autism under the age of 21. That’s right. 21.
  • Enroll your teenager in our Transition Services program to learn soft-employability and life skills.
  • Our Bee Me Developmental Day Care Center opens mid-July with open arms to children of all abilities who need daycare services between age 3 and their 6th birthday.
  • AND MOVE OVER MOTY FAILURE – WE HAVE A DAY CAMP FOR KIDS AGES 6 to 16! Just when you think you can’t take one more day of summer, we swoop in with not one but FOUR glorious weeks of Day Camp kick off June 10th for kids with developmentally appropriate and therapeutic curriculum. Weekly themes are designed to teach them about themselves, their community, safety and self-advocacy in fun, dynamic ways. You can fill out an intake packet here. Sign up for one session or all four.

The wide variety of programs and services the NHS Autism Center offers are available five days a week. Our programs and services are accessed through private pay, health insurance, including Blue Cross Blue Shield of Louisiana, United HealthCare/Optum, as well as most major providers, and Medicaid.

You weren’t the only mom who didn’t realize it was summer until after school ended. We are here for you. You aren’t alone.

Give NHS a call at 225.960.7689 and let us help you plan your child’s best summer yet!