Looking for a Job...Ready OR .....Not?!?!?

After 15+ years in Riley World, we have come to grips with the reality that Riley will always need some type of support.

One of the questions we are often asked is whether or not we think R will ever be able to get a job. A paying job. I would like to think at some point…yes. What that would look like is a whole other thing.

Yesterday I needed some help putting 2200 tickets together in batches of 50. In my mind…this was a job for Riley-man!! He is a whiz when it comes to numbers and putting things in order. The only hurdle would be to convince him. 

The conversation went like this:

Me:       Riley…I need your help today.

R:         *giving me the side eye*

Me:       I need you to help me put some tickets in order.

R:         I’ll be whining!

Me:       Well…you can either go out on an adventure with dad or stay home and help me.

R:         *thinking*

Me:       ………

R:         Stay home and help you.

Before you think “oh how sweet…he wants to stay and help you”…no. No. That’s not it at all. Riley will do/say just about anything in order to stay home. This was followed with:

R:         I’LL BE WHINING!!

Me:       If you stay home…no whining otherwise you have to go out.

R:         *speaking quietly*  Just stay home.

A little later at R’s request…the McD’s card was thrown in as an incentive. ‘Doing a good job and no whining’ were the terms of G picking up a medium fries in a small brown bag on his way home.

I set up the tickets, demonstrated what needed to be done and after a few adjustments Riley was on his way. He managed to work for 45 minutes putting together 25 packets of 50 tickets. The only challenge “I” had was R scripting almost the entire time. 45 looooong minutes. Here. Watch and see:

In this next clip you will see where R dropped a couple of tickets and checked the numbers before placing them back on the pile (55 second mark) and how he stopped on his own when he hit 400. Yes I was impressed. :D

After 45 minutes I had had enough I let Riley off the hook. You watched and heard the video right???  

Less than 2 months shy of turning 21, Riley is not ready for all the responsibilities and independence required in getting and keeping a paid job. For now…that’s okay. We will keep working towards this goal through volunteering and work experience. 

NOT an April Fool's Joke...

I’m back-posting.

Not sure why I didn’t think to write a post about it. I think I was in shock. I did post this on Facebook:

I don't mean to brag but we had yet another FIRST in Riley World!! As we were sitting in the waiting room at the doctor's this afternoon I went to fix his hair. He looked at me with guilt written all over his face. I was confused.

R:         I cut my hair.
Me:       What??
R:         It was bothering me....
Me:       Let me see.
R:         *tilts his head down*

And to think I was worried he would never learn to use scissors.

Here’s why I was in shock:

Now most people might look at the picture and say “oh that has happened to us”. Yet I would bet most of those same people would NOT be able to say the same thing happened for the VERY FIRST TIME just 3 months shy of turning 21…yes TWENTY-ONE…as in 2 decades and 1 year.  

In R’s defence…he was in need of a haircut. I had been meaning to give him a haircut for about a week. I did not. My bad.

I will not make the same mistake. Well…I hope not. Just in case I have been prepping Riley that the next time he needs a haircut he is to tell me “Mom…I need a haircut!” before he takes matters into his own hands.

Oh and April 2^nd was Autism Awareness Day. We have plenty of awareness in Riley World so instead I made this meme…

I never realized how white a person's scalp could be.  :P

*UPDATE:  I trimmed up the sides and with a slight comb-over we were able to avoid having to shave his entire head. 3 days later and his hair is growing in nicely. *Phew*