Xander's Autism Journey

Xander's Autism Journey Xander is an awesome little boy with low-functioning autism, accompanying language impairment.

04/09/2026

Today is Xanders IEP meeting. We will meet with the team he has now and the team he will have next year since he will be going to middle school.
I dont dread the meetings any more. What I am nervous for is starting with a new team again.
In the past every time we switch teams (new schools) we have had set backs with how well Xander does. I dokt feel like that will necessarily happen this time, but I know there's always a chance.
I got comfortable with his team he has now and comfortability is something I crave when it comes to Xander.
I know in reality comfortability isn't always going to be a thing but I hold on tight when we can get it.
Xander has been advancing ao much these last couple years with his team and dont want that to stop for him.
We have had talks with him about going to middle school and he is excited, so I think that'll help with the transition.
I only pray that the new team is just as involved and loving and caring for Xander as his current one.

Last Friday marked day 2 of Xander being in a general education science class. He goes every Friday instead of going to ...
10/07/2025

Last Friday marked day 2 of Xander being in a general education science class.
He goes every Friday instead of going to gym class.
He has been loving it!!! He has also been doing great in the class. He goes with one of his paras.
Last Friday, when he was in science, he did all of his work in the class, had zero incidents with head butting, melting down, or any other issues. He is listening and doing what he is supposed too. He also has not had any issues with the neurotypical kids in the class.
I am a very happy and proud mama.
There is also a turtle in the science class that he gets to interact with and he has so much with playing with it!!!
I am so excited for this new chapter for my baby!!! This year has had a few issues but overall it has been one of his best years at school!!!

Yesterday at school Xander had a meltdown. It started because he didnt want to go to occupational therapy. The school st...
09/12/2025

Yesterday at school Xander had a meltdown. It started because he didnt want to go to occupational therapy. The school staff worked to get Xander in a safe calm space. But Xander was pushing against it. Eventually it let to him head butting, like normal.
Well, they have this round comfy chair, his calm down chair, the frame is metal. Xander ended up hitting his head on the metal part and hit is head so hard it cut open his head in two spots. The meltdown stopped once the staff got Xander to see that he was bleeding.
So they cleaned him up and called me.
His teacher told me that even though he seemed fine and the cuts were bad they wanted me to come check on him because they didnt want to makenthe final call.
I appreciated that so much. He is my baby and it should be my choice on what to do with the situation.
So I went to the school and checked on him.
I decided to take him home. Partly because I knew of I left him he would meltdown and hit his head again and partly because I wanted him checked out by a doctor.
So me and my husband took Xander to the hospital and he was diagnosed with a mild concussion. The doctor said he would be fine because he wasn't throwing up, acting confused or anything else major.
The school staff and doctors were all great with Xander.
Today Xander is good and no symptoms and one of the lacerations is gone.

But this has always been something I have been worried about. Xander is a big kid and extremely strong. That mixed with a very high pain tolerance, I always wondered if he would end up splitting his head open or just causing some sort of damage to himself.
Yesterday was scary. I didnt know what the outcome would be. We got lucky that he didnt need stitches or any type of imaging done.
I still pray that eventually we will be able to get him to learn how to handle his emotions and use tools everything he is frustrated rather than hitting himself.

So today when I picked up Xander me and his teacher had our normally talk about his day. Today was great! But then she m...
09/10/2025

So today when I picked up Xander me and his teacher had our normally talk about his day. Today was great! But then she mentioned how fantastic he has been doing. So, starting next week he will be going to a Gen Ed science class one day a week!!! 😭🙏🙌😍
He has two days a week where he has gym class as a spe isl so during one of those periods he will be doing the science class. One of his paras will be with him to help.
In the past we talked about our hopes and goals for Xander was to be in gen Ed classes but I honestly didnt think we were there.
Now this is kind of a trial. If he doesn't do well he will go back to his normal classes but the fact that we are at least trying is awesome!!!.

I have so many mixed emotions. I am so excited for him but am also nervous for him.
So for anyone that sees this please send good vibes his way and say a prayer that everything goes well!!! 🤞🙏💖

09/06/2025

Second full week of school down and Xander has been doing phenomenal. His teacher told me he is listening when they redirect him, he's doing his school work even when he doesn't want to, he's listening, and no major meltdowns at school so far!!!!
He did bite one of the teachers, not badly, but right after he looked at her and said "I'm sorry I bite you". And even apologized the next day. His teacher said this was great progress because he's showing remorse. We are hoping that since he is showing remorse right thebactuons that this will lead to him being able to think before taking the action and the hitting, biting, kicking, etc will stop, at least for the most part. We are hoping it helps with the self control. We are right on track for everything we are trying to work on with Xander. Once aba starts I think we are going to see even more major improvements with Xander!!!

Yesterday was Xanders first day of fourth grade. I was a little nervous, hoping that getting back into the school routin...
08/21/2025

Yesterday was Xanders first day of fourth grade. I was a little nervous, hoping that getting back into the school routine would go smoothly, and not to jinx it but so far it's been good. A few weeks ago we started getting back in track with going to bed early for school and I was so excited Xander had a great first day yesterday.
He used his words, did great when told he had to wait for something, and did his work.
Also, when we picked him up he told us about his day, how he did his work and how he had to do his job (class work) so he could have the screen time during lunch. He was in such a good mood all day. I pray that things continue going this way!
(Last year, I couldn't get him to tell me about his day. He would say it was good but never elaborated on anything, so him being able to tell me nakes my heart very happy!!!!)

It's been a bit since I posted. It's been a crazy month. We have been working with Xander on a lot. The main thing is to...
08/10/2025

It's been a bit since I posted. It's been a crazy month. We have been working with Xander on a lot. The main thing is to finish potty training.
Since last year in school he had done really well with wearing under wear all day. But was afraid to p**p on the potty. I knew he'd get it but figured it wouldn't take anothern6 months to a year.
But as of earlier this summer I can officially that my Z is officially potty trained!!!!
Potty training can be a challenge sometimes with kids without autism but kids with autism are much harder to potty train. Creating that new normal routine of stopping what you're doing and going to the potty plus understanding and acknowledging the feeling of when you have to go can take a while to click when someone has autism.

But he did it!!! I am so proud of him.

Also. While figuring out and waiting for him to start aba therapy, we have really been working on emotional regulation and learning better outlets for when Xander gets upset.
The summer is always hardest because the routine changes being out of school. While we still have a major meltdown hear and there the meltdowns have gotten so much better over the last month.
Working on just these couple things with Xander keeps us busy all hours of the day. Which is why I haven't posted in a while and this will not be the last time I go a while without posting.
I definitely want to keep showing and teaching others about autism but when needed I will take a break and focus all my energy and time on him. Especially when learning new things or hitting new milestones it's what we have to do.

But I definitely wanted to share the 2 biggest thing we are accomplishing right now.
Potty trained and learning to regulate emotions (which helps the meltdowns).

The sensory equipment we got from donations has been a huge part in this as well.
I am so thankful for the village we have to help Xander navigate this crazy world and live peacefully and comfortably!!!

We want to introduce you to Riley!! Xanders older brother, best friend, and one of Xanders biggest advocates. Riley has ...
07/12/2025

We want to introduce you to Riley!! Xanders older brother, best friend, and one of Xanders biggest advocates.
Riley has always been by xanders side, helping him learn new things and watching out for him. Words can not express how much we admire Riley for the way he is with Xander.
Even with Riley having severe adhd and borderline autistic, Riley helps xanders with deep breathing, communicating, and helping him through daily life.
The way he worries for Xander pulls at my heart strings. If they are in a "scary" situation, like riding a roller coaster at the carnival, Riley is right there worrying if Xander is okay but also reassuring Xander that everything is fine.
He watches out for Xander and loves him whole heartedly.
I couldn't have asked God for a better big brother for Xander!!

Address

Battle Creek, MI
49037

Telephone

+12697538452

Website

,

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Xander's Autism Journey posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Xander's Autism Journey:

Shortcuts

Share

Category