10 Busy Bags

Here are some great busy bag ideas to keep the kids busy for hours, and the back story on why I use them every week!

When my oldest son was little he was diagnosed with Autism. I knew he was different than my daughter and other children I had in my home over the years. He loved to just sit in his baby swing for hours, he would cry at church when the piano played, the list could go on for hours.

When it came time for him to start talking he simply didn't, he would point or grunt but that was it. I recall pointing it out to his doctor once, and she said "as long as you hand it  to him when he points he'll never see the need to talk". By the time he was 4 his vocabulary was about 8 or 9 words. I KNEW something wasn't right and no one would listen, no one I kept getting to "its all in your head". I had worked with Autistic kids, deep down I knew what was wrong.

That summer we moved to a new area and Parents as Teachers came to visit my youngest son. She took one look at my oldest son and asked when he was diagnosed with Autism, I cried finally someone else saw what I was seeing.I explained to her he hadn't been and no one would listen to me that something was wrong with my little man.

She within hours got us in to see the school speech pathologist, who spent countless hours doing assessments on him. When school started he was placed in a special preschool, he would do speech, OT and physical therapy in and out of school. We worked with a well known agency as well, our hope was we weren't to late.

Fast forward 11 years, my oldest son just got his driving permit, he's asocial butterfly, he plays in the school band and receives 1's at every competition he has attended. He plays football on the high school team, and is a starter as a Freshman. His dream is to return here after college and be the next head football coach. Most people on the out side looking in would think he is a 'normal' kid. The ones who know his back story, know how much and far he has come over the years and how hard it has been at times. To say I am a proud mother is an true understatement.

So where do the busy bags come into play you ask? My husbands nephew who will be 5 this next month, he also has some developmental issues as well. He sets with us a church each Sunday, my husband and I see what his parents don't want to. These things were life savors with our oldest son, and they are with our nephew as well. I make one up for him each week to entertain him during the sermon. I have used things like this with many kids over the years, with and without developmental issues.