Petco

Part of Mikey’s school program is exposing him to the broader community. These community outings are important because he needs to be able to go do things out in the world without me. Of course, I still take him on little adventures like going to the movies, restaurants and fun destinations like the aquarium or the zoo. But I know Mikey so well that sometimes I compensate for things that are challenging him without even realizing it.  We want to make sure that he can go out into the world with his aides from school – we’re making sure that he is generalizing the skill beyond time out with mom.

Some of Mikey’s other trips out with school have been vocation-based, like going to help clear trails at a nature center or shelving food at the food pantry. That said, most of his leisure outings have been food focused.  For example, he went to Cumberland Farms and picked out a SpongeBob ice pop.

I loved the Petco idea because he has a genuine interest in animals and they have many cool pets to see. He had a great time on this trip out into the community and as always, practice makes progress!