B is for Blanket...and book

I almost forgot to ask the child to tell me something that starts with B that I could take a picture of. When I remembered, she was already snuggled up with Daddy for Bedtime Stories. When I asked she said, "Um..." and in the intervening pause I gave her a suggestion (Bad Mommy...) I'll include my suggestion below because I'm so dang proud of it, but first, I'll show you what she came up with on her own several minutes later. She finished her story with Daddy and came out to the kitchen to tell me she had thought of another idea for B, "Blanket! My Rainbow Blanket." Since the Blanket is a bedtime must I had to take a quick photo and pop her Back into Bed.

Her "Rainbow Blanket" is another gift from Grandma. Noticing a trend here? I think she got it when she was one. She is now eight and she still loves it and takes it everywhere except camping. She doesn't want it to get dirty so camping is not an approved activity. I love the Noah's ark imagery. She loves it because it is colorful.

What I had suggested to her is Book. She was very excited that she got to bring home her Poetry Book from second grade yesterday. She had been looking forward to this project since we toured the second grade classes on open house night about a year ago. Writing has been an increasing challenge for her, but her teacher says that poetry was very encouraging for her. Maybe because it is short. Maybe because poetry is unconventional anyway. Maybe she just likes the "free spirited-ness" of it. Her dedication at the beginning of the Book says it all "I dedicate my poetry book to my mom and dad for letting me do what I want." So here are some pictures of the front (left) and back (right) covers of her Book. They were asked to decorate the covers with fireworks and these were her original creations.




And one sample of her poetry... (a color poem)

Red is a smooth brick.
Orange is the cap on the glue.
Yellow is the bright sun.
Green is the field grass.
Blue is the cold ocean water.
Purple is a sweet plum.
Pink is the evening sunset
Gold is some autumn leaves
Peach is some skin.

Yes, this girl loves her colors!

 

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Sunday Digest 42

I've been exploring the new social media space of Pinterest. I've been enjoying "pinning" things that I find all over the internet that might be useful at some time in the future - recipes to try, books to read, pillows to sew (someday). Sunday Digests are like my own more public Pinterest board. I find other blog articles, news pieces, stories and information that I think is interesting, helpful or inspirational and share it here with you. I hope you will enjoy these links as much as I have...

1) Lisa Leonard - jewelry designer, photographer, blogger, and special needs mom shares the story of her son's birth, and the amazing lesson from Psalm 139 that he teaches her. We are all fearfully and wonderfully made. Make sure to read the comments, too.

2) There have been several "What it's Like" posts lately from parents of children with special needs. Maybe there's something in the air. The first one I read was from a mom. She cited her inspiration which was an article written by a dad. I threw in my own three cents on 5 Minutes for Special Needs, and Tammy posted her thoughts at Praying for Parker. Truth is each parent child situation is unique...

3) And for an even more inside view, check out what the first day of school (college) is like for Lisa over at Reports from a Resident Alien. I love reading her posts because I feel like I'm peaking into the child's future (maybe)...

4) Lisa at Hopeful Parents shared about the challenge of filling a prescription for Ritalin for her son who has severe ADHD. Makes me wonder if government run health care is really such a good idea?? It reminded me of a play that was showing at our local theater. Distracted is the story of a mom struggling to help her son with ADHD. I did not get to see the play, but attended a free talk given by a local pediatrician after one of the shows. This program guide is filled with lots of interesting information about the play and ADHD.

I think that's it for this round of "pinning". Enjoy. When you visit these links please make sure to tell them you heard about them through The Simple Life.

Ability Awareness - Part 2- Building Peer-Advocacy

We are continuing our series on Bullying. You can start from the beginning of the series here. This post also continues the story from Shelly, a friend of mine from our local Special Needs Parents group. When we left off, Shelly was just about to speak to her son’s 1st grade class to explain her son’s autism. To read part one, click here…then come back and continue reading…

...I had printed off four full color 8x10 photos of my son: swimming in the deep end of the pool with grandma, playing iPad games with a friend, at the arcade playing a driving game on his uncle’s lap, and standing around a fire ring roasting marshmallows with a group of friends. I held up the first photo and said, “How many of you have ever been in a swimming pool?” They all raised their hands. I explained how my son had learned to swim last year and was in the deep end in that photo. A few kids said, “Oooooooh, the deep end.” I then held up the next photo and asked, “Have any of you ever been to Lake Tahoe?” all hands went up again. I explained that this was a photo of my son and his friend playing a game on the iPad on our vacation to Tahoe. One of the kids whispered, “He has an iPad? Wow, that’s cool!” I did the same with the other photos. The affinity the kids had for my son was palpable. I said to them, “Well, many of you have done the same things that he has done and you are a lot like him in that way, but there is one way that he is different from you guys. He has something called ‘autism’.” Everyone’s faces scrunched up. I had them repeat the word. I told them that when you have autism sometimes you have a hard time making friends and you can’t always say what you want. You might do things like make loud noises or stand up in the middle of circle time and be silly when it’s really time to be quiet. I explained to them that my son was born this way and that the doctor’s have no idea why. That even though he looks just like the rest of the class his brain is a little bit different than theirs. I told them to remember that when he makes noises, or maybe if he hits himself, he isn’t doing those things to try to make others upset, but that sometimes he just can’t help it. I told them that they could help him by being patient with him and understanding. We talked about using only a few words when talking to my son, giving him a choice between two things when they’re out on the yard (want to go on the slide or the swings?). I asked them if they thought they could do that and I got a resounding “Yes!”

That night at our Parent Faculty Club meeting my son’s mainstream teacher came up to me and told me what happened after I left. She said that after our lesson that afternoon the class went up to the science lab. While the science teacher was talking to the class, my son became restless and stood up. She said that the boy next to him then stood up beside him and whispered in his ear, “Ok, it’s time to sit down now.” and then sat down with him. She said he sat there and patted my son’s arm until the lecture was over and that he remained calm the rest of the time.

Tears streamed down my face as she told me this. She said that she saw and felt an immediate difference in the children after we left the classroom that afternoon and she was so glad that I’d agreed to come. She went on to say that the kids feel a real sense of responsibility toward my son now, that he is “one of them” and to be looked out for. A week later I got an e-mail from a mom saying that my son had come up as the topic of conversation at their dinner table. Her son now knows how to interact with my son and he feels at ease about this. One little girl even approached me on recess duty saying that she’d introduced my son to two new friends on the yard. She was so proud of that fact and I thanked her profusely.

That lesson took a total of 16 minutes and yet it has had an immeasurable effect on those children and their families. I hope that anyone reading this who has special needs children of their own will be inspired to help raise awareness for their own kids in some way. I feel so blessed to have been given this opportunity and am grateful for the understanding staff at my son’s school. It’s one of the best things I could have done for my son.

Special thanks to Shelly for sharing her story, and being my first guest post here at The Simple Life. Feel free to ask questions or leave comments below.

Ability Awareness - Part 1 - Building Peer-Advocacy

As we continue our series on Bullying, I wanted to share this success story with you. This story is a great example of how to foster peer-advocacy for children with special needs. The author of this piece is Shelly, a friend of mine from our local Special Needs Parents group. Shelly is a former teacher (Kindergarten, 4th and 5th grades) and has her Masters Degree in Early Childhood Education. She is the mother of a 6.5 year old autistic first grader. Shelly devotes her time to her son and advocating for our local Special Needs community, and also enjoys sewing and quilting. I’ll be posting her story in two parts…

My son is six and a half. He is autistic, with a severe speech delay and just started first grade this fall. He is in a Special Day Class and gets mainstreamed into a general education class for a few hours of the day with a full time aide. He is not yet aware of his special needs, but his 1st grade peers are more socially savvy, so I was relieved when the phone rang during the second week of school with a surprising invitation.

Our school psychologist was calling to say that my son’s mainstream teacher had requested that he do an “ability awareness” lesson with her class regarding my son’s autism. He asked if I would like to be involved. I went silent for a second - in total disbelief - at that instant my heart was so full. I was touched that he was calling to ask me this! He explained that as a school psychologist he has been asked many times to do this and knows that some parents prefer anonymity and others like to be involved and wanted to check in with me about my comfort level. The plan was to read a story to the class to set them up for understanding about special needs: how we are all the same but that we are also different at the same time. After that I would have time to discuss my son’s specific needs. The lesson was set for September 7th. We hung up and I immediately began to think of what I’d say and do.

It was a nerve-wracking week for me. I spent a lot of time thinking about how to explain autism to 6-7 year-olds. How could I make it real to them? I would have only about ten minutes to speak and wanted to say it all without putting them to sleep. I called on the help of an autism interventionist friend of mine and my son’s former preschool teacher. They helped me work out the content and flow of what I should say.

The night before, I couldn’t sleep. It felt like the first day of school and I was a nervous wreck. I went into the classroom that afternoon with the school psychologist and an Instructional Support teacher. The teacher began her story. It was a 1992 Sesame Street book called, “We’re Different, We’re the Same” originally intended to illustrate racial harmony. It was a cute story, however, and set things up nicely for me. The psychologist segued further by talking to the students about how they are all a team in their classroom and how even though my son isn’t always in their classroom, he’s still a part of their team. He said I was there to tell the kids a bit more about my son and then turned it over to me….

Sorry to leave it here, but this is the best place (really) to break the story. Come back in a few days to read Part 2.

Sunday Digest 36

It's time for another Sunday Digest - actually it's overdue! Somewhere between technical difficulties, toilet learning (one down, one to go) and other parenting duties you will find the time I was supposed to be getting this done...sigh. Meanwhile, I have found some interesting posts to refer you to, and here they are:

1) 5 Minutes for Special Needs, where I'm thrilled to post weekly, has a new feature, called "Ask the Parents"...you can go here to read about it and see how it works. The idea is to gather questions from our audience that we can respond to directly as well as reply to in posts. If you have a burning question for other special needs parents, ask away!

2) As always, my blogging friend over at Autism & Oughtisms is stirring the pot with a detailed look into intellect and intelligence, and all the labels that we throw about so casually...

3) I did a guest post over at Books 4 Christian Kids a little over a week ago. The book has little to do with Special Needs, per se, except perhaps that our kids may be more prone to anxiety issues. Ready for Anything, the book I reviewed, could be a gentle entry point for talking about worry with your child.

4) I couldn't have said this better myself. Tammy over at Praying for Parker says it like she means it. Education choices abound in the Special Needs world, and sometimes it seems like everyone has an agenda. No one could doubt Tammy's Special Needs Advocate pedigree, but she chooses to homeschool Parker because it is best for him. Not only can she meet his specific (tactile) learning style, she can protect him from the myriad germs that would make him sick if not threaten his life. I can say, as a parent of a child who is mainstreamed in a general education classroom that I totally respect her choice...I couldn't pull it off with my own child, but I applaud her ability and would never question her decision on some argument that her choice negates or makes mine any harder to achieve. Parents should choose the best education they can find for their own child, and that's the ideal we should be working together to achieve.

5) And speaking of such, doesn't this sound like a lovely neighborhood? Thanks for sharing it with all of us, Kristina White via Hopeful Parents.

Until next time, click away and if you leave a comment make sure you tell them you found them over at The Simple Life.