The speaker at last Monday's staff meeting was an Autism Specialist from Special School District. The Autism Walk is tomorrow, so I thought the timing of the Autism Specialist was perfect.
She had a lot of information. I really appreciated her telling us that autism is not curable.....no matter what Jenny McCarthy says. She also stressed that autism is a communication disorder, not a behavior disorder. Unfortunately, she only had an hour, so she was forced to just run through her information. She had told us we would do have some interaction parts, but it ended up just being "sit and get."
At the end she gave up 10 strategies to use with kids with autism. I can tell you that we use all 10 in this house. Also, many of my friends in the meeting were able to recall the strategies being used with the boys so they had good examples in their minds.
I am grateful that our administration recognizes the need for this inservice. These kiddos are coming......
Friday, October 12, 2012
Thursday, September 20, 2012
Moving in the right direction.....
We had Nick's IEP today. Everyone says that he has transitioned very well. He also is not the most immature student on the team....that surprised me. He's had a few bumps in the road. He was in tears twice when he was tardy and the two fire drills have not gone well.
I'm not surprised about the tears with being tardy. One of the tardies was caused by his binder falling apart. The other was caused by him staying and working on something. No big deal...to us. HUGE deal to him. If the rule is, "no tardies", then Nick can not be tardy. He's such a rule follower, sometimes to a fault. (On the good side, he won't drink until he is 21.) The teacher assured him that he was ok, but he just got himself all worked up.
The difficulty with the fire drills surprises me. By 5th grade, he was handling fire drills very well. For the first fire drill they allowed him to go outside early with one of the aides. I'm not sure that was a great idea. When they warned him about the next one, he perseverated on was when he was going to leave early with the aide.
We did drop his SSD academic lab. He had a class every day with a SSD teacher that gave him structured time to work on homework. We decided that with all the support he receives at home, that he could complete his homework at home. It's so nice to drop services. It means that he is making great progress.
This meeting again reinforced our decision to hold Nick back in the 2nd grade.
I'm not surprised about the tears with being tardy. One of the tardies was caused by his binder falling apart. The other was caused by him staying and working on something. No big deal...to us. HUGE deal to him. If the rule is, "no tardies", then Nick can not be tardy. He's such a rule follower, sometimes to a fault. (On the good side, he won't drink until he is 21.) The teacher assured him that he was ok, but he just got himself all worked up.
The difficulty with the fire drills surprises me. By 5th grade, he was handling fire drills very well. For the first fire drill they allowed him to go outside early with one of the aides. I'm not sure that was a great idea. When they warned him about the next one, he perseverated on was when he was going to leave early with the aide.
We did drop his SSD academic lab. He had a class every day with a SSD teacher that gave him structured time to work on homework. We decided that with all the support he receives at home, that he could complete his homework at home. It's so nice to drop services. It means that he is making great progress.
This meeting again reinforced our decision to hold Nick back in the 2nd grade.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Where did the summer go?
I can't believe we are back in school already. Where did the summer go?
Nate and Noah started school Monday. Nick started school Wednesday. It has been a long week with many changes.
Nate is now in the High School hallway at school. He is in a new hallway, a new room, and has all new teachers and aides. He has handled the transition well. The morning staff comes a little later, so Nate has to get his breakfast independently before they arrive. Wednesday, he was on fire. He woke up and I told him to make his pancakes. I went back in my room and left him alone. When I went back to check on him, he had his pancakes cooked (in the microwave), milk poured, and his banana. He even had his napkin! I don't think he could have done this a year ago.
Noah is in the same room with the same teacher this year. We are very happy with this. He has so many new demands and staff members at home, that it's nice to have some consistency at school. This week has worn him out! I just went downstairs to help Ruth while Noah was in total melt down. He finally pulled it together and is finishing his speech session at the table with a bowl of ice cream. She is making him work for each bite. He is working very hard to get his tongue out to lick the spoon.
We have had many staff changes at home. Because the boys get attached to the home staff, these changes can be challenging. It's also difficult to get someone new used to the flow of the house. Noah seems to make it his personal mission to test a new staff member multiple times to see if he/she really means business.
The insurance company is still very stingy with the hours. The days of having both boys staffed from 4:15 - 7:15 are over. We are trying to get Noah more funding from the state. We submitted a huge packet in hopes of getting a Lopez Waiver. This will give us many more hours of staffing that will be paid for by the state. We have our fingers crossed.......
Nick started middle school this week. He is now in the same building as Tim. He spent a lot of time this summer practicing his locker! I think that having Tim in the building is helping to alleviate some of the stress. The middle school is quite large and involves switching classes every hour. We hope he will expand his social circle (ok, it's 2 friends...not really a circle) this year.
The house is still in its perpetual state of crazy. Between football and the string of therapists that come into the house, it's quite a bit to take in. It's a good thing I have ice cream........
Nate and Noah started school Monday. Nick started school Wednesday. It has been a long week with many changes.
Nate is now in the High School hallway at school. He is in a new hallway, a new room, and has all new teachers and aides. He has handled the transition well. The morning staff comes a little later, so Nate has to get his breakfast independently before they arrive. Wednesday, he was on fire. He woke up and I told him to make his pancakes. I went back in my room and left him alone. When I went back to check on him, he had his pancakes cooked (in the microwave), milk poured, and his banana. He even had his napkin! I don't think he could have done this a year ago.
Noah is in the same room with the same teacher this year. We are very happy with this. He has so many new demands and staff members at home, that it's nice to have some consistency at school. This week has worn him out! I just went downstairs to help Ruth while Noah was in total melt down. He finally pulled it together and is finishing his speech session at the table with a bowl of ice cream. She is making him work for each bite. He is working very hard to get his tongue out to lick the spoon.
We have had many staff changes at home. Because the boys get attached to the home staff, these changes can be challenging. It's also difficult to get someone new used to the flow of the house. Noah seems to make it his personal mission to test a new staff member multiple times to see if he/she really means business.
The insurance company is still very stingy with the hours. The days of having both boys staffed from 4:15 - 7:15 are over. We are trying to get Noah more funding from the state. We submitted a huge packet in hopes of getting a Lopez Waiver. This will give us many more hours of staffing that will be paid for by the state. We have our fingers crossed.......
Nick started middle school this week. He is now in the same building as Tim. He spent a lot of time this summer practicing his locker! I think that having Tim in the building is helping to alleviate some of the stress. The middle school is quite large and involves switching classes every hour. We hope he will expand his social circle (ok, it's 2 friends...not really a circle) this year.
The house is still in its perpetual state of crazy. Between football and the string of therapists that come into the house, it's quite a bit to take in. It's a good thing I have ice cream........
Wednesday, June 20, 2012
It's never enough
A few weeks ago I met a person with an autistic child. Of course, the conversation turned to therapies....what has worked and what hasn't. When I asked this person about what they were doing outside of school, this person's reply was that the child gets enough therapy at school and doesn't need any help at home.
I was shocked by this statement.
I don't understand.
How is that enough?
I am never satisfied with the amount of therapy that the boys get. I am always pushing for more, more, more. Anyone who has been in an IEP for my children knows this. Sure, they are making progress, but I want more. Not all therapy has to be at the table and not any fun. I remember when the neurologist told us to take the kids everywhere and they would always get something out of it. Sometimes, it's just practice waiting in line. Every experience is an opportunity for learning for these boys.
I push for more because time is not our friend. I push for more because I want them to have happy, safe, and productive lives. I push for more because I won't always be here to look out for them..........
I was shocked by this statement.
I don't understand.
How is that enough?
I am never satisfied with the amount of therapy that the boys get. I am always pushing for more, more, more. Anyone who has been in an IEP for my children knows this. Sure, they are making progress, but I want more. Not all therapy has to be at the table and not any fun. I remember when the neurologist told us to take the kids everywhere and they would always get something out of it. Sometimes, it's just practice waiting in line. Every experience is an opportunity for learning for these boys.
I push for more because time is not our friend. I push for more because I want them to have happy, safe, and productive lives. I push for more because I won't always be here to look out for them..........
Nate's summer
Enough of the pity party....Nate is having a great summer. I was able to enroll him in a program called Teens in Motion through ARC (Association of Retarded Citizens). ARC needs a better name, but that's another point.
His camp is 8 weeks long and 9-4 Monday -Friday. He is staffed one-to-one and has two outings each day. One of the outings is a volunteering experience and the other is a fun outing. Travis went with him until noon the first two days to help his "buddy" get to know Nate and his abilities. Nate loves it! He is tired, but his overall mood is much more pleasant.
He has volunteered at the Magic House, Racanelli's Pizza, Bethesda nursing home, and Stages Theater. He has had fun outings to Forest Park, the Science Center, and the movies. Yes, Nate sat through a movie....that is quite a feat.
I am so grateful that we live in a city that provides these opportunities for special kids. We are hoping that his independence will improve and he will learn some new skills. He's also enjoying his time out of the house and away from his brothers. He's really growing up......
His camp is 8 weeks long and 9-4 Monday -Friday. He is staffed one-to-one and has two outings each day. One of the outings is a volunteering experience and the other is a fun outing. Travis went with him until noon the first two days to help his "buddy" get to know Nate and his abilities. Nate loves it! He is tired, but his overall mood is much more pleasant.
He has volunteered at the Magic House, Racanelli's Pizza, Bethesda nursing home, and Stages Theater. He has had fun outings to Forest Park, the Science Center, and the movies. Yes, Nate sat through a movie....that is quite a feat.
I am so grateful that we live in a city that provides these opportunities for special kids. We are hoping that his independence will improve and he will learn some new skills. He's also enjoying his time out of the house and away from his brothers. He's really growing up......
Sunday, June 17, 2012
Do people realize how lucky they are?
Sometimes Facebook depresses me. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing all the posts and pictures from friends. However, sometimes it just is hard. Seeing all the fabulous Prom pictures is hard. Seeing all the pictures and posts from fabulous vacations is hard. Do people realize how lucky they are?????
Most people don't plan their day according to how many staff members will be at the house.
Most people can take their kids to a destination more than 4 hours away.....that's my time limit with Noah in a car. I can only listen to the "oooohhhhh" in a closed space for so long. I am afraid that if we tried to fly somewhere, we would be removed from the plane.
Most people can still go somewhere with their kids without their spouse.
Most people have a list of summer activities to do with their kids........I'm sure it's a lot longer than mine.
Most people aren't still assisting their 14 year old son in the restroom. Clean up is still an issue.
Most people don't have to tie their 14 year old son's shoes.
Most people don't realize how lucky they are and how incredibly jealous I am...............
Most people don't plan their day according to how many staff members will be at the house.
Most people can take their kids to a destination more than 4 hours away.....that's my time limit with Noah in a car. I can only listen to the "oooohhhhh" in a closed space for so long. I am afraid that if we tried to fly somewhere, we would be removed from the plane.
Most people can still go somewhere with their kids without their spouse.
Most people have a list of summer activities to do with their kids........I'm sure it's a lot longer than mine.
Most people aren't still assisting their 14 year old son in the restroom. Clean up is still an issue.
Most people don't have to tie their 14 year old son's shoes.
Most people don't realize how lucky they are and how incredibly jealous I am...............
Friday, June 1, 2012
I'm embarassed to do this.....
I am embarassed to do this, but it needs to be done.
In order to receive financial assistance through Action For Autism, we must raise $150 in pledges for each boy. I would normally just pay it myself (because I don't feel comfortable asking for money), but it will be $450 for all 3 boys. They have helped pay the boys' co-pays for the in-home ABA and sent Nate and Noah to camp.
If you feel inclined to help, I am attaching the link to the donation page on their website. When it asks for compaign, choose "Family Fun Walk". At the bottom in the comments section, please put "Nate, Nick, and Noah Hill". This way we will receive credit for pledge.
I am eternally grateful for your support be it monetary or emotional. I could not navigate this adventure without you.........
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