april fools
March 31, 2009
So I told you about the invisible pen yesterday. Today he decided his april fools joke on his teacher is to turn in his invisible ink homework. He would turn in his homework as if it were complete. His teacher would say “why did you turn in a blank homework page”. He would say “april fools” and shine the magic light on it. He LOVES playing little pranks on people. I am just thrilled that he has a reason to want to go to school tomorrow.
be careful what I buy
March 30, 2009
I gave my kids a little toy today. One of those invisible ink pens. It looked like something they would both enjoy, which I don’t find too often - I mean one likes princesses and the other likes electronics! Well, my son immediately decided that he would do his homework in this invisible ink. Boy what a mess that was. Since he couldn’t see what he was writing, he didn’t get his letters and numbers “perfect”. So he had to check with the magic light after each and every letter/number and then there was no way to erase the invisible ink to correct his mistakes which drove him insane. It took FOREVER to get a page of math done. Never again!
my boy is back
March 29, 2009
It’s amazing how you can have a week where you feel like your child is just not the same person you have always known. Last week was a challenge and I wondered if this was some new phase we were entering or if it was just a bad week. I’m glad it was just a bad week. But it does sort of prepare me or provide me with that constant little pinch that that new phase is just around the corner. Right now I’m in this “things are working” zone. But I know from talking with all of the other parents, that that “things are working” zone can turn into the “chaotic, confusing, want-to-pull-your-hair-out” zone at any time. Last week I didn’t feel like I had the strength to deal with a new phase. We seem to have a lot of transitions going on around here. Well, maybe this was a wake-up call for me to get my strength back and to constantly work at keeping my strength so that I’m prepared to deal with whatever comes my way as a mom of a son with aspergers!
we deserve better than this from our elected officials
March 28, 2009
YES WE DO!
I have always been a supporter of Sen Patty Murray. But, I have to tell you, I am not happy with this type of response to a critical issue.
The ABLE bill will allow parents to take care of their disabled children long after they are no longer able to. This is a critical issues for parents of children with autism. What will happen to their children when they are no longer able to care for them?
Senator Murray, the autism community deserves a better response than this. This letter tells us nothing about where you stand on the issue, whether you support it or not. We have elected you to make tough choices and decisions for us, your constituency, and to support our needs. The least you can do is to be honest about where you stand on the issues that are important to us. Stop being a typical politician and get back to really caring about your constituents needs!
Dear :
Thank you for writing to me to outline your funding priorities for the fiscal year 2010 federal budget. As a member of both the Budget and Appropriations Committees, I am very involved in these processes, which are already underway.
As a U.S. Senator, I have the responsibility to weigh carefully the merits of various programs and to determine sufficient funding levels, while still maintaining the balanced budget we have worked hard to achieve. I take this responsibility very seriously, for I understand the implications that funding decisions at the federal level can have for state and local governments, and for Washington state residents in general. As you know, given current fiscal restraints, it is not always possible to achieve desired funding levels for many important programs and projects throughout Washington State and the rest of the country.
I look forward to securing appropriations for priority programs in fiscal year 2010. I greatly appreciate your input. As the 111th Congress progresses, please do not hesitate to keep in touch.
from green to yellow to red to yellow again
March 27, 2009
well, my son capped off a bad week with a red card at school today. they start the day off with a green card. he didn’t follow instructions all day and had a hard time keeping his hands to himself so he got a yellow card. he continued to not follow instructions and then the card was turned to red. this was his first red card all year. I knew he was having a bad week. for a minute there though I was wondering if I was just having a bad week (although I don’t think I had a bad week, it was actually a very successful week for me). but it really was him.
the good news is, once he got the red card, he actually turned his behavior around and did well enough the rest of the day that he got the card turned back to yellow. this is actually a big improvement for him. in years past, if he was being reprimanded for his behavior, it would only make his behavior worse. I think this is a good example of how ABA therapy has worked for him.
Here’s hoping for a much better week next week!
very sad but well written story
March 26, 2009
http://www.salon.com/mwt/feature/2009/03/26/bauer_autism/
some good weeks, some bad
March 25, 2009
this is probably a recurring theme for me. there are weeks when my son is more calm, patient and reasonable than others. that is not to say that I would ever consider him calm, patient and reasonable. but some weeks are better than others. there are also weeks where he has zero calmness, patience or ability to be reasonable. and this was one of those weeks.
there was constant screaming in the house, fighting between my son and daughter, lots of hitting, crying, and just plain not listening. this is one of those weeks where it just wears you down. your nerves are shot. you have no more patience, you find yourself yelling, and you feel like you’ve completely lost control over your kids. you try to reason with him but there is no reasoning. you try to give him choices and consequences but it just leads to more resistance. you try to implement the consequences of poor choices and it leads to screaming, kicking, and hitting. you try to give him a hug and he cries because he feels bad for behaving badly.
april 2nd
March 24, 2009
Join us for the World Autism Awareness Day in Olympia
April. 2nd is World Autism Awareness Day
Capital Rotunda - Olympia, Noon.
We will celebrate World Autism Awareness Day in Olympia and thank our legislators for their involvement in Shayan’s Law.
Representative Brendan Williams, Prime Sponsor of Shayan’s Law, is running House Resolution 4627, honoring individuals with autism on April first and will be reading it at our event.
Speakers will include legislators who feel strongly about addressing the autism epidemic effectively, Washington employers that have elected in their wisdom to provide an autism benefits for years(they will share the immense positive impact the coverage has had on families as well as employee loyalty and retention) as well as youth who have benefited from early and intensive medical interventions for autism.
This is your chance to share why bringing autism insurance reform to Washington state will help your family, and the thousands of others like yours, struggling to give their children a fighting chance at leading a productive life. We need as many families from all regions who are willing to come down to Olympia on April. 2nd to for the World Autism Day rally and to support Shayan’s Law - Autism Insurance Reform. Insurance companies have millions of dollars to spend lobbying against our legislation, we don’t. But we are voters and passionate about getting the medical treatments our children need and deserve to grow up to their full potential and live among us as productive citizens. Thank you for your support!
Together, we CAN make a difference for our children!
Washington Autism Advocacy Coalition
mr. president, we need to set a good example
March 23, 2009
We as a society need to have so much more respect and compassion for people with special needs and disabilities. I think we have historically looked to our president to set a good example in our world. I often wonder if the deteriorating respect for our presidency isn’t because we have young generations who, in general, have a lack of respect for authority. OR is it that the people we have placed in positions of authority no longer command our respect. I’m sorry. I realize people say things they wished they wouldn’t have said. But, I am certain, this is one gaffe I would not have made. I would never have thought to compare my poor bowling skills to that of the special olympics. It saddens me to hear him say those words. And even worse, the fact that he is on Jay Leno saying these words, laughing about it. What is our president doing on Jay Leno anyway? Don’t we have BIG problems that need all of his time and attention? I don’t think our president should be doing shows like this. Instead, let’s see him on a serious show - not laughing about things but providing some solutions to things.
And, most important, for gods sake, please set a better example for our society. It is not o.k. to joke about the special olympics in this manner. Instead, take a look at the love and compassion Sarah Palin shares about the special olympics. When it comes to this issue, Sarah Palin is setting a much better example.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2009/03/sarah-palin-3.html
costco
March 22, 2009
is one of my son’s favorite stores. you can’t do anything before walking past the electronics section. but he also enjoys all of the food tastings. i didn’t go with them today. but my husband told me the story about the checkout person trying to play funny jokes for my son. my son was catching on to all of his tricks and the whole line was laughing about it. at the end the checkout person used the scanner to pretend it was a telephone. my son said “you’re not calling anyone, that’s a scanner, not a telephone”. he didn’t realize he was working with a child that is very literal AND a pretty good jokester himself.
