IF your kids fall off their chairs ... for no reason at all ...

One of the blessings of being a part of the TOS Homeschool Crew has been the relationships established among crew members. This group of parents is one of the most generous groups I've encountered, offering encouragement, advice, hints, sharing from their hearts, sometimes from very personal places. The cyber-fellowship has been so sweet! ;)

I have spent (probably) too much time the past eight years researching anything and everything autism related. Ask anyone who knows me in real life, and they'll tell you that one of my skills is being able to point folks to research and resources quickly, because I have read so much and retain what are sometimes odd and obsure pieces of information.

Being on the Crew has shown me that I still have a lot to uncover, and being connected to this wonderful group of parents has given me information and resources that I don't know if I would have found on my own. I have discovered that I am NOT the only mom on the planet who struggles with a child who is active, full of movement and energy, distractible. There are a lot more of us that I realized!

One of those moms is April, who shared some resources that are new to me, and I want to bless you with them, too (with April's permission). Here's part of what she shared with me:

"IF your kids fall off their chairs ... for no reason at all ...

...and they're those active, kinesthetic, distractible, creative types ... "

says April, "you should check out Carol Barnier's books and websites. She blessed me so much when I heard her at a homeschool conference. Until I heard her speak, I had no idea WHY my kids would just fall off their chairs during supper and school. I'd say, 'What were you doing?' They'd say, 'Nothing. Just sitting.'

At the conference when she talked about that, I just laughed and laughed because I could so relate to it. I didn't know it was because they were active or kinesthetic. I had no idea. I just thought I had the clumsiest kids on earth.

Through the rest of her sessions (I attended every single one) ... I cried. I cried because I was relieved, and she restored my hope, and helped me learn to be positive and see the good in the personality traits that go along with those ADHD and ADD type kids. The dreamers ... the kids who are just "more" ... to combine a few different book topics.

Here are the web sites:

http://www.sizzlebop.com/
http://www.opengifts.org/
http://www.westfieldacademy.org/adhd/"

As I began to look over the web sites, one title caught my eye and made me laugh out loud: How to Get your Child off the Refrigerator and on to Learning: Homeschooling Highly Distractible, ADHD, or Just Plain Fidgety Kids. I may have to order that one!

Thanks, April, for allowing me to share with others what you shared with me!

Y'all check out Aprils' blog, located here, that includes posts on teaching the distractible child. Here's one.