Spanish

We are tackling Spanish again with the child who is on the autism spectrum, and for the first time for her typically developing twin brother. 

We are using Spanish for You! as part of a review at the moment, and I couldn't resist buying a Spanish workbook at the warehouse club to go with it.  I saw Buenas Noches Luna at a local Marshall's store and purchased it, too.

Spanish for You! has lesson plans for older children and younger children, so I am able to customize for my same-age learners who are working at different levels. 

I took Spanish in college because it was required and I barely got by. When we lived in California in the early 90's, I took a Conversational Spanish offered by a local community education organization, and the teacher there used a lot of materials for children with the class of adults.

I'll continue to look for materials in Spanish; I'm sure I can find a Bible and the last couple of times we went to the Scholastic warehouse, there were story books in Spanish for sale. 

I think we're off to a good start! 

Dance Class

We discovered a new dance class for young people on the autism spectrum and with Downs Syndrome. I took my girl to try a class, and she was the only student in attendence (there are two more who were absent this week), so she got a private lesson. I observed via closed circuit tv in the lobby.

The teacher is a gem. ;) The exercise, the body awareness, the sensory input, and when other students are there, the social experience are so good for our kids. I'm excited about this dance class!

Trust

I have no idea how to rotate this photograph.

At a used curriculum sale, I purchased a coloring book of coloring pages with Bible verses. Most are pictures you'd typically find in a coloring book, but this page is simply a verse. I printed it on card stock, handed one to each homeschooler, asked one to memorize it, and will work on memorization with the other. My daughter colored hers in bright colors. I asked her to read it to me a couple of times during the day when she was working on it. Last night, I asked if she remembered anything about that verse, and she replied, "Trust." Yep, "Trust in the Lord," I replied. We have a good beginning.

Mari Nosal: Ten Commandments for Interacting With Kids On The Autism Spectrum

Spotted in my facebook feed; a must-share!

Ten Commandments for Interacting With Kids On The Autism Spectrum...

1. Thou shall not yell when speaking to me. My disability does not impair my hearing and I am extremely bright. Perhaps even brighter than you are.

2. Thou shall not ignore me, talk negatively about me, speak unnaturally slow, or ask questions to others in the room that pertain to me. I can comprehend what you are saying just fine.

3. Thou shall believe in me and help me believe in my skills and self worth. Note the good in me and do not merely point out my negative behaviors. Believe in me and I will believe in myself.

4. Thou shall not perceive me as dumb. I am extremely intelligent. I do not learn in the same way as you, and maybe not as quickly as you expect me to. Have patience with me. Once I recall information, I never forget.

5. Thou shall not judge my behavior. I can get overstimulated in certain environments. I may be hypersensitive to sound and loud noises may hurt my ears. Fluorescent lights are distracting for me. They have a humming noise, and can pulsate. All the noises in a room can blur together. Please make accommodations to help me.

6. Thou shall not be so quick to scold me. Do not tell me that “I know what I did”. I do not. Tell me what my infraction was in a simple, concise manner. I want to please you, but I have difficulties inferring meaning within a vague statement. For instance, do not say please clean up your bedroom. Tell me exactly what you want, such as ‘Please make your bed and pick up your toys”.

7. Thou shall not compare me to others. Please remind me, and note the talents that I possess. This increases my confidence and positive self worth. Learning disabled or not, we ALL have talents to contribute within society. I need you to help me realize what mine is. Believe in me and I will believe in myself.

8. Thou shall not exclude me from activities. Please do not mimic me, ignore me, or bully me. Please invite me to play with you. It hurts my feelings when I am excluded. I like to run and jump in the playground, and be invited to birthday parties too. Grownups can help me make friends by encouraging other children to play with me. I can be a loyal friend if you get to know me.

9. Thou shall give me choices. I do not like being ordered about any more than the other children. Give me choices so I know you value my capabilities and opinions. Make them simple and concise. Present two options or so. I get confused when too many questions or directions are given at one time due to my processing speed. For instance, ask me if I would like to wear my blue sweater or green one, rather than asking which sweater I would like to wear.

10. Thou shall not judge me by my diagnosis, but by my character. I am an individual, just like other children. As my son used to say, “Mom my name is John (name changed for his anonymity) not Asperger’s”. A profound statement I would say. :-0) ~ Mari Nosal

A New School Year

Long time no post.

 I spent the month of July sick. Pain, pressure, and numbness on the left side of my face, centering on my eye, had me hopping from doctor to doctor and in an MRI machine twice and a CT scan once. I still have no answers and I am glad that my eye feels better. A horrible cold wiped me out for a week, too.

We withdrew our son from public school last week, just before public school began. The public middle schools were much better in our former state and after a year of frustration at many levels, we pulled him out.

Yes, I am homeschooling two teenagers, the same age, who are working at drastically different academic levels, and who learn very differently. For my son, I am using Thinkwell Math; Apologia Science; IEW for writing; Spanish For You; and Tapestry of Grace Y1U1 for history; he is enrolled in the local homeschool band program and he participated in a camp with the local homeschool baseball team.

For my daughter, the child with an autism spectrum disorder, we are using Math U See; Spanish For You; we are going to try IEW (IEW customer service showed me a web page that has lesson plans for younger children that accompany the same package that I bought for my son); Apologia Science; and Tapestry of Grace Y1U1. She participates with a cheerleading team for kids with special needs; I want to enroll her in a homeschool ice skating class and possibly a dance class for kids with special needs. We have to fit in a speech therapy research project somewhere.

My public high schooler has a busy year with her first AP class among honors classes; she is in the marching band (which keeps us hopping until almost Christmas) and the Wind Ensemble there. She is learning to spin and throw a rifle as part of the marching band show. The first football game of the season is this weekend, followed by the first marching band camp Saturday as we head into football and marching band competition season.

We are still battling anxiety, sensory issues, eczema. We have a busy year that includes settling in with a new student. Wish us luck!

Cousins

The 3-Minute Difference

I didn't have time or energy to review books, yet when "The 3-Minute Difference" popped up as a review opportunity, I couldn't turn it down after I read the book description.   I'm disorganized and overweight, for starters, and attempts to address those challenges are overwhelming to me.  I sometimes wonder what is wrong with me that I cannot fix myself.

Wayne Nance's life was out of control once. He smoked. He was obese. His marriage was a mess and he was in debt. And he found a way out. He says he can help others out, too.

I was interested.

First is the 3-Minute Survey. I described myself by choosing from lists of adjectives and sent my choices off to be assessed. The whole thing seemed a little bit hokey to me, a little "cootie catcher" to me, but I was willing to see what Nance says the choices I made describing myself say about me.

I was not ready for the results. Well, in some ways I was ready. In others, not. I'm not sure how choosing a few adjectives while ignoring other adjectives gives Nance that much insight into a person.

He *nailed* me. And he opened a door to insight and perspective about myself that I recognize is there that will help me move forward. 

Let me give you an excerpt from the book, from page 87: "This means that 40% of the population is not predisposed to what we call 'responsibility.' ... Practically speaking, your wiring puts you at risk for lifestyle problems like obesity and debt."  That insight is power.  If I am not predisposed to responsibility, I have to work harder at being responsible and I need to KNOW that I have to work harder at it.

"3-Minute Difference" walks the reader through finding his or her pattern and in families, how individual patterns work together in a family unit.

And Nance takes me through the challenging steps that will change me for the better.  I have to change my attitude.  And I can change my life. 

You'll have to stay tuned because I am a work in progress. Nance's words make sense and he breaks things down in a way that I can begin to apply. I still feel like a bit of a failure because I don't seem to be moving fast enough for me. I can't let my own thoughts bring me down, and Nance reminds me to concentrate on the successes, even when they are few or small.

The survey is HERE.

http://www.reallifeattitude.com/the-3-minute-difference.html

The book is priced at $16.99 and Nance includes the survey in the book and he walks you through interpreting your "score" (your pattern).  Or you may choose to take the survey online and choose from report options there.

I like the insight into myself.  I like the encouragement.  I like the way Nance walks me through steps and goal setting.  It seems doable and within my reach, and practical.  Thumbs up.

In Search of New Recipes

We are still stuck in a rut (again. or still). I make the same handful of meals over and over. We are tired of the same old same old, and I continue to look for recipes that might please my picky eaters while fitting the dietary restrictions of one child.

I have to make a cake or cupcakes for a birthday party later this week that my GFCF+++er will attend. 

Eldest and I headed to the local library for the first time to look for books to check out. I have borrowed e-books for my e-reader, but had not borrowed any hardbacks or paperbacks until now.

 I borrowed Carol Fenster's "Cooking Free"; Leslie Hammond & Lynne Marie Rominger's "the Kid-Friendly Food Allergy Cookbook"; Donna Washburn and Heather Butt's, "125 Best Gluten-Free Recipes"; Roben Ryberg's, "The Gluten-Free Kitchen"; and "Slow Cooker Revolution" by America's Test Kitchen.

Right off the bat, I find Coq Au Vin in the Fenster book, but Fenster says "It's absolutely delicious and perfect for a fall or winter day."  I would prefer not to heat the oven and have the oven competing with the air conditioning on this hot July day.  If I save the recipe, will I remember to try it in fall or winter?  And why did the publisher of this cookbook separate recipes in such a way that the directions are on the back of the ingredient page?

Fenster's "Cooking Free" offers 200 recipes that are not simply gluten free, they are for folks with multiple food allergies.  So is "the Kid-Friendly Food Allergy Cookbook" by Hammond and Rominger.

"125 Gluten-Free Recipes" has a good number of recipes we can use, although some use milk products.

Ryberg's "The Gluten-Free Kitchen" offers 135 recipes that are just gluten free. If you are more than gluten free, you'll need to know how to substitute. 

I think I'll spend some time with the slow cooker cookbook.  America's Test Kitchen has not failed me yet, and they tend to produce more recipes that don't use cream-of-something soup or flour.  They tend to publish recipes that are good as-is or are easy to substitute.

"I found them! I found them!"

a WOW moment. Actually, SEVERAL wow moments...

We went to see the new Ice Age movie with a friend that A. met at camp for kids w/ special needs.

In the movie, the good guys are adrift on the ocean and happen upon some Sirens who have transformed themselves into attractive animals, who are making beautiful music, saying beautiful words, . Manny, (mammoth played by Ray Romano), realizes that they are Sirens and that they are in trouble if they are drawn by the beauty of their songs, so he stuffs leaves in his ears to muffle the sound.

As we were riding home from the movie, my daughter - the one who regressed into autism after her first birthday - asked what those creatures were. "Sirens," I explained, from Greek Mythology, and their songs were so beautiful that they could capture sailors that way.

She thought for a moment, and then exclaimed in a big voice, "OH, SO *THAT'S* WHY MANNY PUT LEAVES IN HIS EARS!"

 So many times, for a kid on the autism spectrum, an action has no meaning. Manny stuffing leaves into his ears is simply Manny stuffing leaves into his ears. Context and past experience come together with actions to create meaning, and today, she made a connection that delighted me! Now, she is going through her books on Greek Mythology to try to find some information on the Sirens and she's looking on the internet for info about them. When she found Sirens on the internet, she exclaimed, "I found them! I found them!"

Active Participation - Gentle Discipline In Action

I stumbled across a facebook page called Janet Lansbury - Elevating Childcare that comes from a developmental perspective. It is something that would have helped me eight years ago in our do-over, eight years ago when we switched away from a behavioral autism intervention to a developmental, relationship-based intervention.

Back then, we were encouraged to watch younger children, to study the non-verbal foundations of interaction and communication that our kids missed (or lost in regression). I still watch neurotypical children for cues and clues to better use myself with my girl who is on the autism spectrum.

I am happy to tell you, Janet Lansbury posted a video on facebook today that may help you on your journey.

The link is HERE.  Watch how the teacher slows her pace to allow each child to interact, non-verbally.  Watch how she waits for each child to offer his/her own hands to be wiped.  Watch how she scaffolds an interaction by opening the banana and then allowing one of the children to strip the peel away.  The teacher stays close, she uses few words, she is big on actions, and she works at a pace that allows each child to be an active participant with her.  Not once does she assume a child won't respond.  Not once does she rush through hand wiping and wipe the hands of a child who has not yet engaged.

Beautiful.