autism

Something to Hide

Posted by

0

Tomorrow is yet another IEP meeting, to discuss the fact that we think there are additional adjustments that need to be made to the Monster’s IEP for the 2014-2015 school year.

In the current IEP, the Monster is being transitioned back to his home school – Mount Washington – and put into a mainstreamed first grade class with some push-in and pull-out services specified.  There’s a nice list of the supports he needs for success in class… but one that’s not included in the document is an aide. Continue reading →

No More Teachers…

Posted by

0

Next Monday is the last day of this school year.

I don’t know that either of us has tried to explain yet to the Monster that he’s not going to school for a few weeks, after Monday morning.  It’s a kind of abstract concept anyway, and besides, the week after, he’ll start summer camp, which will also involve his riding a bus each day. Continue reading →

Growing Options

Posted by

0

Yesterday, my family went to the “Rock the Block” party over at the JCC of Greater Baltimore.  It was advertised as a “community block party”, featuring inflatables, art projects for the kids, games, shopping and booths from community partners.

To us, the more important thing was getting out into the sun and enjoying the weather with the kids.  But the interesting surprise to us was the number of booths dedicated to services for children with disabilities. Continue reading →

Breaking It Down

Posted by

2

As you’ve all noticed, no doubt, I’m hardly shy about the fact that the Monster has Autism.

The biggest obstacle I’ve seen is really the fact that Autism is invisible – it’s not like a lot of disabilities where the matter is visible to anyone who can see the affected person.  Because the Monster (usually) looks like a happy, healthy boy, folks just assume he’s normal until he does something that’s “not normal”. Continue reading →

Lies, Damned Lies, and Statistics

Posted by

0

Several times over the last two years, I’ve made comments about how claims made by various parties are untrue.  But let’s be honest – some claims, be they from the anti-vaxers or PETA, seem to be backed up with what looks like credible scientific research.

Many of these papers are not the conclusive scientific proof that their supporters claim.  But how can one tell what is good research and what is not? Continue reading →

Removing All Doubt

Posted by

0

My parents once gave me some wonderful advice: Better to keep silent and let others think you a fool, than open your mouth and remove all doubt.

Clearly, I speak a lot, so we all know I’m a fool.  But I also don’t position myself as superior to others in my conduct – Heaven knows I’m flawed.  And then you get groups with Holier-than-Thou attitudes who decide to shoot off their mouths about topics they know nothing about.

Yes, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, I’m looking at you. Continue reading →

Getting Around

Posted by

0

In my last post, I mentioned that we had the Monster’s IEP meeting.  This obviously means that I was at his school, in the morning, rather than my usual Thursday afternoon stop to grab my kid.  While I was waiting for the meeting-time, I saw a school bus pull into the school lot, discharging their kids and then going on its merry way.

The problem?  It was 9:25, and the school starts at 9 AM. Continue reading →

IEP-Go-Round

Posted by

0

Today was the IEP meeting to discuss our concerns about the newly-crafted IEP from February.

A few weeks ago, when we’d called Ms. R to schedule the meeting, she asked us if we wanted Early Learning involved.  We said no – we’d had a horrible experience with the woman from Early Learning (the one who ripped out the Monster’s ESY) – because we didn’t know what they could possibly contribute to the meeting.  So this morning, it was us, our advocate, the IEP chair, the SLP, his special-ed teacher Ms. A, the general educator he sees in the mornings, and the school social worker. Continue reading →

Blessing or Curse

Posted by

0

I’ve seen a lot of carrying on this week about Toni Braxton’s new book, most specifically to the snippets that are being distributed far and wide about how she saw her child’s Autism as ‘punishment from God’.  A lot of it has been handwringing in the tune of “how can people feel that way”, as if such thoughts make someone a bad parent.

On the other side, I hear a lot of folks expressing the viewpoint of “God gives special children to special people,” and the outcry against that point of view. Continue reading →

Party Planning

Posted by

0

The Monster’s belated birthday party is this weekend.

Because R is two, his birthdays are lightly themed, but are moving in the direction of having some kind of actual structure – we’ll probably have to have a “real” birthday party for him next year.  The Monster, at six, still is getting what is really an overglorified playdate with a BBQ… for a lot of good reasons. Continue reading →