Sorry folks. Need to read my emails more carefully.
THIS SUNDAY's OGA Social Group is from 10AM-12PM,
NOT from 9AM-11AM. The new earlier time will not start until September.
Sorry, folks.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
OGA this Weekend!
Oh, and a reminder to all interested parties - the OGA Sensory Playgroup meets this Sunday at a new time of 9AM to 11AM. Yes, it is way out in no-mans land, and a tad early. But it is so worth it. Follow OGA link to right of page for more information...
Boo-Hoo!
So our little impromptu Sensory Preschool, so idealistically put together after the sudden death knoll of Edwards, is caput for now (and for very good reasons, logistics being the least of it). So my slacker approach to finding Olivia a new program (an approach made up of me sitting on my butt the whole month of August and being optimistic), hasn't really worked out that much. My second approach is luckily very similar; sitting on my butt for the whole month of August and then scrambling something together in the first few weeks of September. Go team!
My lame excuse of there not being time to visit other EI programs between the announcement of Edwards and the end of the term still holds though. I will visit them after the start of fall term, once the panic attack of Isaac and Alameda subsides a bit.
And the panic will likely be minor (again, did I mention that much of my approaches revert to optimism and occasional bouts of denial?). Isaac is a Pioneer graduate, but the Pioneer team will be in control of the transition to Alameda for the first few weeks.
The first few days, he will be at Pioneer. Then, over the next few weeks, they will work him into his new class, attending part-time at Alameda with one of his aides and making sure that any issues that come up are managed before the Pioneer staff release him to Alameda.
Can you imagine? If our beloved Ms. Holly, Ms. Amanda, or Mr. Brian were able to attend the first week of classes for out little ones who are all in flux right now. Can you imagine what the success rate would be for all of the Ruby's, Tessa's, Ellie's and Olivia's out there?
My lame excuse of there not being time to visit other EI programs between the announcement of Edwards and the end of the term still holds though. I will visit them after the start of fall term, once the panic attack of Isaac and Alameda subsides a bit.
And the panic will likely be minor (again, did I mention that much of my approaches revert to optimism and occasional bouts of denial?). Isaac is a Pioneer graduate, but the Pioneer team will be in control of the transition to Alameda for the first few weeks.
The first few days, he will be at Pioneer. Then, over the next few weeks, they will work him into his new class, attending part-time at Alameda with one of his aides and making sure that any issues that come up are managed before the Pioneer staff release him to Alameda.
Can you imagine? If our beloved Ms. Holly, Ms. Amanda, or Mr. Brian were able to attend the first week of classes for out little ones who are all in flux right now. Can you imagine what the success rate would be for all of the Ruby's, Tessa's, Ellie's and Olivia's out there?
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Free Zoo Event for Special Kids
Free VIP Safari Evening!
The Oregon Zoo is inviting children with disabilities and chronic and terminal illnesses, plus their immediate families, to a free evening as a Zoo VIP on Wednesday, Sept. 8th 2010 from 4pm to 8pm.
As a part of this special event, participants will receive:
Free admission to the zoo and free train ride.
Animal contact with a variety of zoo animals at the Family Farm.
Special performances of the popular WildLife Live animal show on the main stage.
To RSVP to this event, please give your first and last name and the number of family members to the Swindell's center (503-215-2429) or swindells@providence.org. RSVP's will not be taken after Sept. 2nd. Please contact us early!
(we did this two year ago, it was actually quite fun)
The Oregon Zoo is inviting children with disabilities and chronic and terminal illnesses, plus their immediate families, to a free evening as a Zoo VIP on Wednesday, Sept. 8th 2010 from 4pm to 8pm.
As a part of this special event, participants will receive:
Free admission to the zoo and free train ride.
Animal contact with a variety of zoo animals at the Family Farm.
Special performances of the popular WildLife Live animal show on the main stage.
To RSVP to this event, please give your first and last name and the number of family members to the Swindell's center (503-215-2429) or swindells@providence.org. RSVP's will not be taken after Sept. 2nd. Please contact us early!
(we did this two year ago, it was actually quite fun)
And Now for More of the Same...
Summer is already almost over, and now we are already gearing up for the fall and Isaac's transition.
This should be interesting, and worth noting here in this blog for anyone who is interested. It will be a tale of failure and recovery, hopefully. But we are not there just yet.
Right now we are finally having a normal summer vacation from school, as short as that might be. Swimming lessons, afternoons at the park, trips to Grandmas. In this short month off of school, we get to be as normal as anyone else.
Well, almost. There is some anxiety, and not a little regret. But to ease the next few weeks, I have written down a list of goals for Isaac's move back into a typical school, and a list of goals for us at home (Poor O, I will get to her in September - in the meantime we are playing CandyLand 4 times a day and making cookies). First on our list goals at home: make a solid base of friends for Isaac. He has moved around too much. It is time to set roots down again in our neighborhood.
The list for school is lengthy and I will put down a few points:
What are MESD's expectations for Isaac in the next year?
What are my expectations of the class and teacher?
What is the teaching style? How does that match his learning style?
How do we teach and encourage Self Advocacy?
How can we use his strengths? How can we smooth over his weaknesses?
*sigh*
Where's the nearest bar?
This should be interesting, and worth noting here in this blog for anyone who is interested. It will be a tale of failure and recovery, hopefully. But we are not there just yet.
Right now we are finally having a normal summer vacation from school, as short as that might be. Swimming lessons, afternoons at the park, trips to Grandmas. In this short month off of school, we get to be as normal as anyone else.
Well, almost. There is some anxiety, and not a little regret. But to ease the next few weeks, I have written down a list of goals for Isaac's move back into a typical school, and a list of goals for us at home (Poor O, I will get to her in September - in the meantime we are playing CandyLand 4 times a day and making cookies). First on our list goals at home: make a solid base of friends for Isaac. He has moved around too much. It is time to set roots down again in our neighborhood.
The list for school is lengthy and I will put down a few points:
What are MESD's expectations for Isaac in the next year?
What are my expectations of the class and teacher?
What is the teaching style? How does that match his learning style?
How do we teach and encourage Self Advocacy?
How can we use his strengths? How can we smooth over his weaknesses?
*sigh*
Where's the nearest bar?
Saturday, August 14, 2010
You Have Autism
Back from out little away time FROM the kids, oh I love them but it is so nice to sleep and eat and watch a movie again, minus the being-a-mom part. I slept 8 hours. IN A ROW.
I have been wanting to talk about The Talk for awhile, but have been so distracted by school-dramas. So I am putting a blip out there to see what comes back.
I had thought that the biggest talk I would need to have with the kids before releasing them into the world would be about sex. Discovering our sexual selves is such a paradigm shift in our lives, right? Colors the world with a different palate, especially how we see ourselves.
But how do you tell a child that, according to the rest of society, they are NOT NORMAL? There is no health issue or physical disability that shouts it out, and using Isaac as my context, he looks just like everyone else. We do not hesitate to discuss his ASD around him, but have not really sat him down and said, "You have Autism".
To him, THIS is normal. Finding out that this isn't, how will that change how he sees himself?
I have been wanting to talk about The Talk for awhile, but have been so distracted by school-dramas. So I am putting a blip out there to see what comes back.
I had thought that the biggest talk I would need to have with the kids before releasing them into the world would be about sex. Discovering our sexual selves is such a paradigm shift in our lives, right? Colors the world with a different palate, especially how we see ourselves.
But how do you tell a child that, according to the rest of society, they are NOT NORMAL? There is no health issue or physical disability that shouts it out, and using Isaac as my context, he looks just like everyone else. We do not hesitate to discuss his ASD around him, but have not really sat him down and said, "You have Autism".
To him, THIS is normal. Finding out that this isn't, how will that change how he sees himself?
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Finding Miss O a New School, Part II
So I have come to a bit of a decision. Enough to get us started, anyway.
I made a list of all of the things, knowing what I know now, I would have done differently with Isaac, school-wise. To this list, I added my school goals (read - "dreams") for O.
MESD and PPS have a policy of putting kids in the "least restrictive environment" possible. But that didn't work for Isaac. It should have been the other way around. He should have had time to adjust to a restricted (but academically typical) Kindergarten, then slowly moved into a typical room.
So although O is a different kid with different needs, there is no way a "sink or swim" methodology is gonna cut it. PPS does not like this way. It is more expensive, I am sure, but also PPS gets a little ding on its record when a child has to be in a restricted environment. Does not work with their Inclusion Model. I will fight, bitch, moan, and manipulate to get this. I have learned all about that damned squeaky wheel, and am bitter that PPS has made me so freakin' noisy.
Back to this fall, and EI. We are not starting in September, unless by some miracle we find the perfect private program. In the fall, O and I will visit a few programs once week one has passed and calm has settled. I am not going to rush to make a mistake - O is just too sensitive. She even became overwhelmed at Edwards around Halloween 2009, and had to be pulled for two months while we worked with private therapists. If none work, that's OK. We will also be visiting private programs and go on waiting lists. Unlike so many other parents, I have one resource I can use - time.
So please, please let me know how your kids are doing in the fall. What do you think of Grout after two weeks, one month? How is Childswork going? Sharing so others can learn is the idea here.
Kids are leaving for grandparents in two days. Then 6 days with hubby doing nothing more than road trips to Eastern Oregon and the Wine Country. Will load up on Pinot. Might go to a movie that is not in 3-D.
I made a list of all of the things, knowing what I know now, I would have done differently with Isaac, school-wise. To this list, I added my school goals (read - "dreams") for O.
MESD and PPS have a policy of putting kids in the "least restrictive environment" possible. But that didn't work for Isaac. It should have been the other way around. He should have had time to adjust to a restricted (but academically typical) Kindergarten, then slowly moved into a typical room.
So although O is a different kid with different needs, there is no way a "sink or swim" methodology is gonna cut it. PPS does not like this way. It is more expensive, I am sure, but also PPS gets a little ding on its record when a child has to be in a restricted environment. Does not work with their Inclusion Model. I will fight, bitch, moan, and manipulate to get this. I have learned all about that damned squeaky wheel, and am bitter that PPS has made me so freakin' noisy.
Back to this fall, and EI. We are not starting in September, unless by some miracle we find the perfect private program. In the fall, O and I will visit a few programs once week one has passed and calm has settled. I am not going to rush to make a mistake - O is just too sensitive. She even became overwhelmed at Edwards around Halloween 2009, and had to be pulled for two months while we worked with private therapists. If none work, that's OK. We will also be visiting private programs and go on waiting lists. Unlike so many other parents, I have one resource I can use - time.
So please, please let me know how your kids are doing in the fall. What do you think of Grout after two weeks, one month? How is Childswork going? Sharing so others can learn is the idea here.
Kids are leaving for grandparents in two days. Then 6 days with hubby doing nothing more than road trips to Eastern Oregon and the Wine Country. Will load up on Pinot. Might go to a movie that is not in 3-D.
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