St. Patrick's Day Parade

The biggest parade in our town is the annual St. Patrick's Day parade. It's rather nice since St. Patrick's day is Broadway's birthday. It's very hard for me to believe that on this St. Patrick's Day, we will celebrate Broadway's 16th birthday. I suppose this means that in order to hide my real age, I'll either have to start telling people he's my little brother or let them wonder if I was 14 when I had him.

Yesterday could not have been more beautiful. The temperature was in the upper 60's and there was not a cloud in the sky. The only negative was that Iraq has awakened in the morning with an ear ache. We initially planned on having daddy take her to the doctor while I took The Skink to the parade, but Iraq was adamant that she did NOT want to go to the doctor and that her ear was fine. After much cajoling, we managed to get some Tylenol in to her. As with many children in the autism spectrum, Iraq is very limited in the things she will swallow. Often getting her to take medication can involve both parents and duct tape a lot of patience.

We parked a block away from the parade rout and found a nice spot to watch from. The Skink had a lovely time running around in an empty parking lot prior to the start of the parade.

For some unknown reason, The Skink has an irrational fear of bagpipes. Now, I've looked it up, and there is no dedicated term for a fear of bagpipes. The closest things I can find are Ancraophobia - the fear of wind and Aulophobia - the fear of flutes. So we'll just have to come up with our own hybrid and call it Aulancraphobia. Rolls right off the tongue, doesn't it? I should mention that there are some rather unique and hilarious unfortunate phobias out there, like Cenophobia - the fear of ideas. That particular phobia would be a horrible thing for a creative person. "Ahhhhh... I just had an idea! Make it go away! Oh no! There's another one! They're chasing me!"
You can See A List Of Phobias Here.
OK - so getting back on my train of thought before it leaves the station... I suppose a St. Patrick's Day parade might not be the best event to take a person with Aulancraphobia. The Skink panicked when this first group came by:

The panic subsided as soon as they passed. She and Iraq loved seeing the Wright Kids - the local group who made it on to the television show America's Got Talent last season.

And we all thought the Roller-Derby team was fun! No... I'm not considering joining the team. Those ladies could eat me for lunch!

Throughout the parade, I had the best view of all:

Right up until it turned into a wild, flailing creature at the sight of the next group of bagpipes! Aulancraphobia!

Then the evil Scottish torture devices were gone and the Dalmatians replaced them. Apparently the barking was way easier to take than the elongated honky-whining of the bagpipes.

The really loud motorcycles didn't phase The Skink a bit!

And then we could see Broadway's group approaching!

And then we saw Broadway! He's the second from the left in this picture:

The girls waved and yelled - behavior sure to make any almost-16-year-old blush, but like any good military man, he didn't flinch or even look at us.

The Corvette Club had their cars gleaming in the sunlight. I like Corvettes... it would just be hard to fit a family of 5 into one. Oh well... maybe when I'm older (and so are my kids).

After the parade it was time for lunch. Strangely, Iraq who hasn't taken a nap in years fell asleep on the couch after taking only a bite or two of her lunch. When she woke up later, she said her ear was still hurting.

Though we had planned on taking her to the doctor on Sunday (yes - are pediatricians have weekend hours for sick kids) I was worried we weren't going to make it through the night. I remember having ear infections as a child. I remember the horrible pain... and the idea of going to be only to be awakened by a child crying in pain at 2:00 a.m. sends shivers down my spine. (My own mild case of Odynephobia - fear of pain.)

At about 5:30 in the evening I put Iraq into the car (no - she still didn't want to go.  Iatrophobia - fear of doctors and Aichmophobia - fear of needles) but told her we could get a treat afterward if she came with me. Good thing we went to the ER. Turns out poor Iraq had such a bad ear infection her ear drum ruptured. Just a small hole, but still... eeewwwww!

No - I didn't take any pictures of our hospital adventure. It may have been the first time Iraq was NOT in the mood to have pictures taken. We left with a prescription for some bubble-gum flavored medicine and a strict warning from the doctor that if Iraq refused to take her medicine, she would have to be brought back in to confront her Aichmophobia head-on.

So - I think we've had enough adventures for one weekend and today I'm staying at home with my girls while the boys enjoy an electronics expo at the Civic Center. Yay. I just hope they don't get carried away... I have Peniaphobia... the fear of being poor (following an electronics expo).

With that, I'm wishing you all a great weekend, and hopping you never develop a case of Geliophobia - the fear of laughing. Truly, that might be the most devastating of all phobias (in my humble opinion).

 

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Some of My Favorite IEP Goals for The Skink

So after getting Iraq's IEP meeting out of the way just a week or so ago, it was already time for The Skink's IEP. We got her updated IEP a few days prior to the meeting so that we could go over it and highlight any questions or concerns we had.

Both my husband and I looked over the pages and pages and pages of goals, but aside from laughing our back-sides off over some of the goals, didn't feel any changes were necessary. I did start to wonder, though, if after writing IEP after IEP, the teachers lost track of how some of the goals sounded to the outside world. These are a few of my favorite goals:
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The Skink will increase cognitive skills through participation in activities that emphasize conceptual development, reasoning and academic skills, memory, and perceptual discrimination, achieving at least 80% accuracy on the following objectives by 3/8/2012.

Great! Not sure I caught all that, but it sounds... great...
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The Skink will listen to a simple story presented to the group without engaging in disruptive behavior, on five different occasions by November 2011.

Without disruptive behavior? They're taking all the fun out of story time! And 5 WHOLE TIMES in the next 8 months? I'm glad they're challenging my daughter so nicely!
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The Skink will name all the primary colors when asked, "What color is that?" with 80% accuracy by March 2012.

It's wonderful the school has faith she'll have recovered from color blindness by then!
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The Skink will maintain her balance on cafeteria seats without falling off due to distractability each day.

Oooops! Sorry, I didn't catch that one. I seem to have fallen off my chair.
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The Skink will carry her lunch tray with hand over hand adult assistance each day without milk on tray and without "fussing" by 10/14/2011.

Hmmm... I'm not sure I wouldn't fuss under those circumstances, too.
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The Skink will correctly respond the the question, "Are you a boy?" and "Are you a girl?" by December 2011.

Seems kind of sexist, doesn't it? I bet they don't worry about that "goal" with kids who happen to be hermaphrodites. (Yeah - Freud would have a ball with my response - LOL)
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The Skink will assert herself in socially acceptable ways (e.g., no screaming, asking for objects or declining objects) at least 80% of the time by March 2012.

Well... that one seems pretty straight forward. It also gives a lovely mental picture of what must be the current "norm."
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And yes, there were at least 673 more "goals" lined out in the pages, but I just felt these particular goals possessed a little something extra! Speaking of goals...

We're reaching some goals here at home! Like WALKING up and down the stairs, with at least 80% accuracy, without being disruptive, while wearing every color in the rainbow, looking feminine and without falling off her chair due to distractability! Yay!

Remember... goals are our friends, and as with our friends, we should feel free to laugh at them as needed!

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Nap Time Fashionista

Just a hair after noon, I put The Skink in her room for a nap. When I put her in there, she was wearing a purple onsie with a pink pony on it and some blue jeans.

Throughout nap time I heard a continuing stream of activity coming from the direction of her room, but like any mother clutching to her last few scraps of sanity, I held out hope she would settle down and take a nap. I played a game of Parcheesi with Iraq and helped Broadway with a project he was working on.

Finally after I figured The Skink was simply not going to sleep, I asked Broadway to go up and release her from her incarceration. When she came down stairs, she looked like this:

Apparently at some point during the unsuccessful "nap time," The Skink climbed up on a table to reach the laundry basket that sits on top of her dresser, found her "pretty shirt" and put it on.

Once downstairs she strategically accessorized the look with a Dora the Explorer backpack filled with plastic Barbie fairies. Clearly a lot of thought went into the outfit!

All dressed up and no place to go? Not this fashionista! Nope, she proceeded to write up her shopping list...

And check it twice before directing a cheerful "Bye-bye, Mommy!" at me and trying to escape out the front door which, much to her dismay, was solidly dead-bolted to prevent escape. No matter. She simply grabbed the toy shopping cart and proceeded to load it with a stuffed duck, a talking red Elmo camera, a knit winter hat and 3 books. I would have loved to get some photos of her on her shopping trip, but unfortunately paparazzi was NOT allowed, and she was screaming at me and covering her face in every picture I snapped .

Oh well... Luckily for me there IS someone in this house who NEVER says "no" to having photos taken!

 

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Seasons Change

I had a rough day today so I went in search of fairies. I needed time by myself as moms sometimes do, so I stole away to my own little fairy place.

I found the clearing where they have their gatherings.

 Where trees become rocks and rocks become trees,

And as I walked further, I found the place where the fairies live...

In an old hollow stump, far away from everything.

Shhhh... a fairy!

And in a blink of the eye, she was gone. 

Along my path I found one of their hidden places. 

In the summer it will be covered in green, but winter laid it bare... 

visible to the meandering fairy hunter.

So I simply stood and stared in wonder at the reaching vines that made this lovely fairy dwelling.

I could imagine young boy fairies swinging like Tarzan from vine to vine, then letting go and fluttering down to the leaf-carpeted earth on delicate, translucent fairy wings.

Look! A fairy apartment building!

And after my walk among the fairies, I went back into town for a little retail therapy where I found these...

But I didn't buy any, because I'm too cheap.

You see, today I took the dogs to the vet where I learned that my sweet Brandy Ann has cancer. If we had plenty of money, of course I would have the vet do what they can to lengthen her life. As it is, we don't have extra funds. Brandy has also suffered from terrible allergies her whole life and has had to stay on a steroid called Prednisone. Taken for short periods of time, this medication is a good thing for those who need it, but taking it for years and years... well, after this long it will have damaged Brandy's organs. 

So for now, we'll keep chasing fairies, knowing that sooner or later, all fairies blink out. One never knows how long a fairy will stay, but the memory of seeing a real fairy... well... that lasts forever.

 Artwork by C. Atkinson.

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The Call of the IEP, The Grapes of Aspergers, Crime and Punishment and Other Great Classic Stories of Parenting...

Now if that title doesn't suggest a future best-seller, I don't know what does!

Yesterday the hubby and I went in to help author our family's second IEP. In case you're wondering, IEPs are not like potato chips. You CAN have just one... We just have this little tendency to defy the odds and all sense of logic - but I digress.

It goes without saying that if you have a child with Down syndrome, you will likely be called upon to peruse the pages of an IEP on a yearly basis. If you have a child with Down syndrome and another child with Aspergers, you will find yourself with stacks of papers amassing in the strangest of places, detailing every possible way the little fruits of your loins are NOT like the other children. Good times!

Admittedly I went into yesterday's meeting with a bit of a chip on my shoulder. You see, last year I requested testing for Iraq in the hopes of getting an IEP set up. Unfortunately not only had her teacher never heard of Aspergers, but the school psychologist and the specialist who performed the testing didn't think Iraq seemed "autistic." Why do we keep coming back to the old "but she makes eye contact" thing? They also decided that since she tested within the "average" range on all the academic scales, that it was not necessary for them to provide any extra help. Needless to say, I was frustrated!

We were thrilled when we learned of the opportunity to switch Iraq to the same elementary school that The Skink goes to, and even more pleased to learn Iraq's 2nd grade teacher has experience with children in the autism spectrum... and yes, she's heard of Aspergers... and she even recognizes the "Aspie" things that Iraq does and understands why she does them AND she employs techniques to keep Iraq on track! Thank goodness. Yet going into the IEP meeting, I was ready once again to be told that Iraq had tested within the "average" range academically, and be asked the question, "Well, what do you want us to do?"

Much to my relief and consternation, that is not what happened. Yes - Iraq did test within the average range academically, but they also recognized that Iraq has some unique "qualities" that require more specialized attention and guidance. Wow! School officials that understand that a kid can have an IQ within the normal-to-high range AND have special needs! Oh my! These people may have not only stepped OUT of their box, but re-assigned their box as a place to put out-dated material! Call Big Brother and warn him that someone is thinking!

I can't tell you how happy we were with the meeting! (Yes - it's top secret information!) No... Let me rephrase that. I mean I can't find adequate words to express the joy I feel over being understood and listened to, and from having Iraq be understood (at least to the degree that the school understood that Iraq needs someone to invest lots of time trying to understand Iraq and that Iraq is a person who may not ever be fully understood but that the very act of trying to understand Iraq will be beneficial to Iraq's understanding of the world and to her academic life... understand?).

Is it strange that I am happy about getting an IEP for my child?

Anyway, we are happy.

It also came up that Iraq's kleptomania (impulsive stealing) is still alive and well despite efforts from both home and school to exterminate that nasty little issue. We noticed that the school has a Sheriff's Office liaison - a police officer who spends a fair amount of time at the school. The next time Iraq steals something (which will likely be today) she will be arrested.

Yes. You read that right. Arrested.

Call it tough love, call it imposing permanent psychological trauma on our child, but because we have exhausted every other possible deterrent we could think of, we are going to try it. Think about it. The kid steals regularly at age 7. This does not bode well for her future... or ours as her bank account, bail bond providers parents.

On a completely separate subject (just because I like tangents and I'm dragging you along for the ride for my own personal entertainment) I am reading Thinking In Pictures by Temple Grandin. If you have a kiddo in the autism spectrum, read this book! If you ARE in the autism spectrum, read this book! Even if you are neuro-typical and don't know anyone at all in the autism spectrum, read this book! It is amazingly insightful and a very interesting read!

* I am not receiving compensation of any form for the promotion of this book. If you are the author, publisher or a reseller of this book and wish to compensate me for this glowing review, please contact me as soon as possible and I'll let you know where to send the check.

I have mentioned in prior blog posts that I myself have Aspergers. Reading Grandin's book has proved amazingly enlightening for me. I never realized neuro-typicals were so weird! (Just a little Aspie-humor thrown in there). The title for starters - well... I never realized that people could think without pictures. Yes - every last word in my vocabulary conjures an instant visual association. Suddenly a lot of puzzle pieces from my past are coming together, like why it took me longer than other kids to learn to read a clock with hands, count money, and why to this day I still don't spell well. Prior to having a visual concept of what "yesterday" is (I now visualize 3 days from a calendar appropriately labeled "yesterday," "today" and "tomorrow" in that order) it was nearly impossible for me to understand the concept of the word.

Well, I think there might be some legal copy write issues with my rewriting Grandin's book here in my blog just to share my excitement with you over it, so I'll stop there and just reiterate my opinion that you should read this book! And they even have it for Kindle (which is how I have the opportunity to read it... it's not like I would ever have the opportunity to venture into the grown-up section of an actual book store... at least not without 2 kids griping incessantly over being dragged into the "boring" section!).

So I'll leave you with that. And because I usually put tons of photographs in my blog which makes me feel like I'm depriving my cherished readers of visual stimuli in this particular post, I will now overload your senses in one fell swoop with this:

Feel better?
What do you mean "headache?" Oh... sorry.

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A Bigfoot Sighting in Virginia!

My girls have a favorite television show called iCarly. The other day an episode came on where Carly and her friends went in search of Bigfoot. It sounded like a good idea... after all, a person should know who lives in her neighborhood, right?

So among the first signs of spring, Iraq, The Skink and I went on a Bigfoot hunt!

In the event that we caught our very own Bigfoot, The Skink prepared a place for him or her to reside. We've heard they smell bad, so we certainly don't want it sleeping at the foot of Iraq's bed!

We looked high...

and low.

We climbed huge mountains...

and even performed a thorough aerial search for the elusive creature.

We looked in every corner of our round park,

but after days and days, or at least an hour, we finally had to give up and start on our way back home because it was almost nap time.

We were walking up the hill, and suddenly Iraq shouted, "There's Bigfoot!" We froze in our tracks, our blood running like ice through our veins. Our hearts pounded (it is a pretty steep hill)...

And at last, we had made an amazing discovery! Apparently Elmo lurks in the back yard of some local retirees, and he's gone green! But alas... as much as we love Elmo, he wasn't the monster we were looking for. Feeling a bit dejected, we went home, and guess what?

We FOUND Bigfoot!

A really cute one, too!

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