Sticker Charts that Stick

I was losing it.  Little things were exploding into big things.  My sleep deprived brain was taking away the patience I desperately needed.  I needed to take control of the situation rather than constantly react.  My brain went into teacher mode and as I ran through the strategies I settled on the sticker chart.  Now it was time to put theory into practice.

Independent Living Skills or Academics?

 © Copyright Toby and licensed for reuse under thisCreative Commons Licence

• Would you rather your child be able to follow directions or able to count from 1-10?

• Would you rather your child be able to independently get ready for school in the morning or would you rather them be able to read?

• Would you rather your child be able to communicate effectively using visuals or communicate with difficulty verbally?

• Would you rather your child be able to live on their own or would you rather them have a high school leaving diploma?

Weekend Links

• As Normal As Normal Can Be (a mom blog about her journey with her autistic son; she specifically addresses schooling and autism) 
• Vision and Reading: Important Information about Why Your Child Might Be Struggling (great information piece with visuals about why reading is difficult for some kids)
• Living with Tourette Syndrome

Tutoring. To Do or Not To Do?

If your child is having any difficulty in school what is the first resource you think of?  Most parents will begin to look at tutoring for their child.  It seems like a simple answer but it's not.  How do you find a tutor and what concrete expectations can you have?  Do you want the tutor to work on your child's homework or do you want the tutor to work on supplemental teaching material?  How many hours of tutoring do you need?  What qualifications does your tutor need?  Most of all, how do you know tutoring will be effective in helping your child see more success academically?

Weekend Links

• Get In Line and Wait Your Turn; Navigating the System (describes the difficulties of the system specifically in regards to Quebec)
• In Their Own Words: Asperger Love
• Bringing the Early Signs of Autism Spectrum Disorder into Focus (one of the better videos I have seen as it does a side by side video comparison of children neurotypical development and possible ASD) 

Slow and Steady Wins the Race

Every new school year brings new expectations of and hopes for new achievements.  My oldest started kindergarten this year and by the end of the year I am expecting him to have an excellent grasp of the letters of the alphabet and the sounds they make.  I also expect him to be able to write, identify and count his numbers up to at least 20.  These are reasonable expectations for his developemental level.  By the end of the year, I hope he will be reading.  My hope is a possibility but it is not for certain.

Expectations and hopes for schooling change when you have a special needs child.  You can't expect the same achievements in the same timeline.  It is more difficult to hope because your hope often remains just that.  Allowing yourself to compare your special needs child with neurotypical peers is not a fruitful exercise.  A seeming lack of progress can cause you to miss the achievements that are there.  At times, it seems like moving one step forward only results in two steps backwards in another area.  

Today's piece is written for the parent of a special needs child in need of encouragement.

Culture Influences Disability Perspectives

Starting from what the person sees and not what you see.

My Kindergarten Class
Division 20.  Mrs. Kuhn's classroom.  Roll Call.

Gloria Andrews                         Janet Atchison                   Karen Basi                  
Michael Brenner                       Nikki Crowder                     Harjit Dhesi                        
Biance Fillion                            Christy Fontaine                Sunny Jaura
Stephen Ford                           Gordie Giroux                    Kevin Hubbard          
Mark Kavanagh                        Gamoon Lau                      Lubin Liou                  
Sandra Misceo                         Nancy Seto                        Elayne Sun                
Charity Zaparita                       Melissa May                       Josip Valesic

62% of the kindergarten class was of European descent

My Graduating Class

Magee Secondary School.  Graduating Class of 1996.  215 graduates.  

32% of the graduating class was of European descent