Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Special Exp./Wordless Wednesday: Another Puzzle to Piece

Another puzzle to piece

I like this shot of James. He goes through phases of finding these bead & wire puzzles comforting, like some 3-D worry beads. The process of guiding the beads along their wire loops and bends tend to calm and soothe him. When he is feeling playful, he will either count the beads or name their colours.

For more great images or to join in the fun, Visit Special Exposure Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs.
5 Minutes for Special Needs
and ... Wordless Wednesday

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Field Trip: Library!

We have some truly wonderful childrens' librarians at our local branch, as they love to help children discover all the wonderful things they can find in books. They are so patient with kids in their library and answer all their questions. In fact,one gets the feeling they prefer it to be full of the upcoming generations.

They set up great programs, like Read to a Dog, and regularly have interesting people come perform for the children, such as magicians and acrobats. Harry Potter festivities are plentiful and joyous. My kids have become very accustomed to visits there.

When they toured my daughter's Kindergarten class, to invite all the children to come and participate in their fabulous summer reading program, I thought that maybe it would be a good idea for James' preschool class to get some library exposure. To put it bluntly, I badgered his teacher for months until one morning she told me she had spoken with the librarian and that they had booked a field trip to the library for a reading and library tour.

Today was the day! Even though I was getting over a cold and the weather was grey & drizzling, there was no way I was going to miss this:
Paying respects to the creek below
Saying hello to the creek below. This is a must do on all their outings!


library alphabet rug

this rug is Too Much!
Exploring the cool library alphabet rug


librarian using felt board for reading the book

that's one hungry caterpillar!
Reading the Very Hungry Caterpillar, with the help of a felt board!


surprise butterfly hand puppet
Surprise butterfly hand puppet at the end (big hit)!


James is excited to receive a sticker
Every kid received an "I visited my library today" sticker, which they were all excited to put on their shirts! Then we had a tour of the entire library (it's actually not that big) and the kids got to explore the preschool book corner & puzzle table.


The librarians were excited too, because they were participating in the effort to get a million people to read The Very Hungry Caterpillar today, and they got to register our whole group!

Wednesday, October 07, 2009

Special Exp./Wordless Wednesday: School Kid

School Boy James

James loves going to school. There's a lot going on, the people are wonderful, and he wants to be like big sister. Here he is, heading into his new preschool on a Friday morning this fall.

For more great images or to join in the fun, Visit Special Exposure Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs.
5 Minutes for Special Needs
and ... Wordless Wednesday

Monday, October 05, 2009

Magic Marker Monday: Letter Y

The letter Y, covered with bits of yarn
I like this picture. I like the way James' art combines with the morning light shining in through the leaves in the backyard.

Each week, James is learning a new letter at his new school. This picture represents his handiwork from the week that covered "Y." The letter contains pictures of y things, like yaks, yarn ... chromosomes (kidding on that last one!). James then got to practice crayon colouring and using scissors (he needs a lot of help with cutting) to cut up bits of yarn and glue them to his letter.

I like the fact that he's getting some tactile exposure to the alphabet.

This week is dedicated to the letter "G." I'll keep you posted.

Visit 5 Minutes for Special Needs for more Magic Marker Monday.
Special Needs Blog
  

Sunday, October 04, 2009

1 in 100

That's the new government estimate of children in the US affected by autism. (Link)

One in one hundred. And that's with the people who answer phones and talk with survey takers. Will we ever know the true number?

I am sometimes haunted by the feeling that there is a very real cause that triggers this disorder. I start to wonder what I did that made my baby susceptible to becoming the way he did.

My head knows that unless I am on board with a research team, spending time on this is pretty much a waste of time. My head knows that the best use of my efforts are to marshal a good plan, a series of ever-changing plans, for James. Plans that can help him lead a healthy and happy life.

My heart still aches, though.

Saturday, October 03, 2009

SOOC Saturday: Interactive

James tried being interactive with the TV screen

James loves to play games on the laptop. If we let him, he would play for hours on PBS Kids. His favourites are the Curious George and Clifford games.

I've noticed this has changes his experience with the TV. If you look at the picture, James is using his finger to push a photo out of the way. In this part of the DVD, the pictures tilt over and turn off the screen by themselves. James wants to help them.

The Slurping Life is going through some tough times. Visit Melody and Mac for some beautiful and thought-provoking images.
  

Thursday, October 01, 2009

IEP on the Horizon

We received notice that James' IEP will be later this month -- moved up a month from last year. This is partly due in equal shares to his progress and the fact that he'll be starting Kindergarten next year. *Sniff*

So he will be tested and reassessed. Right now, his teacher and I are looking at the fact that he is very easily distracted. Hmmmmm. Lots to think about and ponder. Ponder, ponder, ponder.

Nope, nuthin' yet!