Reflections 2024

 

This has been a year of goodbyes and new things. A season of trying to understand that by living, things will eventually end. A lot of missing things and empty places. Some new sprouts of things that Could Be in New Places.

A year ahead that looks exciting in a good way for James. That is what I am trying to focus on.

Over this past year I am finally starting to see and become involved in supports and groups I've been hoping for for decades: Online parent groups and forums that allow us to feel seen and mitigate our isolation and weariness. Inclusion in a school and the parents. New opportunities for my guy as an adult. 

I am thankful for those and hopes this is a wave that just keeps growing. 

Advocacy Tools When Behaviors and IEPs Go Awry

 I came across a Disability Rights California post in my social media feed that I wish I'd had several years back. It talks about steps to take and offers tools to use if there are Behavior and Discipline problems with you child and the school. The letter format for requesting a copy of their Behavior Emergency Intervention Report and the Checklist of steps to take if you child has been suspended or restrained at school are excellent. 

When James was in 8th grade, at a new school, his IEP was not followed. He was set up to fail. For the first time ever, he was suspended. That principal did so many things that were both hurtful and illegal that the lawyer I hired, who preferred to peacefully negotiate, took umbrage. 

I can tell you that documentation, being able to create a clear (and provable) timeline of events, including letters and steps like those mentioned above, were vital to us getting our position heard and James receiving the best placement for his (current) school.

Do not be afraid to use these tools. You need them to advocate for your child or family member. You can even use the letter template to request other legal services to support your child, such as a request for outside assessment by a non-district Neuropsychologist. You can also use it as a template to ask questions or request an IEP meeting. It's also great to have just in case. Fantastic if you never need to use it, but so very, very handy if something crops (or creeps) up.

The Disability Rights California has a well-organized online center of information related to Special Education, as well as Resources and Programs for those with disabilities and those who advocate for them. 

Dental Solution - At Last!

I am so glad James recovered from his cold so we did not have to attempt a reschedule his big dental day. It's been a 2-year, nightmare journey to get James seen and his dental health dealt with so that he could keep his teeth.

Long story short -- hygiene and dental hygiene have been an ongoing struggle, made worse by moves, disasters, and years of life crises. The programs and family dentists we'd been using told me, once the pandemic allowed for dental appointments and he was actually in the chair again, that his teeth were so deteriorated his top adult teeth and possibly some of the bottom, would need to be extracted. 

That's 8-10 teeth minimum. He is 17 and has speech difficulties. His jaw will not be fully formed until maybe age 25. 

No. 

Some day I will go into detail about all the calls I made, and how we got sent in circles, but not today.

Enter James' aunt, who got us a referral to a dental group who deals with special needs and works with an anesthesiologist. They are about 20 minutes away. 

5 hours under general anesthesia and a lot of work and money later, all but 1 of James' teeth were cleaned, saved, and restored. They also took x-rays and gave him a fluoride treatment. When the doctor came out and gave me the good news, I kept hearing Etta James singing "At Last".

Isolation - How You Can Help

I have written a lot about the negative emotional impacts of isolation that comes with being a parent of a child who is autistic. The isolation saps already low energy and makes it easy to get locked into patterns - sharing and communication with family, friends, and the community require constant and costly efforts.

For us in the suburbs past the 2nd grade, if my kids were not doing the same programs as other kids, they were locked out of social events like birthdays and get togethers. Parents hesitated about coming over. The friends that we made seemed to move out of town. 

Former friends were great to see at reunion events. Because of sensory overloads, developmental delays, and communication challenges (not to mention eloping), I could not engage completely with my friends and kids. There was friendly interest in our lives, but it was often not deep.

The older we all got the more I noticed the lack of people being able to slow down and break things into smaller parts. I would have been like that too, if not for my kids. 

Here is something new to consider for Autism Awareness Month: Do you have friends or family members affected by autism? Are they still important to you? Consider doing the following:

• Initiate get togethers and persist if they get canceled at the last minute. Be prepared for a slower visit and instead focus on time together.
• Please don't try to share inspiring stories or new treatments you heard about. Ask questions instead to learn more about what their life is like. 
• Volunteer to contact representative to protect services or bring awareness to housing, education, and personal rights issues.
• Please share news about mutual friends and interests - photos are great too.
• Consider your affected friends and families when planning social or other events. If the planning does not work out initially, consider adding a new one later one that can accommodate a slower pace and avoid triggers.
• Find a way to keep impacted families and friends in your life - send a postcard, share a recipe or joke, or send a text if you see or hear something that reminds you of them.
• Try being a pen pal (you or your family/kids) - everyone loves getting mail and sometimes being able to practice writing as a truly social experience can be fun for our kids.
• Contribute to non-profits that help families impacted by autism. In our area, this includes:
•  Matrix Parents Network
• Anova Center for Education
• the Early Learning Institute
• Rotary Club of Healdsburg Sunrise
• United Cerebral Palsy North Bay
• Common Ground Society.

Please don't be afraid or ashamed to try something new in including impacted friends and families - we do it every day and learn to roll with it/through it. We assure you there is a heady sense of accomplishment for at least trying. We'd like to have your company.

Fire Season, Power Outages, and Autism

September is winding its way to October, Pumpkin Spice is out in full force, Halloween decorations are sprouting, and California is officially in Fire Season.

New this year - Planned Power Outages from PG&E, who can't figure out how else to stop their equipment from causing devastating fires. We pay more for this extra disservice too!

So, James for several years has been sleeping with the lights on. He hates it when the power goes out.

Then the Tubbs Fire happened and we had to flee in the middle of the night ... a couple of hours after the power went out. Less than a week after we had to move out of the only home James knew.  Now power outages are even scarier.

We have social stories, plans, and some cool items from our Nana that do not need electrical power:

Dimmable Warm White Light & Color Changing RGB Smart Atmosphere Lamp, from Amazon

 

 LED Switch Light, available at hardware stores and Amazon

James is still very anxious about the possibilities of losing power, especially during fire season. This is something I do understand, having been caught up in the Oakland Hills Fire and losing most of everything I owned and my childhood home and neighbourhood as well.

This is the price we pay for where and when we live. Most of the time, it's wonderful. For the next 6-8 weeks, however, it will be a nervous time.

Disclosure: I was not paid to post these items. I uploaded the images and links to share as a resource idea for other parents in need.

Call to Advocacy

Today in Sacramento a rally will be held at the Capitol for the purpose of highlighting the need for continued support of the Lanternman Act and a call to action for State Legislators to sign a letter that request $290 M to keep supports and services in place.

I know why this is important, because James and I have benefitted from services that came out of this law. For those of you who are wondering why this Act needs support, here is a good site: The Lanternman Coalition.

If you've ever wondered what you could do to help James or I, or someone like us, or if you just love to engage in political/social activism, I invite you to send a message to your CA State Legislators ASAP to show at the rally and sign a letter to fund services under this important law. The rally is this morning, 4/3 from 10 until around Noon.

I know time is short - so here are some links to make it easy:

• Find your Legislator
• Tweet you Legislator - this website has everything ready to go for you: Social Media Toolkit
• email your Legislator - my message is below.

Dear Assemblyman ___________:  I am writing you today to ask you to attend today's Keep the Promise rally at the Capitol to support the Lanternman Act. As a single parent of a child with developmental disabilities I appreciate how crucial it is to have access to services supported by this law. I am asking that you sign the letter sponsored by Assemblymembers Chris Holden and Jim Frazier, along with Senator Stern, to increase funding by $209 million to help retain workers who provide crucial services for thousands of families such as ours, and keep the organizations that provide these services open.

I have personally experienced the loss of several great people who could no longer afford to work at low wages for such services as respite care, behaviorists, classroom aides, and teachers. Living in a fire devastated area that is experiencing soaring housing costs puts hardship on us all. Having your support of the Lanterman Act is very important to us all who live here and will continue to be strong support for so many of us who live in not only Santa Rosa but Sonoma County.

If you would like to know more about why I ask for your support of the Lanternman Act, I invite you to contact me.

Yours Sincerely,

For more about what the Lanternman Act means to people and the community, the video below is great!

Thank you!

On the Road for Answers

We're back in SF again, waiting for our much-anticipated appointment for the biofeedback clinic at CPMC.

Guess where we're hanging out?

It's something of an adventure and much more relaxed this time around. For one thing: James can eat and is not facing a medical procedure. For another, over the past week, James has had some success eating and producing BMs on his own.

Because we both hate traffic, and have committments in the afternoon (work for me, a local appointment with a dietician for James), we got up very early and were on the road shortly after 5:30am. We hit some traffic, but not too much, and used the heck out of the carpool lane -- yes!

We watched the moon set over the Pacific, just north of Land's End. There was a moon path over the waters. Gulls and sparrows fluttered and flew over the sea and sands. We saw a parked school bus in the lot again. Then we headed up to the Legion of Honour, and watched the sun rise. Gorgeous.

Now we're almost ready to head out. James already drank his milk and ate a croissant and cookies. He is so much more lively than our last trip a month back.

We still have a way to go. I can take days like these though. Hoping for good things!

Social Stories, Electronic Style

One of the most helpful tools I've found to help deal with James' anxiety and to prepare him for new things is the use of Social Stories. Sometimes I can get lucky and find them online. Sometimes I have to make up my own.

There are sites like these out there - just search the web!

At first, I thought I'd write them down nicely, find some illustrations, and staple them together in a book, so we could keep using them. Yeah, well, I know. We all learn by doing, right?

Most of the I do with James Social Stories are verbal, with a few visual aides to help anchor the message. Some children's books out there make great Social Stories. Curious George is great for us, because the messages in those stories are great for James, and he loves to memorize them. I am a big fan of such  TV episodes as "Doctor Monkey" (because for a while, James was anxious about going to the doctor's office), and "Curious George On TIme" (which helped us learn about time, paralleling his class work).

I've also found that videos can be a great planning tool and animated Social Story device for James. I was reminded of that this morning, when he wanted to watch Disneyland rides using YouTube. I started using the videos to prep him for going on new rides he might not have wanted to try without first "riding" them in the safety of his own home.

It's not foolproof, but the success rate for James trying a new ride is much higher if he can preview them. I think the best example of that was Radiator Springs Racers. I knew that the fast speed, ups and downs, and lack of control during the ride would be hard for him to deal with. The fact that we were in a car-like vehicle, coupled with his repeated advanced viewing of the ride meant that the new ride quickly became a new favourite ride.

What other kinds of Social Stories have you found to be successful?

Rough Night

James and I had a rough night last night. Both kiddos got me up with bad dream trauma. The first time, around 3am, they both woke up at the same time. There were huggings and calmings. James asked me to sing the lullabye from Tarzan to him. I could hear his innards churning, but he calmed down enough to ask to go back down to sleep.

Half an hour later, the moaning began. Oh no. Not again.

I sat up with him and told him stories. He got louder. I got out the towels. The inevitable happened, but it was short-lived.

James asked me to leave the light on in his room, which I did. About 4:50, I thought the worst was over and went back to bed, one ear as open as possible. James got me up again around 7, with a happy "It's morning! Is it morning, Mommy?"

Yes, yes it was. By the time I made it into his room, he was on the floor, playing with his Leapster. One look at the bed showed me how he'd spent the rest of his night:

Math cards, alphabet puzzle, and Leapster.
iPad served with breakfast, which he ate.

That's my resourceful guy.

Walking With Our Buddies And Friends

Some pictures need no words:

James and his buddy Ronnie

Some photos from today's walk. We picked up some more information from the Resources booths, saw friends, and enjoyed being out on a nice Spring morning.

Word is really getting out about Autism, but we still need your help!

Getting ready to walk ...

Rounding the corner on Lap 2.

Visiting the Cypress School booth, looking at PECS and drinking cool water from my special water bottle.

We are proud to be walking with our Buddies and Friends. We still need answers.

Activities for Special Needs Kids

This has been a good year for getting James more active. Although he has some issues, such as low muscle tone, uneven fine muscle control in his fingers, and vestibular disorders, James is a guy on the go. He likes people and being able to play sports is becoming more of a requirement for him to participate at recess and social occasions with others.

So we love it when we hear about programs for kids with special needs. Any helpful boost we can get for our kids is an investment that pays rich and diverse dividends. Here are some programs we've used over the past year:

Healdsburg Wonder League

A non-profit organization that runs a mini baseball league designed for children, ages 4–19, with special needs. Their first game is this weekend and it's not too late so sign up for this season! Find out more on their website (http://wonderleague.org/) and come on out to cheer on the Players and their Buddies. James and his sister have enjoyed two years with this great program. Our daughter learned to hit a pitch, and James has actually improved his throwing skills. Here are some posts about our experiences.

Saturday Sidekicks

We've had some fun Saturdays down at Sonoma State. The Saturday Sidekicks program has truly made both kids excited about being more active. It's nice to have some focus time too where the kids and their university sidekicks join in a circle to sing and try a group activity. The energy is high and the kids get a chance to do outside of normal play, such as ride a plastic scoot, get rolled down a ramp while inside a tubular mat, or ride on a platform swing. Being pulled on a blanket while sitting in an inflatable raft is novel, as is having a big cardboard box to hide out and giggle inside. We sure hope to participate in Saturday Sidekicks next year!

Town of Windsor Parks and Rec

We've tried two programs, with gratifying success. Half days of summer camp sessions and group swim lessons. For both, I've gone in person to the office to talk about James and his needs. At first, they were willing to give it a try, with the clear condition that the counselors were not 1-on-1 aides and that if there were too many issues for either of us we'd withdraw James. Amazingly, issues never came up.

Instead, with the summer camp, his verbal abilities soared, and he got into crafts and enjoyed play times. He loves wearing the camp t-shirts all year long. At the talent show last summer, he insisted on performing a song learned at camp on stage, solo, with a microphone. I heard he was a fun act to watch. I have strangers waving to me now at the Town Green, asking me to say hi to James. We remember the summer camp programs with great fondness.

The group swim lessons for kids were an important developmental milestone. I finally felt James was comfortable enough in water and group dynamics to get something out of a class and would not be too much of a distraction. It was a very good start and we'll be doing more this year. He even started to float on his back and jumped in at the last class, getting his head wet: victory over sensory issues!!

New to try this year,

Cycling Without Limits

James is eager to try and ride his bike without training wheels, like his big sister. His balance is rather precarious, so we haven't gotten there. Meanwhile, he is so big he is outgrowing his beloved Star Wars bike and bending the training wheels. Here's hoping both kids will be 2-wheeling it by Summer's end. We heard about the Cycling Without Limits program by participating in Saturday Sidekicks, and I am already looking forward to June.

Speaking of being physically active and programs supporting kids on the autism spectrum, James and I are walking this Saturday in the North Bay Area Walk Now for Autism Speaks event. Please join us in person at the Windsor Town Green or consider supporting us as we walk to raise awareness and funds to understand and create resources to deal with Autism.

Special Exposure / Wordless Weds: Fun Finale

Last weekend was the last of the Saturday Sidekicks sessions for the year. We plan to come again next year. It's been such a good experience, getting both kids out of the house and moving early on Saturday mornings. Not only James enjoyed it, his big sister was warmly welcomed and enjoyed using the scoots and time with the university students.

A huge thank you to Elaine McHugh and all the volunteers - Kinesiology, and the Saturday Sidekicks program, rocks!

He ran straight for the jumpy and stayed there. I remember when the generator noise made them intolerable for both he and his sister. There were many birthday parties where I watched my kids try to have fun at an inflatable jumpy-themed party from the outside. I don't think I'll ever get tired of seeing my kids enjoy them for reals.

Yowza!

Was that the 12th trip down, or the 20th? Who cares!

You want to see some happy kids? Keep scrolling!

For more images from the heart and to share some of yours,
visit Special Exposure Wednesday at 5 Minutes for Special Needs.






               and ... Wordless Wednesday

Apps Fantastic for Autism Awareness Month

Because it was such a great event last year I went looking for free or discounted apps today, World Autism Awareness Day 2013.

Yowza -- Smart Apps for Kids has a great post all set up with lists, links, and descriptions.

We don't have iPhones, but we do have iPads, and kiddos who love them.  We're also on a very tight budget, and so appreciate all the speciall offers out there, however fleeting they may be.

After a quick look-through, I think we'll be trying:

Toca House, because Toca Store and Toca Hair Salon are such bit hits. Both kids have been wanting to add apps and we hold to one a month, and they must do chores to earn the apps.

Happy belated Easter?

If it gets them interested in the real-life chore counterparts, I am all for this one. Best of all -- it's free!

Sequences for Autism
James is working on this at school for speech sessions, reading regrouping, and learning to write a story.

In fact, ever since the epic games of Hide and Seek with his cousins on Easter, we have been writing stories aloud about games of hide and go seek.

Another fun and timely app that's free for a limited period.

Picture Me Calm -- bee-cause we can all use a little more calm in our lives.

James is starting to experience frustration and anger more often, and I've been working with him to breathe deeply and communicate a little more maturely.

He's going to be a big guy. I want to get him some effective coping tools before the hormones hit.



What are other good apps out there for spectrum families?
    

World Autism Awareness Day ... Because We Already Know

Today is April 2, World Autism Awareness Day. If you are here to find out more about Autism and/or our journey, this post is for you.

Be aware. Be very aware. You are your child's best advocate.

It's been over 6 years since I felt in my bones that something was off about our beautiful boy. At 18 months, he didn't exhibit the same burst of development that his sister did.

He was happy and smiled, but did not "talk much." He rolled over a bit late; tried standing much later than his sister's 11 months. Once he started standing, the speech babble went away. His communication resembled a parrot's squawking.

His pediatrician told me I was being a worry mom; that I should not compare him to his precocious, older sibling.  Boys can often develop a little late, especially if they have a talkative big sister, he explained. Besides, he assured me, "he can't be autistic, because he looks you in the eye."
  

Do not be afraid to insist on assessments. Don't let fear of a diagnosis or well-meaning reassurances of family and friends put you off getting your child assessed.

By age 2 James started to scream and bite with frustration. He started zoning out on us, looking dreamily off into the distance and not responding to his name or attention-getting noises right next to him (yet he could hear a pencil drop on the other side of the house).

I came back to that pediatrician, who wanted to "give him 6 more months," and told him that what I needed was for him to call in a referral to have my son assessed for autism/developmental issues. I needed to know, I said -- if only if to be told to stop worrying. I needed that call NOW. He did call, but afterward was never comfortable in discussing my son's developmental issues.

There is help out there, and services are available that can help your child. The sooner you start, the better the response and results.

Within a month, a caseworker from the North Bay Regional Center came out and started giving me questionnaires to fill out. She chatted comfortably with me as we exchanged information, focusing attention on James as she tried to engage him with simple activities. After about half an hour, she started writing. When I asked what she was doing, she explained she was writing up purchase orders. What a lot there were: speech twice weekly, in-home and group developmental play therapies (each weekly), and weekly occupational therapy. Our lives changed with this visit, before we realized what was going on.

1 in every 50 boys. It can happen to your family. The numbers, when we started this journey, were 1 in 120 children. Every year there's been a scary march closer to 1 on 1 odds of a child being born with autism. Every year thousands more are diagnosed with spectrum disorders.

It took 5 months on a wait list to get James into the CAD clinic, where he was examined by a panel of medical, behaviourist, and developmental specialists.  The thought, going into the assessment, was that James would be found to be PDD-NOS. He actually scored a solid Autism Spectrum Disorder, which is technically more severe. Since then, we have become very aware. AndI have found the importance of building relationships with schools, doctors, and more people than I ever thought possible.

Communities and relationships are vital to stay afloat in a life or family that has been swamped with Autism or special needs.

The impact of James' diagnosis and special needs constantly strains at our family. We love him dearly and would not change him. We think his autism is part of who he is. We don't think it's caused by food allergies or vaccinations. I know that every child on the spectrum is unique, and presents as individually as "normal" kids do. I have learned the power of asking for help, felt acute relief and thankfulness for the kindness of someone who reached out to do something nice for me or mine "just because." Being with others who "get" what I am going through and don't attempt to brush off my worries, accepting it is what it is ... has never been more welcome.

New Apps To Try

 We tried 2 new apps for the iPad this week: Scene and Heard (lite/free version) and Thinkin' Things, Collection 1.
Scene and Heard is an interesting program that lets you take pictures and record sentences about them. So far, James likes tapping the images already loaded into the program. I am hoping that by summer, he and his sister can build on this. It would be a great way for James to build his expressive language.

Bonus, it blends in with the picture schedulers he's used to seeing at school.


Thinkin' Things is a collection of games he met in his first grade classroom. He finally was able to ask specifically for this application last week, after an attempted visit to his old classroom didn't work out .... and he had a huge, Hulky, howling, meltdown. I figured that if he could pull himself back together after that extreme disappointment and form a calm and articulate request, by golly that deserved an attempt to get this thing!

It's older software, by a company that's been acquired, so it took a little sleuthing to track it down online. There are 3 collections, and James was Very Firm that what he wanted was collection 1. How lucky for us that this seems to be the one collection that's downloadable to the iPad. You can find CD ROMS on Amazon or elsewhere, but as my DVD drive died last month, they are not options for us at this time.

I had best results by conducting a Google Search using the following terms: "Thinkin Things, Edmark, Mackiev" -- and in the iPad App Store I had to search under "Mackiev" to find the app. Was it worth it? Definitely! His favourite game is the BOX- Flying Shapes. Well worth the $8.99 we paid for the download.

During my original search for this software, I was surprised to see a warm review of all 3 collections on a site for autism resources.


I even have my eye on our next free app to try: Squiggles. It was my code name for James before he was born, because that's what he did for 9+ months!

Yes, because I make informed decisions like that.

Angry Birds in space -- goes without sayin'!

 We're open to more iPad app suggestions too, if you have some.

For the record - no one is paying me to do write this post. This is just us, living our lives.

Something New

We finally checked out a program we've heard a lot of good things about, but never actually joined: Saturday Sidekicks at Sonoma State University.

Oh, I can see why parents love it and their kids have a good time. It's a fairly simple premise, carried out wonderfully well. Parents bring children to a gymnasium, which is filled with mats, Hula Hoops, a climbing board, platform swing, teeter-totter, trampoline, and scoot carts with an obstacle course. They are met by college students who are assigned to a child and become their play/Adaptive PE buddy. Music, scooting, chasing, and shouts of giggling abound. Periodically, everyone is pulled back to circle time for a group activity and song.

James adored it, and his sister had a great time too. I just sat on a chair and socialized with the mom who reminded me it was available and gave us a car pool ride down there with her kids. What a great start to our Saturday!

When Is Intervention Helpful?

I read this online column a few days back, and it gave me lots of food for thought. In it, a neighbour asks if it's appropriate for her to call Child Protection Services (CPS) on parents who provide care for their severely disabled child at the expense of their infant daughter. Has anyone else read it?

Holy freakin' cowbells.

I am glad to see that several people emailed in after the initial post to provide some more balanced responses, because the advice columnist's initial response was to affirm a call to CPS. I thought the first commenter (on page 2) echoed my thoughts -- the concerned party should get the parents in touch with support services first.

Now, how many of the general population know (1) that it's there and (2) how to appropriately effect a connection between the two parties? Very few, I am guessing. In part because services and protocols vary so wildly across cities, counties, regions, and states -- there is no consistent way to discover their presence. The larger organizations (like Autism Speaks and MyAutismTeam) try to connect to the more local groups, but keeping on top of what's current is a very difficult, time-consuming task.

Strengthening my conviction of this special needs 411 bewilderment are the instances this year in which I got a taste of the frustration of those close to special needs families who want to help, but don't know where or how to start. I was contacted by a couple of people from my daughter's school district and some friends who know my particular situation and wanted info to pass along to someone they knew. I found out that, as little I know, it's a lot more than some officials. It gave me incentive to create a services pamphlet that, while neither comprehensive nor official, is a fairly decent first step to connect those in need with services and support in our area.

How disconnected we all are. There are so many fantastic people, groups, and services out there, and still so many who do not know they are there. So while the original writer's question made my blood pressure rise, I am glad it put this very important topic out there, so more are aware that services do exist for special needs families.

Most of my information came from our North Bay Regional Center and the professionals who worked directly with our son. Until we were in this situation, I had no idea that special day preschools, developmental therapists, and respite care were available to families on the spectrum. Every week I learn something new. It makes me wonder -- from whom did you hear about services and how did you get the information that helped your family?

Checklist Charting

James has been all over the map this week at school. Monday he was off to a good start. Tuesday his check list came back almost all sad faces. Wednesday, I was informed that his behaviour was so disruptive that he was sent to "visit" with the principal while his aide was on break. Wednesday his aide was out unexpectedly and he had a great day. Thursday, back to some issues with his regular aide.

Most of them are attention-seeking, I think, and aimed at his teacher, when his aide is not with him. Paperclips in his mouth, edging away out of bounds on the playground during recess, loud verbal stimming during a work center, reacting badly when his time at his classroom's computer ended ...

The checklists do help us all, because it catalogs his challenging moments and tracks how he did during the day. It enables his teacher, aide, and I to catalog his day. Most importantly, it allows me to sit down with James and go over his day.

The morning I sat him down on the sofa with me to review how his day should go, moving our fingers down the checklist and discussing what should happen at each one, was the day of his best behaviour. I am trying that again tomorrow too.

Autism Resources at the Walk

One of the great things about the Walk Now for Autism Speaks events is that they have vendors and organizations at tables to create a Resource Fair. These are services that are available now in our area, and I always find out something or someone new.

This year I found some older friends, like the CATS Program, United Cerebral Palsy of the North Bay,  and Anova.  James still loves a hug and high five from Toys-R-Us' Geoffrey the Giraffe.

Photo from the official Walk Now for Autism Speaks blog

 I also found out there's a summer session for a local horse therapy ranch, Equi-Ed.

UCSF is involved with some new Research programs that investigate possible treatments to help those on the autism spectrum and find out more about this disorder.

It was great to see representatives from a gymnastic group (Rohnert Park Gymnastics) and a national martial arts organization (ATA), as well as hear them talk about the activities and benefits they have to offer to kids on the spectrum.

I hope that there are more groups there for next year's event. New resources really help us out!

Resource Find: Communication Printables!

We are excited to participate in the CATS Program for a second year. We have another great student who's already made a great connection with James. More on that later!

Right now, I'd like to share a fantastic link to over one hundred free visual communication tools that I found out about through the CATS Program grapevine. The site is Practical Autism Resources and I will have to take a look at this site later. I am too busy drooling over their Downloads page. I've already printed a few great items I can hardly wait to try out, especially now that we are using the great Activities Sign Board the Behaviourist gave us. These tools will mesh well with this board.

James' Activity Board

Screen Shot of Downloads page on Practical Autism Resources site

 As a web designer/developer, their simple, informative, and easy-to-use layout has be excited: someone gets how to present lots of information online so it can be used! As a parent to a son with ASD, verbal delays, and auditory processing issues, I am ecstatic to see so many helpful tools in a comprehensive array of topics. As a Mom in a family that's teetering on the financial brink, I am thankful they are free.

Here are just a few that I've downloaded:
* Worksheet modification stickers / matching.doc
* Picture word cards: Vehicles / buscarpwc.pdf
* Opposites / opposites1.pdf
* Home and Community / communityicons1.pdf, homeroutines.pdf, needsandstates.pdf
* Behavior Punch Cards / behaviorpunchcard.pdf

OMG, they have BINGO sets! They have items in Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian. Too good to not share. Enjoy!