bitter about that...

I'd just like to take a moment and pout publicly...I'm more than a little bitter that I won't be able to attend my former college roommate/good friend's upcoming wedding this weekend. Here a bunch of my old college chums are going to be gathered together and I'm going to totally miss it. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr! So evil. So wrong. Ugh.

Ugggh--the sinus crud attacks!

It's official--I've missed an entire week of work due to the sinus crud. And sadly, for much of it, I couldn't get my favorite sub...so who knows what happened while I was out...

It's been quite awhile since I've been this sick--I don't think I've been knocked out this bad since my first year here in Portland. Cedar brought home some awful thing from daycare that I thought was just another "congregate situation" cold--but it took him a week to recover from it, which I thought was rather odd (he usually bounces back after a couple of days, but not this time). Then after staying home with him for about a week, and being coughed on enough, I caught it too.

It turns out that what he had was really the flu. Poor thing--no wonder he was so miserable. I haven't been knocked flat like that in quite awhile. I had a raging fever, the aches, migraines, super-sore throat--the whole nine yards. I even lost hearing in my left ear, which is now just doing a dull tinnitus ring. Then the sinus crud set in...I finally broke down and went to the doctor last night. I would have probably gone earlier but I've been stuck at home with no car and no phone. Now I have a bunch of exciting drugs to throw at the raging torrent of yellow-green snot that JUST WON'T QUIT.

I'm sad that I've totally missed out on the last full week with the seniors. If I go back, I'll only get a day or two before they're off doing whatever it is that they do when they're not at school with us. Our little classroom is gonna be real lonely after we lose 60% of our students...and since *Bob is also a senior, he's gonna pass out of my life pretty soon. I'm kind of sad about that because he's a pretty likable guy and I've grown rather fond of working with him over the course of the year.

The end of the year is a time for educators to get nostalgic anyway, but especially so when you're teaching seniors. It's kind of bittersweet though when you work in Special Ed because graduation is often "the end-of-the-line" in a very real sense. On one hand, you are very proud of your students for how far they've come and how much progress they've made, but on the other hand, it also means for many that life is about to change profoundly--and not always for the best.

Thankfully it looks like most of our seniors are going to be participating in the adult transition program, so they'll get a few more years of predictable routines, structured environments, community outings, vocational training, and structured non-threatening social opportunities...things that people with autism tend to really like in their world.

After that, though, who knows. The world of adult services can be rather grim because the entitlement factor is gone (if you want it, you gotta be willing to pay), the options are pretty limited, and there's a great mismatch between demand and supply...

Tough Transitions

Transitions are always a tough spot for kids on the Autism spectrum. And let’s face it, no matter how hard we attempt to slow down those busy school days, they are fast paced, and there's lots to get done. There’s simply a lot going on, during a typical day at school, whether you're in kindergarten or the tenth grade. It’s normal for students to protest a fast pace, but I’m sure we all can think of a student in our midst who really struggles with transitions.

Transitions occur several times a day during a typical school day. Anytime you move students from one place to another, or change the activity – like if they've been working on math, but suddenly it's time to go to lunch, that can be startling.

Your students' brain don’t process information in the same way that you do, so when you are moving through the day, and expecting your students to keep up with you, they are experiencing a bombardment of sensory input, and may become disoriented.

What you may not realize is that if the pace is fast for us…it is light speed for a kiddo on the spectrum. And that transitioning from one activity or location to another can be really upsetting for them.

Think of it this way…lets say you are in a foreign country, and don’t understand the customs or language at all. You know your friend you are visiting, but most other people are strangers. Let’s say your friend, either says something super fast in this foreign language, or doesn’t say anything at all, suddenly takes you by the arm, and gently ushers you into the downtown streets and goes about her errands with you in tow – but with no explanation or time for you to “catch up” with what’s happening. You go from place to place, and as time goes on, you probably become more and more resistant and try to get her to slow down…but what if she doesn’t?

A little overwhelming? Welcome to your student's world.

For some students, transitions are bigger than the event itself. Next time you have a student transition from one thing to another, go more slowly and talk to your student about it…be aware that it might be a bigger deal for them than it is to you, and see if you can be present for that with empathy.

(adapted from Is Your Life Too Fast For Your Baby? August 22, 2009 by Dylan Emrys)

Cedar's Five Months Old--Oh my!

Cedar is five months old today.

He seems to be thriving, in spite of the fact that he's been sick and is still recovering from a nasty case of the flu. Now he seems to be back to his normal smiley self, albeit with a bit of a gunky-sounding cough.

He's still growing like a weed. I just retired a bunch of clothes a week ago, and now I'm faced with the task of having to invest in more. Again. I'm constantly seeing much older babies that are the same size that he is. His feet seem huge to me, and he must about around 20 lbs. He outgrew his original carseat, so thankfully I had another one that is getting us by for now. He'll need a bigger car seat way before he's technically old enough. He's almost out of size 3 diapers, and before I know it, he'll probably be wearing real clothes, due to a lack of other options.

He's got the head control down-pat, and has turned over a couple of times in bed. He can't quite sit up on his own, but he keeps trying. If I give him my fingers to hold on to, he can pull himself up (like he's doing a sit-up). He likes sitting, so he keeps trying to do it on his own. I think at daycare, they have him sitting in a Bumbo, so he gets lots of practice with sitting. He's gotten really interested in toys and other objects and is starting to get "grabby", so my hair and glasses are probably going to take a lot of abuse. He's still not terribly accurate, and drops things a lot, but he's getting better.

During the day, he usually takes 3 naps. Since he's been sick, he hasn't been eating as much. His sleeping through the night really hasn't gotten any better since he started daycare--he still wants to get up and eat around 2 or 3 am, so that's just a fact of life around here. He's also so used to getting up at 5:30 to go to daycare, that he automatically does it on weekends too...ugh.

He's a bit wiggly, but he still likes to be held. In fact, a lot of times he'll let you know he wants you to pick him up...he will look at you and kick around a bit and smile and hold his arms up--then he smiles and settles down once you've gotten the message. He really likes to be carried, facing in or out, around to look at different things. He's still a big smiler, but now he also does a lot of chatting and laughing. He's usually in a good mood, most of the time.

He still is a huge fan of sucking on his hand or his fingers, and sometimes will take a pacifier. He still startles when you sneeze, or cough. When he gets tired, he fusses around a bit and still likes me to come pick him up (if he's in an infant seat) so he can "pass out".

He's finally outgrown most of his reflux issues, and doesn't have to propped up as much, although you still don't want to lay him down flat when he's just eaten. But he can lay a bit flatter at night without as many issues, and he's not spitting up as much as he was. He used to always come home from daycare wearing different clothes than he started out in, but now he doesn't always need 2 or 3 clothing changes.

When he's upset about something, he gets this look and does the red-faced howl. Then he stops to see if that got your attention, then if not, does it again. He generally only cries like that when he's really hungry. He merely fusses (uh uh uh uh) when he's wet, and when he's tired.

He loves daddy's silly talk. He thinks that's the best thing ever. In fact, he's really a "daddy's boy" right now.

Boy is he ever the cute one. Now that his cradle-cap issues are fading, he looks a lot better. He still doesn't have much hair, but I've noticed there's definitely more. It's just such a thin pale blond that it's hard to see. I haven't taken any pictures of him in awhile because we've been so busy and he's been sick, but I will make up for it when school's finally out and we're both home a bit more. I'm really looking forward to this summer and being able to spend a lot more time with my smiley-boy.

Master Recycler

Well it's official--I've finished the 8-week Master Recycler program, so you can hit me with all your burning questions about recycling, sustainability, etc.

end of the year poem

Yes, technically the year's not over until June, but we're having our senior celebration on Friday, so I'm feeling nostalgic already...

On that note, here's an end-of-the-year poem:

A is for A----, A----, and A----
B is for those busy, busy days when you can barely sit down.
C is for all those cards we've made--red, yellow, blue, and green.
D is for drawing pictures, D---'s are some of the best I've ever seen.
E is for exercise, PE and Yoga to keep our bodies strong.
F is for all the fun we've had this year.
G is for the good friends we made throughout the year.
H is for H---- and H----, who loves his fuzz.
I is for imaginations used at every turn.
J is for jobs: Free Geek, Fish, Red Cross, Cafeteria and Recycling
K is for Karen and Mr. Killen -- hip, hip hooray!
L is for lunch, what are we having today?
M is for movies on Wacky Wednesday
N is for notebooks, don't forget to take them home each day!
O is for the obstacles we have learned to overcome.
P is for all those puzzles we did, whether jigsaw or crossword.
Q is for all the questions that D--- has asked this year.
R is for R---- reading stories and R----- ripping pictures out of magazines.
S is for S---- who sometimes shushes people.
T is for talking, sometimes there's too much of that.
U is for unusual; you never know what a day might bring.
V is for volunteering to help when you can
W is for W----- who does the calendar each day
X is for extra-awesome kids we have in room 263
Y is for yes, it has been a great year!
Z is for getting some Zzzzzzzz now that summer is here.