(mis)adventures in the post apocalypse

What aspects of my service brought me alive

2012-01-17T22:14:00.000-08:00

Question: How did I serve in 2011? Whom did I serve? What aspects of my service brought me alive? What aspects drained me?

This past year was a homecoming for me of sorts. After a long and circuitous sidetrack, I feel blessed to have rejoined “my heart’s desire made visible” that I left behind 8 years ago. I feel doubly blessed to be where I am today, as it has taken me a long time to find the path. After serving many people and many things over the years, I am back to doing the thing that I was meant to do all along.

Whenever anyone asks me what I do for a living (teaching reading to at-risk youth), I inevitably get the kinds of responses Mother Theresa probably got when describing her work: “Good for you!” “That’s so wonderful!” “I’m so glad there’s people like you doing that…” Yes, ladies in gentlemen, part of being of service is realizing that what you do strictly because you enjoy it, is someone else’s idea of a tedious hell, a thankless road to a paycheck, and so on. Like other people who do socially valuable work, a lot of what I am doing is very rewarding to me on a personal level, but makes little sense to anyone outside of the situation.

Granted I am in the business of doing something to other people--for their own good (I’m a reading teacher, after all, and the kind of students could politely be called “reluctant”). At the end of the day though, I get to share what I love (reading) on a daily basis, in a way that is definitely for the greater good (society deems it important for people to learn how to read and write).

Or so people tell me. I don’t see it that way most of the time. I rarely think about teaching in those terms.

For me it’s something that simply makes sense, and it’s really impossible to imagine myself doing anything other than teaching.

The traditional definition of service is the giving of yourself to others, implying that the giving depletes your resources, and provides most of the benefits to the recipient. It’s almost a parasitic arrangement. Obviously that’s not sustainable, and explains why people who work in the “healing professions” get burned out. Teaching can be at its most draining when only one person (the teacher) is doing all the work. As a teacher, you have to constantly revisit what you are doing, and how you are doing it, and evaluate whether it’s working, whether it’s feasible, and whether it’s something you need to revise. Sometimes things need to be discarded when they are no longer useful. It can be draining when nobody wants to participate, when you get stuck in a rut, or when everyone needs some time away from each other. This is why you need holidays, surprises, and the occasional change of routine.

If you redefine service as “the act of sharing what you most care about for the greater good,” then you could say that in the end you are really sharing yourself—but in a way that sustains both parties. Teaching, when it is going well, is like this. Teaching, done well, is an act of intimacy. It goes beyond the crowd-control duties, the mandated learning objectives, and beyond all the imposed structures that get in the way of relationships and engagement. Teaching is an act of creativity. It’s an act of bringing the best of both parties out on the table and creating something far more satisfying and magnificent than either the teacher or the student can imagine. It really can be that grandiose at times…mundane lessons can yield some amazing things with the right ingredients of time, space, and participants.

Teaching is deeply creative, generative, and yes, risky, because it means you share your heart (and put yourself on the line). You can’t do it well if you are pretending. You can’t do it well if you don’t trust yourself or your students. It’s hard to be successful if either party is not being “real”. Teaching, when it’s going well, is almost as natural as breathing, and like breathing, involves giving and receiving. Both parties have to be willing to give and receive the best each has to offer for it to work. And miraculously it does, most of the time, and even the numerous variables presented by a room full of teenage boys!

A rant about "learning toys"

2011-12-30T14:07:00.000-08:00

It probably would surprise no one to hear that I think that children and teens spend far too much time immersed in electronic realities. Granted, I’m more of a Luddite than an early adopted when it comes to technology, but aside from my own biased opinion, there’s numerous studies that prove that electronic media is neither a necessary, nor particularly beneficial ingredient in early childhood development, and may in fact be quite harmful.

Casual observation makes it clear that the marketing of electronic distractions to small children has been quite effective. It seems like everywhere I go, young children are glued to some sort LCD screened device. A recent study published by The NPD Group notes that “the average age at which children begin using consumer electronic (CE) devices has declined from 8.1 years in 2005 to 6.7 years in 2007” (NPD Group, “Kids and Consumer Electronics Trends III.”)

As a teacher, it appears as if the rising numbers of electronic users correlates almost exactly with the rising percentage of students I have each year who have a prescription for Adderol or Concerta…in other words, I’m implying causality here, ladies and gentlemen. If this were not the case, and one wanted to make the case that all of this electronic immersion resulted in smarter children, I would expect to see large numbers of children who show up to school ready to learn, an armada of small geniuses, with test scores to match. Needless to say it ain’t happening folks. And until it does, I reserve the right to be wildly skeptical about all this emphasis on the desirability of providing children with electronic toys.

It’s really sad to me, but by the time they're teens, they honestly go through technology withdrawal symptoms when they’re at school. They have no idea how to entertain themselves without batteries. Their media-deprivation is torture to them, and the idea of doing “real” things is completely alien. They’ve never played a board game. They have no idea how to have a real conversation. They completely lack a sense of imagination. The only kids who aren’t like this tend to be recent immigrants, or have “kooky” parents who don’t let them watch TV and (gasp) made them play outside as kids. I’ve made a note of it.

So needless to say, I’m not in a big hurry to expose my own child to a lot of the electronic noise that passes for entertainment these days. But given the current trends in product marketing to children, it’s actually become incredibly hard to find toys (and other products for children) that aren’t electronic gadgets.

Want a simple swing to rock a colicky baby in? Apparently it’s almost impossible to find one that doesn’t come with flashing lights, electronic jingles, and other annoyances. (If I was a baby who didn’t feel good, I think all that noise would just make me cry even harder!) Anything you might purchase to put a baby in when you can’t physically hold it comes equipped with enough gadgetry to require an engineering degree to assemble. Apparently manufacturers think that babies require vast amounts of stimulation—the same amount that would probably induce anxiety disorders in lab rats! Developmentally, it isn’t clear that all of this “improvement” results in positive outcomes in learning and behavior.

Given that you can’t hardly buy toys for a baby that don’t come with flashing lights and electronic noises, by the time they’re toddlers, forget it. Apparently manufacturers are convinced that kids can’t possibly be expected to enjoy something unless it comes with strobe lights, a constant barrage of sound effects, or a constant stream of inane electronic narration. Everything has been made-over to require batteries and earplugs. Given the state of toys in this day and age, I’ve made it very clear to everyone in my life that I would prefer not to receive any toys that make noise and require batteries.

My mother –in-law reported that she had a rather interesting encounter with a toy store employee while shopping for birthday/Christmas presents for the babe (who is now 2). I imagine the exchange went something like this:

Toy store employee to Grandma: “Can I help you find something?”

Grandma to toy store employee: "I'm looking for toddler toys that don't require batteries or make weird artificial noises and books that don't require you to push a button or record a message".

Toy store employee to Grandma: "Well, what does the kid do???"

(I wasn’t there, but this is what I would have said in response): “Here's what my poor electronically-deprived toddler DOES:
• He brings me things all day long so I can confirm their identity.
• He builds imaginative monuments out of my recyclables.
• He giggles and laughs at his own private jokes.
• He loves flashcards.
• He knows his colors, most of his shapes, several numbers, and quite a bit of the alphabet.
• He picks up every shell and rock on the beach and gives them to me as a present.
• He points out every street sign we pass. His favorites are the stop signs.
• He pushes his toy trucks around on every horizontal surface in the house.
• He puts all his stacking rings (and any other ring-shaped object he can get over his hand) on his arms and shows off his collection of bracelets.
• He rolls all my old coffee cans across the kitchen floor in a glorious orchestration of synchronized movement.
• He showers us with affection, giggles, and smiles.
• He sits in my lap and listens to me read (and points at everything on the page).
• He turns eating into a comedy routine.
• He thinks plastic lids are awesome.
• He loves splashing in water.
• He walks backwards whenever possible.
• He watches airplanes and birds fly overhead.
• He will run around for hours up and down a pile of sand.

What does he do, indeed! What any normal toddler would probably do—play!

Almost all children are perfectly capable of entertaining themselves with very few props. Most kids under 5 would be perfectly happy coming up with their own new and imaginative uses for ordinary household objects, or things you find outdoors (mud/sticks/rocks/puddles). Combined with physical activity for it's own sake, and all you have to do is sit back and watch the show.

It’s my observation that all of this “playing around” is far more educational than anything you’d find in the section of a store devoted to “learning toys”. I’m glad there are a few people out there bucking the trend, people who still make “beloved objects” and toys for children that have stood the test of time…the kinds of things that deserve to be around forever, and passed on down to one’s children and grandchildren. Finding these kinds of gifts in a mainstream store is very hard, and the people who make these things are competing with forces who are much more organized and have a much louder message.

It’s very clear to anyone who pays attention to such things that our very DNA is hardwired for experiential, direct, hands-on-learning, and yet toy manufacturers seem to think that to circumvent this is desirable. Part of the joy of parenting is helping children discover the world around them, but that’s being lost in this flood of electronic distractions that encourage the depersonalization of human connections and reduce the child (learner) to the role of a passive observer. The cynical beast within me is convinced that it’s all a sinister plot to create an army of passive consumers. I’m inclined not to do them the favor of paying for the ammo myself.

learn from the neck down

2011-12-26T15:24:00.000-08:00

Question: Where have I learned and lived in 2011? In my head, in my body, or both? What would living more fully in my body in 2012 bring to me? How can I embody life and learning as I move through this liminal space between now and next? How can I more fully learn from the neck down in 2012?

After a couple of years of living (mostly) in my body, I’d say I’ve shifted back the other direction again. Two years ago, I was pregnant for the first time, which was definitely a whole body experience (that could NOT be ignored), and part of the spiritual journey of that time was coming to terms with the obligatory change that comes of giving up certainty over the self to accommodate the growing of a new life. I never knew how much I had taken for granted…the limitations of the body were imposed on me for the first time in my young life. For once, the body had power over the mind. For once, I did not matter what I wanted, the body was going to have its say. And a pregnant body can definitely clobber the mind into submission.

After my son was born, and as my body gradually returned to a more normal state, the realities of caring for an infant meant that the body still had dominion over the mind. No intellectual activity was going to take place in that state of sleep deprivation! I was also in the midst of the long process of trying to regain some of the strength and stamina I once possessed. If nothing else, I was on a quest to fit back into my regular wardrobe. None of these things could be accomplished through intellectual meandering—only through the power of the body.

A year later, and in a sense, how easy it is to lose sight of the lessons learned. As a teacher, I live and work in a world that is very much dominated by the mind and its pursuits.

Education, especially in this day and age has the tendency to compartmentalize and disembody experience, isolating it into purely intellectual tasks. As valuable as book learning can be, it does have the tendency to discount direct experience, disembody knowledge into facts, and divide up the world into “subjects” with a host of “facts” that should be memorized and regurgitated on a test. Combined with the greater use of technology, it adds a dimension of passivity to the whole process of education that was unheard of fifteen years ago.

I do not think the standardized testing movement would be possible without the growth in technology, just as I often wonder if the loss of hands-on-learning and PE are also casualties of the greater reliance on technology (this is why I find the Wii vaguely disturbing)…ironic thoughts given where I am sitting and what I am doing…
Thousands of years of experience as humans, and I do not think we are really psychologically ready to let computers take the place of our bodily functions. We are designed to breathe, and move, and feel pain and joy. Modern life makes it very difficult to trust the instincts we’ve evolved with. We now need “experts” to tell us the very things our bodies are trying to communicate to us. That the world is out of balance. That our food and water are poisons. That we are deprived of things that we don’t even know we needed in the first place (fresh air and natural light).

As a teacher of at-risk youth, first and foremost, I want my students to learn to trust themselves, to develop the sense of self they will need to be in charge of their own lives (even with the decks stacked heavily against them). Sometimes this requires certain intellectual skills that need polishing. The classroom could be a good place for that. But some of these lessons can only come through direct hands-on experience, in settings where the body, not just the brain, “do the thinking”.

I think we all could benefit from more time spent “grappling” with experience, not just words, and as much as I am in the business of training minds, I cannot neglect the training of bodies. I am in a unique position to do this work, so in order to do it well, I need to be mindful of the lessons of the body in my own life. I need to not get so wrapped up in the intellectual nature of my profession, but rather take the time and space to ensure I am not ignoring the needs of the body—and teaching my students to do the same.

Winter Break Teaching Reflection

2011-12-15T14:59:00.000-08:00

And it’s half-time for the 2011-2012 school year. The kids are off to their respective wherevers, and it’s just me and a quiet classroom full of papers and folders, bulging trashcans, and piles of books.

It’s also nearly the one-year mark for this gig (I started just after MLK day last year). The last year went REAL fast!

When I showed up at Job Corps almost 12 months ago, I had no idea what to expect, but I took a huge leap of faith and decided to throw my lot in with the good people of Lincoln County, Oregon. Based on the prosaic position description (Reading Teacher), I knew I’d probably be teaching Reading to 20 -year-old boys, but beyond that I had no idea what to expect. But after four years of subbing, I figured no matter what it entailed, I could probably do it.

I felt pretty sure I’d be teaching somebody something, but as far as who the somebodies where, and what we’d be doing, that part fell into place over the next 12 months.

This time last year I was in a profoundly stressful and rather miserable place in my life. I had to move out of my house on Christmas. On top of that, factor in all of the stress and hassle you could possibly imagine. The task was immense because I had lived in my own home for the past 3 years (and had not envisioned moving out anytime soon). And just for fun, throw in an 11-month-old baby who definitely didn’t understand why nobody was paying any attention to him for the better part of two months. (What could possibly be so compelling about cardboard boxes, right?)
When the clock struck midnight for 2011 I was in a completely unfamiliar place, didn’t know up from down, and most of my underwear was still in a box somewhere, but I was psyched about the year ahead. Because for the first time in a while, I knew where I was going to be working every day, and could hear and smell the ocean from my front door.

My students learned a lot this year. Whether they wanted to or not. The proof was in the huge volume of paper that I am dutifully recycling before they come back from winter break. We studied all kinds of things: biology, geography, history, culture, ecology, health, social skills, career preparation, literature, driver’s education, you name it. The nice thing about teaching Reading (versus Literature) is that you can read a ton of non-fiction as well. Half the time, I asked the students what they wanted to learn about, and half the time, I came in with the things I thought were important. Looking over my curriculum files, we covered a lot of ground in the last 12 months. But they probably learned just as much from each other. And to be honest, I learned a lot from them.

Students are full of surprises, and in spite of the groaning and complaining, often do care, and provide a lot of their own energy and life to the classroom experience. Sometimes an offhand remark or a simple discovery could turn into a powerful learning moment.

Another thing that’s been driven home over the course of the past year is the importance of people, relationships, and belonging to a community.

Over the course of the year I’ve watched countless kids come and go. It happens faster at Job Corps than it does in a standard public school setting because it’s an open-entry, open-exit program. So people come when they’re ready (or so they think!) and leave when they finish (or when life has other plans). For some it takes a few months (6 months), for others it takes a couple of years. Some kids come and decide right away that Job Corps is NOT for them, and they’re only in my life for a handful of days. Others get homesick after a month and go AWOL (run back home to mama). Others get kicked out for using drugs halfway through the program. The rest stay long enough to finish an unfinished high school diploma, or get a GED, or complete their trade apprenticeship.

So in an environment like this, people come and go. Friendships form and dissolve. Relationships are often fleeting and brief. It’s hard to form deep bonds, but for what it’s worth, I try to use what I know of community building where I can carve out a little space in my classroom for people to feel comfortable, accepted, and welcome regardless of who they are or where they came from. Whether they only have me for two-week mandatory, or their entire stay at Job Corps, I try to create an environment within my classroom that is open to hearing their stories, and that will hopefully awaken some curiosity about the world within everyone who walks through the door.

If there is one lesson I hope that my student took with them from my efforts this year it would that reading is really just a reflection of the world. I think we all need a place and time to tell our stories (and make sure they’re heard), and that the process of learning doesn’t have to be mysterious, difficult, or boring. That reading is a lot like life, and there’s something out there for everyone. What I’d ultimately like to see is them take this attitude with them and let it grow beyond the walls of my classroom.

One thing I love about teaching is that it’s more than a job, more than a career, it’s basically a “path”. Teaching is not something you “do”, it’s something you “are”. It’s more like being a samurai. That probably doesn’t make sense, but ultimately it’s a convoluted way of saying you don’t start being a teacher when the bell rings, and stop when the kids walk out the door. You are always looking at the world in terms of what lessons it holds for you and others.

The beauty of teaching, and the things that makes it so difficult at times, is that it is something that you have to be “real” in order to do it well. You can’t separate yourself from it. It’s not a part of your life—it IS your life. So you can’t pretend to be anything other than who you are, or the kids will know right away that you’re a fraud. And once they come to that conclusion, you can be sure they will reject ANYTHING that you have to offer.

The past year has been full of a lot of talk about reform. There’s an intense political battle going on in this country over education. There’s a lot of taking sides, and pointing fingers. Regardless of how it all shakes out, I will continue on as always. I am one of those people who is willing to be a positive deviant, and keep on teaching by any means necessary. I’m not going to be sitting around waiting for permission to do things that I think are necessary. I just hope this country doesn’t have to hit rock bottom to find the courage to do the right thing.

My students remind me on a daily basis that we all need to be courageous. We all need someone to care about our stories. And we all could use a little unexpected magic and joy in our lives.

boletus

2011-11-27T22:37:00.000-08:00

One of the distinct advantages of living on the Oregon coast is the plethora of wild edibles. Throughout the year, it's a virtual buffet of foraging happiness--seafood, of course, seaweed and kelp, berries of all sorts (especially huckleberries), and at this time of year, mushrooms. You don't really have to look hard for any of these lovelies, they're everywhere.

When it comes to fungi, we're blessed with an abundance. In addition to all the beautiful, but deadly creatures, and some interesting "recreational" types, we have an ungodly quantity of choice edible mushrooms in this oh-so-perfect climate of constant moisture (rain, mist, fog) combined with good habitat (the right combination of conifers), and consistently mild temperatures, regulated by the Pacific Ocean. Mushroom season is long enough to procrastinate a few weeks without worrying about missing it entirely.

So when I think of it, I go off rambling in the woods, and try to remember to bring something to carry them home in. But you don't have to go far off the beaten path here. You can find chantrelles in the darndest places, and boletus edulis can be found over by the neighbor's driveway or pretty much anywhere where there's a stand of pines (which is almost everywhere). Sometimes the slugs get to them first, but I've been able to find quite a few nice ones, and have been enjoying them in a variety of culinary adventures. (And no, I haven't killed anyone yet).

This is one of the many reasons why I think I'm very likely to get myself "stuck" out here for quite awhile...or at least as long as I can persuade the federal government to keep me on the payroll. When you can pick fresh chantrelles in the woods, why would you ever want to leave?

Cedar's 23 months old today

2011-11-27T07:31:00.000-08:00

Cedar is 23 months old today
Cedar is 23 months old today, next month, he’ll be two.

Thankfully teething is in abeyance at the moment. Since he's not teething, he's been less cranky/bitey.

He's getting better at using a spoon these days. He’s never been that interested in using utensils or even feeding himself, but he’s finally starting to want to do it himself. Using his hands is still more efficient though.

He still likes his stackable cups, jar lids, and coffee cans. He spends a lot of time building things. He’s also taken more of an interest in his colored blocks and duplos, and sometimes can put them together on his own. Other toys he likes are balls. The other day I had a flashlight out and he was chasing the light like a cat would.

He's as passionate about reading as ever—I’ve noticed he’s starting to recognize individual letters. He’s been pointing at them for a month or two, but it didn’t appear that they had any specific importance to him—just another object in the environment. Now it’s clear that he recognizes them as having a distinct print function, and he appears to remember a few (o, b, t, y, c). He's still interested in and getting good at recognizing colors. Now I definitely wish I had access to DT cards! I need to get some flash cards pronto.

He still takes the huge afternoon nap that lasts a couple of hours, but it’s definitely getting harder to get him to settle down for naps/bedtime. He plays by himself in the room for awhile before he falls asleep. He also seems to do a lot of babbling to himself, so we assume he’s practicing talking in there.

He still thinks everything's funny. The sound of his laugh is changing a little bit and he sounds less like a baby all the time. Now it’s starting to sound like a little boy laugh.

He's still very easy to take places. His behavior is good in public, and even when he’s down out of the shopping cart, he stays with you.

He’s getting more affectionate all the time. He has always let you know when he wants a little emotional refueling—drive by snuggles; for example, he runs over to you because he wants to be picked up and held (then he snuggles into you for a minute, then off he goes again). Then he started doing what I call “forehead kiss” where he comes up to you and rubs his forehead on your forehead. Now he’s decided he likes kisses too (merely tolerated them before), so he’ll come over and collect kisses several times a day. It’s cute. He also constantly climbs in and out of your lap. I still love how he comes running up to the door when he hears my keys in the lock when I come home from work. We have this ritual where he shows me his toy, and then off he goes, but then a minute later (once I’ve put all my teaching crud down), he wants me to pick him up and hold him.

Lately I get home after dark, so we can’t do beach walks like we had been. Between the shorter days, and return of winter weather on the coast, outdoor activities on weekdays are pretty much done for awhile. So we hang out in the living room and play until it's time for bath and bedtime. He still goes to bed around 8pm, and although he doesn’t necessarily fall asleep until 9pm, that seems to work well.

He's usually a happy mellow kid, but when he doesn't get something he wants, he cries like all get out. Preview of the terrible twos??? He does NOT enjoy the word “No”.

He's still not talking. He makes some random noises, but other than dada and mama isn't talking, just babbling a bit. The other day, he said “hi” but that was an isolated incident. His repertoire of sounds is getting bigger, but he’s still not producing much in terms of actual words. He definitely doesn’t have 20 words, or produce phrases/sentences. When he “pretends” to read his books, he just makes a random sound for each picture/word. In other words, he might have a speech delay. I waffle between being overly concerned (a relic of my time in SPED), and not (we both had speech delays), and since he does do a lot of the communication things that kids normally do otherwise that show signs of receptive language acquisition (points at things of interest, makes a variety of sounds, responds to directions, imitates your behavior, points at the correct pictures in a book, etc. I’ve decided that whatever the cause is, it can only be but so bad.)

He was slow to sit up, slow to crawl, and slow to walk, but he did all of those eventually. I guess speaking is going to continue along the same lines. He does not show any signs of intellectual impairment, and isn’t oblivious to people/situations in a way that suggests autism. So most of the time, I don’t worry about it.

It’s been an interesting journey so far. And it gets a little easier all the time as we leave infancy and the needs become less intense/more predictable.

Some teaching reflections for the month of October

2011-10-05T09:26:00.000-07:00

What is the 'feeling', the 'climate' of the room - how are the relationships between all members?

It really depends on who's in the room. I have 8 different blocks and each one is unique. Some people tend to mesh better with others. My first class of the day is always a bit lethargic, and my last class is always kind of distracted/burned out. Thankfully when it comes to dealing with personality conflicts, I have the option of rotating people in and out of the room, so sometimes I can split up the people who don't do well together in a small room. Overall though, the majority of students seem to get along well enough. I have a few whose social skills tend to set them apart. Most of my students seem to enjoy being in class, and a few have to be kicked out during lunch and at the end of the day.

Does the room reflect the school vision, that is if one can be articulated by all in the school?

Probably not. My classroom is rather eclectic, and the school is very much an everybody-does-their-own-thing kind of place.

What evidence of the personal world of the students as shown by personal (poetic) language, student questions, their particular talents?

I have a number of students who are artistic, so their drawings grace the walls. Others have contributed quotes on my board, and moments of poetic genius in the fluctuating corner of magnetic poetry. I also put pictures I have taken of the students at events up on the walls, and they seem to enjoy looking at them.

What examples of quality work to be seen - work showing depth beyond normally expected for the age group? Is there evidence of quality improvement e.g. in bookwork?

Due to the fact that it's a remedial reading class, I don't post most types of student work for public scrutiny, but I do keep examples of creative responses to the things we read in class, and extension activities from thematic units.

Any evidence of student goal setting and self-assessment using negotiated criteria?

I do periodically have students revisit their personal goals through reflective questions, and surveys, and students do self-assessment at least monthly, although if it seems needed, more frequently. I also very pointedly ask students from time to time what their future goals are, and what they need from me to help reach their goals. I also have the students assess ME from time to time.

Is there evidence of predictable classroom management that allows students to work independently (on group work or computers etc) while at the same time allow for 'focused teaching'? Are students on task because they know how, what and when to do things? Are students involved in this planning?

Since most of the student's work is independent in nature, the use of routines is the backbone of the class. I have a number of environmental structures that allow the students to self-manage quite a bit of their own time and efforts in class. That leaves me with time to work one-on-one with students who need that, and redirect students who are off-task. The students don't get a lot of say in how they spend their time (they have to read pretty much the whole time they're in class), but the content and nature of that reading is somewhat flexible, and once they accomplish the minimum requirements, they are free to read anything in the room. Students are able to work on trade assignments, read for pleasure, or do research on topics of interest when they are finished with their required work, and most are able to do this on their own without any prompting from me.

Cedar is 20 months old today

2011-09-28T10:02:00.000-07:00

Cedar is 20 months old today! Almost closing in on the terrible twos!

He's all boy now. No trace of baby left here.

Thankfully he's mostly done with teething, he's kind of having a resurgence (molars), but for several months has been free of this menace. Since he's not teething, he's been less bitey, thankfully.

He's still an awesome eater, and will eat anything as far as I can tell. He can feed himself for the most part, but is still funny about using utensils. He can do it, but often chooses not to. Guess using his hands seem more efficient. He loves fruits and vegetables.

He's pretty good at walking now. He can walk on the sand without falling down most of the time. He can walk backwards (which he thinks is hilarious), and likes to twirl around a bit if he's in the right mood. He runs away if he knows you want him for a diaper change or a bath.

His favorite toys right now are stackable cups, and he's still a really big fan of jar lids. He also likes his duplos although he hasn't figured out how to put them together yet. Other toys he likes are balls, cans, and rattly things.

He's as passionate about reading as ever--if I had the stamina for it, I think he would sit in my lap for hours and be read to. He's going through a stage where he wants to know what things are called, and points at whatever he wants to know the name of. He clearly remembers this because if I ask him to point at something specific, he usually can, although with less familiar items, he needs a wait time of about 5 seconds.

He still likes his "specks", but he's also into sticks and rocks now. When we go to the beach he will try to pick up all the rocks and give them to me. He's also really fascinated by holes, and will poke any he finds.

He gets pretty splashy in the bath.

He still takes the huge afternoon nap that lasts a couple of hours.

He still thinks everything's funny. The sound of his laugh is changing a little bit and he sounds less like a baby all the time.

He's still very easy to take places. He likes the stimulation of being out and about, although he not crazy about being in the car for any length of time. He likes to hold your hand while you drive.

He's really into the dog. Brian's taught him how to feed the dog a treat, and he likes that. They go for walks together a lot, although, now I can't take them both to the beach by myself because of the logistics of keeping her on a leash and carrying him at the same time.

He's still not talking. He makes some random noises, but other than dada and mama isn't talking, just babbling a bit.

I love how he comes running up to the door when he hears my keys in the lock. It's almost always time for dinner by the time I get home. It's still pretty nice out, so I take him and the dog for a walk over to the bay after dinner. When it's too windy, or I'm too tired, we just hang out in the living room and play until it's time for bath and bedtime. He still goes to bed around 8pm, and that seems to work well. He's currently into watching football with daddy when he's home. Otherwise, I chase him around the living room and throw his balls for him to chase.

He's usually a happy mellow kid, but when he doesn't get something he wants, he cries like all get out. Preview of the terrible twos???

He had to give up his beloved pacifier...he had taken to sticking the whole thing in his mouth (to chew on with his incoming back molars) so we had to take it away, and he's had to give it up cold turkey. As a result, it takes him longer to go to sleep at night, but I'm hoping it will also encourage him to work on talking.

Back to School Classroom Survey

2011-09-06T09:57:00.000-07:00

How many kids in your classroom? What I do is more like resource than anything. We have a cap of 15, so I’m usually right at capacity. Occasionally I’ll have an extra student or two in the room when another instructor is absent. Then again, more than a dozen feels totally crowded in such a small room.

How many desks? I don’t have desks, but tables. I couldn’t fit 15 desks in my room if my life depended on it. We’re often one chair short.

Do you have anybody to help you? Other than sometimes having a student as a TA to do the photocopying, not really.

How much did you spend out of your own pocket to get your worksite ready for the first day? Not sure, but I do spend my own money on supplies and books.

What is your biggest concern? Currently it’s drug use. Generally it’s figuring out what to do with certain students who aren’t making progress.

What's the best and the worst thing going on in your school? Best-some of the trade instructors are showing signs of interest in collaboration around students (who need interventions). I'm also liking the Timed Reading Program. Worst-my colleagues are behaving worse than the students.

Cedar is 17 months old today!

2011-05-27T03:47:00.000-07:00

Cedar is 17 months old today! Almost to the year and a half mark.

He's turning into a little boy right before my eyes. Still got a tiny bit of baby fat left, but most of the baby-ness is gone now.

He's still an enthusiastic eater, when he's not teething horribly. He's been much more into feeding himself during the past couple of months. That didn't really take off until around March or so. He'll eat just about anything, and is really into vegetables at the moment.

He's still teething away. It's been non-stop for most of the past 6 months. I think he has nearly all of his teeth at this point, the last few are coming in now. Poor guy, he's a toothy kid, a regular shark, this one.

He figured out how to walk a few months ago, although he still prefers to crawl if he's in a hurry. He is enjoying turning around, and thinks that's a blast. Also, since he's more mobile, he likes to run away from you.

He's going through a phase where he likes to throw his toys, rather than play with them, per se, which I'm not that crazy about. He still likes to read a lot and will sit still for that. He's been into "specks" for a few months now, and still likes to show them to me. He also loves to play with water in the bathtub.

He takes these huge afternoon naps that last a couple of hours. That's handy.

He's still giggly, and laughs all the time. I just love his cute little laugh. He's still very social--too bad we don't see other people much.

He's still very easy to take places. He likes the stimulation of being out and about, although he's less enthused about being in the car than he used to be and gets antsy. He doesn't pass out like he used to.

He's really into the dog. They go for walks together all the time, and he spends a good bit of it watching her. In fact, his only word (besides "mama" and "dada" is "dog"). Still not much of a talker, he's more excited about making noise, but does babble quite a bit.

His eyes are mostly brown, but he's still got that grey ring around the outside, and that hasn't changed a whole lot. They're kind of a hazel grey/brown. They haven't changed in awhile.

Our current routine is that he squeals with excitement when he hears my keys in the lock, and I play with him after I get off work. If it's nice, we eat dinner, then go for a walk with the dog. If not, we just hang out in the living room and play until it's time for bath and bedtime. He goes to bed around 8pm, and that seems to work well.

A hiatus

2011-04-24T07:24:00.001-07:00

It's been awhile since I've had time to do much writing. For one, my new job keeps me pretty busy. For another thing, I've got a toddler who also keeps me busy. Most days, I'm too wiped to think about much of anything to write about...

Living on the Oregon coast has been a mostly positive experience though, and even though it rains a lot, I still get out some. The weather's starting to improve now that we're leaving winter behind, and I'm hoping that things will ease up a bit.

I'm teaching two very different classes, so that involves a lot of lesson planning, which is a huge time suck, but it's starting to come together. Once I've been doing this for awhile, I'll be able to do some more "recycling" and less having to put stuff together each day.

The new deal

2011-01-20T21:09:00.000-08:00

I started a new gig on Jan. 17th. Basically, so far, it's my dream job. I get to teach both remedial reading and ESL.

I teach reading in a small classroom with around 10-15 students (some days it's more, others, it's less) on a residential campus working with at-risk youth. In a typical day, it's a fluctuating mix of mostly academic/vocational instruction, but I do an equal amount of life skills and social skills training (as needed by certain individuals).

It's a pretty awesome gig. It's quite different from working in a public school in several key ways. For starters, the schedule isn't based on a standard academic year, so it's more like working with a high mobility population (people come and go all the time, depending on where they are in the program). Then there's the fact that, you're called upon to do a lot more things that school counselors usually does because the "home factor" is absent, and like it or not, you are sort of in a quasi-parental role (albeit with "kids" who are for the most part over 18). For another, it's a vocational program, so the emphasis is quite different from a typical high school, where the de facto mission is college prep. And the students are quite an interesting mix. Many come from rural areas, but some are from large cities, and most, at least in my subject, have learning disabilities. So most days it's kind of a cross between doing Resource and ESL, with an occasional behavior class thrown into the mix (depending on who's in the room).

Happy MLK Day

2011-01-17T21:55:00.000-08:00

Happy MLK Day! This also means I start my new teaching job tomorrow.

I'll admit that I'm slightly nervous because A. I haven't set foot inside a school in several months, and B. Half of my school paraphernalia is still in boxes, and C. It's a total leap of faith on my part.

But at the same time, I'm not THAT worried because A. This is what I want to do, and B. It can't possibly be any harder than--say--subbing in a behavior class, and C. They swore they weren't going to have me come in and start teaching right off the bat.

So we'll see how it goes... I really think it'll be fine though. But still, I feel a bit rusty since I've been doing the stay-at-home-mom thing for the past 6 months, and that's a whole 'nother universe.

But then again, when you think about it, any teaching job, anywhere is EASY BREEZY compared to staying at home with an infant! (Just hope it's not too hard on him--and daddy (who's never done this before either.)

We made it!

2010-12-30T21:51:00.000-08:00

We are finally completely out of Portland, and into the new house. It's been exhausting, but we made it, and now have a couple of weeks to get settled in and do some unpacking before I start my new job.

For now, I'm looking forward to a fire in the fireplace and some relaxation after all the stress of moving. And of course, a walk on the beach.

It's beautiful here. We're right by the ocean, but also right by a bay, so the scenery is wonderful. Since the neighborhood consists mostly of seasonal vacation rentals, it's pretty quiet at this time of year (which I'm liking). We're not near any big cities, so there's no traffic, and at night, you can see so many stars because there's no light pollution. It's also warmer here, than it usually is in Portland at this time of year because of the ocean.

Cedar is 1 year old today

2010-12-28T21:22:00.000-08:00

Cedar is one year old today. Sadly, we'll be spending it moving.

He's starting to look less like a baby and more like a little boy. He's got a lot more hair now, and since he's been busy crawling around, he's really leaned out.

He's been eating solids for about 5 months now. He's still a good eater, but hasn't shown much interest in feeding himself. He has gotten over a lot of his texture issues, and will eat a wider variety of things. We're still doing purees, though, because I'm desperately trying to clean out the freezer before we move, so I don't have to throw away a bunch of food. I made a ton of baby food from scratch, not anticipating moving, so I've got a ton of fruit blends to get through ASAP. His current favorite food seems to be bananas, but he's gotten a lot more open-minded about food in the past month, and really will eat just about anything.

He's still teething away. He's been working on his molars for a few weeks, and since we're in the process of moving, it looks like he's going to start teething again. Fun. He currently has 8 teeth. Four uppers, four lower. Poor guy, he's a toothy kid. We used to say 12 by 12 (months), but fortunately I think it's not going to be quite that bad.

The past month has been a whirlwind of development. He learned to crawl about a month ago, and since we have hardwood floors, he's gotten away with more of a sliding type of crawl, where he pulls forward with his hands and his legs just slide forward, but hey, whatever works. Man, he is fast now! He will come a flyin' when it's time to eat! He's also been pulling up a lot more, and towards the end of the month, he got to be pretty good at pulling up on the gates. For about a week, he couldn't figure out how to get back down (once he stood up), but now he's figured that out.

Since he's so busy working on gross motor skills, he's usually content to work on that by himself, and thankfully is more able to entertain himself for pretty long periods of time. That makes my life a whole lot easier, since I really didn't have a lot of time to attend to him with all the packing that had to be done.

He really likes to play. His favorite toys currently, are plastic lids (I have a pretty good collection) and containers. He's currently really interested in dropping things, or watching things fall. He likes to drop them from above and watch them roll around until they come to a rest. I guess he likes the noise. He'll do that for 5 or 10 minutes at a time. I rounded out my collection by picking up some stuff out of the plastic bin when I was at the recycling center.

Aside from that, he likes things that rattle, so he's really into this one ring that's got rattly balls inside. He still likes to chew on his caterpillar rattle (that Deb gave him). In general he's pretty happy playing with ordinary objects, so I'm quite happy to let him. He loves to play with toys in the bathtub, and occasionally he will hand me his toys.

He no longer takes his second nap, now it's just one long one that he'll take around noon, that can last up to 2 hours. Unfortunately, he's been waking up in the middle of the night a lot more this month. It could be the teething, or something developmental. He's stopped breastfeeding, so that makes things both easier--and harder.

He's still Mr. Smiley Face. He has been very giggly, and has the cutest laugh, that I just love hearing. Still no signs of stranger anxiety, or separation anxiety. We haven't been apart much, but the few times we have been, he's been fine.

He's still very easy to take places. He likes the stimulation of being out and about, and loves flirting with everyone he meets. He still falls asleep in the car, especially if you're on the road for more than 15 minutes. Since we've had to do several long road trips back and forth to our new home, he's learned to just sleep the whole time (instead of complaining about being bored).

He's really into our dog right now. He sees her and just smiles and laughs. In fact, his only word (besides "mama" and "dada" is "dog"). He also is really fascinated with Margo's cat.

He still thinks his daddy is the coolest thing ever, and likes to grab his beard and play wild games with a willing party.

His eyes are mostly brown, but he's still got that grey ring around the outside, and that hasn't changed a whole lot. They're kind of a hazel grey/brown. They haven't changed much lately, and I'm not sure that they're going to.

During the course of this month, he's had to endure being ignored a lot because we've been so busy packing for the move. I feel bad because I haven't had time to do much with him besides the absolute necessities. I keep telling myself this is temporary and that I can make up for it once we get through this yucky time, and get settled in our new place. He'll be a lucky kid because we'll be living right by the beach, and we can go really fabulous places on our walks.

Now it's back to packing. We're loading up the truck today, and we'll be moved into our new house just in time for New Year's Eve.

It's official--we are moving!

2010-12-01T22:01:00.000-08:00

It's official--I've accepted the Job Corps teaching assignment, and we are moving to the coast! My excitement knows no bounds.

It looks like I'll probably be teaching developmental reading (whoo hoo! my favorite! Plus, that's a good application for my disparate experience in Gen Ed and SPED), and with class sizes of 15, this should be a fantastic gig. At any rate, it HAS to be better than anything I'm likely to be offered in a public school setting here in Multnomah County. And I shouldn't have to deal with the fun prospect of getting laid off every year. Yep, this should be MUCH better.

The downside, of course, is that we have to move. And that, my friends, is going to suck. A lot. In the next month, we'll have to rent out our house (can't sell it in this economy), pack up everything, clean out the basement and the outbuildings, clean out the chest freezer (that is completely full because I was prepared for the apocalypse!), and basically I have to get rid of a TON of stuff. Sucks for me, but it'll be a bonanza for every thrift store and community organization within a 5 mile radius.

If doctors were treated like teachers...

2010-11-06T14:23:00.001-07:00

I did not write this, but it's spot-on and deserves to be re-posted, so hopefully Joel won't mind too much that I'm throwing it up here on my blog. This is exactly why those of us who choose to work in public education are skeptical about all the noise that charter school advocates like to make about how great they are (a few are, others, not so much), and why many of us are less than impressed by some of those "educational reforms" that you keep hearing bandied about by celebrities and politicians.

If doctors were treated like teachers: by Joel Shatsky, The Examiner, 12/09/2009

If doctors were treated like teachers:

1. "Charter hospitals" could certify "smart people" as qualified to begin practicing medicine without any prior experience in the field if they had had "some business background."

2. Since a "doctor" can "doctor" anything, a cardiologist would be on staff at a hospital in place of a urologist when there was a shortage of urologists. The cardiologist could "learn on the job." Of course, a general practitioner could be used in the place of any specialist since such a doctor would have "general knowledge" of anything involving medicine.

3. Whenever a doctor gave a patient a prescription, the patient's parents could come to the doctor's office demanding he or she change the prescription since the parents "knew better."

4. Because of a shortage of doctors, Mayor Bloomberg would institute a summer "crash course" in medicine for people who had no background in the field but "liked playing doctor" when they were little. Those who got through the six-week course would then be considered qualified to care for the most severely ill patients since no other doctors would want to do the job.

5. Doctors would qualify for "permanent license" if they showed by their rates of patient survival that they were "improving their scores." In order to do so, doctors would only treat the healthiest patients and refuse to treat the sicker ones to keep their rates of successful treatment high.

6. Many "Charter hospitals" would be established in which unlicensed doctors could practice the latest techniques on their patients, using the funds of public hospitals to subsidize them. Of course, only the healthiest patients, whose relatives cared enough about their condition to place them in a charter hospital would be admitted. Any patient exhibiting signs of serious illness would be immediately discharged and placed in a public hospital.

7. The average longevity of a doctor's career would be considered "normal" if he or she practiced for no more than five years.

8. If a hospital proved to have a poor "patient survival record," it would be closed down and three new hospitals would be created in the same building with nothing to do with each other but with three times as many bureaucrats running them.

9. Any patient who entered a doctor's care when already terminally ill would be expected to make a full recovery -- or the doctor would be considered incompetent.

10. A special program -- "Heal for America" -- would recruit students who graduated from the top colleges in the country but with no background in pre-medicine to "try to make a difference" by being placed in the most severely crowded and understaffed clinics and hospitals so they could know "what it feels like" to be a doctor, if only for a few years.

11. The American Medical Association would be condemned by politicians and health "experts" for "protecting incompetent doctors" on the basis of mortality rates in high-risk neighborhoods and the organization would be disbanded as a "menace to public health."

flying with a babe

2010-10-27T18:36:00.000-07:00

Having flown solo with babe recently, I have a few thoughts about the whole experience:

ID: I didn't know this, but you will need to bring documents (i.e. birth certificate or copy) to prove your child is under 2 if you don't want to pay for the extra seat (even if the baby is obviously not 2). I just happened to have the medical card with me and that worked for them since it had his name and date of birth on it. Otherwise, who knows if we would have gotten on the plane. You will need this to get a boarding pass for the baby, even without a seat, so plan on bringing it.

Another thing to consider--if you are male flying solo with a baby, it might be a good idea to take a letter from the other parent saying they consent to the travel, and ID proving the child is yours. If you are flying without your spouse and leaving the country have a notarized letter saying your spouse is aware of your trip. Sadly, you never know when you might have an issue around the issue of potential child abduction--and if you're doing an international flight, it's almost always recommended.

Dealing with stuff: DO have someone help you carry all your luggage to the security screening area if possible so you can focus on the babe (and the process of getting your stuff where it needs to be). This is a good time to note that some airlines are more generous than others when it comes to checked luggage. Given the enormous ammount of sheer crap you have to take everywhere a baby goes, you need one that's not too stingy with the baggage allowances.

If no one's available, either flag down one of those guys with a luggage cart, or rent one of those Smart Carts for the time you will spend on the airport. They really help at a time when you will need to do as much with one hand as possible.
In general, you can also count on the kindness of strangers for help with luggage. Flying solo with a baby puts you high on people's assistance radars, and you can count on a bit of help from pretty much everyone that's not a TSA employee...this is a time to ignore the pre-recorded warning about not letting other people carry your luggage.

Carrying the babe through the airport: If your baby is small enough, congratulations, you can use a baby carrier or sling and be hands-free. (Sadly, mine is not) Note, TSA is evil and they will make you take the baby out of the sling when you walk through the metal detector.

If you can't wear the baby, you'll probably need a stroller (or something stroller like). TSA will also make you take your baby out of the stroller and put it on the conveyor belt, which is not the easiest thing to do when holding a baby. That part, my friends, is the SUCKIEST part of the whole experience. I went out and bought an umbrella stroller just for the trip, since there was no way I was taking my fancy-pants jogging stroller on a plane.

Now, if the child walks and talks, then problem solved (unless your child is what we in the business call a "runner", then you may want to consider some sort of restraining device)!

A note about security--this is the part that sucked the most. Some airports allegedly have a separate security line for families, and for obvious reason, it's preferable to go through that line and be surrounded by other parents or understanding adults rather than rushed business travelers or the young and childless who won't understand why you can't take off your shoes, pull out your liquids, break down the stroller, etc in under 30 seconds.

My experience was that there was no magical separate line, probably because I was flying off-peak. So I had to go through with everyone else. Other than the TSA employees, everyone was pretty nice about it. I invited everyone to go ahead of me while I got my stuff out. I wore flipflops so I wouldn't have to fumble with my shoes. I had already cleaned out my pockets, etc so no fumbling around at the last minute. Just dump and go. Still though, it's hard to put your stuff on a conveyor belt and break down a stroller while holding a squirming 27 pound baby.

Now you may be wondering what you do with a stroller once you get ready to get on the plane. For the record, you can gate check strollers for free. It's not part of your luggage allowance. You just show up at the gate, ask to gate check your stroller, and they'll take care of it. You just get it tagged, and then when you get down at the bottom of the ramp, just leave it there, and they'll stow it somewhere. If you're doing a layover somewhere, I recommend NOT checking it through to your destination for two reasons. One, you may need to entertain the baby for a long period of time between flights--walking through a busy airport is a pretty good way of entertaining a baby. Two, you may need to RUN to your connecting flight, and again, having a stroller might help a lot.

On the plane: Try to request the front row. Obviously you'll have to buy your tickets way early to even stand a chance. On the plus side, there's way more room up front, and you could even lay out a little blanket for your kid to roll around on. There isn't room to do that (or much of anything else) in most of other rows. Most airlines let families board first, so you might get your pick of seats.
Now I was flying Southwest, which works a bit like Greyhound--first come, first served. They board over half of the plane *before* they do family boarding, so fuggedaboudit. Since there's no way I was getting anywhere near the front row, I decided to take the opposite tack and sit in the back (near the restroom). Being near the restroom has its advantages...the white noise of the engines is one of them. Besides being louder back there (to muffle my precious darling's cries), you also stand a better chance of getting the whole row to yourself. Especially on an airline like Southwest where people can choose where they're going to sit. If the flight's really crowded, then at least if someone *does* decide to sit next to you, you can be pretty certain that they at least like kids. I prefer an aisle seat because it's easier to get up--and with a baby, you may need to do that A LOT. Might as well cut to the chase and make it easier for everyone. I've also heard that if the plane crashes, the people in the back are more likely to survive.

If you can afford to buy the baby a seat, then good for you. It does make things easier in some ways. You can put your carseat right in there, and voila! However if you have a kid that you know already doesn't do well in the car, or is definitely a lap-baby, then don't waste the money on an extra seat if you're gonna end up holding the kid anyway. Also, you may end up with a open seat next to you anyway...life's often funny that way. I personally wouldn't bother buying an extra seat for baby, the reason being, you can usually bring your carseat all the way to the gate and if there are open seats they will probably allow you to bring it on board, if not they will gate check it for free. Since I'm not loaded with cash, I'm probably going to have a kid in my lap until the magical age of two...

Babes and their ears: As you know, taking off and landing are pretty hard on the ears. Pity, then the poor babe, and plan on nursing (or offering something to drink) for take off and landings. Then you can skip the screams, for the most part.

Packing for the plane: Make sure you pack plenty of food (for both of you) and plenty of diapers. When packing your diaper bag, make sure you plan not just for the extra time of going through security and getting your luggage, but also for the unexpected flight delays (so bring twice as many diapers as you think you might need).

A change of clothes is also a good idea because if the baby pees or spits up on you, you're both stuck in wet clothes. ewww.

For my trip, I packed 2 carry-ons--1 was diapers and toys, the other was a food bag. (The week before we flew, I went and hit the plastic bag return bin at the grocery store to scrounge up some bags for diapers.)

It's good to know that those pesky liquids rules don't apply if you have a baby, so don't worry about how you're going to transport breast milk or formula--just go for it. (You can read more about that on the TSA website.) If you use formula or pumped breast milk, you can usually bring as much as you need. It's a good idea to put whatever you're using in gallon-sized clear plastic bags for ease of inspection. A final hint about formula--it's really hard to make formula on the plane (especially if you're going to have a baby in your lap while doing so), so what I did is pre-measure the powder in the bottles before leaving for the airport--then all you gotta do is add water when you need it. And you don't have to worry about how old it is, what temperature it is, etc.

Make sure you bring food for yourself, even if you are planning on eating in the airport--you might be so pressed for time that you don't get a chance to eat, and thus are stuck, starving on a plane for hours. Whatever you bring, make sure it's something simple that you could eat with one hand...it's hard to eat with a baby in your lap grabbing at your food.

On a related note, I discovered that it's a good idea to ask for a lid for any drinks you order. Since you can't use the tray table with a baby in your lap, you really need a little extra insurance to keep the contents in the cup that you will almost inevitably have to sit on the floor.

As for water, stock up before you get on the plane. Since I'm cheap, I just bring empty plastic bottles and fill up in a water fountain before I board. Of course you can buy them as well. Sure the flight attendants can bring you water once you're on the plane--if they have time. I don't take a chance because I always get super dehydrated, or need it for the baby.

Novelty: Just being on a plane was entertainment enough for quite a while. However, it doesn't hurt to bring a mix of some familiar classics as well as some me new toys the baby hasn't seen before. Just make sure they are things that will stay relatively stationary when dropped on the floor, and out of consideration for other passengers, relatively quiet.

The baby will probably cry at some point. For the most part, people will either be so busy listening to electronic gadgets they won't even notice. If someone does give you the stink-eye, just ignore them. After all, they were a baby once and someone had to put up with THEM. It seems to me that most people don't mind having babies on board, and many sympathetic souls will actually jump right in and help you if you need it (putting luggage overhead, entertaining your baby, etc). The grandmotherly types will be thrilled to make over your kid, and several delightful people entertained my babe long after I had run out of moves.

Babies are funny critters. Mine did far better on the plane for 9 hours than I would have predicted. He normally isn't much of a lap baby at home, but on the plane, he was just fine. I felt bad for him because he couldn't really move much, but he took it well. He did a fair amount of sleeping on the plane, but it was almost always right as we were going to land. He was oblivious of the descent and didn't even notice the bumping along on the run way or any of it. He spent a lot of time flirting with the other passengers, and generally took it all in stride. I'm guessing the older/more mobile the kid, the tougher it is for them to sit still for hours on a plane.

My last bit of advice is to wait until everyone else gets off the plane if you can. You really need a lot of time to gather up all your stuff, look for missing toys, and ensure that you can carry it all back off the plane. Plus, the flight attendants can help you with the carrying. It's kind of nice to have the ramp to yourself, and not be in a hurry. Besides, if anything, you should have long since given up notions of getting anywhere in a timely fashion with a babe in tow.

Cedar is 9 months old today

2010-09-27T14:40:00.000-07:00

Cedar is nine months old today. He's got more hair on top these days, and is starting to lean out a bit and lose some of his cute baby chubs.

He's been eating solids for about 2 months now. He's a pretty good eater and great about sitting still and opening his mouth wide, although lately he's getting more interested in getting his hands involved, and wants to grab the spoon and do it himself. You can tell he'd like to do more "chewing" with those new teeth, but since he's still not crazy about textures, he doesn't get far with trying chunkier things. Most of his attempts have consisted of him gagging/choking, so most of the time, I just stick with purees. During the past month, I made a ton of baby food from scratch, so he has various fruit blends apple/peach, apple/blueberry, apple/banana, apple/carrot, etc. His favorite still seems to be pears, with sweet potatoes or bananas as runner-ups. His favorite veggies are squash, sweet potatoes, potatoes, and carrots. He tolerates peas, but he's not crazy about them.

After getting all 4 upper teeth in the last couple of months, we had a break for a week or two. Now we're definitely back to teething, and he's working on some more bottom teeth. He currently has 7 teeth now, the 3 lower teeth, and 4 upper teeth. I suspect we'll see #8 any day now, which officially makes him the toothiest 9-month-old baby around. Poor guy...

The past couple of weeks have been full of catch-up developmental moves (mostly gross motor, so we'll call this the "Gross Motor Week"). He's sitting up like a pro, but still can't get there from a prone position. Since he figured out how to roll back and forth last week, he likes to roll over and back again. He'll roll one way and look at you. Then he'll roll the other way and look at you (see what I did?). He's still scooting backwards instead of forwards, but he's doing more push-up-y things right now and is getting his back end up a bit more. It looks like he's really close to figuring it out. Once he figures out how to get his feet in on the action, I think he'll be off in search of trouble to get into. I'm dreading the possibility of increased mobility.

Since he's so busy working on gross motor skills, he's usually content to work on that by himself, and thankfully is more able to entertain himself for longer periods of time than he used to. That makes my life a whole lot easier.

He really likes to play. His favorite toy is still the rainbow caterpillar rattle that Deb gave him. He still likes to play with his pacifier. He's also gotten better at grasping, so he really likes the soft balls that Grandma Q made him. If you drop them from above, he'll catch them. Another favorite toy is a water bottle that has a little bit of colored water in it. Aside from objects, he still is really into hand-play (a current favorite is clasping his hands together in front of him), and playing with his feet. He figured out how to clap the other day, and really gets into that too. He's starting to get the idea behind squeaker toys, and occasionally will hand me toys.

He still takes 2 naps during the day, although the times are shifting around a bit. One is usually around 11 or 12 (the long nap) and there's usually a shorter nap around 4 or 5. He still wakes up in the middle of the night, and since we've hit 8/9 months, he seems to be going through the sleep regression, which means most nights he's hard to put to sleep (would much rather learn how to sit up or work on crawling) and with the added joys of more teething, he's usually up at least twice. The considerate little devil will often sleep in until 9 AM most mornings, which is totally fine with me.

He's a very smiley, laugh-y, bouncy boy right now. He likes to bounce himself whether he's in a lap or in his high chair. He's always bobbing up and down. He still likes to be held and carried, but would rather face out if possible. He smiles and laughs about everything, and doesn't show any signs of stranger anxiety--when we're in public, he flirts with everyone. He's definitely a people-person.

Most of the time, it's easy to take him places because generally he likes the stimulation of being out and about. After getting all wound up, he still falls asleep in the car, especially if you're on the road for more than 15 minutes.

He's currently going through a phase where he's really into animals. He likes going to the park and seeing the ducks and geese and squirrels. When we walk around the neighborhood, he enjoys the dogs and cats. A few weeks ago, I took him to an Alpaca farm at Hood River, and he saw some additional farm animals on that trip. His eyes grew huge when he came face to face with a black Angus cow that came up to the fenceline. It had a big nose, and probably looked like a huge black dog. He giggled when it came sniffing near him.

Since he doesn't seem to have any stranger anxiety, and rarely has to endure any separation from me (since I'm not working), he's usually Mr. Happy-go-Lucky and generally only cries when he's really hungry or tired. He still thinks his daddy is the coolest thing ever, and likes to grab his beard and play wild games with a willing party.

His eyes are still grey but they're equally brown. They're kind of a hazel grey/brown. They haven't changed much lately, and I'm not sure that they're going to. I think they're kind of cool.

During the course of this month, he's going to have a lot of new experiences. Since I'm not working, I'm going to take him on a roadtrip to meet some of his relatives on the other coast. So among other things, he'll get to fly on a plane, and experience the beach (sand!).

Hood River

2010-09-11T14:19:00.000-07:00

Today I hooked up with an old friend that I haven't seen in awhile, and took the babe on his first trip out to the Hood River Fruit Loop.

It was the perfect day for it--when I woke up, it looked like it would be cold, gloomy, and kind of miserable, however once we got out to Hood River, it was sunny, gorgeous, and in all ways perfect for this excursion. It was a beautiful sunny day, but the kind you only get in September (I call it Octoberfest weather because it's the kind of weather that you hope for if you're going to Oktoberfest out in Mt. Angel. So being an absolutely perfect day for it, we drove around, took in the scenery, picked some fruit, bought produce at farmstands, tried some apple/marionberry pie, petted alpacas (and other critters) and generally had a fabulous time. I came home with an insane quantity of pears. I'll have to go back when it's apple season (a bit too early yet).

The babe seemed to enjoy all the excitement. He was a good sport about being in the car all afternoon, and loved looking at all the animals we saw. I'm glad I didn't leave him at home with daddy because he had a great time.

Cedar is 8 months old today

2010-08-27T19:09:00.000-07:00

Cedar is eight months old today. He's still growing like a weed and starting to get more hair on top. He's wearing 2T now, nothing left of the "baby" clothes, so he looks like a little boy most of the time.

He had a pediatric appointment this month, so we got to see the ol' growth chart again. There's the lines, and the percentages, and then there's Cedar off in space doing his own thing. Yes, he's off the charts at this point, and roughly the same size as an average 2-year-old. Wow!

Needless to say, he was too big for his carseat. We figured out the carseat dilemma though. He was a few pounds past the weight limit for the rear-facing carseat. The tricky part was finding one that would both accommodate his weight, yet still have a rear-facing option since he's not old enough to face forward. I also didn't want to have to buy another one a few months later....I was busy looking for convertibles, and didn't know about the 3-in-1 option that will take you all the way from 5-100 lbs. Wish I had known that sooner. So now he has a new carseat that should last until he no longer needs the darn things.

We've been experimenting with solids for the past month or so. In general, he's a pretty good eater and great about sitting still and opening his mouth wide. He's not crazy about texture though, so that pretty much limits us to purees. He has tried rice cereal (yuuuuck!), apples (too tart), pears (he loves these), bananas (pretty good--he likes the homemade puree even better), blueberries (yum!), peaches (too sour), squash (likes), sweet potatoes (loves them), and carrots (loves them). He's not crazy about anything that's mashed or has the least bit of texture...sigh. Since it's the end of summer, and prime produce season, I've been making homemade baby food for him-mainly blends of the above. Since I'm out of work, I'll probably be able to take advantage of the fall produce season and be able to make some really good stuff.

He's been less irritable lately, getting a bit of a reprieve on the teething front now that a bunch have come in. He's got 5 teeth now, the 2 lower teeth, and 3 out of 4 upper teeth.

He sits up pretty good now, but still can't get there on his own. He likes to roll over onto his tummy, but doesn't know what to do when he gets there. His tolerance for it has definitely grown though, and once he figures out how to get his feet to do something, he will be in business.

He's all about this toys. He really likes the rainbow caterpillar rattle that Deb gave him a whole lot. Other current favorites are the linking rings and jar lids. He also really likes to play with his pacifier and would rather play with it than use it as a pacifier. He never took to teething rings, but likes to play with them as toys.

He still takes 2 naps during the day, although the times are shifting around a bit. Last week he took lots of catnaps, but this week, they've been longer. He still likes to get up at 3am, and I'm guessing he will for a long time to come. He will sleep until 8am most mornings, which is nice for me.

He likes to bounce in your lap if you hold him (he does the bouncing, all you have to do it hold on tight). He still likes to be held a lot, but doesn't want to sit still in your lap unless he's tired. He also likes more rambunctious moves like being swung around. That makes him giggle wildly and smile real big.

He's still a big smiler, and babbles quite a bit. It's fun to take him out because he smiles and flirts with everyone. He's easy to take out because generally he likes the stimulation of being out and about. On the other hand, if you want him to pass out, just drive for 15 minutes, and he'll be out like a light. Lately he's been in a better mood, most of the time, probably because he's been feeling a bit better. He's also doing better at being on his own for a little while, and will entertain himself for longer periods than he used to.

He still is a huge fan of sucking on his hand or trying to stick his feet in his mouth. He isn't spitting up much any more, so that's a relief. It's nice not to have to worry about that so much. On the other hand, he gets the hiccups at the drop of a hat.

He's still a totally happy kid and generally only cries when he's really hungry or tired. He's not mobile enough to really hurt himself, but that's on the horizon.

He still thinks daddy is the coolest thing ever, and likes to play with his beard.

He is starting to grow some more hair. Can't tell what color it's going to be-strawberry blonde? brown? His eyes are still grey but there's more brown there now. They still are both gray and brown. I don't know if they're done changing or not.

He is not creeping or crawling yet, but he appears to be on the cusp of doing so.
He likes to be on his belly now, but he hasn't figured out how to push off with his knees. He definitely isn't ready to do any standing.

We've been doing more floor play lately, since he can sit up a lot better. I can park him on a blanket with some toys and he'll sit up and play with them. I have to stay right with him though or he might go toppling over (and bonk his big ol' noggin').

homemade baby food

2010-08-19T15:19:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I went to Sauvie Island and picked peaches with Margo.

Since I was able to pick enough peaches this time (and get some good apples as well), I'm finally able to move forward on the baby-food making adventure.

Cedar obliged by taking a nice long nap this afternoon, so I was able to get quite a bit one.

Since I already do a lot of canning, I have a lot of the equipment you need on hand. I received a baby-food processor as a gift, so I can make stuff with that commercial-baby-food texture. Today I made some apple sauce, and peach puree, and made blends with those and some leftover cherries and blueberries.

Apple Sauce (for babes)
Normally when I make applesauce, I just cut up whatever apples I have scored from around the neighborhood, and toss them peel and all into the crockpot. Today, I was pressed for time, so I peeled them, chopped them into big chunks, and steamed them in one of my bigger kettles. Then when they were soft, I transferred the chunks to the food processor and whirled them around until they were pureed. I have a baby-food chopper, so I transferred the puree to that, which has a finer blade on it, and made the applesauce smooth a creamy.

Peach Puree
I took the peaches, cut them in half, and pitted them. Then I steamed them (the same way as the apples) and once the skin was loose, I pulled it off and ran them through the food processor, followed up by the baby food-chopper (for that nice creamy texture).

Those were my "bases". Then I added some blueberries and cherries to make blends. So for instance, apple-cherry, apple-peach, peach-cherry, peach-blueberry, apple-blueberry. The cherries and blueberries sweeten up the apples and cherries a lot!

Finally I can have a break from the financial tyranny of those dollar-a-jar baby foods (as well as more options--they don't really come in that many flavors). Aside from the huge savings (you can make a boat-load of baby food for the same prices as a few of those jars), it's also nice to know where your food comes from, and how fresh it is.

I am looking forward to having more raw material to work with in the future...apples, pears, and plums!

Friday the 13th

2010-08-13T22:12:00.001-07:00

I didn't realize that today was Friday the Thirteenth, but that would go a long way towards explaining the string of good luck I've had all day...and all the old familiar faces that have turned up after all these years.

The teething babe has been less fussy today. I managed to get almost everything done that I had in mind to do today--laundry, and stocking up on things like watermelon and agua de coco to beat the heatwave that's about to descend on us. Even managed to squeeze in a second walk after the sun set.

It's real serene out there tonight. It was quiet enough that I could smell the distinct scent of everything out there--the perfume of the blooming Asiatic lilies, the smell of lavender drying in the sun, and the weird smell of the Tree of Heaven as I walked underneath it.

The babe's still not sitting up on his own, but in general is doing better with the whole balance thing and spent a good part of the evening sitting on one of his quilts with his legs spread in a V and my hands hovering nearby to catch him if he sways too far to the side and starts to go down. He's been a bit less fussy today, even though he's not real wild about the heat. The back of his head is permanently slick with sweat, and he's got drool all over his hands and most of his face. There's a couple of spots of dried-on butternut squash on his face. His three teeth look comical, but he's a really cute baby in spite of the fact that he smells of sour milk and other baby smells. I love his little sticky head, and as he lay there thrashing in my arms on the inevitable march towards passing out, I couldn't help but think about how much I love his chubby little arms, and sticky hands, and soft twitching limbs. He's such a sweet baby.

Most days I don't get time to do much but breathe. I hardly ever have time to think or reflect on anything. Today was one of those rare days where there were relatively few emergencies, and relative calm, and even a few spare moments such as this to write things down. That's a luxury I rarely have any more, these days, just the very sort of thing no one can ever warn you about before you become a mother.

1. You won't have time to read.
2. You won't have time to write.
3. You won't have time to think about anything coherently.

It's all about the moment...you don't have time to worry about the future, or think about the past. It's all about the here and now.

(Not) back to school

2010-08-12T22:39:00.000-07:00

It's really weird seeing all the back-to-school sales going on when you walk in the store, and knowing that for the first time in years, I won't have a classroom to go to come September.

It's a really strange feeling.

One that's probably shared by all the other laid-off teachers out there, I'm sure.

I heard that Congress passed some emergency bill this week to try to save education jobs, but it's too late for a lot of us. I don't think most of us will get our jobs back any time soon. People who are just graduating will have no jobs to apply for, and even getting on as a sub will be very difficult in most districts. I'm pretty sure that the kids of politicians don't go to public schools. If they did, things never would have gotten this bad.

Grant Park Ladies

2010-08-11T22:25:00.000-07:00

I took Cedar to Grant Park today to meet up with a good friend and a couple of kids that she was babysitting.

I'd never been to Grant Park (or Grant High School) before, since I don't live on that side of town, and have no reason to go all the way over there. This, however, was definitely a good addition to the summer of getting out more and doing things.

The park's really nice. It's huge, and there's lots of paths and shade trees and fountains. There's all these Beverly Cleary sculptures. It's right next to the high school, and there's a public pool as well. The kids had swimming lessons, and after that, we hit the playground and had a big ol' time. The babe, of course, is too young and non-mobile to do anything other than watch, yet, but the girls waved and giggled at him, and smiled, and fussed over him, and had him so smiley, I'm pretty sure he forgot he was teething and supposed to be Mr. Grumpy Pants. He had a blast watching all the other kids, and I would love to take him in the pool sometime.

Ooops

2010-08-10T22:31:00.000-07:00

Oops. I thought I was well on my way to adding a Mid-Level Endorsement to my existing teaching license (HS-Language Arts), but here I come to find out I still have to take the Math/Science portion of the ORELA. I had no idea I had to take that portion because I don't teach Math/Science, have no intentions of teaching Math/Science, and honestly it would probably be for the best if I never did... But lo and behold, I can't add an authorization level until I take that test. Hmpf! I really wish I had known that a long long time ago back in my carefree childless days.

So I guess once again, I'm gonna have to cough up another 80 bucks and drive over to the University of Portland on some Saturday afternoon to spend a couple of hours taking another ORELA test. Uggh. I'm pretty over it at this point. But I guess I better get it done. Don't think I'll bother with filing the paperwork, though, until I get done with the ESOL Endorsement. It's not like there's any jobs out there right now anyway. Edzapp is pretty grim these days...even in Special Ed, which was never the case before.

The Redbook Motherhood Survey

2010-08-10T14:55:00.000-07:00

On a scale of 1 to 5, how satisfied are you with your current work status?

It really depends on the day. Since I was laid off, I didn't really have much of a choice, and I went from working full-time (which was stressful), to being a full-time stay-at-home-mom (which depending on the day, is also stressful). Generally though, I'm not totally devastated that I'm probably not going to be working this next school year. It's kind of an interesting situation, actually. I get to spend more time with the babe, and depending on the day, get more done. On the other hand, I also really like teaching and actually am much better at being around older kids. When it comes to babes, I pretty much am making it up as I go.

In 10 years, what do you think your work status will be?

I will probably be working full-time or part-time as a teacher. If not, then chances are pretty good that I'm living in a remote area raising goats or something. Baaaa!

What would be your ideal life/work arrangement?

Teach half-time, but public school teaching is generally an all-or-nothing gig. Part-time options exist, but they're somewhat rare. Outside of the public school setting, almost all other part-time teaching options come with no benefits.

Do you feel that your choice to work or not work is supported by the other people closest to you (family, friends)?

I doubt anyone cares one way or another.

Do you ever envy moms who have made work/life choices that are different from yours?

Not too much — just when I have the occasional rough day.

Who would you say handles more of the day-to-day parenting duties, you or your partner?

I handle more of the parenting duties than my partner. I was kind of hoping for more interest and involvement from him, but the current circumstances probably don't facilitate that much. And maybe it's just a general discomfort with the high needs period of infancy. Who knows. But sometimes I feel resentful, whether that's justified or not.

Which statement best describes your feelings?

I occasionally wish I could spend more time away from my children/by myself. I've always had a real high need for alone time. Needless to say, naptime is golden.

Which statement do you agree with more?

Being a mother is the most important role in my life

What is your single biggest concern for your children?

That they grow up to be happy and successful at whatever they choose in life.

What changes would make the biggest difference in making it easier for you to raise your children?

Seeing a higher value placed on the job of mothering in our culture (the whole maternity leave thing is a joke, having a more flexible work schedule would also help.

Since becoming a mom, do you feel more or less important to society as a whole?

More important — there's no job bigger than raising children--whether they happen to be mine or go home to someone else.

Who is your primary source of emotional support as a mom?

Sometimes my mom, sometimes friends and other moms.

How often do you feel pressure (whether internal or external) to be a "better" mom or to be a "perfect" mom?

Hardly ever — I trust my instincts and the choices I make.

How often do you feel judged or criticized by other moms?

Rarely

How often do you feel guilty about the job you're doing as a mom?

Rarely

On a scale of 1 to 5, how would you rate your average day-to-day stress level?

Somewhat stressful (3)

If you had to choose just one, what would you like to have more of?

Time just for me

What quality do you wish you had more of as a mother?

Organization, always organization.

Cedar is 7 months old

2010-07-27T21:37:00.000-07:00

Cedar is 7 months old

Cedar is seven months old today. And he's a biiiiig boy. Really big.

He's still growing like crazy, and nowadays it's almost like babyhood is fading fast. He's outgrown all the 12 month clothes I had, and now I've decided to cut my losses and move up to 2T. I don't know what I'm going to do when he outgrows his carseat, which will happen way before he's technically old enough for a front facing model.

He's been both giggly and cranky, depends on the day. He's still teething away, and I'm guessing we'll be seeing some new ones any day now. He's got his bottom two teeth, so I think he's working on the top row, although I can't see or feel anything yet. He's drooling like a champ, though.

He's getting a lot better about sitting upright in my lap. He sits in his high chair okay, but overall isn't great about sitting up on his own. He has rolled over maybe twice, but it's not something that he's "into" and since he doesn't equate it with mobility, he doesn't do it regularly. He really likes sitting, and keeps trying to do it on his own, but it's hard. He still isn't crazy about being on his stomach.

He's much more into toys, and like to grab things and stick them in his math. Some current favorites are Grandma's water bottle, rags, pacifiers (he likes to take them out and try to put them back it), and he's still really into Mr. Monkey. Just a few days ago, he figured out to pass objects from one hand to another, and he may be able to "choose" between two objects although we're not totally certain about it.

During the day, he usually takes 2 naps: one around 10am, and one at 3 or 4pm. He was going to bed at 8pm, but lately he's trying to make it later. He still likes to get up at 3am. I've convinced him that sleeping into 8am isn't such a bad thing.

He gets squirmy and kicky, but he still likes to be held--a lot. He's still happiest if you hold him, and likes to be carried walking around. A new thing he likes is if you swing him around a bit or pretend to drop him. That makes him giggle wildly.

He's still a big smiler, although less so when he's teething. He also does a lot of chatting and babbling. He's usually in a good mood, most of the time, but this month he's had 2 teeth come in, so during that time he was not real fun to be around. He usually gives you a week off between teething incidents.

He still is a huge fan of sucking on his hand or his fingers, and has figured out how to stick his teeth in his mouth. He recently rediscovered the soothie after rejecting it for months. Now it makes a great teething object.

He's been spitting up a bunch lately, after not doing it for awhile, and I'm guessing the teething is partially to blame.

When he's upset about something, he screams at the top of his lungs, then pauses to see if you're paying attention. Then if not, does it again. He generally only cries like that when he's really hungry or tired.

He still thinks daddy is the coolest thing ever, but he also gets upset sometimes if I walk away from him or out of the room. He didn't do that before, he would just fuss a little. Now he gets upset. Maybe he's starting to get stranger anxiety. He also likes to make sure I'm watching him and actively paying attention to him, and gets upset if I'm not. He also seems to really enjoy having Grandma Q around and is always really happy to hang out with her.

He still doesn't have much hair, but I've noticed what's there is getting longer. Can't tell what color it's going to be. His eyes are still grey with brown flecks so I think he's gonna have hazel eyes.

ESL Endorsment

2010-07-23T21:53:00.000-07:00

I've been using this summer to hang out with kiddo, and knock out my last three required classes for the ESL endorsement. I thought it would be super difficult to keep up with the coursework, but it's been manageable, in spite of the demands of the babe. Having Grandma Q here to help out for 6 weeks has been invaluable. I haven't had time to do much of anything besides kick around here, do my homework, and chill with the babe, but we have gone on a few excursions.

After I finish all these classes, I still have to do a practicum...and that's gonna be real interesting. I don't know what that's gonna look like...

Laid off--again

2010-07-21T21:33:00.000-07:00

Got a call this afternoon that I thought might be for a job interview. Instead it was the district calling me to let me know that I wasn't gonna have a job in the fall.

Uggh. Not again.

Once again, it looks like I'm gonna be filing for unemployment. At least these days, you can do it online. The last couple of times have taught me the importance of hanging on to your pay stubs for a couple of years.

On the bright side, it looks like I'll have more time to spend at home with kiddo.

Starting Solids...oh boy.

2010-07-01T15:30:00.000-07:00

Now that the babe's six months old and as interested in eating as you can possibly be, we're starting the foray into the world of solid foods.

Although he started showing strong interest and watching every spoonful we ate in his presence (starting around 5 months or so, I decided to wait until the full 6 months because although his head control was good, he still wasn't sitting up real well on his own. Also, he still has digestive issues. Plus, he wasn't acting particularly hungry. If anything, the recent trend I've noticed is that he kinda slowed down and went from polishing off 6 oz at a time (at 3-4 months) back to 4 or 5 at most meals.

So I went out and invested in a high chair (I was able to find something that wasn't the size of a Hummer and ridiculously overpadded courtesy of IKEA) and a 6 pack of those silicone-coated baby spoons. I should have totally skipped rice cereal though. Everyone and their cousin says, "Start babies with RICE CEREAL!" Yeah right, total waste of time and money. Fuggedaboudit! He was NOT interested in that bland pasty goo, and made a huge yuck face. Tried it a few more times. No thank you. Never ate a bite of that vile-looking stuff. Can't blame him.

Next...

We tried apple sauce.

And got the yuck face. Too sour/acidic I guess.

Then we tried bananas. Not a hit.

Then we tried pears.

BINGO!

The kid LOVES his pears. (Kinda like my student, Bob*)So we worked on that for awhile. Turns out he's pretty good at eating--most of what goes in stays in. Didn't take him long to figure out the mechanics of eating.

From there, we were able to branch out a bit, and he decided that bananas and apple sauce were actually okay after all. Unfortunately he was dead set on the smooth creamy texture of $1 a jar baby food, so no luck just mashing up stuff I'm already eating. He won't eat anything with texture yet. (sigh)

The routine has been a once-a-day feeding ritual. I usually do it when I want to eat lunch, or occasionally dinner. I don't wait until he's starving, but rather do it when he's in a good mood, basically eating my own lunch or dinner at the mid-point between two regular feedings. I'll go ahead and fix whatever we're eating, then pull out a jar of something for him, and pull his high chair up to the table and plop him in there. Then I'll have a bite of my food, then feed him a bite of his (and praise his efforts), the rinse and repeat. That works pretty good. We get to eat in peace, and he gets to watch us eat, and we get to watch him eat. It's pretty effortless.

Right now he eats about half a jar of whatever. So far I've introduced apples, pears, bananas, butternut squash, carrots, and sweet potatoes. Based on his behavior, I'd say that sweet potatoes and carrots are his favorites. (Good baby...they're super duper nutritious, and he'll be seeing a lot of them in the future.) I'm going to hold off on any more grains until he's ready for more textures...then I'll just give him whatever I'm having (rice porridge, grits, oatmeal, etc) instead of the processed stuff.

Cedar is 6 months old

2010-06-27T22:03:00.000-07:00

Cedar is six months old today. And he's a biiiiig boy.

Obviously he's still growing like a weed, and doesn't show any signs of slowing down in that department. He's totally outgrown all of his 6 month clothes and most of his 9 month clothes, so we've pretty much just moved on to 12 months and over. He outgrew his original carseat a long time ago, and is about too big for the other one. He'll need to move on to the bigger car seat way before he's technically old enough.

He's been kind of crabby lately because he's teething, but he seems to manage a smile now and then.

He still isn't sitting up on his own although he's getting better at maintaining balance in your lap. He has yet to roll over, but he'll turn towards me laying on the bed. He likes sitting, so he keeps trying to do it on his own. He hates tummy time, but has his own variation where he likes to slump forward in my lap like he's doing the flower yoga pose.

He's gotten more interested in toys, but only in things that he can hold easily and put in his mouth. He's still only doing the one-hand manipulation of objects.

During the day, he usually takes 2 naps. His sleeping through the night went downhill when he started daycare, and he hasn't ever gotten back on track, so now we're stuck in the getting up at 2 or 3 AM pattern. That's just 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 gets squirmy and kicky, but he still likes to be held--a lot. He's too big for any of my carriers, but he still likes to be carried, facing in or out, around to look at different things.

He's still a big smiler, although less so when he's teething. He also does a lot of chatting and babbling. He's usually in a good mood, most of the time, but this month he's had 2 teeth come in, so during that time he was not real fun to be around.

He still is a huge fan of sucking on his hand or his fingers, and is getting more enjoyment out of the pacifier than in the past. He still startles when you sneeze, or cough. When he gets tired, he gets real cranky.

He's finally outgrown his reflux issues. Finally, he can lay a bit flat at night without any issues.

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 or tired.

He's really a "daddy's boy" right now, and is all smiles whenever daddy walks in the room.

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. His eyes are still grey with brown flecks so I think he's gonna have hazel eyes.

Co-sleeping

2010-06-23T13:34:00.000-07:00

Every night, I lay in bed with my husband on my right and the baby who is snuggled up against my left side, my arm draped between him and the wall. He lays there nestled into my side with one hand up towards his head, his right leg draped securely over my left. Every now and then I can feel his fluttering movements as he drifts off to sleep, and the regular sound of his breathing as he passes out for the night. He's unimaginably soft, snuggly and luxuriously warm.

Did I think I was going to be sleeping with the babe in my bed every night? Not really, but from the moment he was born, he made it clear that he preferred to sleep in the same comforting proximity that he enjoyed for the previous 9 months. For the first month or so, he literally would not sleep anywhere except ON me. If I tried to move him, he would wake up and complain loudly. Co-sleeping became the obvious solution. Some people have tried to warn me that I'll come to regret it, but considering how much easier it is, I doubt that.

For one, I didn't want to deal with all the crying and hassle of trying to "train" a baby to go to sleep by himself (at a time of day where my patience has worn razor thin). By the end of the day, the very last thing I want to do is try to sell sleep to a reluctant baby. For my own sanity, I wanted bedtime not to be a super stressful thing. He didn't take to sleeping in a crib, so I didn't push it. I figure sleep should be enjoyable. Bedtime is actually mostly hassle-free, and I don't have to go through some complicated routine punctuated by tons of crying. Instead, when he starts acting tired (around 8 pm most night), I just give him a quick bath, put on a new diaper, feed him, and we drift off to sleep. It doesn't take very long, and once he's asleep, I can slip out of bed and stay up for a few hours (and climb back in bed when I'm ready).

The best part about sleeping with the babe is that it's much easier to respond quickly to a baby who's right next to you in bed, at the early stages of waking (before they fully wake up). If they're going to wake up at night, they're going to wake up, regardless of where they're sleeping. Since he's next to me, I can feel him starting to get restless and take care of the problem before it results in fussing and crying. There's nothing worse than trying to put a crying baby back to sleep at 3am. If they're right next to you, you can often get them back to sleep before they wake up enough to fuss.

He's never shown any signs of dropping his late night feedings, so not having to climb out of bed and turn on the lights is very appealing. I don't have to go looking for him in the dark, he's right there. All I gotta do is turn so I'm facing him, and he takes care of the rest, and drops right back to sleep. Maybe that's super lazy of me, but at this point, I'll go with it, because the end result is that I'm way more relaxed at night, and not worrying about how long it will take both of us to go back to sleep.

I doubt all the intimate contact and closeness will do him any harm. Especially since I had to go back to work after 12 weeks, it was my main way of reconnecting with him at the end of the day. I worried a lot about how securely attached he'd be after months of full-time daycare, but everyone says he's a very happy and content baby. It's especially nice now that he's older and doesn't want to be held quite as much. During the day, he's a much more active critter, but at night, he turns back into a snuggle-bunny. Gotta love that.

bitter about that...

2010-05-28T15:37:00.001-07:00

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!

2010-05-28T15:07:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-27T16:53:00.000-07:00

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!

2010-05-27T15:41:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-26T17:00:00.000-07:00

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

2010-05-19T17:08:00.000-07:00

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.

Day of Silence Follow-up

2010-04-17T14:56:00.000-07:00

Day of Silence--How it went

This year, the day of silence happened to coincide with a field trip--which made for a rather interesting experience.

I warned the kids the day before that I wasn't going to be talking on Friday, but beyond that I didn't prep them much. I made some cue cards (kind of like the PECs cards I use with *Bob, with a combination of words and icons, to cover some of my more common and necessary utterances (Yes, No, Can't Talk, Okay, etc). Since Bob is non-verbal, I thought it would be a fun solidarity experience.

The student's reactions were interesting, but one totally unanticipated consequence is that the most talkative student in the classroom decided to join me, and spent the whole day more or less "speaking" in gestures only. I think he thought it was some kind of really fun game, so he totally got into it. Nobody else took it that far, but it did encourage less talking overall, which is always nice.

For the most part, I was able to not talk for most of the day. I had to do a "time out" a couple of times, but really it wasn't too hard. Body language and gesturing took care of a lot of my communication needs, and the cue cards were helpful. Ultimately it was kind of fun for me to take a day off from talking, and I'm inclined to try it again next year.

Day of Silence

2010-04-16T16:35:00.000-07:00

After debating it for the last couple of weeks, I decided I'm going to participate in the Day of Silence this year (at work). I may do it at home too... I'm participating in GLSEN's 15th annual Day of Silence in order to reflect on the prevalence of name-calling, bullying and harassment that still occurs every single day in school. Although I will continue to talk for necessary instructional and behavior management purposes, I will otherwise be remaining silent throughout the rest of the school day--which will be interesting because I normally talk to my students quite a bit.

For those who aren't familiar, The Day of Silence is an annual event designed to illustrate the silencing effect of anti-LGBT bullying and harassment on LGBT students and those perceived to be LGBT. Anti-LGBT bullying is a pervasive problem that creates unsafe learning environments for all students.

As an educator who cares, I believe in a world where all students deserve to feel safe and welcome at school regardless of their sexual orientation or gender identity/expression.

3 1/2 months

2010-04-14T16:53:00.001-07:00

Cedar is approximately three and a half months old this week.

He seems to have adjusted okay to daycare. I'm hearing reassuring things on his daily reports, and his behavior in the evening suggests that he's fine. Since I'm very tired after work, and he's very tired after a stimulating day, we spend most of the evening just lounging around, eating and relaxing.

He's huge and growing fast. I saw a 9-month old baby the other day, and he's at least as big as that baby was. He's got a long torso, huge feet, and basically wears 6-month clothes. I don't know how much he weighs, but he's almost outgrown his carseat, and is about to move into size 3 diapers. Yikes! He's a big boy.

His head control pretty good, but he isn't sitting up or turning over yet. I think he'll be still be awhile. He just had another growth spurt last week. During the day, he's awake a lot more, and he likes to look around when you hold him. He's still not terribly interested in objects at all, he's still more of a "people person". I'll give him stuff to hold, but usually he lets go. He prefers to smile and look at us.

He still snores, and has been doing lots of pre-talk. He also likes to giggle and laugh when he's in a good mood. He still is a huge fan of sucking noisily on his hand and fingers, I think he's beginning to teethe...

He still startles when you sneeze, or cough. He's pretty wiggly and squirmy when he's awake. When he's tired, he still wants you to pick him up so he can "pass out".

Most of the time he is still pretty quiet and non-fussy, but lately he's had kind of a teething/growth spurt so he was a bit fussier last week. Now he's kinda back to his old charming self.

After sleeping through the night, he's back to his previous pattern of waking up around 2 am. He had been skipping his night feeding, but since he started daycare, he wants it again. Fortunately I usually don't have to do much of anything, so it's not that big of a deal.

He still has reflux, and I'm a bit worried because I thought he might be outgrowing that by now.

He's still a super-cuddly baby and still likes being held. Since I don't get much time with him during the day, I also sleep with him at night.

He has started laughing in addition to giggling. When he's upset, 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.

That's my boy...

The fine art of lactation at work

2010-03-29T16:39:00.000-07:00

Teaching and lactation are tricky, but not impossible. Figuring out how to combine working and pumping has been on my mind since I found out I was pregnant. Since I've been back from maternity leave, I've been able to pump every day, but it certainly has imposed some changes into my normal daily routine. I have to take my breaks and lunch at slightly different times than I used to, and no longer supervise kids during lunch (which they've all noticed and commented on several times). Tuesdays and Thursdays are hectic because I have to take kids to off-campus jobs that cut into lunch time, so it's tricky to manage the timing on those days. Nevertheless I've been able to pull it off.

What makes it work, is that I have a private location at my disposal. I have an office that I can use that has a door that locks, so I don't have to worry about random people (or worse yet, kids!) walking in on me. I have a chair to sit in, an outlet nearby, and a sink right in the classroom, so I don't have to go rinsing out the apparatus in a public area (like the bathroom or the teacher's lounge, which would be a bit weird).

Unfortunately I am not driving this semester. Carrying stuff on the bus is kind of a pain. I could leave my pump at school, but after enduring a nursing strike one weekend, I've decided NEVER EVER AGAIN will I do that...you just never know when your baby might decide to go on a nursing strike. So from now on, I always take it back and forth.

The timing is tricky. I don't have a planning period, so I have to do it when the kids are at lunch. Plus, as a side bonus, my one-on-one student can be supervised by someone other than me at that time.

Storage is critical. We have a refrigerator in the room, but since students are notorious for going in and taking stuff out of it (and who knows what they might decide to do with it!), I keep the milk in a lunchbox in the staff lounge. Considering there's food items that have been in there since last October (it's April now), I have no concerns about anyone coming along and disturbing it.

Three Months old

2010-03-27T14:30:00.000-07:00

Cedar is three months old today!

Misc. Development Notes:

He's less interested in laying down, and likes sitting in a bouncy seat. He looks cute lounging there.

He can't hold himself upright by any means, but his head control is getting even better. He's on the verge of figuring out how to turn over from his back to his side.

He's much more awake, and has more active periods. He likes to look around when you hold him, and he'll turn his head to the side to see what's there.

When he's tired he gets a bit fussy. He likes to fall asleep being held so if he wants to take a nap, he'll fuss a bit to get you to pick him up, then pass right out.
What a silly boy! He also snores which is hilarious.

He looks around quite a bit, and likes to watch us doing chores. He's not passing out on walks as much, and stays awake most of the time looking at things.

He hasn't shown much interest in objects, but grabs my hair or shirt on a regular basis. He also really likes to suck on his hand, and has finally isolated his thumb from the rest of it and goes to town on that...no now he usually has a wet drooly handshake.

He still startles when you sneeze, or when he hears a loud noise. He also does the startle reflex when you pick him up (asleep) to move him, but he no longer wakes up.

He's lost all interest in his pacifier, especially now that he's discovered his hand.

He still likes to kick his legs, and does it in time with the music I play for him.
Another thing he likes to do is "wiggle-legs", and he has a whole exercise routine he does when I put him in the bouncy seat.

Most of the time he is still pretty quiet and non-fussy, but he's been cooing for the past couple of weeks and has thrown some giggles in there as well.

Nowadays he usually skips his night feeding and sleeps through the night, a fairly new development that thankfully came just in time for me to go back to work. Hard to say if he'll keep it up (or decide to be a reverse-cycler), but I'm enjoying more sleep these days.

He's getting more tolerant of clothing and diaper changes--he's even getting less cranky about shirts and onesies and things that go over his head, although he still seems to prefer not to put up with that.

His digestive issues started to improve at around 2 months, and now he's way less fussy due to gas. He's still quite gassy though--and puts on a good show for us. It's still hard to burp him--I've discovered the best thing is to do it standing up with a bit of bouncing thrown in there.

He's still a big fan of being held. He still likes laying next to me in bed, sitting in my lap, lay in my arms, and occasionally will do the "snuggle monkey" although not as much as he used to. He prefers to face out most of the time, but still likes to be patted on the back, especially when he's tired. He still likes to be carried around, but unlike when he was younger, he will let you put him down. When he's not being held, he is happiest if he's where he can see you, but he'll go a few minutes with me in some other part of the house as long as I come right back.

He has been smiling for a few weeks now. He recently started giggling as well. On the other hand, if he's upset, he turns bright red and holds his breath before letting out a wail. He generally only cries when he's really hungry. He fusses when he's wet, and when he's tired.

He likes to listen to music and listen to you talk. He especially likes daddy's silly talk.

He still tolerates baths although he's not crazy about them. He still likes riding in the car, and going for walks around the neighborhood. He also seems to enjoy riding in shopping carts, so I can take him to stores that have them and he's usually content enough being pushed around that he'll let me get some shopping done, as long as I don't take too long. He's to the point now where he likes to look around at things when he's on the move.

So far, so good

2010-03-23T14:09:00.000-07:00

The good news is that Cedar seems to be adjusting to daycare just fine. That'll make going back to work that much easier for me. He seems happy when I pick him up, and doesn't howl when I drop him off.

As for me, it's very very strange to have the overly-quiet house all to myself. To keep from dwelling on that fact, I'm playing loud music and doing all the cleaning that hasn't been done since he was born. The amount of dog hair I've removed could build 2 or 3 new dogs...shudder.

The weather's been nice the past couple of days--highly unusual for spring break. I'm getting started on my garden before I go back to work, and hoping that I can somehow keep up with it once I have a ton of stuff on my plate again.

Once again, I'm super-grateful that I'm working in a classified position this school year, so I don't have to do any grading or paperwork outside of school hours. Oh, and let's not forget meetings...yes. Glad I don't have any of that to deal with--I just go in for my 7.5 hours, and I leave when the kids leave. I can't imagine doing a certified job right now...

Starting daycare

2010-03-22T11:31:00.000-07:00

The dreaded day has arrived--Cedar's starting daycare this week.

I feel pretty good about the daycare in question, and the people who work there; it's more a question of how will he react to strangers. Plus, we've been together non-stop since he was a unicellular organism...I haven't spent more than a couple of hours away from him until today, so needless to say, this is going to be an adjustment for ME as well.

Fortunately I have the whole week to ease him into the whole change--I don't have to start work until next week, and this way we can start off with half-days and gradually build up to the longer days he'll have to get used to when I go back to work.

Giggle-bug

2010-03-20T14:26:00.000-07:00

Cedar's started giggling recently, and it's very cute. He even giggles in his sleep, silly boy!

winding down

2010-03-10T14:39:00.000-08:00

Time is a crazy thing. Slow. Slow. Quick, quick, slow.

Some days seem to fly, others crawl by at a snail's pace. A single 50-minute period of a horrific day of substitute teaching could last seemingly forever. Other days you really have to be careful not to blink--or the next thing you know, an entire week will go by, leaving you gaping in the dust.

A 12-week maternity leave has moments that are as hectic as a rough week of substitute teaching, or as sedate and leisurely as a sick day spent in bed watching movies. Often you get both in the same day, swinging like a pendulum between frantic problem-solving induced by shrieking howls, and other times basking in the afterglow of a milky-faced grin. It's surreal enough in the beginning that it has the feel of Groundhog Day, where you are literally doing the same thing again and again and again, day after day. The days themselves blur together--into a mushy kind of Monthurswedfrisunday. Around here we've escaped from the clutches of linear time that hold the rest of the world prisoner, and made schedules irrelevant. Everyday is a no-day. A declaration of independence from calendars and clocks. A single moment. An eternity. A space between time.

Nevertheless, to bring it all back down to earth, this is my second-to-last week off, and the last week before we introduce the trials and tribulations of daycare. Hard to say who will have the harder time adjusting...adjusting back to imposed schedules, calendars, time-tables, clocks, timers, and all of the trappings of life ticking away. I both crave and abhor this...

tick tick tick...

2010-03-09T09:23:00.000-08:00

Dear "Friend",

I received your recent Facebook friend request. Due to my own very strict policy of "only people I am friends with in real life", I must regretfully decline.

I’m sure you're a very nice person, but unfortunately I wouldn't know because I have never met you. We don’t have that shared history of togetherness implied in the title "friend".

Furthermore, it is very unlikely that you would really want to be bombarded on a nearly-daily basis with my controversial views, activist links, mundane teaching information, endless personal gripes, or vapid updates about my dog and family situation unless you know me pretty well. Let's face it, sometimes I'm boring/offensive/random, and it takes a special person to appreciate that. Often that person is a blood relative, or at least someone I've known for at least a decade.

Because I'm a fairly private person anyhow, I resisted the whole Facebook thing for years before finally succumbing to the urge to see what my former college buddies are up to. I'm not the sort who needs or wants to freely share ALL of my personal business with the entire world, so that's why I have limited my "friends" to people I really know well. Ultimately, if you’re not a friend of mine in real life, you can't be my friend on Facebook.

Baby essentials

2010-02-22T15:13:00.000-08:00

Once again, my totally biased opinion here. These were the things I have found to be most useful/helpful during the first two months of babyhood, and I don't know how I would have survived without them.

1. Diapers: I didn't find disposables to be very satisfying, so I mainly use cloth diapers (except when we're out of the house for an extended period of time). I had to wait a few weeks for him to get big enough to wear cloth diapers, but once he filled out a bit, they worked really well. I use prefolds and covers, and find them just as easy to use as disposables. On average, he goes through about 10-12 a day, so you need a lot of diapers and covers unless you want to do laundry daily.

2. Clothes: One thing I noticed right away is that all baby clothes are clearly not designed with cloth diapers in mind--they don't fit well over cloth diapers because disposables are slimmer/less bulky, and I guess the people who design baby clothes assume that you're gonna be using disposables.

The other thing I noticed is that my baby grew out of NB (newborn) and 0-3 sizes REALLY fast. It's a good idea to get a lot of clothes if you can, because a baby goes through a lot of clothes in a typical day. I thought I had way too many clothes, but it actually turned out that most of them got used.

Footed sleepers were definitely the easiest baby garments to manage on a floppy newborn. The snap-up ones fit a lot longer than the zip-up type (due to the cloth diaper issue). Bag sleepers are great, especially for those late-night diaper changes. My baby lived in footed sleepers for the first month before I even attempted other types of garments. Later, I branched out to shirts and pants (the kimono type are the easiest to manage). When it comes to pants and cloth diapers, you will need the bigger sizes much earlier. Onesies were less useful in the beginning due to the fact that it was winter, but lately have seen more use--you can't snap them over cloth diapers though, so for me, they function more like a tunic. Socks are critical if you're wearing real clothes, and hats are good for going outdoors--good luck getting them to stay on though! Babies don't see the point of wearing them, and can get them off without even using their hands!

3. Wipes: I use homemade cloth wipes (made from cut-up bath towels) for everything and just wash them when I wash clothes or diapers. They're good wet or dry, and frankly nothing comes out of a baby that doesn't respond just fine to plain ol' water.

4. Nursing paraphenalia: Lansinoh was a must-have item the first two weeks while I was building up a tolerance, but since then I haven't needed it. Pads are nice because the leaking can be a bit awkward. I have a pump (which was useful in the very beginning), but it will really be even more useful when I have to return to work. Another useful nursing item is Mother's Milk Tea.

5. Car seat: Obviously if you want to legally take a kid anywhere in a motor vehicle, you need one of these. I like the fact that it doubles as an infant stroller seat. Fortunately the baby likes the car seat, so I can take him in the car and stroller without the drama. Hopefully he'll still feel that way when he's a toddler.

6. Swaddling: Not all babies enjoy being swaddled, but mine sure did. I received several kiddopotamus swaddle blankets and used every single one of them. What's nice is they have a winter (fluffy) version, and a summer (cotton) version. You can also wrap babies up in receiving blankets, but I was never particularly good at that, and appreciated the velcro strips.

7. Stroller: I have a jogging stroller that is useful when I want to go on long walks. For short walks, I just use the carrier.

8. Clothes for mom: Honestly the best thing in the world during the post-partum period was my kimonos (yukata, technically). They're the perfect nursing outfit, and good for those late night sessions. My next favorite were my button-up flannel shirts, and old t-shirts that I didn't care if the baby spit up on them. Wearing a tank top is also a good idea when you're nursing.

9. Boppy: They're for breast feeding, but my favorite use was as a cushion for mama-they're good for sitting on while you're waiting for your perineum to heal. I had mixed results using it for breastfeeding (they don't fit well in some of my chairs--too wide, and don't work well if you aren't sitting bolt upright, but they're still helpful in the very beginning when you're still working on positioning). Another excellent use for a Boppy is propping up the baby when laying him down so he doesn't spit up as much. He really likes napping propped up in a Boppy--it keeps his head elevated so he doesn't spit up, and the wrap around side probably feels like two big soft arms.

10. Swing: You can't use them in the very beginning because of the floppy neck issue, but now that he's older, the swing is a lifesaver. It's good for when he gets fussy in the evening, or for times when you want to get something done around the house. I was especially pleased to find a hand-crank one at a garage sale that didn't require batteries.

11. Carrier: Technically this should be in the #1 position! This is one of the best things I have in my arsenal for soothing a cranky baby. If he gets fussy, in he goes, and he settles right down and conks out with his head right over my heart. It's a womb simulator, and he clearly finds it very comforting. He likes to be held anyhow, and this way I can give him what he wants while still getting stuff done.

12. Rocking chairs: This kid likes to rock. If I hold him and rock him, he'll go right to sleep in 10-15 minutes most of the time. Then I can usually put him down and he'll stay asleep for awhile. It's a good relaxation ritual for both of us.

13. Moses basket: I'm glad someone gave me one--it's not something I would have ever thought of, but it's like having a really portable bassinet. Aside from being aesthetically pleasing, it's great to have a safe spot to put a baby down that you can take anywhere indoors or out. Now that he's getting older, he doesn't necessarily want to be held all the time, but wants to be where he can see you, so this makes it easier for me to do a lot of things around the house. I can also put him in it when I want him to take a nap.

14. Books: Now that he's getting older, and tends to be awake more, I can read to him during those times when he's alert, but doesn't need anything. Board books are nice to have around, and he seems to enjoy it for about 5 minutes at a time. I grew up with "A Child's Garden of Verses" and like reading some of those poems to him at night when he's winding down.

15. Medical supplies: a nasal aspirator is a must during the first few days when the baby's still mucousy, and it's useful later when they get colds. A thermometer is good to have because it'll give you some peace of mind knowing whether your baby is fine or not. I remember one time, he felt really hot, and I got worried. Since he didn't have a temperature though, I figured out that he just needed cooler clothes! Sure enough, that did the trick. Another thing that's helpful is Mylicon and Gripe Water for gas. Mylicon works best if taken prior to eating (preventatively). Gripe water can be used any time. Both are also ludicrously expensive, yet neither is totally effective. Still though, they do help a little bit. Having a small syringe around makes it easier to administer medications--droppers are imprecise, and measuring spoons are messy and difficult to use.

16. Baby bath tub: Some people get by without them, but since my sink is always full of dirty dishes, and my bathtub usually full of dog hair, it's nice to have a safe dedicated space for bathing the baby. I don't use it very often, but I do like having it.

17. Pacifiers: I had a baby who had a strong need to suck, so pacifiers were useful for awhile. Fortunately it didn't seem to interfere with nursing any--and maybe the shape of the Soothie has something to do with it (it's about the same as a nipple compressed after feeding). For about a month and a half, he sure loved his Soothies. He outgrew them quickly though--and now doesn't seem interested at all.

Things I didn't need:

bottle warmer: a large coffee cup full of hot water does essentially the same thing.
bib: won't really need them until the baby starts eating solids.
baby towels: regular towels seem to work just fine.
burp cloths: I just use the small kitchen towels I already have.
baby washcloths: I just use the cloth wipes I made, which are basically the same thing, only way cheaper.
sterilizers: if you have a dishwasher, you don't need to sterilize much of anything.
skin care products: you don't need to use anything stronger than water on a brand new baby-they really don't get that dirty, and their various skin issues resolve best if left alone.
baby monitors: I live in a small house and don't leave my baby unattended anyway, so I have never needed these. If he's in the bedroom and I'm not, I just leave the door open so I can hear him.
changing area: I just use the bed and kitchen table with a towel or puddle pad thrown over it.

Smiley Boy!

2010-02-19T16:01:00.001-08:00

For the past couple of days, I've noticed that the baby's been getting a lot more interactive and he's been smiling quite a bit. He only does it for a fleeting moment, so it's hard to catch on camera, but he does it pretty frequently. It's quite endearing and has a funny way of wiping away the trauma of all those sleepless nights. Today, he was eating, and looked up at me and smiled a few times with this wonderfully content look on his face. Too cute!

5 weeks

2010-02-01T15:50:00.000-08:00

Cedar's about 5 weeks old this week.

He's still waking up wanting to be fed once in the middle of the night, and again around 6am, but otherwise stays asleep at night. He's usually pretty mellow during most of the day (although he tends to get a bit fussy in the evenings--poor Brian doesn't get to see him at his best, most of the time). He's been eating a lot more now (which used to worry me until I realized it's actually quite normal for a kid his age), so that keeps me pretty busy all day long (I pretty much feel like all I do most days is feeding/diaper changing which I could pretty much do with my eyes closed and one hand tied behind my back). His gas issues have improved quite a lot though, so he seems more comfortable.

He's been awake a bit more lately, and his eyes are wide open, and I've noticed him looking around at stuff. He's also getting to the point where he'll take naps more consistently during the day, and doesn't have to be held quite as much (he wouldn't really let you put him down the first couple of weeks). He still likes to cuddle though, and I spend a lot of time holding him and rocking him, which he loves. I finally found the power cord for the radio, so I've been playing music for him, which he still seems to like. It's been sunny off and on this week, so I've been taking him outside for walks around the neighborhood every chance I get. Sometimes I bring the dog if I'm in the right mood (and she's not totally getting on my nerves). He still seems to like car rides, which is fortunate since I had to drag him with me to the doctor's office, and on Sunday, I took him over to Margo's house for their Superbowl party, and he did alright overall (I had to take him for a walk during half-time).

I have seen him smile a few times, but can't usually catch him at it when I've got a camera handy. He does this cute little sigh, but otherwise still does his newborn squeaks and grunts. Everyone who sees him declares he's adorable, and I tend to agree!

The Newborn Period

2010-01-28T15:55:00.000-08:00

Looking back, it's amazing to ponder how we got through the first couple of weeks. Thankfully my mother was here, and neither of us were working. We just stayed home and hunkered down with our bundle of precious joy.

The baby slept through most of the first couple of weeks, as most newborns do, apparently. This was kind of a relief in a way because as new parents, we were pretty overwhelmed anyhow, and needed the downtime since until we knew what we were doing, it felt like we were living from one crisis to the next. The worst part was that we were trying to battle jaundice. With jaundice, the sleepiness is exacerbated and leads to not eating enough, which creates a vicious circle. We had to work really hard to keep him awake long enough to feed those first couple of weeks.

The first week home, we actually spent a lot of time at the hospital dealing with the jaundice which was all kinds of fun. The last thing you want to do with a newborn is haul the poor thing out in the cold rain every other day to go to pediatric appointments. Uggh. I had to do a lot of pumping for the first month to keep things going, and the supplementing was a pain until I got the hang of it. It was pretty crazy for awhile, but now things are much much easier.

In spite of the problems around feeding and jaundice, luckily he wasn't much of a crier. His crying was pretty much limited to the obvious stuff: "I need to eat!" or "Help, I'm soaked!" The rest of the time he was either asleep--or briefly awake and looking at us. I remember he did a lot of squeaking and grunting, and thankfully not much crying.

Later on, he got gassy (especially once we had to start giving him formula) and then he would howl. It only took a couple of days to figure out that was causing the trouble. Then gripe water and simethicone drops became a part of our world--but neither of these things offer complete or instant gratification, so we still had to find ways to soothe him as much as possible. Some things that seemed to help were swaddling (he LOVED that), rocking, changing positions, patting his back, cuddling, humming, soft music, and laying on mom's chest or being held until he fell asleep. Poor kid, it took his digestive system a long time to figure out what to do, and he still tends towards gassiness, but at least now it doesn't hurt him the way it did in the beginning.

In the first couple of months, many nights, I basically just sat up with him in the LazyBoy rocking him asleep and holding all night long in the crook of my arm, since he would stay asleep as long as he was held. I managed to get some sleep this way. After a month, I got to the point where I could bring him back to bed with us (without waking him up in transit) and he would stay asleep (until the next feeding). He was considerate enough to sleep for 4-5 stretches at night so I could too. (Being close to us seemed to help him sleep better, and I could get some sleep, too. He would wake up and look around to see if we were still there, then go right back to sleep, content that the world was okay.)

After the first month, he would get fussier in the evening, so I discovered that dimming the lights, and laying him on my chest tummy-to-tummy with a blanket over us would settle him a bit. I think it calmed him to hear my heartbeat/breathing. Another thing that worked well was putting him in my Moby Wrap (carrier) and just going about my normal routine of doing stuff around the house. Wrapped up in there, all womb-like, he would settle down quickly and pass out and stay content for hours. In fact it worked so well, I had to drag him out or he wouldn't eat!

During the day, whenever the weather was nice, I would take him out in the jogging stroller and walk around the neighborhood. He really liked being in his car seat anyway, so putting him in the stroller also settled him. He would look around for about 5-15 minutes, then pass out until we got home. That was my post-partum exercise plan.

One month old today

2010-01-27T13:44:00.000-08:00

Cedar's one-month birthday is today. That first month sure has gone by really fast!

Misc. Development Notes:

He's had surprisingly good head/neck control since he was born, IMO. When he's awake/active, he likes to bob his head around whenever he gets a chance. When he's tired, of course he goes all limp and flops over like a sack.

We didn't see much of his eyes the first week or two, and half the time, he had this cross-eyed thing going on, but now he has them open a lot more and he likes to look at us, and he even turns his head towards you if you're talking. He looks at other things too, and honestly, I have no idea what he's looking at sometimes.

I don't know if it's my imagination or what, but I swear his fine "piano" fingers are filling out a bit. I still can't get over how tiny his fingernails are. He has a supergrip and likes to grab onto my shirt, the SNS tube, or my hair on a regular basis.

He startles when you sneeze (I think the suddenness of it scares him), when he hears gunshots on TV, or when a bag of chips crinkles loudly.

He's had a pretty good latch since the minute he came out. He was a big time sucker in utero, and sucking also comforts him in a big way now that he's out in the world. I didn't want to give him a pacifier so early on, but he seemed to need it. Fortunately it hasn't created any confusion for him. He also can go back and forth from bottle to breast without batting an eyelash. No nipple confusion with this guy.

He is quite the kicker and has very strong legs, probably from all the practice he had kicking me before he was born. Now I can clearly see what he was doing all that time.

Most of the time he is pretty quiet, and he actually sleeps a lot. That was a huge problem for the first couple of weeks (when he was jaundiced) because it totally interfered with feeding (he'd rather sleep than eat, and wouldn't wake up--I felt so bad for him, but I had to wake him up and torture him). Now he wakes on his own when he's hungry, but he's considerate enough to go 4-5 hours at night and let me get some sleep at night. Usually, I only have to get up once between midnight and 6am for a night feeding. During the day, however, he wants to eat pretty frequently (around every 2-3 hours), and rarely goes longer than a couple of hours during the daytime.

He gets really agitated when you take off his clothes or change his diaper. Ironically he cries because he wants to be changed, but at the same time, seems to hate being exposed. Probably doesn't help that it's winter...He also has terrible problems with gas, although he's not truly colicky because he doesn't cry for hours. Nothing seems to totally help with that. Given his genetic makeup, I'm not too surprised that he's having digestive issues.

He's completely satisfied if you hold him--he'll lay next to you, sit in your lap, lay in your arms, curl up on my chest like a little snuggle monkey, and is totally content to be carried around. Basically if we do any of the above, he'll totally pass out or just look around quietly. Besides breastfeeding, he's totally blissed out being held.

He has lots of funny facial expressions. Besides the "gas smile" and "poop face", he also has all kinds of funny expressions. One, daddy likes to call the "grumpy old man face". Sometimes he looks like he's in deep though (gas?), or has the "don't even go there with me" face.

He failed one of his hearing tests in the hospital, which created some drama, but I knew there wasn't really anything wrong with his hearing because of the way he tracks voices/people. Also, the way he responds to music gives me no reason to doubt his hearing. He knows our voices pretty well. He likes it when you sing or hum, and as previously mentioned, he likes to listen to music.

He likes to take baths, which is a good thing because the poor lil' guy gets pretty dirty. He also likes riding in the car, and going for walks around the neighborhood. Usually he just passes out, but sometimes he'll look around at the scenery. At any rate, he doesn't mind these things a bit, and is pretty content.

Cloth Diapering

2010-01-14T16:02:00.000-08:00

Diapers. Uggh.

If you insist on having a baby, it's a task you have to face sooner or later. While elimination communication sounds interesting, since I'm not going to have the luxury of staying at home full-time, that's not a way out of the diapering dilemma.

I had been toying with the idea of seriously trying cloth diapers--after all, I live within walking distance of Tidee Didee, the local diaper service, which I've been driving past almost every day for a few years. I also received a bunch of free diaper covers and some cloth diapers, so the start up cost was eliminated in this case.

I also received several cases of disposables in various sizes, so starting off, I didn't need to invest any money in either direction, and could experiment with both (and report back to the group).

What kind of diapering "system" you choose to use is one of those things everyone seems to have an opinion on. For me, the main factors with this sort of thing are ease of use, practicality, and environmental. I've used both disposable and cloth and here's my thoughts about that...

For the first couple of weeks, I HAD to use disposables. Originally I thought I'd just use them for the newborn/meconium phase, but for a few weeks, he was too small even for the smallest size covers that I had. I had to use disposable newborn diapers. Here's my thoughts about that:

1. Disposables are leaky! People always complain about how leaky cloth diapers are, but disposables, in my experience, were even more leaky! It seemed like every time he peed, I had to do a full clothing change (one for me, one for him)! As much as that happens, I could go through at least 10 outfits a day for him, and a few for myself. Sheesh! If I'm gonna be doing laundry that often, I might as well just be using cloth diapers! I had four different brands to choose from, and they ALL leaked. Every one of them. The minute he peed, it was coming out the side. Delightful!

2. The disposal aspect kinda sucks too. Our trashcans were constantly overflowing with diapers. They sure add up fast. The smell factor was kinda gross, but even more worrisome was the fact that it was ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL not to forget trash day! (And I'm prone to doing that, which usually isn't that critical...I used to put out my trash cans half-full, but boy oh boy, you don't want to have dirty diapers around for an extra week, no siree!)

3. Weird residue? I don't know what it was, but it seemed like there were weird little globules stuck to his skin. Maybe some chemical from the diaper? I don't know, but once I switched to cloth diapers, I never had this experience.

4. Another prohibitive aspect was the fact that one bag only lasted a few days, then you have to go to the store and buy more. Who wants to be running to the store with a newborn at home? If I had to do this all the time, I'd probably use diapers.com.

5. I haven't even mentioned the environmental angle, and I'm not going to go into detail here. If you're curious, do your own research. For me, anyhow, I live in a region where water is plentiful (not scarce), don't use "chemicals" at home, and enjoy the re-use factor of cloth diapers.

Needless to say, this experiment with disposables ended fairly quickly. Granted, I will still have to deal with disposables since he'll be doing some time in daycare, and if I'm out of the house all day with baby, I probably will not feel like lugging around cloth diapering supplies. But I will admit that for me, cloth diapers are much much easier to use at home.

So, as soon as he was big enough to wear my small-sized diaper covers, I went and signed up with the local diaper service (while he's an infant, I'm all for the convenience of not dealing with the laundry angle of cloth diapers).

1. So far, my observation is that cloth diapers do a better job of containing the two most common substances that come out of a newborn baby. Sure they leak eventually, but it takes a lot longer (note this isn't true with older babies/toddler sized disposable diapers that can hold up to a gallon of water, but for a newborn, it appears to be the case).

2. Cloth diapers have a higher start up cost, but once you invest in them, you're good to go for awhile--and you don't have to run out and buy anything until the kid grows out of one size and into another. The most expensive thing about cloth diapering is buying the covers. Luckily I received a pretty good stash of cloth diapers and the covers that go with them. I can also get used covers very very cheaply. Because I hate doing laundry every day, I invested in more covers so I don't have to wash them as often.

3. They don't take up space in my trash cans(and I don't need to go out and buy a bigger trash can--which means I don't have to pay a higher pickup fee)! Trash day is no longer a state of emergency. If I miss it, oh well. It's not a hazardous waste crisis.

4. You do have to do a bit more laundry, obviously. Even though I'm not currently washing the diapers, I do still need to wash the covers. I'm using the hot water setting for the first time in my life. I didn't have to invest in any special detergent because we already have to use the gentle/hypoallergenic stuff for ourselves.

5. I'm using cut up Goodwill bath towels and t-shirts for cloth wipes--after all, if you aren't using disposable diapers, it seems silly to use disposable wipes. Not only are they cheap and endlessly reusable, they're also good for other wipe-up chores around the house. Plus, there's the chemical factor--with two parents with sensitive skin, why would the baby be any more fortunate? It's pretty easy--you just use them--dry or wet--and wash them when you accumulate enough.

This is working pretty well for me. I can see where this whole setup will get more complex if I have to take the show on the road. Also, I should point out that I'm not laundering poopy diapers yet--but will be down the road when the baby's older and not pooping as often. It's still a good idea to have some backup disposables on hand for when you forget to do laundry, or have to

It's a boy!

2009-12-27T16:20:00.000-08:00

Cedar was born on December 27th at 4:20 PM. Height: 21 inches, Weight: 8lbs., 1 oz.

The Fam

2009-12-24T08:15:00.000-08:00

I haven't spent Christmas with my family in years and years--probably not since we all lived in Memphis. This year, due to the expected arrival of Sprout, they're flying out here and spending it with us. Miraculously, they didn't get caught up in the slate of bad weather that's causing problems around the nation. If anything, their flight arrived slightly early. After picking them up at the airport on a super-foggy evening, we all hightailed it to the Chinese Buffet over on Holgate/82nd (at this point in my pregnancy, I can barely eat anything, but I still enjoyed having a little bit of variety, at least).

Now it's time to settle in and wait for Sprout to join the party...

A Christmas Questionnaire

2009-12-24T07:55:00.000-08:00

1. Wrapping paper or gift bags?

Definitely gift bags--I am not very good at wrapping presents, and I've been reusing the same gift bags (and bows and tissue) for years and years.

2. Real tree or artificial?

Sadly I'm too allergic to real trees to have them in the house, even though I love the smell. Oh well, it's a lot cheaper this way...

3. When do you put up your tree?

It varies depending on how busy I am, but never before Thanksgiving though!

4. When do you take the tree down? Usually around Jan. 2nd, unless I'm being lazy.

5. Do you like eggnog? I prefer the vegan stuff that Silk makes--better texture, and obviously less "eggy".

6. Favorite gift received as a child?

Hmmm, not sure. I was always so distracted by the shiny bows and paper that I often forgot all about what was inside the box.

7. Do you have a nativity scene?

Not at the moment, still looking for one that's "tasteful".

8. Hardest person to buy for?

My spouse, and well, just about anyone...I'm not very good at predicting what other people might want or might be interested in. Usually I just give food items--everyone has to eat!

9. Easiest person to buy for?

My sister-in-law because she's a lot like me...but unfortunately she's overseas, so I'm gonna have to hang on to the things I've bought for her for awhile. Also, most kids. Kids are much easier to buy stuff for than adults.

10. Worst Christmas gift you ever received?

I don't think I've ever received a "bad" gift.

11. Mail or email Christmas cards?

A bit of both, although I generally prefer to make my own and mail them.

12. Favorite Christmas Movie?

ELF!

13. When do you start shopping for Christmas?

I do it throughout the year. The thing that sucks is sometimes I forget where I hid stuff.

14. Have you ever recycled a Christmas present?

No, but I have taken a few things to Goodwill after the novelty has worn off.

15. Favorite thing to eat at Christmas?

Definitely the cookies!

16. Clear lights or colored on the tree?

I like colored lights.

17. Favorite Christmas song?

Not sure, but I will say I tend to prefer instrumental versions of Christmas songs.

18. Travel for Christmas or stay at home?

I like to stay home, most of the time. This year, it's nice not to be working in retail--usually that influences my decision to stay home and lay low. This year, especially, I'm staying home, but because I could have a baby at any moment.

19. Can you name all of Santa's reindeers?

Thanks to the song, yes.

20. Angel on the tree top or a star?

Stars are easier to cut out of construction paper. ;)

21. Open the presents Christmas Eve or morning?

I always open one small present on Christmas Eve, and save the rest for Christmas Day.

22. Most annoying thing about this time of year?

Having to go to the store--crowds, commercials for Christmas that start the day after Halloween, and the rampant commercialism.

23. What I love most about Christmas?

Definitely the lights and decorations--sure makes the winter around here a lot less dismal and gloomy.

Just in time

2009-12-21T08:11:00.000-08:00

The last day of school before the winter break was the 18th. Now that the following Monday has rolled around, I'm glad that school's out...I've hit that point where teaching and pregnancy no longer seem to go together. The uncomfortable-ness factor has just gone up a considerable notch, and it's hard to imagine how I would be able to get through the day at this point. It's about a week before my estimated due date, and I'm really glad that I have the luxury of taking it easy now, thanks to the vagaries of the school schedule. Christmas and all that is coming up soon, and I really need some time to get ready to deal with that anyway...

The week before...

2009-12-20T15:36:00.000-08:00

(posted after the fact...)

Right before giving birth, I honestly felt pretty normal--albeit a bit crabby. About a week before going into labor, I finally hit the point where I just didn't want to do very much. The timing was rather inconvenient because my family was about to visit, and I had done little to prepare for this. I was really grateful that school was already out because I would have had a hard time working through the crabbiness. I think the fact that the holidays were coming up helped distract me a bit from how I was feeling emotionally--there was just too much going on to really dwell on things.

I didn't have a whole lot of expectations one way or another. Since this was my first time giving birth, and I had no idea what to expect, I pretty much spent a lot of time NOT thinking about it too much. I spent as much time as possible trying to surround myself with calmness. That helped keep me from being too anxious. It was also nice to NOT have tons of people around asking me, "are you having contractions, yet" or whatever... Yeah. That doesn't help.

Like I said, the main thing I felt in the week leading up to labor was a pervasive crankiness. It didn't take much to get on my nerves that last week. I was really annoyed, and totally hated being out in public or around people. Then again, I tend to feel that way *much* of the time, although not as acutely. I would stand as far away from other people as I could, and if I could have achieved invisibility, I would have gone for it. That's not likely anyway, considering I was about the size of a barn by then. Maybe it's a kind of distancing that you do to prepare for labor--wanting to hole up by yourself in a cave somewhere...I don't know...For me, pregnancy was a time of solitude, of wanting to be alone a lot, and towards the end, the solitude I craved had the feel of something purposeful that would prepare me for what was coming.

holiday madness special edition

2009-12-18T16:46:00.000-08:00

The last week of school before winter break (or any break, really) is always a tough time for us teacherly folk, but it's equally hard on the kids. Here's the issues that I've faced in the last week.

First of all, almost everything can be blamed on the fact that there's the vast alterations to the schedule that occur during the month of December. We try to minimize the impact of schedule deviations on our students to the extent that we can (the nice thing about a self-contained classroom is that to some extent bell schedules can be ignored), but any change is always difficult. Kids don't do well with change adjustments in general, and kids in Special Ed, do even less well. When you add Autism to the mix, that just makes for a lot of discontent when the school day doesn't flow in its usual predictable way. Our students do not do well when the schedule gets all wonky before winter break. Most get unsettled or anxious about it, and ask repeatedly when things are going to happen. Many get cranky and aren't shy about letting you know how they feel about having the rug pulled out from under them. Others totally flip out and have meltdowns. Why? The weekly schedule is the master of all routines, and provides a soothing backdrop of stability and security which many students grow to rely on to provide some sense of meaning and structure to their lives at school. Many of our students couldn't tell you the time, or day of the week, but they can follow the schedule like pros--provided that it stays the same. So when you start tinkering with the timing of the periods, or changing lunch times, they show their displeasure by acting out. That's about as fun as it sounds.

Another source of drama is the whole excitement of the upcoming holidays. On one hand, it's exciting and fun, but on the other, it creates some anxiety for some of our kids. Many enjoy the rituals; others find them stressful or overstimulating. Since home situations also vary widely, holidays can either be joyous or miserable for our kids. Some can look forward to family trips and parties and gifts. Others will experience domestic violence or will be lucky if their nutritional needs are met.

Another issue is school parties and functions. In December, people tend to throw parties. Don't get me wrong. I love a party as much as the next person, but there's some issues to consider as well. From a staff perspective, it's kind of annoying that you can't attend any of the staff events--because invariably most take place during the school day. If you're lucky enough not to be completely ignored (a common problem in Special Ed), you'll get invited to potlucks and such, which sounds great, but it's nearly impossible to attend these kinds of things if they fall during the school day. For most of the rest of the building, you have either common planning periods or lunches that you can use for these kinds of functions. But in self-contained Special Ed, there's the need for almost constant supervision...so only a portion of the staff is ever free at the same time. After all, someone ALWAYS has to be with the kids...so inevitably, only some people get to attend. The best solution, really is to have these things before or after school when there aren't kids in the building.

But in spite of all the madness, we do have manage to have fun in our own little world. People do stop by and visit and bring us treats. We take care of each other, and have fun planning stuff to do with our students. We have our own parties, and involve our students in school happenings to the extent that we can. And even though it's crazy and stressful sometimes, December can be a really fun time to be working in a school setting.

now we're getting into the thick of it

2009-12-12T09:32:00.000-08:00

Now that I'm getting into the final stretch of things (the last few weeks) things are definitely starting to get a bit more taxing. Fortunately I've only got one week of work left, so I should be able to handle that. The downside is after the last day of school, I won't have anything whatsoever to distract me from the general uncomfortable-ness of being 9 months pregnant. I hate to say it, but even if the kids are all wound up and excited (due to the impending holiday season), dealing with the range of behaviors is far more bearable than thinking about being pregnant.

This is it, folks, the home stretch. The tiring and uncomfortable phase. Granted most of the third trimester pregnancy feels this way, at least some of the time, but at this point in the game, it's not just an occasional thing. Part of my problem right now is that the baby's big enough that there's almost always feet stuck up in my ribs, and no room for any of my internal organs. I feel pretty constricted these days, and breathing and eating are two things that I no longer take for granted. Neither of these activities are particularly fun at the moment.

The breathing trouble is multifaceted--there's the chronic nasal congestion and nosebleeds (exacerbated by the bone-dry air) and the fact that my lungs are squashed into a tiny space. Now I get to huff and puff my way through the day...I always sound like a heavy breather--it's kind of weird.

Then there's the heartburn. I had this during the first trimester as well, and back then, I could avoid much of it with careful planning--as long as I stayed away from spicy foods (and other things I was having aversions to) and did all my eating early in the day, I could largely avoid the worst of it. Now, nothing seems to work for very long. The strategy of eating small meals just means that I have heartburn more frequently instead of 3 times a day, but due to the lack of available space in my stomach, I have to do it anyway. These days I pretty much have to force myself to eat, and since I can't eat hardly any of the things that I really *like* to eat, it's not enjoyable. Spicy foods have been off the list for awhile, but now even bland foods no longer guarantee comfort--I can get heartburn from eating such benign items as potatoes, applesauce, or a banana! I secretly wonder if there's any point in trying anymore...There's a lot of things I can't drink either, so I'm pretty much restricted to water--or really mild teas. Juices are way too acidic--I find I do better just eating fruits (for example, I couldn't drink orange juice if my life depended on it, but I can usually eat oranges--go figure). I guess this is what acid reflux disease is like--not so fun. I'm doing the papaya enzyme/Tums combo, and those both only work for a limited duration before it comes right back. Joy.

The main thing I'm dealing with besides the whole eating/breathing thing, is just generally feeling uncomfortable and grappling with the lack of sleep. I think the lack of sleep just makes you even more aware of how crappy you're feeling in general.

Maybe I should be gone more often...

2009-12-11T09:21:00.000-08:00

Last week, a sub came in for one of my co-workers that seemed interested in filling in for me during my upcoming maternity leave. I decided to take a day off this week, both because I needed to re-group after a couple of hectic days, and also to give her a chance to "test-drive" my job and get a chance to meet *Bob.

When I walked in the room this morning, the room was all decorated. My class surprised me with a baby shower! That was pretty exciting for me because I really hadn't had one--not having any family in the area.

We sat around and ate donuts and bagels, the students gave me the cards they made, and D* sang me a song. What a great class!

Week 36

2009-12-05T10:32:00.000-08:00

I've hit the 9-month mark now, so most things are a bit more tiring these days. It's hard to believe that the baby's gonna be here pretty soon (time of course has a funny way of going both slowly and quickly by), and next time I see a full-moon, I'll probably have a babe in arms... I think I also had my first (perceptible) Braxton-Hicks contractions this afternoon while I was ambling down Powell Blvd. Yep, we're getting near the finish line, folks...

Honestly, though, I'm still not paying too much attention to all of this, except in passing. If I don't, I'm less likely to obsess about it too much. Or maybe I'm just too tired to get caught up in all the hype--after all, when you get right down to it, it's been nearly a year since I've had a good night's sleep...

Some observations about this state of pregnancy:

1. Most of my shirts stick out funny, or don't button down all the way anymore.
2. I'm definitely glad I bought the "way too big" jacket, that fits just right in the 9th month.
3. Eating is a weird proposition. Unlike the first trimester, my appetite's here, but there's nowhere to put anything, so it's actually pretty hard to go about the whole process.
4. Less kicking, more turning or shifting around.
5. My ribs are sore a lot, but my back is actually aching less. Go figure.
6. Sleep is a joke, but laying down, in general, feels great.
7. The baby does feel a bit "lower" this week.
8. I have a great "shelf" to park things on while watching movies.
9. Yes, I can still see my feet just fine, thanks.
10. Most days, I actually feel just fine--until about 5pm. Then I get really tired--but that could just be the S.A.D. at work too--the sun's setting really early now and that never does much to keep me feeling energetic.

How ya feelin'?

2009-11-30T07:06:00.000-08:00

Besides that other inevitable question, "When's the baby due?", this is probably the question I get the most in a typical day/week. Usually I find it best to say "I'm doin' fine" and move on. But here's the real deal on what the third trimester feels like on most days (at least for me--pregnancy is a highly individual experience, your own results may vary considerably).

Fatigue: For the most part this means, I'm just kinda out of it due to the lack of sleep (I haven't had a night of uninterrupted sleep in about a million years (preview of coming attractions?). This means that my brain is usually a bit sluggish, and probably contributes to the crabbiness I'm feeling about half of the time. I am finding it harder to walk long distances or climb stairs, but for the most part, if I'm doing "normal" stuff, I feel pretty "normal". The fatigue really comes into play at the end of the day, and by 8pm, going to bed is sounding mighty attractive. And you better believe I'm going to take advantage of the opportunity to get a head start on some sleep.

Back pain: I was actually having more problems with this at the beginning of the third trimester (a few months ago) than I am now that I've hit the home stretch. Now I feel like my body has adjusted somewhat to carrying around the extra load, and thanks to preventative measures (abdominal support belt, comfortable cushions), I usually am not as troubled with back aches.

Hemorrhoids and constipation: I've definitely dealt with this a few times, and it's about as fun as it sounds. ;)

Heartburn: The less pleasant aspect of having a nearly-done baby sharing (taking over?) your abdominal cavity is that it leaves little room for your digestive system to do its magic. Truth be told, I can't eat anything after about 5-6pm anymore, and those evening meals have to be pretty bland to stay put--but even that precaution is no guarantee of success. I can't drink most of my favorite juices anymore (too acidic), and carbonation is totally out. If I want to eat anything even remotely adventurous, I have to do it at lunch time. (Incidentally, if you are wondering where to invest your money, I'd recommend GlaxoSmithKline, the makers of Tums. I'm definitely doing my part to keep them in business...and I figure the extra calcium ain't hurtin' things either.)

Breathing difficulty: This goes under the category of "existing tendencies", and my whole theory that pregnancy just tends to exacerbate whatever tendencies you already have. Just as my entire digestive system has been compressed into smaller digs, the baby's also moved in on my rib cage/lungs. There's feet up there pressing on my ribs much of the time. While it doesn't exactly hurt (since there's no kicking involved--just a bit of stretching/pushing), it's not a comfortable sensation either. Now I get real out of breath from doing totally normal things because, well, there's just not much room for my lungs to do their thing any more...not that they were ever the most effective of respiratory organs. What this means is I huff and puff my way up the stairs (I'm glad I'm not subbing at Jeff this year), and even climbing in and out of bed tends to get me a bit winded.

The other thing that makes it harder to breathe is the "pregnancy rhinitis" which I've had for months. In case you ever wondered, it's like having inflamed sinuses that you can't alleviate in any of the usual ways. Imagine having a stuffy nose for several months that you can't simply throw some Sudafed at and forget for awhile...yeah, and the nosebleeds are a real good time as well.

Difficulty sleeping: The main impediment is finding a comfortable position. That is pretty hard from the get-go, but by the third trimester it takes some real skill and ingenuity to find something that works. The real dilemma for me is while you're not supposed to sleep on your back, laying on either side just aggravates the heartburn and almost assures that I'll be laying on my back anyway (so that the things I ate hours ago will stay where they should, and not spend all night partying in my esophagus). They say in nearly every publication devoted to the pregnancy-experience NOT to sleep on your back because it interferes with blood circulation, but you know what? When I wake up 2 or 3 times in the middle of the night to shuffle to the bathroom, guess what position I usually wake up in? The same one I slept in for most of my life--on my back. Sleeping on your side sounds great in theory, but I find it just makes me toss and turn, and I can't maintain it forever. Honestly, I'm not too inclined to "lose sleep" over this issue...I figure if my circulation gets cut off, the discomfort and ensuing numbness will wake me up.

Ironically, even though the baby is really active at night (it often feels like I've got Dance Dance Revolution going on in my abdominal cavity), it really doesn't keep me awake, or wake me up if I've been already asleep. This of course is fine with me.

The thing that DOES keep me awake, I'll mention next...

Frequent urination: Now that baby's down in the blast-off position (and thankfully seems to be staying there (in spite of those nocturnal acrobatics), I feel like I could easily go to the bathroom every 10 minutes. I'm really grateful that my school schedule is compatible with this reality (I can usually run to the bathroom anytime I need to). The baby's head is currently parked right over my bladder, but it hasn't officially "dropped" yet. I told one of my colleagues the other day, when that happens, you might as well just insert the catheter and be done with it.

So that's the scoop on what the third trimester "feels like", at least for me. An assortment of vague discomforts that aren't really bad enough to merit my continual attention, but these things all contribute to my desire to do as little as possible. Besides going to work (and doing my thing there, which keeps me busy and sufficiently distracted from thinking about any of the above for 7.5 hours a day), I tend to humor my reclusive tendencies at all other times. And while all of these things are inconvenient and at times, annoying, there's still the "coolness factor" of having a tiny human wiggling around inside of you. That part is harder to explain, but it's a very intimate and personal experience that makes up for a lot of the discomforts that you have to put up with.

Thanksgiving

2009-11-26T08:17:00.000-08:00

Because neither of us was feeling all that great, this year was another Thanksgiving that we spent by ourselves. As tired as I've been lately, I didn't mind too much, and that gave me a chance to put some snowflakes I made on Tuesday up in my windows. Plus it rained all day long, and that made me feel that much less guilty about lounging around the house all day, doing a whole lot of not much.

This year we got a bit creative and decided to try some new things for Thanksgiving Dinner. On the Bureau of Environmental Services (Brian's new job) website, there are a few Native American recipes posted for Native American Heritage Month (which takes place in November). So here's what we made: (I'm also posting the actual recipes because I have a feeling the site will change.)

Butternut Squash With Cranberries

2 pounds butternut squash or sweet potatoes
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 to 1-1/2 cups cranberries
1/2 cup cranberry juice cocktail (or apricot nectar)
1 teaspoon finely shredded orange peel
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or hazelnuts (filberts), toasted
orange peel strips (optional)

Peel squash or sweet potatoes. Halve squash lengthwise and remove seeds. Slice squash or sweet potatoes crosswise into 1/2-inch slices.
In a large skillet cook squash or potatoes and cloves in olive oil covered, over medium heat for 8 minutes or until nearly tender. Stir occasionally.
Add cranberries, juice or nectar, and shredded orange peel. Heat to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 5 minutes or until squash is just tender, stirring once or twice. Remove from heat. Gently stir in maple syrup and walnuts or hazelnuts. Garnish with orange peel strips, if desired. Serve immediately.
Yield: 6 to 8 servings

Green Beans with Leeks and Toasted Pine Nuts

1 leek, trimmed
1 pound green beans, trimmed
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoon pine nuts

Interesting presentation of green beans with Native American flavor, leeks (ramps) and pinenuts. The sweetness of fresh green beans is enhanced by cooking them with leeks. Pine nuts are a welcome addition both for texture and flavor. Preparation Time: 25 Min
1. Bring a medium-sized pot of salted water to a boil. Meanwhile, slice the leek very thin and soak the slices in a bowl of cold water. Allow the dirt to settle before removing the leek with a small strainer without disturbing the dirt.
2. Blanch the green beans in the boiling water until very green and just tender with a slight crisp to the bite, 4 to 5 minutes.
3. Using tongs, transfer beans to a bowl of ice water to stop their cooking. Do not pour out the boiling water.
4. Bring the water back to a boil and cook the leeks for 3 minutes; drain well. Heat the butter, oil, and pine nuts together in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Keep the pan in constant motion to toast the pine nuts, about 2 minutes.
5. Stir in green beans and leeks. Cook until heated, about 4 minutes.
Season to taste with salt and pepper; serve immediately.

Both turned out quite good. We used butternut squash for the first recipe and I must say, the combination of the orange/red (squash/cranberries) is quite beautiful to behold. The green beans turned out perfectly--it's nice to have a non-mushy, non-casserole green bean experience at this time of year.

I didn't make any sweet potato pie for Thanksgiving this year because I already have 2 pies in the fridge. I will probably make one (or more) between Thanksgiving and Christmas instead...I need to eat more sweet potatoes anyway!

recycled lines, recycled moves

2009-11-25T11:40:00.000-08:00

Working with kids is a lot like working with dogs. That sounds horrible doesn't it? What I mean, though, is that for those of us who happen to have both kids and dogs in our lives, you notice that the same set of skills comes into play. One thing I've noticed is that I use a lot of the same lines at home with my dog that I use all day long at school when working with teenagers. I had a good discussion the other day about how similar working with kids is to working with dogs, so I thought it would be a good (albeit controversial) topics to write about. Here's a few examples for what I mean by "recycled lines":

"What are we doing right now...What should you being doing right now?" (off-task student, dog isn't following directions.)

"Have a seat." (self-evident)

"It's not time for X yet." (student doing wrong thing at wrong time, dog thinks it's time for something to happen (but it's not).)

"Nice try!" (student is caught doing something inappropriate, dog is caught trying to get away with something)

"You don't have to like it, but you do have to do it." (students complain when asked to do something, dog looks at me like I'm crazy when asked to do something she clearly does not want to do)

"Oops, let's try that again." (student makes a mistake/dog makes a mistake)

At their most basic, these are just basic prompts--prompts to perform a task, to get back on task, or to end futile acts of pointless resistance to a reasonable adult request (something teenagers are especially good at).

Which brings us to my next topic--recycled moves. Working with dogs and working with kids can be quite similar in many ways. What I don't mean, by the way, is that you should invest in a shock collar or a leash to use on a recalcitrant student (even though, admittedly, there are days where that can be very tempting--and you do occasionally see new items where a frustrated parent has resorted to this). What it DOES mean, is that a lot of the same "moves" that work well with children, also are effective with dogs...and vice versa.

Consider the following:

One of the most common reasons people seek training (beyond basic obedience) for their dogs, is because they are dealing with aggressive/dominance issues. So let's take a look at some of the most commonly used, but least effective techniques that people use to "curb" their pet's aggression: (these are all aversive techniques)

Ostensible Goal: to reduce or eliminate dog's unwanted dominant or aggressive behaviors

-Hitting or kicking the dog
-Yelling at/Growling at the dog
-Forcing the dog to release an item from its mouth
-“Alpha roll” (forcing the dog onto its back and holding it down)
-“Dominance down” (forcing the dog onto its side)
-Grabbing the jowls or scruff
-Staring the dog down
-Spraying the dog with water
-Yelling “no”
-Forced aversive stimulus (forcibly exposing the dog to an unpleasant stimulus)

Now, humor me for just for a moment, and let's go apply this to a parenting or teaching context:

Goal: To reduce or eliminate acting out, or gain compliance from an out-of-control child

-Hitting or kicking the child (some would add spanking to this list)
-Yelling at the child
-Forcing the child to relinquish an object
-Forcing child into a restraining position (*note there are times when this is appropriate)
-Grabbing child forcibly by arms, legs, or hair
-Staring the child down
-Spraying the child with water
-Yelling “no”
-Forced aversive stimulus (forcibly exposing the child to an unpleasant stimulus)

A good test to use when evaluating a technique is to ask yourself if you would use it on your child. As you can clearly see, most of these "techniques" are either clearly abusive in nature, or at least would be considered by reasonable people as overly-aggressive, strong-arm tactics that would rarely if ever be appropriate for daily training, disciplinary, or teaching situations (after all, parenting is basically a type of teaching that occurs in the home). The problem with some of them is that they are just downright ineffective--they don't actually "teach", they merely inspire fear--but for how long? For some strange reason, lots of people think it is okay to use these types of techniques on dogs, but if you insert the word "child" for dog, you can easily see how inappropriate most of them really are. At best, a few of these "techniques" do have their place--for extreme situations only!

There are many different types of positive (non-aversive) methods of discipline out there. Truth be told, the majority of them work just as well with dogs as they do with kids because they're not really "techniques" per se, but rather philosophical orientations towards teaching behavior in the context of relationships.

(Note that I am not referring to "permissive" philosophies, where the "solution" is to simply allow the child or dog to have and do whatever it desires in order to avoid confrontation. I am also not talking about people who treat their dogs like pampered "babies"--that's not discipline, but rather a total lack of it.)

The premise behind most positive discipline schools of thought is that certain kinds of behavior are appropriate in certain contexts, and the goal is to teach the child (or dog) how to display and perform those behaviors more independently with consistent (and ultimately) loving guidance. These non-aversive methods of discipline result in much lower need for interventions/and greatly reduced incidences of acting out in students. They also notably reduce the frequency of aggressive behaviors in dogs. Seriously.

Let's talk for a moment about what this looks like when you're training dogs:

-Using treats or rewards to train the dog to perform certain desired behaviors
-Training the dog to sit or lay down for everything it wants
-Rewarding the dog for eye contact
-Food exchange for an item in its mouth instead of forcing the item out
-Rewarding the dog for “watch me”
-"Breaking" bad habits by removing the reward for the undesired behavior (For example, a dog that jumps up on people for attention--targets turn around or leave the room whenever the dog jumps up so that jumping up on people is no longer rewarding for the dog).

Now let's move this to a teaching/parenting context:

-Using incentives or rewards to encourage child to perform certain task (note this should not be confused with bribing--it's a much more subtle art)
-Child must do the thing that "needs to be done" before getting to do a preferred activity. (The First-Then Principle: for example homework first, then videogames).
-Rewarding the child for following directions/staying focused/on-task.
-Redirection: exchanging an item you don't want the child to have for an item that is more appropriate. (Works with actions/behaviors too...instead of doing X, let's do Y)
-Eliminating inappropriate behaviors by removing the payoff/reward for the undesired behavior (An extremely simple example: Child whines and complains whenever asked to do something. Adult ignores whining and complaining and child doesn't get what he or she wants. Child realizes that whining and complaining doesn't achieve desired results--whining and complaining behavior gradually disappear because there is no longer any payoff.)

(* note that since children are much more emotionally and cognitively complex creatures than dogs, the use of Classical Behaviorism principles like "rewarding" or "extinction" techniques is a much more complex and subtle art that requires continuous skill and refinement and ingenuity. Classical behaviorist techniques, while highly effective with dogs, are sometimes overly simplistic in that they cannot always be easily applied to situations involving human behavior because human behavior involves the interaction of many more variables.)

So what about extreme cases? Whether you're working with emotionally disturbed children, or severely abused dogs, these principles still apply.

1. Start small: use incentives or rewards for each small success. Motivation theory states that too much of this sort of thing can actually be damaging in the long run (too much extrinsic motivation kills intrinsic motivation), but they're talking about average populations. When you're working with absolute beginners (who haven't experienced much if any success), you really should start with lots of praise and incentives. Later you fade out the treats/rewards when it's clear they are no longer needed.

2. No Free Lunch: One of the best techniques to teach a desired behavior is to reinforce the idea that NOTHING happens until the behavior is learned and displayed appropriately.
For example, in the case of a dog that pulls on walks, walking simply doesn't happen unless the dog stops pulling. If the dog starts pulling again, you simply stop walking--as many times as necessary to drive the message home. Eventually the dog realizes that pulling=no walking. A student example would be lining up to go to lunch. If students aren't doing it right, everyone sits back down and you do it again--as many times as it takes for them to get it right. This correlates with "Anything worth doing at all is worth doing RIGHT."

3. First-Then: Doing thing that "needs to be done" ALWAYS comes before the preferred activity.
With a dog this could look like "First bath, Then treat"; or "First--I lay down quietly, Then I get to be greeted/petted by the visitors"; or "First--I sit, then I get to eat". With students, it looks more like "First math, Then computer", or "First I clean up my table, Then the teacher dismisses me to go to recess", and so on. This is when and where "deferred gratification" is taught.

4. Redirection/Substitution: This is a way of replacing "NO!" and "Don't" with "Let's do X, instead of Y". While "No" and "Don't" are sometimes needed, they are probably the two most frequently overused words in the English language. Choice theory states that it's usually more effective to provide a choice than issue an ultimatum. "No" and "Don't" communicate that "You're in trouble, buster!" but they don't really teach alternative/better behaviors.

A dog example: The dog is carrying one of your belongings (something you definitely don't want the dog to have) in its mouth. You can either run after the dog screaming "No! No! Give it back!" meanwhile desperately tugging on the item--assuming you can catch the dog ("Ooh, a fun new keep-away game", the dog thinks)...OR you can pick up one of the dog's favorite toys, and say "Go fetch". Usually what will happen is that if the object you choose is highly motivating, the dog will immediately drop whatever is in its mouth and go after the preferred object.

With kids: Two young children are fighting over a toy. You redirect them to other toys, or a new activity entirely. Example two: a group of high school students argue about who gets to use the computer...you can either declare nobody gets to use it (removing reward), setting time limits (use of a timer), or by redirection (who wants to play UNO attack?)

5. Eliminating inappropriate behaviors by removing the payoff/reward for the undesired behavior:

Dogs: some dogs inappropriately seek attention through "demanding" behaviors--excessive whining, repeatedly climbing up in your lap, jumping, etc. A simple way to deal with that is when the dog starts demanding your attention, you become "boring" by ignoring the dog, physically turning away, even removing the dog from the room if need be. Every time. (At the same time, you need to follow up by teaching them when it's okay). Eventually they realize that there's no payoff to these "demanding" behaviors and they diminish.

With kids: Students refuse to clean up after activities, or group projects, leaving messes in the classroom for the teacher to clean up (parents-substitute "toys" here). Teacher can either tell students that in the future, items left out will disappear (for a period of time), or if students are unable to clean up after activities, the activities portion will be replaced with less exciting alternatives like more seatwork. Students learn that they are responsible for cleaning up after themselves.

Here are some very basic examples of how positive discipline techniques work in real-life scenarios. The key thing to keep in mind, is that positive discipline (or training) still requires you to be assertive (not aggressive!) for these moves to work. You have to believe in your own authority/role/status/power to expect compliance--whether you're working with kids or dogs. If you are unsure as to whether or not you have the right to expect children (or dogs) to follow your instructions, these techniques WILL NOT WORK. You have to be absolutely confident in your role (I'm the adult/leader/teacher who is in charge here) and believe that you have the right to expect your child/dog/student to follow your directions. This is not the same thing as being aggressive (do what I say or I'll hurt/punish you), or being authoritarian (I'm in charge here, do what I say or else), but rather just being absolutely certain about your responsibility to teach another person (or dog) how to be a functional member of a group.

Working with Students: Being Real

2009-11-24T21:30:00.000-08:00

Being Real: Knowing who you are (as a teacher) and what you believe comes into play quite often when you are working with challenging or difficult students. Usually, you will have to cultivate a working and productive relationship in order to be effective with these types of students. It takes a lot of work (and unfortunately the teacher is the one who does most of the work in the beginning), but ultimately it's an investment in making your time together easier and more productive.

Difficult and challenging students have the same right to an education as everyone else, but unfortunately they need the social skills development piece just as much as the academic development piece. Unless you work in a behavioral program, you may not have suspected that this was part of your job description, but even teachers in mainstream settings should be prepared to do this valuable work. After all, what's more rewarding in the end--having a positive impact on the the kids who need you the most? Or the ones who really could do it all by themselves?

However, having a positive impact on difficult students requires "being real" with both your students and yourself. No one can tell you how to be real--it's mainly about being comfortable with who you are, and being very aware of what beliefs you carry that influence your own decisions and choices. Once you have a handle on your own motivations, then you can begin focusing on your student/s motivations.

Focusing on your Students: Understanding who your student is and what motivates him or her is the next step. (Obviously we're usually talking about more than one student, but it's the kind of work that has to be done on an individual level.)

The following ideas aren't really steps, but suggestions on ways to focus on students:

1. Respect the student's unique traits (whether you consider them positive or negative). We all have the right to be who we are, and that is just as true for your student as it is for you. With challenging students, it's really easy to get caught up in the "negatives", so take some time to discover some of your student's positive traits. (A good suggestion is to pay attention to non-verbal behavior--some of the most challenging kids put up a really good "front" with a lot of verbal posturing--but if you ignore that and watch their behavior, it sends a very different message.) If you are still having trouble finding those, aim for neutral if you have to, but keep in mind the "worst" kids still have their moments where they can be quite charming. Why is this important? It's not just a mental exercise designed to make you feel warm and fuzzy, but rather an opportunity to begin the process of judging what will make YOU more effective with working with THIS person.

2. Allow students to express both their positive and negative feelings in the classroom. Although it may be frustrating at times, as a teacher, students come to school with a variety of feelings, problems, and issues--some of which are less than conducive towards learning. If the student has something they need to "get out", it's often better to let them vent, acknowledge the feelings, and move on with what you were doing. Just like the rest of us, challenging students need to have the opportunity to deal with tough feelings, and for many, school is one of the safer places in their lives to do that. The fact that a particular student is sharing his or her feelings with you actually indicates that a certain level of trust has been established. If that were not the case, the student will usually totally shut down and refuse to interact with you (keep in mind I am referring only to verbal, not physical acting-out here). The trick to keeping the balance is to teach these students how to express negative feelings in a constructive and appropriate way. (The more difficult situations arise with students who tend to express their feelings more physically through destructive behaviors--and solutions to this problem tend to be highly individual in nature, so I won't comment on them here. That's an "advanced topic").

3. Forget about any notions of who you want the student to be: Yes, it would be spectacular if all students came to school well-rested, well-adjusted, well-fed, properly clothed and bathed, without personal problems, family problems, learning disabilities, cognitive deficits, criminal records, mood disorders, and every other kind of thing under the sun, but that's not reality. Once you get past the biggies, you're still faced with the fact that each student is a unique person--and of course what works for seemingly similar students may not work at all for this one. Personalities, temperaments, and motivations all vary widely, so when working with challenging students, it pays to remind yourself from time to time to not expect the student to BE like other students--or like you (but you can and should still hold this student to relevant community norms, high expectations, and other necessary aspects of performing successfully in life). Being real means being who you are, and being accepted for that, and it's a valuable lesson for both teachers and students.

So in the end, "being real" with students is all about reflecting on who you (the teacher) are, and what you believe in, as well as being aware of who the student is, and putting those insights into practice. It is what enables you to react more effectively in difficult situations, to reach challenging students at a deeper level, and be open to changing your beliefs and practices about teaching your most difficult students.

Music Therapy and Autism

2009-11-19T10:47:00.000-08:00

As previously mentioned, this year, I am working in a Life Skills classroom where there are an unusually high number of students on the autism spectrum (including a statistically higher than average number of girls). I've noticed that many (although not all) of my students enjoy listening to music. We use music in the classroom in a variety of contexts--mostly therapeutic (to reduce anxiety/promote relaxation: we have daily yoga and a post-lunch relaxation routine). For some students though, like Bob*, music is also a motivator.

Today I found a really interesting article on the use of Music Therapy: Autism Spectrum Disorders: Music Therapy and Autism.

Managing tough transitions

2009-11-18T07:47:00.000-08:00

Mastering transitions is hard for most students, but especially so for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). For many, getting good at (or at least better at) transitions is an instructional goal in and of itself, and a major step towards the more independent functioning you're trying to encourage.

Transitions, like most processes, get smoother the more you practice and fine-tune them. And like almost everything related to classroom management, the more proactive and prepared you are (as the teacher), the easier they tend to go for students.

1. Prepare for transitions ahead of time. Before involving the student/s, have everything you need for the next activity arranged and ready to go so you won't have to waste time searching for needed items, which would disrupt the continuity of your time together. You don't want to "lose the class" while you're looking for missing items.

2. A few minutes before transitioning, observe what the students are doing. Are they still working on the previous task? Or are they ready to move on? Hopefully you are not in a rush, and have a few minutes to "get them ready" for the next activity. If your time is flexible and they are still absorbed in the previous activity, prompt them that you will be moving on soon (and give them a time limit or a visual cue such as a timer), but give them a chance to "finish" on their own. This, of course, encourages independence (always a good thing).

3. When it's time for a transition, clearly explain to students what you will be doing next. It's important to use both verbal and visual cues with students with ASDs. Using gestures and actions along with your words helps students grasp your verbal message. Through repetition of a familiar sequence of events, students will begin to associate your verbal instructions with a predictable recurring routine, and be better able to follow instructions without excessive re-prompting. When students with ASDs know what's expected and what will happen next, they are less anxious and will become more independent and proactive in managing their own transitions. That means less work for you.

4. Help students move on, if needed. If you need to "disrupt" a student who is off-task, gently remove any distracting objects or materials, while explaining what you are doing and why, and tell them you want to put things away and get ready to move on to the next thing.

5. For students who really really struggle with transitions, you may need to explain and show your student/s what you are doing, step by step. Some students need this level of assistance, but the good news is with time and practice the student WILL become more independent during transitions, and you can fade a lot of the prompting.

(For example, if you are going to the cafeteria, a verbal script might look something like this (note that it's also a good idea to have visual cues or icons to use as well if you are still in the process of teaching transitions):

"Okay Jason, now we are getting ready for lunch." (you show the student a visual schedule and the student stops working)

"Now we're going to line up." (wait for student to stand up and move towards the line)

"We're going to go to the cafeteria now." (student was "stuck" in the hallway, but continues walking in the right direction--towards the cafeteria)

"You need to stay in line". (student briefly wandered off, but returns to the line)

"What would you like for lunch?" (student is taking a long time to choose an item, the student chooses an item and moves on)...and so forth.

It sounds overly structured, but "talking students" through their tough transitions helps them cognitively "frame" what's going on and internalize the process. Eventually this leads to the student becoming able to do the transitions more independently, and you can fade the level of prompting. How long this will take depends entirely on the student...

Why I decided NOT to become a licensed SPED teacher...

2009-11-14T12:42:00.000-08:00

Due to the lack of jobs in my field, I've been working in SPED for the past couple of years (as a para, not as a licensed teacher). That means a 50% pay-cut every time I work, but I like it well enough that I often choose to do it anyway. Consequently, people are always asking me when I didn't become a SPED teacher ("You're so good at working with these kids, why don't you become a SPED teacher"). The answer, of course, is all the paperwork you have to do as a SPED teacher. I SUCK at paperwork, why on earth would I choose a job that requires more time with paperwork than any other job in the whole entire world? I'd be setting myself up for failure if I did that. Besides, doing paperwork all the time (all those IEPs) would mean I wouldn't have much time to do the thing that I actually enjoy about working in SPED: Working directly with the kids. So, no way! Not doing it! I'd rather just work with the kids and have a blast.

But don't take my word for it. Synthia McBride explains the SPED paperwork phenomenon far better than I ever could.

"Most of the paperwork I have to do as a speech-language pathologist is the result of some federal, state or local lawsuit. There can be 8 pages of documentation to justify summer school, 20 pages of documentation to develop a behavior plan, 15 pages of documentation to complete response to intervention data, then another 10 pages of documentation to open the student for a complete evaluation, 10 pages of documentation to dismiss a child from speech therapy. IEPs have gone from 2 pages to 13 pages. Upon completion of an average, non-complicated IEP review there can be a stack of over 40 pieces of paper. Completing the paperwork can involve getting dozens of people to provide data, including every 6-7 classroom teachers, the counselor, the co-ordinator, the regular education school nurse, the special education nurse, the speech-language pathologist, the O.T., the P.T, the regular education P.E. teacher, the special education P.E teacher, the school psychologist, the reading specialist, the education diagnostician,the principal, the child's physician and the parents..."

I'm sure you get the idea...even if you got lost back at the 2nd or 3rd sentence of the paragraph. SPED=Paperwork. Ick. No thank you.

Friday the 13th!

2009-11-13T07:26:00.000-08:00

Today's Friday, and not just any ol' Friday... This year's supposed to be rather unlucky because it has more Friday the 13ths than most other years. That's not something I'm worried about though because I usually have a pretty good day (while everyone else is worrying). I can't say the same thing for full-moon days in a school setting, but I digress...

It's been kind of a crazy week overall. It started off on a down note, when both me and my students came to school in a bit of a funk on Monday. I was out of school all day on Tuesday for training (glad I missed the lock-in drill...that kind of stuff makes the kids anxious). Wednesday was a day off (good day to re-group), and Thursday was pretty smooth sailing after we got through the first part of the morning. I'm thinking the week is going to end on a high note after all, and I don't have any reason in the world to believe that today isn't going to be a pretty good day.

downtime

2009-11-11T08:20:00.000-08:00

Today's a federal holiday (Veteran's Day), so school's out, and I have a day off to re-group. Yesterday, I had all-day CPI training, so I was out of school all day, except very briefly in the morning. This past Friday, was also a day off, so that's a lot of "breaks" in the regular schedule. As a result, my students have been a bit restless and squirrely, and a lot harder to manage.

Most high school students (if not their parents) love a break from school, but in Special Education, this is often not the case. Breaks for kids on the spectrum are tough (and we have a lot of students on the Autism spectrum in our room). Students with special needs tend to get a bit out of whack if you shake up their routine too much, and they're not shy about letting you know. For others, not only is school a place where predictable things happen, but also a place where basic needs get met--there are always some students don't really get fed or experience an atmosphere of safety unless they come to school. Most of our kids, even the ones who profess to dislike school, enjoy the structure and predictability that they can count on. Students with Autism tend to lack the ability to self-regulate, so they do very poorly without structure and routine (which for many is only something that happens in school).

Students in Special Ed often react to extended breaks by "punishing" us for not having school. You get a lot of regression/skills loss/acting out/sulking/etc. It's not pretty. The next few days are probably going to be a bit hairy.

Subs

2009-11-10T08:35:00.000-08:00

I've been a sub for years, and now I'm on the other side of the fence. Since I've been sick a lot this year, and am expected to do trainings as well, I've already had 5 days where I've needed to call a sub. Yikes. It's barely November!

A substitute is a mixed blessing in a classroom like ours. If you're lucky, you get someone who's fairly experienced, and knows how to work with our population of kids skillfully. Oftentimes, though, you are really just getting a little bit of extra adult supervision (which is nice--people need to eat lunch and take breaks), but unfortunately you don't usually get someone who can really do all the things you do in a normal day.

I've tried to alleviate this somewhat by putting together a really detailed subfolder, with the kind of specificity where someone could come in do most of our daily routine (in case I get someone who's a go-getter and wants to give working with a non-verbal student a go). Besides, from a sub's perspective, the day goes by a bit faster if you aren't sitting around while everyone else does the work. That can be really boring...

Low-Functioning Autism

2009-11-02T20:55:00.000-08:00

Working with Students (with Low-Functioning Autism)

These are some tips (principles) for working with students who are on the low-functioning end of the Autism spectrum. I pretty much had to learn this stuff by trial and error, since most of the readily available information on teaching students with Autism is geared towards the higher-functioning end of the spectrum. These are some basic principles that I had to arrive at on my own, so I can confirm that they are effective, but just the other day, I came across an article "Teaching Students Who Are Low-Functioning: Who Are They and What Should We Teach?" on Indiana University's Resource Center for Autism.

I've taken the liberty of adapting this material to the particulars of my own situation--working with Bob* (for instance, there's more info in the original about "behaviors", but Bob doesn't really have a lot of issues around behavior.:

1. Take lots of time to introduce and teach each new skill. Learning a new skill will take a lot of time and practice. Depending on the difficultly of the skill it may take anywhere from a few days to several weeks for the student to learn the skill and apply it consistently. Even when a skill seems mastered, the student will need to review and practice previously learned skills from time to time to ensure retention (use it or lose it).

When I'm introducing a new DT Lesson or a functional skill with Bob, I usually treat the first several sessions as "introductory" in nature. Depending on how abstract or difficult the task is, the introductory period may be a few days or a whole week. One thing I do is keep the initial introductions short. In DT, the new lesson usually comes after a review of a familiar topic (so that Bob has already had a "warm up").

Another key difference is that I use reinforcers more for "effort" at this time, not necessarily accuracy of response. When starting something new and difficult, motivation is more important than accuracy (you'll get there sooner or later). Once it becomes clear that Bob is starting to "get it", then I switch to using reinforcers for accuracy only.

2. Do not remove "supports" (particularly visual or environmental supports) when a task is mastered by the student. The student may always need certain supports to be successful at a given task. This is especially true if the support compensates for a student's motor or communication difficulties.

One of the hardest parts of working with Bob in the beginning was that I had no idea what his skill levels were, and what supports had been used in the past. Once his files turned up and I had his assessment information, I had a better idea of what he had done in the past, and what supports were being used before I arrived. Based on that information, I quickly realized for example that he would benefit from more visual supports (to facilitate transitions), and have been able to design and implement additional supports that have really helped him function more independently (fading much of the physical prompting).

3. Do not require the student to work on a single task for prolonged periods of time (a simple rule of thumb is 20-30 minutes max for the same task/sequence). It is wise to plan for small breaks throughout the day to give the student a chance to recharge between difficult tasks. Be prepared to shift activities when the student seems to be losing interest or focus (end a session while the student is still successful), and be sure to provide both easy and difficult tasks so that the student will experience both challenges and success during the sessions. A typical day should include significantly more opportunities to perform familiar tasks which promote security and positive/successful experiences, than to engage in new and challenging tasks all of the time.

I'm lucky that I work with a student who is surprisingly good at staying focused. Bob has an amazing ability to stay focused on instructional sequences for a non-verbal student with severe autism! This is good for me because we can really get a lot done during instructional episodes. But even he has his limits. Most days, I can count on anywhere between 20-30 minutes for DT. With pre-vocational skills, it varies, but sometimes he'll stay on task and focused for very long periods, on other days, 15 minutes is about the limit before he starts getting distractible.

Keep in mind that Bob is a high school student--younger children, I've noticed, do better with 5-10 minute instructional episodes, and need more frequent breaks. (I would never dream of asking a 6-year old kid in a CB classroom to do DT for 20 minutes!) For some students, just sitting still in a chair for a minute or so is an instructional goal. You have to start where your student IS. Once you have the sense for how long they can stay focused, you can gradually increase your instructional times. During instruction, it's a good idea to keep things focused on success--learning should be "fun" after all, and because it's so important, it's better to have lots of highly-successful but short session, than one long frustrating one. After all, you will be doing this EVERY DAY. If one day is a bit "off", you can always try again later.

4. Provide the student with clear information about the beginning and ending times of an activity sequence (this can be verbal/visual or both), and about the expectations and requirements of the task. To promote initiative/independence, avoid taking apart and/or redoing a task that the student perceives as "finished" (even the results are not perfect by your standards--this reduces student motivation). If additional practice is needed, intersperse it throughout the day rather than requiring sequential trial repetitions. (This is a good idea anyway, as it reduces fatigue.)

This is a very task-specific principle, and the way you apply it will look different for every student/every task. A lot of the information/cueing will be environmental in nature--that is events that occur naturally will determine what the student's response is (When X happens, you do Y).

Since I am working with a student who happens to have good receptive verbal skills, I "talk" my way through the things we are working on, using very consistent language.

Because Bob* has some fine motor skills deficits, I've had to determine what are realistic standards for "finished tasks", and how much "help" to offer. In general, I use the "close enough" principle, where consistency of effort is more important than absolute perfection. For instance, one of Bob's school jobs is to stack milk cartons on a tray in the cafeteria. Is he able to line them up correctly in neat orderly rows on the trays without assistance? Not at the present time. So instead of insisting on that, the current expectation is that the milk cartons make it onto the tray and in an upright position. Occasionally he'll make attempts to correct their position himself, so I would imagine that one day that will be something he'll be able to do himself. Do we need to get there by tomorrow? Not really, but I will certainly praise him every time he tries to do so. (Only once I take them out of sight to put them away in cold storage, do I turn them around so they all face the same direction...)

And speaking of standards, I've noticed that if a student is NOT being successful at something you KNOW they know they are able to do, there's often something going on at that moment that is interfering with their ability to perform the task (a distraction or physical discomfort). Often in this case, instead of insisting that the student "push on through" or "stay with it until they get it right", it's better to come back to the task later--even if it's just ten minutes later. Or if the problem is consistent, consider moving the instructional sequence to another time of day (the source of distraction could be related to the timing of meals or the effect of certain medications).

5. Embed communication into all aspects of the school day, and teach communication skills in their natural contexts whenever possible.

This is especially important for non-verbal students who rely on AAC systems to communicate. In order to encourage vocabulary development, you need to have "real things to talk about". Naturally this effort will begin in a clinical or classroom setting, but it should expand as soon as possible into other environments. In order to encourage the student to use their AAC system, they need communication partners and real topics. The most logical place to encourage both vocabulary development and desire to communicate is often right out there in the real world.

Practice communicating outside of the classroom when possible, and involve others (the family, the student's peers, other school personnel, people outside of school) whenever possible. The benefit is that you'll have a wider range of real communication topics, and give the student the idea that communication is not just something they do with their teacher at school!

6. Take time to teach essential skills in places and at times when skills are needed. For example, take time to teach students to put their coats on when it is time to go outside. Avoid the tendency to do essential life tasks for students while rushing to "get things done". While there are many time-based-expectations in the school setting, most are somewhat flexible and the student should be encouraged to accomplish tasks and transitions independently at his or her own pace. If time is of the essence, plan to begin transitions as early as needed, for the student to do them independently. Generally, avoid doing anything for the student what he/she can do for him/herself.

When you're working with students on the lower end of functioning, life skills or functional skills make up the bulk of the student's IEP goals and curriculum. They ARE important. Rather than view them as afterthoughts, these kinds of tasks should be viewed as the student's daily "performance-based assessments".

For these kinds of skills, mastery is critical, and accuracy is far more important than speed and efficiency. For example, would Bob get from point A to point B faster if I set the pace, held his hand, and guided him the whole way? Sure he would, but that's not in either of our bests interests. So even if it takes twice as long, I always insist that he walk on his own, at his own pace, and if he gets stuck, I wait to see if he'll get going again on his own before I do *any* prompting. The idea is to ALWAYS give the student the opportunity to do things on their own to encourage maximum independence (and reduce reliance on others).

For some tasks, the student may always need some assistance, but the level of assistance offered should be tailored to the student's strengths (and future potential to do the task independently). Maybe at this point in time, the student needs you to "start" the task, but they can finish it (or vice versa). This may eventually lead into the student gradually taking on more and more responsibility for completion of the task sequence, so you have to be on the lookout for those subtle signs of readiness.

The take home message, ultimately, is that the vast majority of students with Low-Functioning Autism should be viewed by educators as capable learners (who will make progress over time), so long as each student's individual characteristics (motivation and readiness) are taken into consideration during instructional episodes.

What progress looks like will vary considerably from student to student, but in my experience the teacher's attitude has a great deal of impact on how much progress a student will make. While there are many factors outside of teacher control, teachers DO have control over how they view and work with low-functioning students. Perception is everything here, and the teacher's attitude tends to be a self-fulfilling prophecy: if a student is viewed as incapable and helpless, then the student's outcomes will almost certainly reflect this. If the teacher encourages and models initiative, persistence, patience, and above all believes that the student is a capable learner who will make progress over time (at his or her own pace), one can expect to see those outcomes.

When in doubt, err on the side of believing in the student's abilities (it certainly won't hurt them any).

(adapted from: Pratt, C. & Stuart, R. (1997). Teaching students who are low functioning: Who are they and what should we teach. The Reporter, 2(3), 6-9.)

Teaching and the Third Trimester

2009-11-01T18:18:00.000-08:00

Should you continue teaching into the third trimester? The best answer is probably "maybe". The demands of a typical school day can be grueling enough as it is, but it becomes even harder when you're also dealing with the added distractions of swelling and aching that hits during the third trimester. Now that I'm in the midst of it, here's my thoughts about how to keep on keepin' on during the final stretch of pregnancy given the realities of the school setting and the nature of teaching.

An Ounce of Prevention...

As they say, it's easier to be proactive, than to run around putting out fires. I find this is just as true for keeping yourself going, as it is for dealing with student behavior. You'll feel much better during the third trimester if you don't allow yourself to get too tired and run down in the first place. Most of the things that make the third trimester "difficult" are also things that respond well to proactive or preventative measures.

The Standing/Sitting Dilemma

Eventually, if you haven't already, you'll come to a place where neither standing or sitting really feels comfortable. I've found the key to my own comfort is a good mix of the two. The middle ground is walking, so walking around a little bit here and there helps break things up. One thing I strongly recommend is investing in a belly band to support the bulging abdomen (this reduces the backache factor a lot), and compression socks if you're on your feet a lot and your legs tend to swell up.

Get Comfy

Now's the time to get the best chair you can get your hands on (if you haven't been forced to already). If nothing provided by the school qualifies, it's totally worth your time and money to go to an office supply place and invest in something better...Totally Worth It! If you don't want to drop a lot of cash, those used business furniture places are a good way around pesky retail prices. Plan B, for those of us who float, is to get a good seat and bring it everywhere. A good alternative to a traditional chair, by the way, is a birthing ball/exercise ball. I've spent a good bit of my third trimester sitting on one while working with students who are seated at tables. Sure they giggled about it a bit at first, but they seem to get that it helps me.

They always say you should put up your feet when you're pregnant. Well, one way to accomplish that is to put a box or something underneath your desk to prop your feet up on. Another good idea is to get some cushions or put a little pillow behind your back.

If things are really getting bad, invest in heat packs or pads. You can get these at any drug store, and boy are they a lifesaver on those days when your back really starts to let you down. The adhesive kind can even be worn unobtrusively under your clothes.

Uplift

Let's talk about lifting. Granted teaching doesn't involve the kind of lifting that say working at Fedex does, but there are times when you are called upon to do a bit of lifting...be it books, or reams of paper. If you're in Special Ed, of course, we're also talking about lifting kiddos (yes, that's part of the gig sometimes). Be smart about lifting--have someone else do it! Your students are an obvious choice. Believe it or not, it's pretty easy to talk students into helping you with physical tasks, and if you haven't discovered this already, it's time to give it a whirl. You'll never have a higher sympathy factor than you do right now... Otherwise, try sympathetic staff members, people in the athletic department, you name it. This is no time to be a superhero...generally speaking, you'll pull something if you try to lift anything that weighs much more than about 25 lbs.

You'll also notice that at some point bending over gets super annoying too. I for one have gotten less particular about stuff on the floor (in normal times, I'm downright anal about the state of the floor). At some point during pregnancy, the cost/benefit ratio of bending over to pick something up doesn't pan out. Naturally, if you must pick up something, squat, use your knees, not your back. In general, it's a good idea to just ask for help if there's someone else around. You could even turn it into a fun game with your students where the first person who picks up the thing you dropped on the floor gets a prize...yes I'm not above bribery. If that's not your style, I would also recommend investing in one of those pick-up sticks that janitors use to pick up trash on school grounds. They're amazingly dexterous and you can pick up some incredibly small items with them. They're also good for those times when students aren't around...like when you're at home.

Relax

A generally good piece of advice for anyone who's pregnant is to take breaks when you can and rest often. In the first trimester, this is obvious because you are soooo unbearably tired and feel like you're on a permanent dose of Nyquil. Then the second trimester hits, and you're feeling like superwoman again. The third trimester is a time of aches and pains as you take on amazing new proportions, so it's time to revisit the whole resting concept.

Now it goes without saying that "rest" and "teaching" don't go together in the same way that "sugar" and "students" really don't go together...at least not in an ideal universe (while I'm at it, I would also add that portable electronic devices and students don't go together, but unfortunately the world's moving in the opposite direction, but I digress).

Obviously, there's nothing terribly restful about teaching, and it's really really hard to find time to take care of yourself while coping with the demands of the profession. So rest for us teacherly types means something different (than it does for everyone else). Taking a break in this case, doesn't mean getting up and walking out of your classroom for 15 minutes (unless your students are really well-trained), but rather not attempting to work through your lunch period (something many of us are guilty of). The key here is relaxation: Listen to relaxing music, do some stretches/yoga, go outside for a few minutes, breathe...turn of the lights, take a nap. Do what you gotta do. If you can, take short naps 15-20 minute in your room, break room, or your car, if necessary. I recommend using a timer so you don't pass out.

Taking a break could also mean listening to relaxing music during your planning periods, turning off the lights for awhile, eating/drinking in class, or doing 5 minutes of yoga during passing periods. Seriously. In fact, I would strongly recommend listening to relaxing music DURING class if you're having one of "those kinda days" and need to take the stress level down a notch. It won't hurt the kids any. Neither will eating/drinking when you need to. No matter how much they may whine any other time about how unfair that is (if you have a no food/drinks rule in your classroom), you won't hear a word if you're visibly pregnant. Kids get it. Drinking water, by the way, is really good for you and your baby. The bad news is that the more water you drink, the more you'll have to pee (as if that wasn't already problematic), but it's still worth trying to do your part. If you're a thousand miles from the staff restroom, now's the time to suck it up and start using the student restroom. Hopefully you can cut out for five minutes without your students going crazy. If not, find a teacher or other staff member who has a different schedule than yours and see if they can cover your class for brief periods of time.

Also, if you haven't already taken to doing so, it's a good idea to keep food and healthy snacks on hand in your room. My appetite really went up big time in the third trimester after being totally non-existent during the first, but the catch is that its really hard to eat much at one time (during my lunch break), so I kinda have to graze throughout the day to get anywhere near meeting my nutritional needs. Things that are working really well for me are juice, baby carrots, grapes, apples/oranges, bananas, trail mix, granola bars, and cereal in a small bag that I can just reach in and nibble on. I've also discovered that the school cafeteria has a surprisingly good range of healthy (and tasty) things to eat, so that's a good option for the days I don't have my act together. If your teaching schedule doesn't coincide with the cafeteria schedule, find a trustworthy student to pick up a meal for you (you can set up a "tab" with the manager so that you don't have to send kids with money). Plan B is to train them to bring their unwanted breakfast/lunch items like juice/fruit.

It's also a good idea to get up and walk around now and then, do some stretching (you could turn it into a class routine--it's good for the kids too), and remember to move around frequently...walking is way better than standing. If your usual style is to stand in front of the room and talk while writing on the board/OHP/Elmo, now's a good time to mix it up and have a student do the writing while you walk and talk...plus this way it's easier to catch people trying to surreptitiously text under the desk.

Feelings

Some women tend to be pretty emotional throughout pregnancy. Others, like me, just get progressively crankier towards the end. One thing that will get really old is the numerous questions about when you're due/etc. By the third trimester, any sighted person will be well aware of the fact that you're pregnant. If you find yourself feeling a bit "crustacean", and get bothered easily by your students or co-workers, or parents, be sure to take a deep breath and think hard before you react verbally to a situation. Yes the kids will get on your nerves, and your co-workers will seem somewhat less charming, but it's a good idea to count to 10 before telling them what you REALLY think.

On a totally different note, it's been my experience that kids are really good about the whole thing (much better than most adults). Sure they'll have questions, but for the most part, they'll be appropriate questions (and often a better "range" of questions than you'll be getting from most adults). They'll usually go a bit easier on you, be more forgiving of you when you're having an "off day", and are generally pretty supportive, if not downright considerate/solicitous. Some of my "toughest" students have also been the first in line to volunteer to help me carry stuff and do me favors (it's really cute). My only piece of advice is to keep your students in the loop (in terms of when you think you'll be leaving and if/when you expect to be back... there's no point in being overly mysterious about it.)

Dress Comfortably

Now's the time to say goodbye to anything in your wardrobe that doesn't fit quite right anymore--that's one less irritation you'll have to deal with during a time that's probably going to be chock full of irritations. The key to the third trimester is loose, non-restrictive, clothing that breathes (most people tend to be a bit "warmer" in the third trimester--it's kinda like having a free heater in your abdomen). Wear the most comfortable shoes you can get away with in your setting. I live in Oregon, so it's pretty casual--people wear sandals to white-collar corporate jobs every day of the week. Anything that doesn't contribute to your comfort will just make the whole third trimester-experience more taxing than it needs to be, so say goodbye to anything that's more fashionable than functional for awhile. Your feet, back, and legs will thank you.

Be Nice to Yourself

The most important thing to remember is that it's okay to take time off if you're sick, or just feeling overwhelmed. A job like teaching can be really stressful, and the weekend isn't long enough to undo the damage. As a teacher, you are on the go all week, and probably trying to pack all your unfinished business into the weekend. You don't want to wind up stressed out and overwhelmed---not only is it bad for you, but it's also bad for the growth and development of your captive audience--the baby. Even if you're the type who works even though you're sick, this is a time where you have permission not to be that person. Your immune system is already in a reduced state by virtue of pregnancy, anything you get will hang on longer, and this is a good time in your life to learn to let go of things. Is having a sub ideal? No, but chances are pretty good that life will go on. This is a good time to learn this lesson--since there's a lot of things you have to let go of when you have an infant to tend to.

Being Prepared

Be prepared for the inevitable as well as the unexpected. If you're due date falls during the school year, obviously you'll have a sub. If the baby comes early, you'll need to be ready for that too. At a bare minimum, you'll need to make a good subfolder, and start planning lessons for maternity leave. Some principals require you to submit plans for the entire period you'll be gone before you leave (if that's you, I'm so sorry). If you can, start "shopping" for a sub. If you get in the habit of leaving the room ready with your stuff out where it can be easily found and handled if you're not there tomorrow, then you'll feel a lot better and less anxious about the whole thing.

Scheduling issues

You can minimize the disruption of prenatal appointments if you schedule all (or as many as possible) for the late afternoon (or after school) so you can just go home and chill afterward instead of going back to work. Plus this will get you out of some after-school meetings, at a time in your life where you may not really be in the mood for these obligations anyway.

When to throw in the towel

If you can, go with how you're feeling, as opposed to setting a certain date when you'll leave work. Unfortunately, that's a tough call to make at the time when you're filling out your leave paperwork, since you're required to give a minimum of 30 days notice to Human Resources.

The problem, in a nutshell is this--you're damned if you do, and damned if you don't. If you leave too soon, you might get totally bored and antsy sitting around the house. You also risk using up paid sick/vacation time that you might want later. On the other hand, if you're having a lot of complications or overwork yourself in those last few weeks, you'll be exhausted and stressed by the time the baby arrives.

When to quit working is a highly individual thing. I personally don't like lying around the house, and prefer having the structure and distractions of a typical school day to help me forget for at least 8 hours a day that I'm pregnant, so I'm planning on working until the bitter end. I find that it's a lot harder to get caught up with focusing on my own discomforts if I stay busy and involved, so I like working, even on those days when I'm not feeling great. Granted things really do get more taxing/painful during the third trimester. I've found that when something new hits, often my body will adjust and compensate in a few days. If you're feeling like you've hit the end of your rope, but aren't sure if you need to stop working, give it 48 hours. If you still feel like you can't do it anymore, then go ahead and get a doctor's note, and check out.

Friday randomness

2009-10-30T09:02:00.000-07:00

1.What was the last thing you put in your mouth?
a banana!

2.Where was your last photo taken?
At our class Halloween party. I was wearing a royal blue salwar kameez, one of the few things I own that actually looks good on a pregnant woman.

3.Can you play Guitar Hero?
No, I never have.

4.Name someone who made you laugh today?
My students make me laugh every day, but since we were at a huge multi-school Halloween dance, I saw some really funny and heart-warming things.

5. How late did you stay up last night and why?
I may have made it to 9pm, but I doubt it. I was really tired after the party (no surprise).

6. If you could move somewhere else, would you?
I wouldn't mind going back to Ashland, but other than that, I'm good where I am.

7. Ever been kissed under fireworks?
Possibly, but I don't know for sure.

8. Which of your friends lives closest to you?
Stan and Siobhan.

9. Do you believe ex's can be friends?
Maybe, but I'm not the type who *wants* to be friends with exes.

10. How do you feel about Dr Pepper?
It's one of the very few sodas I'll drink.

11. When was the last time you cried really hard?
I woke up crying last night from an intense dream--you have a lot of really intense dreams when you're pregnant.

13. Who was the last person you took a picture of?
One of my students--I took a ton of pictures at our class party.

14. Was yesterday better than today?
No, I actually think today was the smoother day, even with an off-campus event. We weren't short-staffed, for one, and for some reason the kids always behave really well on field trips.

15. Can you live a day without TV?
If I weren't married, I doubt I'd have one. Unfortunately boys rarely feel the same way.

16. Are you upset about anything?
No, I am actually pretty content, in spite of all the craziness going on around me.

17. Do you think relationships are ever really worth it?
I'm in a very good one, so I'd have to say yes. Even the bad ones though, have a purpose in that they teach you some valuable lessons either about human behavior in general, or yourself.

18. Are you a bad influence?
Probably. I'm too irreverent to be a good influence.

19. Night out or night in?
Definitely in, most of the time, and especially right now. I can only manage "guest appearances" at the moment. Anything else is too taxing.

20. What items could you not go without during the day?
If it's a workday: Keys, PECs folder, binder, nitrile gloves, and my thermos.
If it's a weekend: Keys, jacket, wallet, tissue, and phone

22. What does the last text message in your inbox say?
Happy Halloween from Shauna.

23. How do you feel about your life right now?
It's pretty good overall, with just a few rough patches to keep things interesting.

24. Do you hate anyone?
No, but I feel sorry for the people I know who I think needlessly make life more difficult for themselves than it has to be.

26. Say you were given a drug test right now, would you pass?
You betcha! I'm totally straight-edge these days because I'm busily gestating, and due to my line of work, I take developmental disorders VERY seriously.

27. Has anyone ever called you perfect before?
No, I think that would utterly confuse me.

28. What song is stuck in your head?
I had the YMCA stuck in my head for awhile after the dance.

29. Someone knocks on your window at 2:00 a.m., who do you want it to be?
Eva!

30. Wanna have grandkids before you’re 50?
No way, Jose! I'm not an advocate of having kids while you're young...there's a lot of things you should probably do in your own life first before you tie yourself down like that. Plus, I think you have more to offer as a parent once you've done some growing up yourself.

31. Name something you have to do tomorrow?
Everything's optional.

32. Do you think too much or too little?
Way too much.

33. Do you smile a lot?
Not really, but I'm happy on the inside.

sick, tired, pregnant, how I'm dealing with it...

2009-10-25T12:13:00.000-07:00

October's usually a tough month for me during normal times. Don't know why it has to be this way, but there's usually some random crazy hectic stuff going on, the kids at school always start showing their true colors around this time, and I always get my first illness(es) of the cold season. This year's no exception.

Working in a school, of course, I'm gonna get sick. It's totally a given. It's as inevitable as the return of the rains in fall. In normal times, I don't have much of an immune system to work with. Now that's I'm pregnant, it's non-existent. I spent most of the first trimester fighting off viruses, and it looks like I'll be spending most of the third trimester doing the same thing. Uggh.

Normally I can at least take refuge in things like Nyquil and Sudafed, but now that I'm pregnant, those panaceas are utterly unavailable to me. Sadly, my choices are limited to the following (wussy) options: antihistamines (but since it's not an allergy problem, I don't see how antihistamines would help me very much, although Benadryl makes a great sleep inducer), guaifenesin (Mucinex), and Tylenol. And that's it. I generally don't find any of these particularly useful except guaifenesin. I can't even have any of my favorite herbal cold teas, because apparently, those too, are off-limits during pregnancy (the culprit appears to be licorice root). Bleh.

Since I've already been sick TWICE already this year, this has been my self-care routine:

- Drink lots of fluids. I drink insane amounts of water at work. (I'm actually better at staying hydrated at work, probably because I talk more at work than I do at home). Because I work in an old building with lead pipes, I have to bring any water I plan on drinking from home. I also bring a thermos of peppermint tea and sip on that all afternoon. At home, I can also do hot water with lemon, or lemon-ginger-echinacaea juice (Knudsen's), and eat lots of soup. Fluids also make a decent cough suppressant, so as long as I keep drinking, I don't end up in situation where I'm having to pop 20 cough drops a day just to stifle the urge. (I don't recommend this move to most certified teachers unless you have more than one adult in the room because what goes in, must come out. I'm doing a classified job and work in a room with anywhere from 2-4 adults present, so I can get away with a few extra trips to the bathroom when I need them).

-Saline Nose Rinse: I'm the kind of person who gets sinus infections with almost every cold, so thankfully, a kindly doctor clued me into the wonders of nasal irrigation. Nasal irrigation is an extremely simple intervention that helps prevent sinus infections from developing (all it involves is flushing the nasal passages with a salt-water solution, clearing out all those annoying germs, allergens, and mucus). For those of us who are prone to chronic sinus infections, it's a great way to cut out the potential need for antibiotics (a good goal for any pregnant woman). It's a lot easier, safer, and more pleasant than nasal nose sprays, and doesn't require much in the way of thought or effort.

- Eat better! I do better if I'm not eating a bunch of crap, and it's been surprisingly easy to do this in a school setting. Thankfully, there isn't much of a culture of bringing lots of junk food into the staff lounge at school, so there's not much temptation. The other day, I forgot my usual lunch and actually got a really nice one in the school cafeteria. You'd be amazed at the options available in some school cafeterias that I've worked in...

- Rest. I've gotten way more in touch with the whole concept of taking it easy since becoming pregnant. Whenever I'm sick though, I'll take it to the next level, and feel no shame whatsoever if I need to climb in bed at 7pm.

- Suck on cough drops, but within reason. You have to be careful with the kind that contain zinc or other substances you may not want to go nuts with during pregnancy. I don't bother getting anything fancy though because as far as I can tell, nothing honestly works any better than hard candy. You could probably get the exact same impact with jolly ranchers or lollypops as with Hall's Medicated Whatnots. I just pick up a few packages of something I like the flavor of that's on sale, and go with it.

- Vit C (in other words, Emergen-C): They're always coming out with some study that says that taking Vitamin C doesn't have much of an effect on colds, but I figure that it's a conspiracy perpetuated by drug manufacturers. If nothing else, Vitamin C is one of those things that I figure can't hurt, but might help. After all, how many of us are really doing so great in getting enough nutrients? Especially if you're sharing yours with a fetus? I say, go ahead--if nothing else, there's always the placebo effect. You have to be careful with Vit. C if you're at risk for miscarriages or still in the first trimester, but other than that, apparently 1000 mg. of Vit. C won't hurt you (or most babies in utero), and some practitioners say more is fine. Emergen-C is a part of my morning routine, and that's that.

- Probiotics: Some people swear that probiotics boost your immune system, and keep you from getting run down and sick, and there's more than a few studies and plenty of yogurt commercials that claim to do just that. I'm not sure how convinced I am that some mass-marketed-heavily-sugarred-dairy product is gonna keep me from getting whatever crud the kids bring to school, but I am convinced that calcium and protein are ends in and of themselves, so I'm quite the fan of cultured dairy products. (If you're serious about using probiotics for a specific health issue, it pays to do some research, since different strains are useful for different problems).

- Vitamin D (if you're pregnant, and taking prenatal vitamins, you should be getting enough of this in your prenatal vitamin, and shouldn't need to supplement it any further). In general, though, I've noticed that when it's sunny out and I'm sick, it feels good to go outside for a little while and be out in it.

Working with students with Autism

2009-10-25T11:33:00.000-07:00

Working with students on the Autism spectrum in school settings is often portrayed as difficult and challenging. There are moments when this is definitely the case, but overall I don't find it necessarily any harder than working with other kinds of students (including the so-called "normal" kids that we herd together in mainstream classes). Like most things in life, it's a subjective experience, and something you find that you either enjoy doing, or don't. Personally it's something that works just fine for me. I didn't have any direct experience whatsoever with kids on the spectrum, until I started subbing in Special Education, but as it turns out, all the experience in the world only serves to show that whatever knowledge you happen to have about a particular student really only applies to THAT individual.

Autism is a very individual experience. Many kids on the Autism spectrum have some sort of vague similarities (that express themselves under the umbrella of Autism), but each student has his or her own particular blend of behaviors and quirks, so you are doing some *very* individualized instruction when you are teaching students with ASDs. This is definitely not a one-size-fits-all group.

Overall, I don't find working with students with ASDs to be terribly difficult. It does require certain personal characteristics (that I just happen to have in abundance).

For one, working with students who have Autism is an exercise in learning to NOT take things personally. A particular student's behavior may or may not be within your--or their--control. Unless you know a particular student VERY well, you may have no idea what has set them off. If you're going to work with this population, you have to be very flexible and patient--because quite frankly nothing else works. There's no sense in you both being frustrated. No matter how inconveniently-timed, the storms will always pass, and the student will get back on track eventually. Then when the student is calm, you can try again. You'll have good days, and bad days. You just have to be ready to roll with it.

Another key requirement in working with students with ASDs is persistence. You have to really persevere to introduce novelty, teach new habits/routines, and introduce unfamiliar procedures into the life of a student who would naturally prefer sameness, predictability, and familiarity. You may have to repeat things a hundred times, introduce and reintroduce a topic, and be willing to persevere when the student's desire for "business as usual" is holding them back from making progress. You also have to be able to do this in a way that is gentle yet firm, respectful of the student's abilities and readiness, and in a way that the student will eventually come to accept. No matter how slow progress may seem at times, you have to be willing to keep trucking on because if you stay with it, there IS always progress.

Another useful trait is the ability to observe students closely. Observation will tell you a great deal about a student's preferences, strengths, and motivations. Once you know what these are, you can use your insights to better reach (and teach) the student/s you are working with. This is true for all kinds of students, but students with ASDs, in particular, respond especially well to instructors who have reached a certain level of attunement with them. Once you figure out your student/s, a lot of things just fall right into place.

Another requirement for working with students with ASDs is behavioral and emotional consistency (yours). It's no surprise that the same kids who thrive on structure and predictability, would also need this from their instructors. The key thing here is being able to suspend your emotional reactions to student behavior (frustration/annoyance/anger) so you can respond neutrally during frustrating episodes. In other words, if the student is having a meltdown, you should be available, but calm and decisive. Another thing you should be able to do is communicate behavioral expectations logically (preferably in advance if you anticipate a challenging event is on the horizon), and being able to respond to students' behaviors consistently. In other words, if a student is frustrated, let them calm down, but then insist they get back to the business at hand once they've recovered. (You don't want students developing a pattern of getting their way through negative behaviors).

Working with students on the Autism spectrum in a school setting is usually fairly straightforward, as school is a very structured setting, and there are tons of useful instructional strategies and methods that have been developed for this population. The trick is figuring out which ones work best with your particular student/s. The good news is that many of these are effective with with a wide variety of students with ASDs, even though a student's specific symptoms tend to be highly individual in nature.

Based on my own experience working with students on the Autism spectrum in school settings (from low to high functioning), here's the strategies and techniques I have found useful across a broad range of abilities and needs:

* Using pictures in place of verbiage, or as an organizational tool. With most students on the spectrum, seeing is believing. Visual prompts often achieve what words will not. Visual schedules, labeling, color coding, and other types of visual cues will help students adjust to and organize their environment more efficiently and function much more independently in school (and other) settings. For higher functioning students, lists (charts, or checklists) works wonders. A lot of mainstream teachers who have students with Aspergers or High-Functioning Autism in their classrooms don't realize how much these students are missing because they use far too much verbiage when delivering instruction/directions/feedback. When it comes to talking, less is definitely more.

* Providing environmental consistency. Routines are a big part of this. Having a predictable instructional sequence gives students with ASDs the predictability they crave in a school setting. When students with ASDs know what is going to happen and when, they are much more successful and independent. Another suggestion is to use clearly defined working environments for each instructional activity or episode. Needless to say, disorganized or chaotic environments make it much harder for a student with Autism to be successful in a school setting. You can eliminate a great deal of behaviors (frustration/acting out) simply by adding more structure and predictability to the student's school experience. At times when that isn't possible (assemblies, fieldtrips, parties, and other non-structured school activities), it's a good idea to forewarn the student and give him or her the chance to opt out, or provide the tools for the student to participate more successfully.

* Reducing or eliminating extraneous environmental stimuli. This can be done in a variety of ways: lower lighting levels, use of some incandescent lighting in the classroom, noise reduction measures, noise-cancelling headphones, visual screens/partitions, etc. These fairly simple strategies can go a long way towards increasing attention/concentration.

* Adding sensory stimuli. Some kids actually perform better and focus on tasks longer if their need for additional sensory stimulus is considered and planned for. There are many ways to provide non-distracting or relatively unobtrusive outlets for students to meet their need for additional sensory stimulation while at school. This tends to be a highly individual preference, but I have found there are a wide range of "fidgets" that many children enjoy. Other possibilities include lap weights or comfort objects. These can be used as an incentive or motivation tool as well.

* Providing a flexible learning environment to meet individual needs: in other words, not expecting the student with Autism to have the same needs/motivations as other students. As long as the task is getting done, it's a good idea to let go of the need for the student to behave/perform like other students. My policy is if it's not harming anyone, or interfering with the educational process, I'm not going to make a big deal out of a particular student's quirks or work habits. If a student insists on standing at the back counter while taking tests, turns around twice before leaving the room, does all written work in colored pen, or likes to read sitting on the floor, I'm fine with that. As long as it doesn't affect classroom performance, or create a safety hazard, it's not worth fighting over.

Basically put, working with students with Autism isn't especially difficult or complicated, it just requires a lot of patience and flexibility. I personally find it rewarding because I enjoy the eccentricities of my students, enjoy their unique perspectives and observations about the world, and don't get bent out of shape if someone's having an off day.

ugggh

2009-10-22T20:23:00.000-07:00

This has been one of the worst weeks I can remember in a long time. I've been feeling lousy in a very third-trimester sort of way, Brian's in bad shape (I'm about sick of driving to the doctor), almost everyone around me is sick, and blah blah blah.

hiccups

2009-10-21T17:59:00.000-07:00

One of the many things people have been asking me if I've been feeling any hiccups yet. Up to now, I can't say that I've noticed anything, but it finally happened the other day.

My main question was why on earth would a baby be hiccuping, and how would I be able to tell it was happening? Well, as it turns out, it's actually pretty obvious. You will suddenly feel a steady rhythmic movement (kinda like a pulse), and voila, that's what's happening. Apparently, many babies have the hiccups while they are in the womb. So far it is just happening once in awhile (not necessarily every day), but there's been days where it happens multiple times per day.

According to an article I read, "only more mature fetuses hiccup in the womb because their central nervous system is adequately developed in order to allow this to happen. It is believed that the fetus breathes in amniotic fluid or drinks it. When this happens and the amniotic fluid enters and exists the fetus lungs then the diaphragm contracts and hiccups results". Interesting.

For me, at any rate, it's just another source of entertainment.

Unscheduled

2009-10-14T17:25:00.000-07:00

Wednesdays are normally pretty random due to the late opening, but even more so when you impose a testing schedule into the mix. Having two staff members gone amped the craziness level up a notch, so I spent most of the afternoon making executive decisions and treading water. There were definitely times where I felt as dazed and confused as the kids. The good news is that tomorrow should be pretty similar.

Assessing one's practices

2009-10-09T16:59:00.000-07:00

In honor of statewide inservice day, I'm doing a reflection on my teaching practices:

2. I welcome students to my classroom on a daily basis by greeting them as they enter.

Yep--and since I meet them at the bus, I greet them before they even get inside the building. A few like to hang out with me until everyone has arrived, so I usually get a chance to ask them how they're feeling/what they did over the weekend/etc.

5. I have been trained to utilize the district's curriculum.

Not really. I've done a lot of self-study in the areas where I perceive a need to improve my own instructional effectiveness. There's a lot of training opportunities coming up though, so we'll see what happens.

7. The administrative staff frequently conducts walk throughs in my classroom.

No way! You almost never see admin in a SPED classroom. Either because of confidentiality issues, or because nobody ever thinks to wonder what we do all day. ;)

9. I receive constructive feedback concerning my classroom instruction.

Yes, usually. Several times a week on average. Either from other staff members, or sometimes students.

10. My curriculum, instruction, and assessment are aligned.

Yes, they pretty much have to be since progress and mastery is the sole determiner for whether or not it's worth moving forward in a new direction. If the student doesn't understand the concept, we DO NOT move forward...I go back a step and re-teach.

13. I use data to target individual student instructional needs including reteaching.

Yes, but for the most part, it's based on informal assessment (observation).

15. I have an opportunity to provide input into what staff development will be provided.

No. And boy do I wish someone would ask me. I have lots of ideas.

16. My students have access to adequate instructional materials and resources.

Usually. Although I often like to improvise and make my own because they're more specific to the goals we're working on.

21. I plan lessons so that they are relevant to the student.

Oh yes. It's especially important for the things I'm working on right now...we're at the beginning stages of AAC, so student-perceived relevance is absolutely critical.

22. I tie lessons to real world problems.

Yes, it's always been a preference before, but especially now that functional goals have such strong importance.

25. Activities in my class are "hands-on" and engaging.

As much as humanly possible.

26. I have discipline problems and/or problems with classroom management.

A few--I work with students who have difficult behaviors and need explicit social skills training, so to some extent, I have to constantly evaluate and re-evaluate on whether or not my interactions are helping a student or not.

27. When asked, students will say my class is boring.

I doubt it.

28. I have classroom procedures that are clearly communicated and taught.

Yes, routines are very important, and I spend a lot of time explicitly explaining expectations and procedures to the students I work with.

31. I use data from assessments to drive instructional decisions.

Definitely.

36. I communicate with parents or guardians of all my students.

In my current role, that's not something I'm supposed to do, but there are definitely times I wish I could.

Encounters with Autism

2009-10-09T08:51:00.000-07:00

Yet another reflection on what I do, why I'm doing it, and what I think about it.

In any given year, what is the average number of students with an Autism Spectrum Disorder in your classroom?

It totally depends on the setting. If I'm working in mainstream classes, 0-1. If I'm working in Special Ed, it can be anywhere from a single student to the entire classroom (especially when I'm working for the district that has highly specialized programs for Autism). Over time, I've observed that often, there's at least one student in at least one of my classes that is somewhere on the spectrum.

For the current academic year, please indicate the total number of students with an Autism Spectrum Disorder in your classroom:

The vast majority of students in my classroom have ASDs.

What is the typical setting in which students with Autism Spectrum Disorders reside in your school?

It depends on the severity of the impact. Kids who are high-functioning (or Asperger's) mostly attend mainstream classes with some pull-out time to work with specialists. Moderate to severe kids tend to be in self-contained classrooms with partial mainstreaming where appropriate. The most profoundly affected students spend their entire day in self-contained classrooms.

Please indicate the frequency with which you consult with the following professionals in reference to your students with Autism Spectrum Disorders:

I mainly work with the speech & language pathologist, and occasionally the
occupational/physical therapist. Occasionally there's consulting visits with other personnel like social workers/case managers, or autism specialists from regional service providers.

Do you feel that you have the KNOWLEDGE BASE required to effectively teach a student with an Autism Spectrum Disorder?

For the most part, and I'm mainly referring to the higher end of the spectrum. I've got a lot of general experience working with students with ASDs which comes in handy much of the time. I would like more training in some of the specific interventions that are commonly used. The main thing about working with individuals with ASDs that I've learned is that there's a basic set of moves that works well with most kids, but a huge area where individual differences require a bit more "self-study" to figure out what will work best with a particular individual.

Do you feel that you have the TECHNICAL SKILLS required to effectively teach a student with an Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Not necessarily. I'd love more training in ABA methodologies and in the area of AACs.

OUTSIDE OF YOUR CURRENT OCCUPATION, do you have any personal experiences with autism, including previous employment, current part-time employment, or personal relationships?

Surprisingly I didn't have any personal experiences with Autism before I got into teaching, but I have worked with a couple of students on the spectrum before I completed my licensure program.

Have you received any FORMAL autism-specific education or training?

I've attended some trainings/seminars. Most of what I know is the result of self-study (when I'm searching for the answer to a specific problem or need).

Please indicate the instructional priorities for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders currently in your classroom:

It's totally driven by the student's IEP (his or her particular needs). Most of our students are working on a mix of academics, language/communication goals, social skills, functional/adaptive skills, behavioral interventions, and vocational skills. The student I work with most intensively has pre-vocational, functional living, and communications goals.

What are your TOP FIVE recommended treatments for students with an Autism Spectrum Disorder?

1. Communication options for minimally verbal or non-verbal students: Sign language, Picture Exchange Communication System (PECS), Augmentative communication, etc. (the inability to communicate drives a lot of the most difficult behaviors you see with ASDs).

2. Social skills: Video modeling, Social Stories (good for both social skills and literacy), Social skills groups (a way to "practice" learning and using new behaviors in a safe space).

3. Speech & language therapy: most kids with ASDs need this to some extent

4. Vocational training: even most higher functioning individuals will need help in this area.

5. The selection of a specific instructional program/method that is geared towards the needs of students with Autism (Intensive Behavioral Intervention, Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA), Discrete Trial Training (DTT)).

24. In terms of CLASSROOM SUPPORT, specific to your students with Autism Spectrum Disorders, what is your greatest need?

The two things I often want more of for myself is additional training (preferably offered outside of the regular school day so I don't have to take time off), and a bit of quality time with the autism specialist. Another item for my wish list is greater parent support of the strategies we teach and use at school. If the students were using the strategies at home or in community settings (as well as at school), the rate of progress would probably be unbelievable!

In terms of autism-specific EDUCATION AND TRAINING, which topic areas are of greatest interest?

1. Recommended educational treatments for students with Autism Spectrum Disorders
2. Hands-on behavior intervention techniques, management strategies for dealing with disruptive or maladaptive behaviors
3. Communicating more effectively with students with Autism Spectrum Disorders
4. Social skills - joint attention, imitation, initiation, self-management, perspective taking...

In some of these areas, I would prefer actual hands-on training. In others, access to high-quality reading material would probably suffice.

Please indicate the greatest difficulties in terms of the inclusion of students with Autism Spectrum Disorders in the mainstream/general education classroom:

1. The need for one-to-one instruction or management for certain students, and not really having the staffing levels to do this.

2. A mainstream classroom environment that accepts and facilitates the proactive management of disruptive or maladaptive behaviors (in other words, a room with a plan).

3. The students' cognitive issues/the degree of severity of the children’s Autism Spectrum Disorder, which can make it difficult for inclusion in a mainstream classroom.

4. A total lack of autism-specific knowledge and teaching strategies by the majority of mainstream educators. The biggest sin here is that most teachers talk way too much... Most students with ASDs can't take in tons of verbal information, but most teachers deliver their instruction this way, making it less likely that students with ASDs will be successful in the classroom.

The name thing

2009-10-08T09:26:00.000-07:00

(Warning-a very opinionated post, may be offensive to some)

A lot of things about pregnancy in our culture strike me as rather weird. It seems to me that the general trend in our culture is for people go to great lengths to find out the gender of their baby as early as possible, and settle on a name pretty early on. I'm pretty sure this explains the tons of "name polls" you always see on pregnancy websites, and all those posts from expecting mothers wanting the opinions of complete strangers about what name they should choose for their unborn child.

I personally find the whole thing a bit bizarre, but then again, I feel very differently about gender and identity than most people in our society. Part of me is superstitious enough to be wary or at the very least reluctant to start calling a baby by their intended name while they're still growing and changing in the womb. I don't really like the idea of "naming" or even "labeling" my unborn child a great deal until they're here, safe and sound (hence the nickname, Sprout).

I'm not really that big of a fan of the whole "naming" thing at all--but the Health Department pretty much insists that you put something on the birth certificate at the moment of your child's birth. (Sure you could go off and have your baby in the woods, and tell nobody, but good luck getting anything done in a society that revolves around government-issued photo ID). I personally would prefer to take my time and get to know my baby first, before having to name him or her. I'm sure the whole world thinks I'm crazy, but I don't think you can really know what fits until the baby arrives. I personally would rather wait awhile and let my kiddo's personality and self-hood emerge a bit first before slapping any labels on such a malleable little spirit. If it were up to me, I wouldn't impose anything until later on--maybe have a naming-ceremony at the first birthday or something.

Some people, no doubt, are planning on naming their children after beloved relatives, but I'm not in this camp. As much as I love and admire my forebearers, I also think it's important to go through life with your own identity, and without a lot of built-in expectations to live up to.

Another thing, is that sometimes a name "feels right" for one person, but definitely not another. We all know living examples of people who look like they were meant to have a certain name--whereas others walk around with names that don't suit them in the least. I see this a lot with kids in school. Just because I like certain names, doesn't mean they make sense for my particular child.

Some people say that they choose a name early on in order to start relating to their unborn child, but I don't really feel like I need a mnemonic device to help with that. For one, it's pretty hard for me to forget I'm pregnant most of the time, so I don't need any help making it feel more real (maybe this is more of an issue for male partners?). For another, I have always felt rather "connected" to the small presence stirring around in my womb, but have never felt the need to "name" it. To me, it's almost like trying to name God. After all, we are talking about powerful life forces at work here.

Some people have kind of the opposite experience and say their connection with their unborn children is so strong that the child "told" them what they want to be called, but I've never had this experience, and can't speak to it. Yes, we'll be spending nine months in this incredibly intimate bodily relationship (after all, how many people do you typically share a circulatory and digestive system with over the course of your life?) but I am pretty well aware that I'll know my child in an entirely different way (one more based on shared experiences) after he or she is born.

Names. Love them or hate them, I guess you can't live without them. But for the time being, I'd be perfectly happy to. Like most things in life, I'd prefer to wait and see what happens before jumping to conclusions...

The Absence Relapse Phenomenon

2009-10-06T09:05:00.000-07:00

I love my job (working with a Non-Verbal student) but there is one serious downside to doing this kind of work--those inevitable absences (and their impact). Not his--mine.

Hardly a school year has ever gone by when somewhere around October, I come down with whatever crud the kids seem to have. You'd think by now I'd have some immunity built up to this sort of thing--but no. I get it every time. I'm also supposed to be doing some trainings (which of course only tend to happen during the regular school day). Lovely.

Last week, I was out for two days (with the plague), and boy the aftermath that was waiting wasn't pretty. As you might suspect, what I'm dealing with is one of the inevitable traits of Autism--severe dislike of any changes in a routine. Two days of subs is definitely a change in routine...and as a sub, I know full well how kids normally act in this situation (even neurotypical kids have a hard time coping with changes like having a sub for a few days, much less our students with ASDs for whom any change in the "way things are" is devastating). As a sub, I often saw kids who weren't at their best, and knew not to take things personally when they weren't optimal. What I'm talking about here, though, isn't just some off-behavior, but rather an almost total regression.

When I left, school had been on for about a month and Bob* was making tons of progress, and I was very pleased how well he was going through the day and transitioning a lot more independently, and I felt really good about where we were going with things. Now a lot of that progress will have to built back up--it's almost back to square one in many respects. We're going to have to go back a few steps...

The teacher's absence may or may not make the heart grow fonder, but it sure shakes up the world of students with ASDs. These guys need continuity like the rest of us need air to keep on breathing. It's a funny thing--a lot of kids on the spectrum appear very detached/uninterested in the people around them (to the casual observer), but if you pay attention and know what you're looking for, it's pretty obvious that your students miss you when you're gone.

GTT

2009-10-02T17:01:00.000-07:00

Ugggh. I wasn't looking forward to it, but week 28 was looming large, and it was time for the ol' Glucose Tolerance Test. The GTT is basically painless (unless you still have some remaining squeamishness about having your blood drawn--mine is basically gone at this point, having had it done so many times in the past year). Then, somehow, this is supposed to tell everyone whether or not you have gestational diabetes. In my case, the whole thing seems pretty pointless--I don't have any of the risk factors, but whatever...

My issue with the GTT is the part where I have to rush over to the lab straight after work and drink an ungodly amount of sweet orange liquid. I don't drink sodas in normal times, so it's a bit of shock to the system. I knew I would feel terrible afterward, so I arranged the whole thing so I would have a ride home after it was over.

Glucola tastes a bit like this Chinese brand of soda I remember having once--a bit like an overly sweet Sunkist, only totally uncarbonated, and teeth-curling sweet. Ick. The ironic thing is that I did it on the same day I came down with my first cold, so the orange liquid actually was actually very soothing to my throat, which was a bit inflamed at the time. The hardest part is sitting around for an hour. I was too tired to read the book I brought with me (an obvious time-killer), yet not comfortable enough to take a honest nap, so I just laid there on the couch and stared at the ceiling as the time crept slowly by. I was never so happy in my life to have my blood drawn and to get the heck out of there.

More fun with PECs

2009-10-01T14:20:00.000-07:00

As mentioned in previous posts, I'm working with a non-verbal student named Bob* who seems to be showing some readiness for using PECs to make requests and indicate choices. This is such an exciting development that I've been practicing with him a bit during lunch (and occasionally at other times, as "teachable moments" reveal themselves).

Lunch, of course, is an ideal time to practice using PECs to initiate requests and indicate choices. I've made it part of my routine to carry my PECs stash with me to the cafeteria (I've got one of those coupon organizers stuffed full of food-related items) and it goes with me when we take everyone down to the cafeteria for lunch. We're not to the point where he can use them to indicate choices while we're actually going through the line (at this point, I still have to use my best judgment and pick out something for him to eat), but when we hit the salad bar, I have a whole range of items that we can practice requests with.

Once Bob eats the main course, I whip out the cards. For example, I've got one with a picture of a milk carton (so he can ask me to open his milk carton for him--something he needs help with). I've got several pictures of common salad bar items. I arrange them off to the side, and will hand him something if he points at the picture of it. He's starting to figure this out how this works. The other day, he was really hungry, and very receptive, and I happened to have several types of fruit and vegetables to practice with. For example, he really likes cherry tomatoes, so I got him a few. When he ate those, I asked him if he wanted more. He pointed at the card, so I went back and got him some more. When he ate those, he pointed at the card again, so I got him some more (I'd say he's getting the hang of it). Then he pointed at another item, and I handed it to him, and the second verse is the same as the first.

It seems like such a small thing, probably, to ask for something and get it...this has been very eye-opening for me. (I've never had a student at the very beginning stages of communication, so every little sign of progress is very encouraging).

here we go

2009-10-01T14:12:00.000-07:00

Apparently my ability to withstand the beginning of the cold and flu system is as bad as ever. After holding out a couple of weeks, I succumbed to the inevitable just like everyone else. I went to work a bit tired, but as the morning progressed into the afternoon, I started feeling worse and worse. By the end of the day, I was pretty tired and out of it. (Incidentally, my student was looking a bit "off" too, today, and I wouldn't be surprised if he was coming down with something as well.) Naturally, this would all happen before I get my sub plan put together...

So I had to take my first day off. I didn't want to take any time off this early in the year, but there you have it. Life intervenes.

Working with Low-Functioning Students: Believing Students are Capable

2009-09-28T07:42:00.000-07:00

When you're a teacher or an assistant working with students who are on the lower-functioning end of the Autism spectrum, it's important not to get caught up in all the things the students can't do (a better way of putting this, really, is "currently can't do" because even the lowest-functioning students almost always make some progress over time). When you believe lower-functioning students are helpless, you can easily fall into a pattern of doing too much for them. This sets up a cycle of dependency that is hard to break. When students are given the time and space to use and develop their capabilities, they are much more likely to make progress (this is especially true of functional living skills, but holds true for everything else). Learning to observe and appreciate a student's abilities tends to have a profound effect on what you believe about a student and what he or she can do. Your understanding of your students' abilities has a profound impact on how you work with them, the choices you make as an instructor, and ultimately, the rate of progress that they will make during your time together.

As an instructor, you make a difference in the life of each student you work with. What you do in the classroom each day sets the student up for his or her future. Your choices will have a huge impact on the student's life far down the road, so it pays to make sure all of your interactions support the student in becoming more independent and capable. Knowing that the stakes are high, having a strong belief in your work, your students, and in yourself means that you will be in the best position to advocate for the goals, experiences, and opportunities that are in the best interest of your students.

Many people believe that lower-functioning students (or students with profound disabilities) are totally helpless, and are incapable of learning. This can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. If you show students through your actions and words that you believe they are incapable of doing things for themselves, you will do too much for them, and they will become more dependent on you. This sets up the cycle of dependence that is hard to break once established. If

In order to support your students, not only do you need to form a good working relationship, but also an understanding of what each is capable of now--with one eye always aimed towards the future. When you "pay attention" to students on a daily basis, you will often see little clues or signs that the student is ready to increase his or her independence. It's really important to slow down and be alert for these small windows of opportunity, because if missed, they may not come again for a long time. When given the opportunity to try a new skill at just the right moment, students will discover they are capable, and experience the motivation to use that skill again in the future. If the effort is overlooked or rebuffed, it increases the student's passivity and decrease his or her motivation to try again in the future. Students need opportunities to demonstrate that they can be successful and participate, so it's important to seize these moments when they arise.

Putting it into practice:

1. Talk to the student often about what is happening (forecasting) as you go through the routines of the day, especially during transitions. Use clear and consistent language that supports student's participation.

2. Give the student a chance to respond or participate in daily routines or instructional sequences--watch for signs of initiation. Praise any signs of effort you observe at these times.

3. Slow down--the key is to give students time and space to develop and use their abilities. Give lots of wait time to give students a chance to do things independently. Avoid the temptation to hurry the student along or do things for them until they've had ample opportunities to try the task or skill on their own first. If it's clear to you that the student needs help, still take the time to ask them if they need help before providing assistance.

4. Be mindful about opportunities where existing capabilities may potentially lead to new skills...or new settings where existing skills can be brought in and practiced (to increased generalization).

Helping lower-functioning students develop increasing independence is an enormously complex undertaking that requires years of effort. In most instances, the students come in and out of your life before you can see the payoff of your efforts, so much of the time, you are making an investment in an unknown future. While you can't control the future, you can do things today that will make a huge difference in the present and future lives of the students you work with. If your work with students is done with the mindset of increasing their independence and honoring their abilities, you will have a positive impact on their future.

the myriad joys of the third trimester

2009-09-27T10:24:00.001-07:00

1. Some days, I can see my abdomen expanding by the hour.

2. The shuffle you see comes from both the relaxing joints and ligaments and the new-found back pain that I'm having. I'm experimenting with a maternity support band to see if it helps before I give up and try something more awkward and expensive.

3. The baby is kicking more frequently and purposefully, so sometimes I can see my abdomen bouncing around (it doesn't hurt though).

4. The heartburn (that went away during the second trimester) is starting to come back (oh joy).

5. I had to invest in clothes that are 4-6 sizes bigger than what I normally wear.

6. Most days I am way too tired to walk the dog, so she's getting restless and squirrely.

7. I finally broke down and bought a stroller. It's probably the only big-ticket baby item that I'm going to be purchasing new--I haven't seen anything used either on craigslist or at a consignment store that I really liked, and my desire to go out and hunt around for this kind of stuff is rapidly decreasing.

8. I actually do a better job of remembering to eat and stay hydrated at work than I do at home on the weekends. This is a compelling argument to keep on working as much as possible.

The importance of classroom interventions

2009-09-27T09:26:00.000-07:00

Academic literacy is so important, yet I often observe that a majority of students with language processing difficulties, learning disabilities, home language other than English (HLOTE) and other factors that interfere with literacy attainment often never get the level of help they need to be successful in a school setting. What's troubling about this is the poor outcomes these students have. Consider the following:

-74% of children who are unsuccessful readers in the third grade are still unsuccessful readers in the ninth grade. (Journal of Child Neurology, January, 1995)

-Only 52% of students identified with learning disabilities will actually graduate with a high school diploma.

-Learning disabled students drop out of high school at more than twice the rate of their non-disabled peers. (Congressional Quarterly Researcher, December, 1993)

-At least 50% of juvenile delinquents have undiagnosed, untreated learning disabilities. (National Center for State Courts and the Educational Testing Service, 1977)

-31% of adolescents with learning disabilities will be arrested within five years of leaving high school. (National Transition Longitudinal Study, 1991)

-Up to 60% of adolescents who receive treatment for substance abuse disorders have learning disabilities (Hazelden Foundation, Minnesota, 1992)

-62% of learning disabled students were unemployed one year after graduation. (National Longitudinal Transition Study, 1991)

Clearly these students need serious intervention in order to have good outcomes, but the truth is, few are getting it. The bulk of the problem can be blamed on poor educational funding (which impacts staffing levels). To some extent, it is also one of training.

For one, most mainstream classroom teachers have never been trained in any way to work with students who have language-related difficulties. This wouldn't matter a whole lot, except that mainstream classrooms are where most of these students spend the vast majority of their day. Few classroom teachers have much training that goes beyond the typical demands of their subject area. If they have any training related to learning disabilities, it's from attending a one-hour in-service and mostly of the "awareness" variety. The majority of teachers never receive any practical training on how to work with students with learning disabilities or language acquisition difficulties, and yet nearly all teachers will have one or more of these students in the classroom.

Why is that a problem? After all, mainstream teachers didn't sign up to work with these kinds of students, right? Well, the reality is, most mainstream teachers are doing so, whether they want to or not. Due to the funding cuts over the last several years, fewer of these students will be served by trained specialists regardless of placement (there aren't enough Special Ed personnel or resource teachers in most schools to realistically provide an adequate level of service to students with learning disabilities, so guess where most of these student will end up? Your fourth period class! (After all, the person who does the scheduling appears to have a perverse sense of humore and will probably lump all of your most challenging students together in one period.)

Furthermore, in many or most schools in this state, you won't even have a para in the classroom because most of the paras who once provided some additional support for students placed in mainstream classes were laid-off in the past couple of years). I've noticed that with ELLs (English Language Learners), most are being dumped into mainstream classes with little ongoing support from anyone from the ESL department either. In the case of ELLs, as with many of mainstreamed students with IEPs, most of the support that was formerly provided by paras in a mainstream classroom was withdrawn when the majority of bilingual paras were also laid off. (Basically, outside of self-contained Special Education or ESL, except in the instances where an individual student is receiving one-on-one support, you won't see a lot of paras in a mainstream classroom anymore--if you do see one, he or she is likely there to assist one student very intensively and won't have time to work with any other students who might benefit from having an additional adult in the room. Yet, as I said before, that is where the majority of students are.)

To make a long story short, what has happened, at least in my state, is that these students were systematically dumped into mainstream classes with teachers who were never trained to work with them, and left to sink or swim. It's no surprise that the majority sink...A few of the luckier ones will receive intervention outside of the school day, but most will not. The kinds of programs that offer targeted interventions in literacy acquisition are usually not adequately funded, so they can rarely serve the number of students who truly need them. Tutoring and other fee-for-services programs will naturally only be able to serve those who can afford to pay.

Educational funding is unlikely to increase to the point where students who need help will get it anytime soon. In the meantime, I would recommend that ALL teachers who care enough to want to do right by these students take the time to self-educate about learning disabilities, language acquisition issues, and other related topics. For your students who have IEPs, find out which specific learning disability/ies your student/s have, and learn what you can. The internet is a good place to get started, but for quality information, you are really better off checking out books from the library, or acquiring textbooks on learning disabilities (a good source of affordable books on this topic is previous edition of whatever textbooks they are currently using in school of education courses--because they aren't the newest latest edition, they are usually not being used by colleges, and therefore a lot cheaper. If you're really lucky, they'll turn up in places like Goodwill or a yard sale). For ELLs, besides the obvious step of learning something about the cultural issues in your particular population (do you work with Mexican migrant families or refugees from Somalia?), I would highly recommend learning about second language acquisition and its impact on academic learning in English. There are some really good websites, journals, and books on this topic.

Particular strategies and interventions can be learned either through training, or consulting with a specialist (your school or district specialists may or may not be able to camp out in your room, but they would probably be more than happy to share their knowledge and expertise with you). In the case of learning disabilities, make sure you stay in regular contact with the student's Special Ed teacher/s, case managers, or the student's family. All of these people are a potential source of valuable information about ideas for working with your students.

Until the general populace and politicians come to their senses and make educational funding a priority (rather than an afterthought), those of us in education are stuck with a huge mess. As cathartic as it may be to blame others, it's even more cathartic to increase your own effectiveness in working with students who have educational challenges. The more you know about the difficulties your students face in school, the more effective your teaching will be in reaching them. You may never realize what a difference you could potentially make when armed with new knowledge, but even the smallest thing (like suggesting a simple strategy) might really have an impact on the performance of a kid in your classroom.

quote of the day

2009-09-25T14:28:00.000-07:00

"In order to effectively teach a non-verbal child with autism, the teacher must trust that the non-verbal autistic can: hear, see, smell, taste, feel, think, formulate ideas, communicate with himself, understand what he hears, understand what he sees (including reading), question that which he doesn't understand, achieve intellectual superiority as compared to his age group, and deal with reality an age appropriate manner. The teacher must do all this in the midst of not having any reliable way of knowing what the autistic person is taking in or understanding anything that takes place around him..."

(from Teaching the Non-verbal Autistic Student by Wally Wojtowicz, Jr.)

More work with PECs

2009-09-24T20:28:00.000-07:00

I'm writing more about PECs today, since that's something I've been working on with Bob. Since I've never worked with anyone at the beginning stages of learning expressive communication, this has been an interesting journey for both of us.

Bob was introduced to PECs during speech about a week ago, but since he only has speech once a week, it's something I've been practicing with him whenever I can (since it'll never work out if it's just a once-a-week kind of thing). Currently, I've been incorporating some work with PECs into our DT sessions (as kind of a wrap-up activity).

I'm only working briefly with PECs right now (to maintain interest and not wear out the reinforcers too rapidly). At this stage, I'm only using a few items (3 reinforcers that we've identified). I also have been taking my stash of food-related items down to lunch so we can practice a little bit in there (but I keep it really light, since it's not intended to be a form of torture). It's recommended to practice in different settings, so for now, these are the two easiest. I might do some practice on the bus too--that's something we do a few times a week.

Introducing PECs

2009-09-23T17:59:00.000-07:00

In a previous post, I mentioned that I was primarily working with a non-verbal student named Bob* this year. A big goal, with any student, but especially a non-verbal one, is increasing expressive communication.

Currently we're working on introducing PECs. PECs (a picture exchange communication system from Pyramid Educational Consultants) is a visual system of communication. PECs is a widely used system to teach functional communication skills to individuals with Autism.

Currently, as far as I'm aware, there does not appear to be a functional communication system currently in place for Bob (in other words, he has no way to make his wants or needs known to others). Right now, I'm attempting to ascertain what motivates Bob, and having some success there, but it would be nice to expand on this.

I feel that Bob is capable of initiating some spontaneous communication in specific settings or situations, and if taught to do so, would be able to function more independently than he does now. Since his visual tracking is pretty good, and his attentiveness is fairly high, I think this is the best possible option for a communication system. Although his motor skills are a bit inconsistent, I think they're sufficiently developed to enable him to exchange pictures to initiate communication.

Right now we're working on reinforcers, which is step 1. Fortunately, it's pretty easy because we have already identified several good reinforcers--things that are not too freely available in the classroom that can be rationed out during training sessions only. Symbols seem to be a bit too abstract for Bob right now, so we're starting with actual pictures and working towards introducing symbols. Since Bob knows shapes, I think eventually we could transition to using more symbols.

Right now my focus is on making sure he understands the cause-and-effect relationship between handing me a card, and getting a reinforcer. I've practiced this a few times, and he seems willing to do it with me. I've also introduced (briefly) the idea of making choices this way (during lunch), but it's not something I expect Bob to fully master for awhile yet.

I find this unbearably depressing...

2009-09-23T17:34:00.000-07:00

I saw this article in the news today. What a downer...

New Light on the Plight of Winter Babies: Researchers Stumble Upon Alternative Explanation for the Lifelong Challenges Faced by Children Born in Colder Months

Basically it claims that wintertime kiddos are due to have a crappy life. "Study after study has shown that they test poorly, don't get as far in school, earn less, are less healthy, and don't live as long as children born at other times of year."

Great. Just what I wanted to hear...I remember last year reading something that states that Oregon has an unusually high rate of Autism too.

New Light on the Plight of Winter Babies: Researchers Stumble Upon Alternative Explanation for the Lifelong Challenges Faced by Children Born in Colder Months
Justin Lahart, Sept. 22, 2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB125356566517528879.html?mod=yhoofront

It's fall but you wouldn't know it...

2009-09-22T20:21:00.000-07:00

Man oh man it's been hot this week. Today's the first official day of fall, but you sure wouldn't know it. At this point, I'm about sick to death of my summer wardrobe, and would love to move on already.

Of course, we don't have air-conditioning at work. Good luck finding a school in Portland that does...we have fans, but that only goes so far. Fortunately, it stays bearable until about the last hour and a half of the day...At this point, I might be just fine with nine months of rain.

28 weeks

2009-09-20T20:00:00.000-07:00

I'm now at the 28 week mark, so anyone who's not legally blind can tell I'm pregnant, and nearly everyone who sees me asks me the inevitable question, "So, when are you having that baby?".

What this means for me is that barely any of my old clothes still fit (I had to buy a bunch of size 16 shirts the other day--thank goodness for a well-timed yardsale), my back aches on a regular basis (I think I'm gonna need to invest in some sort of back-support device if I'm gonna make it through the next three months), and most days, if I sit still long enough, I can feel lots of kicking and other fetal acrobatics. Feeling my little squirm-worm move around is quite entertaining, and gives me a reason to laugh several times a day.

My work situation is surprisingly compatible with pregnancy. I carry a cushion around to sit on, and that makes sitting episodes bearable. I don't have to stand around a whole lot, but the day is interspersed with several short walks. Nobody needs toileting. Our class schedule includes Yoga every day, so I get to stretch on a daily basis (which makes me feel a LOT better). Since I'm not constantly responsible for supervising students every single minute of the day, I can take short breaks throughout the day to take care of my own needs. I don't have any students with severe behaviors to deal with (no runners to chase after, and no grabbers, screamers, hitters, or biters to worry about), so I'm perfectly safe while I'm at work. And since I'm not working in a mainstream classroom setting, I don't have to worry about breaking up fist fights, or dealing with Axe Bodyspray, or any of that nonsense.

confession time: I hate my dog

2009-09-15T14:06:00.000-07:00

I know this sounds horrible and mean, but ever since I've been pregnant, I have been so annoyed/grossed out by my dog.

For one, she's always been on the stinky side, but now that my sense of smell is ridiculously acute, I can't stand the way she smells--and unfortunately I can smell her when she's not even in the same room. Gross! What's sad is that it makes me NOT want to pet her at all (or even be anywhere near her), but she's such a needy/affectionate dog that I'm sure she's totally mystified by my lack of interest. Everyone thinks I'm so horrible and mean to her because I won't pet her, but I honestly just can't stand to be around her--if I touch her, I feel like I need to get up right away and wash my hands (annoying), so I just basically don't want her near me...which of course makes her want to be near me even more.

And forget about giving her a bath--I can't lift her into the tub (she won't go in on her own and she weighs 85 lbs) and I think the smell would just be amplified in a hot steamy bathroom. Wet smelly dog--ick! I wish I could afford to take her to a groomer more often--because the few days' break I get from the smell seems so worth it.

On top of the smell issue, she sheds like crazy--I could vaccuum 2 or 3 times a day and it would literally make NO DIFFERENCE WHATSOEVER. All I can think of is how much hair there is everywhere (even in places where I know she doesn't spend time--her hair forms "packs" which drift around the house). Thank god I don't have carpeting--it would be jet black and smell just like her! Sweeping the floor is pretty easy (even in the third trimester) but it just seems SO POINTLESS. The hair just reappears within a few hours, and it looks like I've done NOTHING. How will I be able to cope with this when I have a new baby crawling around on the floor? Uggh! ). I could brush her more (that's what I usually do), but frankly sitting that close to her (even outdoors) makes my stomach turn, and now we're well into the rainy season.

Sadly, I'm the only one who really ever does anything with the dog (besides feeding), which means she isn't getting walked at all, and never gets played with. Don't worry though, folks, I'm not in any danger of giving her away because I've invested a lot of time and money into training her, and she really is a good dog. She's a really good dog that I just don't want to be around here right NOW. I secretly wish someone could come take her off my hands for a few months until the hormones settle back down, and I'm less cantankerous.

working with a non-verbal student

2009-09-12T19:36:00.000-07:00

Now that I've had time to collect my head and figure out which end is up, I figured I'd talk a little bit about exactly what it is that I'm doing this year. I'm not subbing...I managed to ease out of that into a full-time gig.

This year, I'm working in a high school life skills classroom (our particular school has two life skills classrooms, and I'm in the more academic of the two). I mainly work one-on-one with a non-verbal student (on the Autism spectrum). In honor of three of my favorite musicians (Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, and Robert Johnson), we'll call him "Bob".

Non-verbal students tend to be rather interesting (and challenging) to work with, and Bob is no exception. Amazingly, Bob doesn't have any "difficult" behaviors (no hitting or grabbing), and is amazingly easy-going (not usually the case with kids who are non-verbal). For about the first week of school, I spent a lot of time just trying to assess where he was at (skills, interests, abilities), and learning how to "read" him. Now we're getting the hang of the new school schedule, and working with each other, we're starting to make some definitely progress.

Bob is by no means the first non-verbal student I've worked with, but he's one of the few that I've encountered who hasn't been successfully taught how to use any of the commonly used communication systems (ASL, AAC devices, communication boards, or PECs). This makes communication a challenge, and currently it's very one-sided. Because he's completely non-verbal, and doesn't use any gestures, increasing his communication options is one of my big goals for him this year.

In my zeal to educate myself (in order to be more effective when working with Bob), I discovered that there's not a whole lot of freely available information out there about working with non-verbal (autistic) students, especially older students. Because I'll be learning this as I go, I'm going to make an effort to write about what I'm learning here in this blog, so that maybe someone else who's in the same boat can make use of my insights.