An example of what schools CAN do.

May 5, 2010

is doing well in 7th grade now. He's passing math again with good grades.

This week a big social studies project was due. The assignment was supposed to

be a group thing but the teacher decided to let do a project on his own.

It was modified so he wouldn't have to do the work of three kids. He did a ton

of work. He did all of the writing and drew lots of pictures. I did all of the

cutting, gluing and binding. It was fun. Of course we didn't work on it during

the break so that meant we had to work fast in the end but it worked out just

fine. It's nice that 's teachers come up with their own ways to make the

work possible for . I doubt could have done the work with a group. He

had his own ideas and didn't want to do what anyone else suggested when it came

to the writing. He was more low key about how to make it all into the scrapbook

format required. It's a project on pioneers going west. He wanted the cover to

look like leather. I had planned to get some craft supplies from walmart but

they've done away with most of that department. I couldn't get vinyl fabric

that looked like leather. I couldn't get any kinds of scraps. I finally

decided to look in other departments and found some very cheap placemats in home

decor. They were $1.50 each. I bought 2 mats that looked like leather on one

side and burlap on the other. Then I found some that looked like some sort of

reptile skin. I used the leather/burlap for the cover and made a frame for a

picture of the Alamo with the reptile skin ones. loved that.

It's the flexibility of these teachers that helps so much.

I can remember being completely overwhelmed by these kinds of projects as a

child and now that I'm an adult I can see everything that needs to be done. It

gives me hope that will get the hang of these things eventually.

Anyway, what the teacher did in terms of modification isn't in the IEP. The

word " modifications " is in the IEP but sometimes people have trouble translating

that into practice. 's teachers, even the ones who aren't trained in

special education, seem to be very creative in this.

May 5, 2010

I always hope that by telling people the good things they'll see that some

schools really CAN do what other schools say is impossible. Of course being

able to teach the teachers HOW to think about working with our kids is what's

impossible. Some teachers just get it naturally and do the same things for all

the kids. It requires flexibility and there are a lot of people who don't get

that. When you tell them your child needs structure they think it means they

have to be completely inflexible and that's wrong. Structured in how the day is

organized and flexible in working through problems with the child.

> >

> > is doing well in 7th grade now. He's passing math again with good

grades.

> > This week a big social studies project was due. The assignment was supposed

to

> > be a group thing but the teacher decided to let do a project on his

own.

> > It was modified so he wouldn't have to do the work of three kids. He did a

ton

> > of work. He did all of the writing and drew lots of pictures. I did all of

the

> > cutting, gluing and binding. It was fun. Of course we didn't work on it

during

> > the break so that meant we had to work fast in the end but it worked out

just

> > fine. It's nice that 's teachers come up with their own ways to make the

> > work possible for . I doubt could have done the work with a group.

He

> > had his own ideas and didn't want to do what anyone else suggested when it

came

> > to the writing. He was more low key about how to make it all into the

scrapbook

> > format required. It's a project on pioneers going west. He wanted the cover

to

> > look like leather. I had planned to get some craft supplies from walmart but

> > they've done away with most of that department. I couldn't get vinyl fabric

> > that looked like leather. I couldn't get any kinds of scraps. I finally

> > decided to look in other departments and found some very cheap placemats in

home

> > decor. They were $1.50 each. I bought 2 mats that looked like leather on one

> > side and burlap on the other. Then I found some that looked like some sort

of

> > reptile skin. I used the leather/burlap for the cover and made a frame for a

> > picture of the Alamo with the reptile skin ones. loved that.

> >

> > It's the flexibility of these teachers that helps so much.

> >

> > I can remember being completely overwhelmed by these kinds of projects as a

child and now that I'm an adult I can see everything that needs to be done. It

gives me hope that will get the hang of these things eventually.

> >

> > Anyway, what the teacher did in terms of modification isn't in the IEP. The

word " modifications " is in the IEP but sometimes people have trouble translating

that into practice. 's teachers, even the ones who aren't trained in

special education, seem to be very creative in this.

> >

>

May 6, 2010

That's great to hear. Of course, he couldn't do it without you. ;)SuzanneSent on the Sprint® Now Network from my BlackBerry®From: "mimasdprofile" <callis4773@...>Date: Thu, 06 May 2010 00:08:17 -0000< >Subject: ( ) An example of what schools CAN do. is doing well in 7th grade now. He's passing math again with good grades. This week a big social studies project was due. The assignment was supposed tobe a group thing but the teacher decided to let do a project on his own. It was modified so he wouldn't have to do the work of three kids. He did a tonof work. He did all of the writing and drew lots of pictures. I did all of thecutting, gluing and binding. It was fun. Of course we didn't work on it duringthe break so that meant we had to work fast in the end but it worked out justfine. It's nice that 's teachers come up with their own ways to make thework possible for . I doubt could have done the work with a group. Hehad his own ideas and didn't want to do what anyone else suggested when it cameto the writing. He was more low key about how to make it all into the scrapbookformat required. It's a project on pioneers going west. He wanted the cover tolook like leather. I had planned to get some craft supplies from walmart butthey've done away with most of that department. I couldn't get vinyl fabricthat looked like leather. I couldn't get any kinds of scraps. I finallydecided to look in other departments and found some very cheap placemats in homedecor. They were $1.50 each. I bought 2 mats that looked like leather on oneside and burlap on the other. Then I found some that looked like some sort ofreptile skin. I used the leather/burlap for the cover and made a frame for apicture of the Alamo with the reptile skin ones. loved that.It's the flexibility of these teachers that helps so much.I can remember being completely overwhelmed by these kinds of projects as a child and now that I'm an adult I can see everything that needs to be done. It gives me hope that will get the hang of these things eventually.Anyway, what the teacher did in terms of modification isn't in the IEP. The word " modifications " is in the IEP but sometimes people have trouble translating that into practice. 's teachers, even the ones who aren't trained in special education, seem to be very creative in this.

May 6, 2010

Thank you so much for sharing this story! My son is only in the 1st grade,

but, already, I have anxiety of how his teachers will work with him as he gets

older.

I wanted to take a moment to share some " good school news " as well. Yesterday

was " Field Day " ( a day when all of the classes go outside and play athletic

games, run in relay races, obstacle courses, etc.). I always try to go to

special events, and, since this one was going to require working in a team, lots

of kids, noises, and stimulation at the same time, etc., I really wanted to be

there for my son and his teacher (and classmates).

The first " good thing " that happened was when we were walking to his class. The

Assistant Principal said " Good Morning " to us (My son had asked me - quite

frustrated - on Monday morning, " Why do I HAVE to say Good Morning to so many

people? " and I explained that it's polite, let's the other person know you heard

them say it first, and let's you know that someone is glad to see you, which

makes you feel good, too.) Before I could prompt my son to respond, he said,

" Good morning, Dr. . " Both Dr. J and I looked at each other in surprise!

Dr. J said, " Thank you, Nicolas! That was great, and you have a great day! " I

gave him a high-5 and told him how proud of him I was and said, " Look at how

happy you made Dr. ! You made his day! " (BIG smile)

Then, the first thing I noticed when I walked into his classroom was his desk.

On it were the mini visual schedule flip-chart I'd made for him, the visual cues

card I made for him(raise hand, speak softly, work quietly -- all velcro'd,

because there are about 20 visual cues his teacher and I came up with, so she

can change them as needed, depending on the task at hand), and the " Question

Sticks " the district's Autism coach had recommended (He kept asking a million

questions of his teacher, so he gets 5 popsicle sticks before lunch, indicating

how many questions he may ask of her that are NOT related to the work he's doing

[questions about work or needing help do not cost him a stick]. He gets another

5 sticks after lunch). I had to smile, because I knew these were his " safety

nets " -- those things he needs to structure the day for him.

Then he showed me his " spot. " It's a small table, close to his team's table,

where there are pattern blocks, letter stamps, and markers. This is where he

can go when he finishes his work, needs to be alone, or needs to think. This is

something the teacher and he created, and she says it is working. I was a

bit apprehensive, because, left to his own devices, I'm sure he would ALWAYS

prefer to be alone. However, she says, he joins his team for whole-group

instruction, and then goes to his spot after he does his work, or if he's unable

to concentrate enough to do his work. (Cool!).

She also told me that she has been offering the incentive of 10 minutes at the

computer after lunch, if he has finished all of his morning work. She said that

she's noticed that incentives really work for him, and he works really

diligently to finish the work and " he gets it all right! " (I told her, " You

should SEE our refrigerator: charts, tallies, goals -- all incentive-type

structures that encourage him to do what he needs to do at home, too.).

As we were walking outside, my son said, " I love you, Mama. And I'm so happy you

came to spend the day with me. " (Yes, it took everything within me not to start

bawling!)

Field Day was great. I could see that his classmates really try to connect with

him, and we had a lot of fun being " team mates. " My son even helped his team

win two of the races, which was super cool! He was a little anxious a few

times, but I rubbed his arms and reminded him to breath, and he was able to work

himself through it and have a good time.

As I was leaving, he told me again how glad he was that I came to spend the day

with him, and I thanked him for spending time with me, too.

Ahhhh, good days are wonderful!

Gladys

>

> is doing well in 7th grade now. He's passing math again with good grades.

> This week a big social studies project was due. The assignment was supposed to

> be a group thing but the teacher decided to let do a project on his own.

> It was modified so he wouldn't have to do the work of three kids. He did a ton

> of work. He did all of the writing and drew lots of pictures. I did all of the

> cutting, gluing and binding. It was fun. Of course we didn't work on it during

> the break so that meant we had to work fast in the end but it worked out just

> fine. It's nice that 's teachers come up with their own ways to make the

> work possible for . I doubt could have done the work with a group. He

> had his own ideas and didn't want to do what anyone else suggested when it

came

> to the writing. He was more low key about how to make it all into the

scrapbook

> format required. It's a project on pioneers going west. He wanted the cover to

> look like leather. I had planned to get some craft supplies from walmart but

> they've done away with most of that department. I couldn't get vinyl fabric

> that looked like leather. I couldn't get any kinds of scraps. I finally

> decided to look in other departments and found some very cheap placemats in

home

> decor. They were $1.50 each. I bought 2 mats that looked like leather on one

> side and burlap on the other. Then I found some that looked like some sort of

> reptile skin. I used the leather/burlap for the cover and made a frame for a

> picture of the Alamo with the reptile skin ones. loved that.

>

> It's the flexibility of these teachers that helps so much.

>

> I can remember being completely overwhelmed by these kinds of projects as a

child and now that I'm an adult I can see everything that needs to be done. It

gives me hope that will get the hang of these things eventually.

>

> Anyway, what the teacher did in terms of modification isn't in the IEP. The

word " modifications " is in the IEP but sometimes people have trouble translating

that into practice. 's teachers, even the ones who aren't trained in

special education, seem to be very creative in this.

>

May 6, 2010

Gladys this sounds so much like my son . He wants to know why he has to do

some things but often once he understands he'll do it. Once he went through a

phase of saying " yeah, right " after everything anyone said. It was SO

frustrating and annoying! I finally asked him why he was doing that and he said

he was trying to be " cool " . I blame Ed Edd and Eddie. I told him that it isn't

really cool because what it means when you say it the way he was saying it, it

meant that you thought someone was stupid. I told him it was mean and hurt my

feelings. He never did it again. He didn't really understand it when he saw it

on TV. My daughter was about 2 years old at the time. She started saying Ed

Edd and Eddie things, too. So one day I took her in the shower with me so I

could get a shower, know she was safe and get her clean, too. At one point she

wanted me to move and said, " Get outta my way, ya DORK! " I couldn't stop

laughing. Rayleigh, though, already had excellent social skills. She KNEW what

she was saying was kind of mean and that was her intent.

Your experience sounds a lot like mine. I like the popsicle stick idea. I

think is too old for it now since he's in middle school.

I love that your son thanked you. That really sounds like my son. He

appreciates some things so much and often they're very little things like giving

him 5 more minutes on the computer, buying him a small bag of potato chips,

getting him a UV protection shirt so he doesn't need sunscreen on his shoulders.

He thanks me repeatedly for some things and I know he really means it.

Miriam

>

> I wanted to take a moment to share some " good school news " as well. Yesterday

was " Field Day " ( a day when all of the classes go outside and play athletic

games, run in relay races, obstacle courses, etc.). I always try to go to

special events, and, since this one was going to require working in a team, lots

of kids, noises, and stimulation at the same time, etc., I really wanted to be

there for my son and his teacher (and classmates).

>

> The first " good thing " that happened was when we were walking to his class.

The Assistant Principal said " Good Morning " to us (My son had asked me - quite

frustrated - on Monday morning, " Why do I HAVE to say Good Morning to so many

people? " and I explained that it's polite, let's the other person know you heard

them say it first, and let's you know that someone is glad to see you, which

makes you feel good, too.) Before I could prompt my son to respond, he said,

" Good morning, Dr. . " Both Dr. J and I looked at each other in surprise!

Dr. J said, " Thank you, Nicolas! That was great, and you have a great day! " I

gave him a high-5 and told him how proud of him I was and said, " Look at how

happy you made Dr. ! You made his day! " (BIG smile)

>

> Then, the first thing I noticed when I walked into his classroom was his desk.