Hello to my few readers who are still here. I always have at least five views every month, and so for those few I continue on. I want to reach out and help who I can, where I can.
It's been a very hard month for us. It actually started in October when we had our semi-annual appointment at the welfare office about our food stamps. First, let me back track. Two years ago my husband worked for a contractor as a painter for houses. He worked for him for a number of years. Since painting is a seasonal job here, and I felt I needed to stay home with our two handicapped children, we applied for and received food stamps. They agreed to help us with about $600 a month. Last year the man that my husband worked for decided to retire. Being that we are both over the age of fifty, my husband didn't think anyone would likely hire him. He worked out a deal with his boss and now the painting company is my husbands. If our family car hadn't broken an axle and the car company given us money for it, we would have never had had the money to get the business off the ground in his name. Last fall it was time to renew the food stamps again. As a new business, my husband made much less money than he did the year before. What did welfare decide this time? We only qualified for $189 a month this time. I was nervous as we went into last winter as to how we would handle everything with a loss of $400 to our budget. Some how we survived. Now last month, it was time again. This year, our income wasn't any better than last year and guess what? They said we don't qualify for food stamps any more. I'm terrified. We only have a handful of bills, gas, electric, rent, our COX bundle and the business insurance. All of them except for the business insurance are behind at this point. Most likely we will lose our COX bundle in an effort to keep surviving. Could your son survive without his computer AND his tv??? This so isn't good. However, when things get bad, I try to find something good to think about.
I'm grateful that I had the experience for voting with my son for the first time this year. That's right, he exercised his right to vote for the very first time! We had great discussions about how our government works and what the current issues are. I have never been more informed before an election as I was this year and I owe it all to my son. It was wonderful seeing him deciding what he thought was right for our country. I got a glimpse of the man that is inside him getting ready to come out!
I'm grateful that my church has a welfare program of it's own and we are able to get a limited bit of food if we really need it. This pains me because I want to be the one helping others, not the one getting the help. We do what we have to do for our kids though. Humility is a hard lesson to learn.
I'm grateful that my church has an employment program and that they are going to try and help me be job worthy again. After being at home for eleven years, no one is hiring me and I apparently am in need of a huge redo.
I am grateful for my health. I've had a good year health wise. I am on new medicine for my blood pressure and I feel much better now. Keeping your health is so important. Along those same lines, I am thankful that I have a plot now at the community garden. As our budget shrinks, I still have some green beans in my freezer and some tomatoes ripening in my window. It makes me feel a little less helpless and the fresh food is so much healthier for you.
I wish I could stay positive but did you hear what President Obama said in his press conference this past week? I've been worried that I might lose my health insurance and will have to pay for my pills, I'm worried that my kids SSI payments may be reduced. Then Pres. Obama says that if the physical cliff thing doesn't go well, he doesn't want to hurt the woman on SSI with handicapped kids. That means that I am his next target. We can't afford any more loses here. We aren't making it now. Please pray for me and my family, for your family. I've been homeless once and it was awful.
As I am struggling to find positive things to be thankful for this year, I am also thankful for my friends and for you. For many years I thought I was all alone. Then I found facebook and My Autism Team and all of a sudden my world opened up a bit. I'm grateful for you all. Next week we have the opportunity to sit around our tables and give thanks for what we have. May we all be able to put our fears aside for that short period of time and find something positive to hang on to. Happy Thanksgiving all!
Here's my older daughter's Pumpkin Pie recipe. She got it off a web site a few years ago, but I don't know which one. It's my younger daughter's favorite pie!
PUMPKIN PIE
1 15oz. can of pumpkin
1 12oz can of evaporated milk
3/4 cup of sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
1 pie crust of your choice
All you need to do is combine all the ingredients above and turn it into the pie crust of your choice. I use the ones in the dairy case, but you could also use a ready made crumb crust or even make your own if you are that talented. Place it into a 425 degree oven for 15 minutes, Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake for 40 to 50 more minutes or until an inserted knife comes out clean.
As I've said above, this is a huge favorite at my house. We make it year round when when we can. I hope your family enjoys it too!
Thursday, November 15, 2012
Thursday, October 11, 2012
My son wants to vote?!
Hello everyone! I hope everyone has had a very busy and productive month. I have noticed that for me it does take about that long for me to come up with something informative and interesting to write about and hopefully you will find this interesting and informative!
Most recently I have been blogging about my daughter and her IEP meeting and the results from that. I'm going to have to say that it is a slow process now. I never heard from her English teacher about this years books, so I could try and get them in large print. Instead, when the first book came home, I took turns reading it aloud with her. I guess it was a success because this morning she told me of a book club that they have at the school library! This from the girl who would never willingly read a novel on her own! We shall see how this developes.
As for my son, we attended his school's open house about two weeks ago. We were able to meet with his teacher and get a quick run down of the year. We are supposed to have a "real" meeting sometime this month, but I haven't heard anything yet. I really hate having to nag their teachers to follow up on what they say they are going to do.
As far as I am concerned, I have something that I am accomplishing this month. I am a woman over fifty who has high blood pressure. It stays under control with medication, but I do get seen twice a year by the doctor to make sure everything is good. I think one of the most important things we can do for our children is to take care of ourselves. We need to be around as long as possible, as healthy as possible, for them. With that in mind and also because my mom died of breast cancer, I get my yearly mammograms. They are easy, not that uncomfortable, and you can usually find a source that will do it for free if you don't have insurance. I urge all you ladies out there to take care of yourself. That said, that is not what I am having done this month. This month I am finally giving in to doctors orders and having a colonoscopy. In the United States it is recommended to have one once you reach the age of fifty. I am fifty-three, so the doctors have been after me for the past two years to get it done. I have finally run out of excuses, I mean who really wants to have one of these?! So off I will go on October 31st to make sure my insides are healthy. I keep telling myself that I am doing it for my kids. I am keeping myself healthy for my kids. I'll let you all know what it was like. According to the folks that I graduated high school with (we have a facebook page) it isn't too. too bad. I'm glad I have them rooting me on!
As you noticed by my the title of this post, my son has expressed an interest in voting this year. For those of you not from the United States,( and I know you are there and I am amazed!) we are having a big election on November 6th. Not only do we get to vote for our local officials, but it is a presidential election year as well. All the cities and towns have been checking their voter registration lists and sending out update/registration forms for the people. I got one in the mail about a month ago. It dawned on me that my son is 19 and could vote if he wanted. I asked him and he surprised me by saying yes. So we filled out the form and I am proud to say that my son is a registered voter now! That done, the political education of my son and as a result, all of us, has begun. It's been an interesting time. We have gone over again how our local government works and who is up for reelection. We are listening to all the presidential debates for the first time ever. He even wants to watch the vice presidential debate tonight, that I was going to skip! I am so proud of my son wanting to be informed and asking all the questions that he is asking. He is teaching all of us here how to be better citizens. I hope all of you from the United States of America join me and my family by going out to vote on November 6th.
It's autumn here, the leaves are turning beautiful colors and all kinds of apples are in the stores! I love the aromatic smells of ginger bread, pumpkin pie and all things apple! It just makes the house smell good! Here's a recipe I made from two recipes to get the flavor I like. Enjoy!
APPLE OATMEAL CRISP
7 medium apples, cored,peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 tablespoons lemon juice (optional)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter
Directions-
!. In a 1 1/2 quart baking dish toss apples with lemon juice. This is so they don't turn brown in the air. I usually skip this and just coat them quickly with 1/2 cup brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of flour. Toss and coat throughly.
2. In a small bowl combine oats, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. Cut in butter until it looks like course crumbs. Sprinkle over apples.
3. Bake in an oven set at 425, 30 to 35 minutes, until the apples are softened and the topping slightly brown.
It's sooo good! Oh! Almost forgot- Happy Halloween! I hope you are able to enjoy the holiday at some level with your kids. My son only wore a costume once. We just said he came as himself! I also read recently that the sound of the crunching leaves under feet can bother those with sensitivity issues. Another good reason to keep the leaves raked off your walkways! I'd love to hear how you celebrate. Do you go around the neighborhood? Do you do a family party at home? My church throws a chowder and chili cook-off followed by a trunk or treat. That means we decorate the trunks of our cars and hand out goodies from there! It's a safe, fun way to celebrate! Last year it rained, so we moved into the classrooms to hand out the candy. It worked out great. Love and hugs to you all!
Nancy
Most recently I have been blogging about my daughter and her IEP meeting and the results from that. I'm going to have to say that it is a slow process now. I never heard from her English teacher about this years books, so I could try and get them in large print. Instead, when the first book came home, I took turns reading it aloud with her. I guess it was a success because this morning she told me of a book club that they have at the school library! This from the girl who would never willingly read a novel on her own! We shall see how this developes.
As for my son, we attended his school's open house about two weeks ago. We were able to meet with his teacher and get a quick run down of the year. We are supposed to have a "real" meeting sometime this month, but I haven't heard anything yet. I really hate having to nag their teachers to follow up on what they say they are going to do.
As far as I am concerned, I have something that I am accomplishing this month. I am a woman over fifty who has high blood pressure. It stays under control with medication, but I do get seen twice a year by the doctor to make sure everything is good. I think one of the most important things we can do for our children is to take care of ourselves. We need to be around as long as possible, as healthy as possible, for them. With that in mind and also because my mom died of breast cancer, I get my yearly mammograms. They are easy, not that uncomfortable, and you can usually find a source that will do it for free if you don't have insurance. I urge all you ladies out there to take care of yourself. That said, that is not what I am having done this month. This month I am finally giving in to doctors orders and having a colonoscopy. In the United States it is recommended to have one once you reach the age of fifty. I am fifty-three, so the doctors have been after me for the past two years to get it done. I have finally run out of excuses, I mean who really wants to have one of these?! So off I will go on October 31st to make sure my insides are healthy. I keep telling myself that I am doing it for my kids. I am keeping myself healthy for my kids. I'll let you all know what it was like. According to the folks that I graduated high school with (we have a facebook page) it isn't too. too bad. I'm glad I have them rooting me on!
As you noticed by my the title of this post, my son has expressed an interest in voting this year. For those of you not from the United States,( and I know you are there and I am amazed!) we are having a big election on November 6th. Not only do we get to vote for our local officials, but it is a presidential election year as well. All the cities and towns have been checking their voter registration lists and sending out update/registration forms for the people. I got one in the mail about a month ago. It dawned on me that my son is 19 and could vote if he wanted. I asked him and he surprised me by saying yes. So we filled out the form and I am proud to say that my son is a registered voter now! That done, the political education of my son and as a result, all of us, has begun. It's been an interesting time. We have gone over again how our local government works and who is up for reelection. We are listening to all the presidential debates for the first time ever. He even wants to watch the vice presidential debate tonight, that I was going to skip! I am so proud of my son wanting to be informed and asking all the questions that he is asking. He is teaching all of us here how to be better citizens. I hope all of you from the United States of America join me and my family by going out to vote on November 6th.
It's autumn here, the leaves are turning beautiful colors and all kinds of apples are in the stores! I love the aromatic smells of ginger bread, pumpkin pie and all things apple! It just makes the house smell good! Here's a recipe I made from two recipes to get the flavor I like. Enjoy!
APPLE OATMEAL CRISP
7 medium apples, cored,peeled and cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 tablespoons lemon juice (optional)
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons plus 1/3 cup flour
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
6 tablespoons butter
Directions-
!. In a 1 1/2 quart baking dish toss apples with lemon juice. This is so they don't turn brown in the air. I usually skip this and just coat them quickly with 1/2 cup brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of flour. Toss and coat throughly.
2. In a small bowl combine oats, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon. Cut in butter until it looks like course crumbs. Sprinkle over apples.
3. Bake in an oven set at 425, 30 to 35 minutes, until the apples are softened and the topping slightly brown.
It's sooo good! Oh! Almost forgot- Happy Halloween! I hope you are able to enjoy the holiday at some level with your kids. My son only wore a costume once. We just said he came as himself! I also read recently that the sound of the crunching leaves under feet can bother those with sensitivity issues. Another good reason to keep the leaves raked off your walkways! I'd love to hear how you celebrate. Do you go around the neighborhood? Do you do a family party at home? My church throws a chowder and chili cook-off followed by a trunk or treat. That means we decorate the trunks of our cars and hand out goodies from there! It's a safe, fun way to celebrate! Last year it rained, so we moved into the classrooms to hand out the candy. It worked out great. Love and hugs to you all!
Nancy
Monday, September 10, 2012
The joy of advocates, IEPs and baked apples!
What a busy September it has been with school starting for all three of my children. The oldest is in her last year of college, and thankfully doesn't need any help from mom and dad. We keep a roof over head, provide moral support and stay available for daily chats. That is all the support she needs.
My autistic son is in his last year of high school. We had to deal with transportation issues with him,as the bus system had him listed as graduated. It took two days to straighten out, but he's all set now. I still don't know what his class schedule is this year and that is next on my to do list. I've had to direct all my attention to my third child so far this school year.
Child number three, my daughter with ADD and learning disabilities, is beginning her sophomore year in high school. We didn't know what her schedule was going to be either. I went to school the first day of school to see her schedule and make sure it was appropriate. It all looked fine to me. Last week I get the call to do her IEP. I went on Friday and only her math teacher/case manager was there. He was flipping out and saying maybe she should be in a different school. So I let him get everything off his chest and said I wanted to schedule another IEP meeting with all the people who were supposed to be there actually there. It was scheduled for this morning. When you have an IEP meeting, your children's teachers should be there; OT, PT, and Speech teachers should be there; the school psychiatrist or social worker should be there and finally a representative from the SpEd dept of the school system should be there. Over the weekend I contacted a couple that I know from my church who have two, grown, handicapped sons. The husband is a retired judge and knows all the legal information. The wife has been involved with an agency that deals with handicapped adults for years. They offered to come with me today for the next IEP meeting. They had me call the school first thing this morning to let them know I was bringing advocates with me. I'm here to tell you that everyone showed up for this meeting! What a difference! It turned out that my advocates have known the school dept. representative for years. We all had a great conversation about my daughter, her strengths and weaknesses. My advocates were so helpful in asking the right questions and also providing some great information on some services as well. There will be some testing to see if she qualifies for any visual technology. The math teacher was calmed down and actually admitted that she did really well on a quiz last Friday. I am so, so glad that I bought advocates with me this time. I have always gone by myself to IEP meetings. I won't be going alone any more. You get more respect and consequently more results if you have an advocate with you. It's nice to feel like I did my all for my daughter today.
BAKED APPLES and fall, they just seem to go together. I love going to the farmer's market and smelling all the fresh picked apples. My son loves apple juice and apple sauce. It seemed a natural to try him on other apple treats. The easiest is the baked apple. I use a recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. I'm not sure that I can print it so I'll just say that it uses apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins and a little bit of water or apple juice for the apples to sit in. I'm sure there is a cooking site that has their own version that you can find. My son doesn't like cooked raisins and the wrinkly brown skin was a turn off. However, once I scraped the apple out of the skin, he was fine with it. Future blogs will have my very own apple crisp recipe and a recipe for apple sauce spice cake. My son and all my family love both of these, plus they make the kitchen smell so good! So stay tuned. I hope you enjoy your fall and all the wonderful produce that will be out there! Hugs to all of you!
Nancy
My autistic son is in his last year of high school. We had to deal with transportation issues with him,as the bus system had him listed as graduated. It took two days to straighten out, but he's all set now. I still don't know what his class schedule is this year and that is next on my to do list. I've had to direct all my attention to my third child so far this school year.
Child number three, my daughter with ADD and learning disabilities, is beginning her sophomore year in high school. We didn't know what her schedule was going to be either. I went to school the first day of school to see her schedule and make sure it was appropriate. It all looked fine to me. Last week I get the call to do her IEP. I went on Friday and only her math teacher/case manager was there. He was flipping out and saying maybe she should be in a different school. So I let him get everything off his chest and said I wanted to schedule another IEP meeting with all the people who were supposed to be there actually there. It was scheduled for this morning. When you have an IEP meeting, your children's teachers should be there; OT, PT, and Speech teachers should be there; the school psychiatrist or social worker should be there and finally a representative from the SpEd dept of the school system should be there. Over the weekend I contacted a couple that I know from my church who have two, grown, handicapped sons. The husband is a retired judge and knows all the legal information. The wife has been involved with an agency that deals with handicapped adults for years. They offered to come with me today for the next IEP meeting. They had me call the school first thing this morning to let them know I was bringing advocates with me. I'm here to tell you that everyone showed up for this meeting! What a difference! It turned out that my advocates have known the school dept. representative for years. We all had a great conversation about my daughter, her strengths and weaknesses. My advocates were so helpful in asking the right questions and also providing some great information on some services as well. There will be some testing to see if she qualifies for any visual technology. The math teacher was calmed down and actually admitted that she did really well on a quiz last Friday. I am so, so glad that I bought advocates with me this time. I have always gone by myself to IEP meetings. I won't be going alone any more. You get more respect and consequently more results if you have an advocate with you. It's nice to feel like I did my all for my daughter today.
BAKED APPLES and fall, they just seem to go together. I love going to the farmer's market and smelling all the fresh picked apples. My son loves apple juice and apple sauce. It seemed a natural to try him on other apple treats. The easiest is the baked apple. I use a recipe from my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. I'm not sure that I can print it so I'll just say that it uses apples, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins and a little bit of water or apple juice for the apples to sit in. I'm sure there is a cooking site that has their own version that you can find. My son doesn't like cooked raisins and the wrinkly brown skin was a turn off. However, once I scraped the apple out of the skin, he was fine with it. Future blogs will have my very own apple crisp recipe and a recipe for apple sauce spice cake. My son and all my family love both of these, plus they make the kitchen smell so good! So stay tuned. I hope you enjoy your fall and all the wonderful produce that will be out there! Hugs to all of you!
Nancy
Saturday, September 1, 2012
Some good information
Hi everyone! This is just a quick post to give you all some interesting information that passed my way today. Going through my emails I found the recent Autism Speaks blog. I read them to keep up on the latest news about autism. I've read a lot of negative things about Autism Speaks recently on facebook, but I find them informative and I appreciate the research that they fund. Any way, todays blog had an article entitled Finding Credible Autism Research. They listed many places to look using many types of media. I wish I had a list like this 16 years ago when my son was first diagnosed! All I got was a manila envelope with copies of a few articles in it from the Developmental Pediatrician that we saw! The world knows so much more about autism now than it did back then. I'm so glad the information is getting easier to find. You can go to the Autism Speaks/blog web site to read it or my facebook page Autism and Cooking. I have posted it there.
I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. We've had glorious weather so far. Today was warm, with blue skies and fluffy white clouds. A perfect day by my standards. I got out for a walk with my daughter and soaked it all in. Hugs to you all!
Nancy
I hope you are all enjoying your weekend. We've had glorious weather so far. Today was warm, with blue skies and fluffy white clouds. A perfect day by my standards. I got out for a walk with my daughter and soaked it all in. Hugs to you all!
Nancy
Monday, August 27, 2012
Sensitivities and school
He would only wear certain sneakers. The ones that would stay on his feet at the store, were the ones that we bought. Socks had to have the seams running across the top of the toes, not on the ends and sometimes had to be turned inside out. To this day, he will not wear jeans. He wears sweat pants because they fit snugly around his waist without the use of a belt. He will wear a light weight dress pant. I truly hope that the person who came up with the idea of printing labels on t-shirts, instead of sewing a label on, is a very rich person now. What a wonderful thing that is!
So now let's say you actually manage to get your child dressed for school. You get him to school. He likes the school and seems to like his teacher. Does he/she have a melt down after being there for awhile after initially seeming happy? I read an article that said that even the pitch, volume or timbre of a new voice in class can set some kids off. Was there a fire drill that day? Those loud noises can really be jarring to our kids. Suggest to the teacher to be warned way ahead of time. That way they can practice, and parents can make the choice to keep their child home that day if necessary. Did the melt down occur during gym? Some children have a hard time with the whistle that gym teacher's blow to get the children's attention. Suggest to the teacher to give your child a warning before he/she blows the whistle or come up with another method to get everyone's attention. Some children don't like to feel hot or sweaty. They may need frequent breaks.
Some children are over-sensitive to odors. We have had this problem at our house. Some children can react to a smell 1 to 3 hours later after smelling it. Here is a list of things to watch out for: perfumes, soaps, lotions, deodorants, hairsprays, air fresheners, gases from things like new rugs, plastics, rubber, paints, and paint thinners. Children with a runny nose like allergies or itchy skin may be suffering from these kind of things. I must say that my son's elementary school teachers were very good about this. They never wore perfume or anything with an odor. Windows were open as much as possible. The floors were linoleum except for a small rug in the reading area. Speak with your child's teacher if you think the room needs improvements and suggest ideas. Don't just complain.
As far as the home scene, my eldest daughter loves all things smelly! I felt that I could not restrict her in these things, but she is made to keep it to a minimum and to always have her bedroom window open as she is spraying. I also have an air purifier in my bedroom so we have a "clean" room to go to if someone needs a break from a particular odor. All I can say is that it works for us. My children also happen to suffer at times from seasonal allergies. Claritin is a staple in our medicine cabinet when needed. Always talk to your children's doctor before giving them a new over the counter medicine.
School starts for us tomorrow. I truly hope you all have a smooth transition back to or starting school. I have found that there is always something to be dealt with every year with both of my SpEd kids. This year my son wasn't put on the list to get a bus to school. Not sure how long that is going to take to fix or how I'm going to get him to school in the meantime. My daughter? She isn't going to get her schedule until she walks into the door of school this year. Her IEP is in the fall, so we have no idea what she is taking, with whom or if it is even appropriate for her. I'll be walking with her to school to find out what is what.
I do have an after school snack idea for you- corn bread. It's plain and simple. I buy the cheap corn muffin/bread mix that comes in the little boxes for about a dollar. I stock up when they are on sale. My son loves it warm from the oven! It can be crumbly, so try to not over bake it.
My best to all of you. As always, I hope I have helped someone if only in a little way. Hugs to you all!
Nancy
Monday, August 13, 2012
Transitioning to a new school
As a mother of three, I have gone through my fair share of transitions to new schools. I've seen lots of posts on this topic and thought I would add my voice as well.
To me the work of transitioning begins in the spring. The schools here hold open houses in the spring and I went to them all. I talked to the principal, the teachers, poked my nose into the classrooms. I made sure I got a good feel of the school before choosing it as my child's new school.
With school just two weeks away, we are backing up our bedtime. I saw a recommendation of backing up 15 minutes at a time. You should get them (and yourself!) up earlier too. I know, I hate getting up early! During the summer I usually sleep until around 9am. School days require me to be up at 6:30. Ugh! Time for me to get ready. Luckily my son is a natural early riser!
Prepare a one page brief about your child's disability and the assistance they will be needing. Include allergies and any safety precautions. Their old teacher will be sending their folder of information along, but it takes time to get to the new school. Also, teachers just don't have the time to read through the mountains of paper that are usually there except during IEP meetings. Sorry, but that's the truth.
Attend any and all orientation events. Renew relationships started during the open house. Again, talk with the principal, head of Special Ed., the school nurse and the teacher. You can say something like " I'm so excited that Bobby will be attending your school! We chose this school because....I think Bobby will be happy here because......I look forward to working with you.
If for some reason your school doesn't do an open house or orientation, you could write a social story. I'd also do a drive by the school. Let them get out and walk around a bit in the school yard. Anything to make it more familiar to them. If they are going to go by bus for the first time, go to the bus yard. Let them see and touch a bus. Remember how visual our kids are. Anything they can see, touch, hear will help them adjust to the school.
I'd let them ride the bus the very first day. Meet them at the school with lots of praise. Then take them in to meet the new teacher. Of course, if your child is older you may not have to go through all this.
My last bit of advice is once you are certain your child is safe at school, that all their accommodations are being met, and they seem happy there--it's time to leave. It took two weeks of going back and forth to get my daughter settled in middle school and just as long last year for high school. Maybe your child will be all set the first day of school. I certainly hope so! It's a skill to learn from someone other than your parent and our kids need that. They need to stand on their own two feet in a safe environment without you hovering once all the kinks are worked out. Cutting the apron strings, as it used to be called, is good for you and them. Go home, enjoy the quiet, watch your favorite soap and bake a batch of cookies for after school!!
Enjoy these last two weeks with your children! We still have a trip to the beach planned and a trip to get soft-served ice cream. Yumm!
Nancy
To me the work of transitioning begins in the spring. The schools here hold open houses in the spring and I went to them all. I talked to the principal, the teachers, poked my nose into the classrooms. I made sure I got a good feel of the school before choosing it as my child's new school.
With school just two weeks away, we are backing up our bedtime. I saw a recommendation of backing up 15 minutes at a time. You should get them (and yourself!) up earlier too. I know, I hate getting up early! During the summer I usually sleep until around 9am. School days require me to be up at 6:30. Ugh! Time for me to get ready. Luckily my son is a natural early riser!
Prepare a one page brief about your child's disability and the assistance they will be needing. Include allergies and any safety precautions. Their old teacher will be sending their folder of information along, but it takes time to get to the new school. Also, teachers just don't have the time to read through the mountains of paper that are usually there except during IEP meetings. Sorry, but that's the truth.
Attend any and all orientation events. Renew relationships started during the open house. Again, talk with the principal, head of Special Ed., the school nurse and the teacher. You can say something like " I'm so excited that Bobby will be attending your school! We chose this school because....I think Bobby will be happy here because......I look forward to working with you.
If for some reason your school doesn't do an open house or orientation, you could write a social story. I'd also do a drive by the school. Let them get out and walk around a bit in the school yard. Anything to make it more familiar to them. If they are going to go by bus for the first time, go to the bus yard. Let them see and touch a bus. Remember how visual our kids are. Anything they can see, touch, hear will help them adjust to the school.
I'd let them ride the bus the very first day. Meet them at the school with lots of praise. Then take them in to meet the new teacher. Of course, if your child is older you may not have to go through all this.
My last bit of advice is once you are certain your child is safe at school, that all their accommodations are being met, and they seem happy there--it's time to leave. It took two weeks of going back and forth to get my daughter settled in middle school and just as long last year for high school. Maybe your child will be all set the first day of school. I certainly hope so! It's a skill to learn from someone other than your parent and our kids need that. They need to stand on their own two feet in a safe environment without you hovering once all the kinks are worked out. Cutting the apron strings, as it used to be called, is good for you and them. Go home, enjoy the quiet, watch your favorite soap and bake a batch of cookies for after school!!
Enjoy these last two weeks with your children! We still have a trip to the beach planned and a trip to get soft-served ice cream. Yumm!
Nancy
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