Giving Condoms To First Graders

Provincetown, Massachusetts, schools will be providing free condoms to first through twelfth graders. I find this shocking. What is even more shocking, is that parents are not allowed to exempt their child from this. This means that if you live in Provincetown, Massachusetts, and your 1st Grade child wants a condom, you have no say in it. You can not order the school to not allow your child to get one from them.

You might think that this is not your concern. Think again. Once one school starts doing this, it’s just a matter of time before others do, too. There’s also a chance that they already do. Do you know the policy in your school district? Are you keeping up with the policies that your school board is passing?

Parents need to take an active part in what is going on in their child’s school and in the school board that governs the school. It’s shocking to me that this is something that could happen at my daughter’s school without me being able to do anything about it.

IEP YouTube Video

I hope you find this helpful.

FOXNews.com - Autistic Boy Accused of Terroristic Threats

FOXNews.com - Autistic Boy Accused of Terroristic Threats

Posted using ShareThis

Shane Finn, a 14 year old autistic boy, was suspended from school, arrested and charged with a felony. He was charged with with making terrostic threats. Shane Finn functions on a third grade level and has an IQ of 75. He does not understand what he has done wrong, according to his mother, and he has difficulties expressing himself.

As a mom of an autistic boy, I understand the situation. It's my worse nightmare. That my son would be arrested based on actions that have been misinterpreted by others. It happens all the time and needs to be stopped. New legislation needs to be brought about to protect our children.

Our children are different. They think and react differently. This needs to be taken into account for every incident involving an autistic child. In this case, the child should not have been suspended or arrested. Obviously, something is wrong. The parents and school counselor or Psychologist, should have been brought in to talk with the boy and the teacher.

Two years ago, I was blessed with discovering how to communicate with my son. During the second week of our communicating, he told me he wanted a gun. He was 9 at the time. I asked him why. He said he wanted to kill himself. I was so upset, I just broke down crying.

It took us a week of him asking for a gun to kill himself and me telling him no, before we were able to get to the bottom of it. He didn't want to die. He wanted to go see God and have God make him normal. Then, he wanted to come back to us. I explained that it didn't work that way. That was the end of it. He didn't want a gun or to die anymore.

With an autistic child, linear thinking tends to trip us up. An autistic child can say one thing or draw one thing, and it may have a specific meaning to you. For the autistic child, however, the meaning may be something completely different.

That's why laws need to be in place to protect our children. Behavior plans in school are great, but they don't protect our children from the school calling the police and having our child arrested. My heart goes out to Shane Finn and his family. I cringe to think what kind of affect this is having on him emotionally.

Miss Trimble's Trapdoor Books Review and Giveaway Closed

I was sent the first two books in a series of children’s books by Lori Jordan-Rice to review and keep. The book s are titled “Miss Trimble’s Trapdoor” and Miss Trimble’s Trapdoor, The Perseverance of Christopher Columbus.” Both books were illustrated by Fox Carlton Hughes.

Most of the children’s books that I read are geared for young children, about the age of my daughter(6 ½). These books are for children around my son’s age, 11 years old this weekend. The main character in the book is a fifth grade boy named Tyler, that is shy, socially awkward, and has trouble paying attention in class.

Because of this, Tyler has his own corner in the classroom that is designated his “quiet place.” This is where he goes, or is sent, when he is having trouble concentrating. When I read this, it reminded me of my son and how he needs a quiet place to work. He is easily distracted. This is also true for a lot of autistic children and for children with other disabilities. However, there was nothing in the book that stated that the character had a disability of any kind. I asked the author what was the inspiration for the main character, if he is based on anyone in particular. She replied, “The main character, Tyler, is based loosely around my own oldest son, who is shy and struggles with self esteem. He is smart, but really needs his own "quiet space" to think and do his best.”

Ms. Jordan-Rice is a former elementary teacher that had become frustrated with the lack of knowledge children were able to demonstrate in the area of history. It seemed that more and more, our children are growing up “historically illiterate - meaning, our kids may not know which country the United States fought to declare its freedom, what explorer discovered America or even who won the battle of the Alamo.” She has written these books to teach history in a manner that will be engaging to young children. Ms. Jordan-Rice says “ The ‘Miss Trimble’s Trapdoor’ series revolves around a fictional classroom full of characters and their daily lives, with an extensive history lesson embedded in each story.”

I did not find this to be true in the first book. To me, the first book was centered on introducing the characters in the book and had a little bit of historical information in it. I felt that this was the best way to write the first book in the series. It gives the reader the opportunity to learn about the characters and to get invested in the story that is being read, and the ones to follow.

The second book does contain an extensive history lesson it. Both stories have important life lessons that are taught, using what has happened in our past (history), to teach the main character how to handle problems he faces in the present. In the first book, “Miss Trimble’s Trapdoor,” Tyler meets Barnabas Bailey, a talking dog that acts as his teacher and guide when Tyler discovers the trapdoor.

Tyler learns an important lesson about friendship and the importance of liking yourself first. In the second book, “Miss Trimble’s Trapdoor The Perseverance of Christopher Columbus,” Tyler learns that you have to work hard, be persistent, and accept failure in order to achieve success. These are great life lessons that children need to learn and understand.

It is my opinion that these books are not just books that your child can read for entertainment. They would be excellent books to use for book reports. They provide opportunities to discuss and relate events in the past to the present. You can use them to challenge your child’s critical thinking and interpretation skills. There soon will be other books in the series available for purchase. I am looking forward to that. For more information about the “Miss Trimble’s Trapdoor” series, please visit www.MissTrimblesTrapdoor.com.

This giveaway is for one autographed copy “Miss Trimble‘s Trapdoor“ and “Miss Trimble‘s Trapdoor The Perseverance of Christopher Columbus.” You must live in the US to enter. This giveaway begins March 4, 2010 and ends March 20, 2010.

Main Entry: Leave a comment telling me who you would give this to and why. (If this rule isn’t followed, no additional entries will count).

You can get extra entries by doing any or all of the below. Each entry needs to be a separate comment.

1 Extra Entry - Follow @taless on Twitter and leave your twitter id in a separate comment
* 1 Extra Entry - Twitter this giveaway and leave your twitter name in a separate comment (You can get up to one extra entry by tweeting each day and leaving a comment here each day.)
1 Extra Entry - Follow my blog and let me know in a separate comment
1 Extra Entry - Subscribe to my RSS feed via email and let me know in a separate comment
1 Extra Entry - Write a post on your blog linking to my blog, and let me know in a separate comment

IEP Meeting Yesterday

image supplied by FreeFoto.com




I had the meeting yesterday and we had to schedule a second one to finish up. It was very difficult. We covered his old IEP first. That wasn't too bad. My son accomplished 57% of his goals.

Then we were ready to go over the new one. They asked me what my concerns were and I told them that I wanted to see more academics at his level. He is so bored with what they are teaching him. That is when the arguing started. Every time I started to say something, someone would pipe in and talk over me. I hate that! Really, I don't interrupt anyone in the meeting when they are talking. I deserve to be heard out. I was calm and reasonable. Let me finish my sentence!

After ten minutes of this, I lost it. I was so mad, I had to get up and walk out of the room. I paced up and down the hall, trying to calm down. The principal came out and we talked for a few minutes. She understood and together, we went back into the meeting. She explained to everyone what my concerns were and what I wanted. Then she ended by telling them that "Mom doesn't want to argue about it."

We covered two goals before I had to leave in order to be home before the kids. We have to have a second meeting to finish the new IEP. What really irritates me is that they have already written up a new IEP, with goals. They have done so without my input. So far, they are concentrating on goals like: typing out his name and address independently. Well, right now, he doesn't want to do that.

My son does things at his own choosing. Establishing goals that he does not want to work on at this time is stupid. He is showing great progress with his writing. Last night, we were writing his name on his homework sheet. I helped him get started with the first letter and he did the rest completely independently. I was so impressed and proud. This is the area that he is progressing in. This is the area he is interested in. Why not center the IEP around writing instead of typing?

Oh, and his academic level? 6th grade and above. He learns (when being taught) at a fast rate. He is being taught academics that are 3rd grade and below. No wonder he doesn't want to do anything for them. I'm not giving up. My son's needs will be met, even if it means taking him out of school and homeschooling him.

IEP Meeting Tomorrow

photo Supplied by FreeFoto.com













Well, tomorrow is our IEP meeting. I am not looking forward to it. I never look forward to them. It's very emotional for me to sit and listen to my son's strengths and weeknesses. I know them, but to hear others saying them seems to affect me more emotionally.

Changes need to be made for his new IEP. It's difficult to figure out what, because he still doesn't have his communication device. I know that I have seen an improvement in his handwriting. He is starting to form the letters independently, but still needs some hand over hand to prevent him from scribbling all over the paper after he has formed a letter. I don't know why he does this. He has visual motor processing issues. He has difficulty determining how to start and stop a letter.

The fact that he is trying so hard to learn how to write gives me hope. It will help him tremendously with his school work and give him an alternative way of communication. I believe this to be especially important since I don't even know if his communication device will be approved. It is being payed for by his Medicaid/Cap services. With all the cut backs in the budget, there is a chance that it will not be approved.

I would like to see more grade level educational goals on his IEP. He is so bored at school. They cover one thing for the whole week, like safety, calendar, poisons. These are very basic concepts and he understands them. He learns so quickly that he really only needs to be spend one day on a set of concept. I say a set of concepts, because just teaching him one thing a day is too slow for him. He is academically gifted, but his communication and writing ability holds him back.

The problem with moving him to advanced subjects is that the special needs public school he attends does not have a teacher that is able to teach him at his level. This will need to be addressed tomorrow and I am expecting a fight. I will go in calm and work hard to remain calm while presenting my expectations. I know I will have to compromise, but I need to make sure that the compromises do not end up hurting my son in the long run.

I'll keep you posted on the outcome of the meeting. I hope it goes smoother than I expect. I do have a great team of professionals to work with. I have also requested a specialist to come in and help us. She has a lot of experience with autistic children and has been helpful with a lot of other students and parents.

Getting Through a Bad Week

Photo supplied by FreeFoto.com







If you have been on our new AutismLearningFelt forum, than you know that I have had a difficult week. My son has a new teacher this year. She is pushing him to actually work, instead of just being an observer of the classroom. Logically, I think that this is good. He needs to learn to be a functional member of the classroom. On the other hand, the emotional mommy side of me wants to scream at her to leave him alone.

My son doesn’t like to work. His writing skills are very poor. He doesn’t like to use the word processor keyboard or computer keyboard to communicate. His augmentative communication device has not been approved and ordered yet. It is being purchased using his CAP services money. My son has a short attention span. He is distracted easily, and does not like to sit and attend to a task for more than a couple of minutes.

It’s frustrating for him to have to sit and do work. He is extremely intelligent, and the subjects that he is being taught are boring for him. His teacher does not want to advance his materials until he has demonstrated that he is knowledgeable in what he is currently being taught.

I’m trying to get her to understand that part of the problem is that he is bored. I have set up an IEP meeting for us to discuss everything that is going on and to find a solution. The other day, my son tried to stay home from school. He “told” me that he hates school. This was really hard for me because he has always loved school.

I have been struggling with what my next move should be. I spent a whole day crying because I felt like I was failing my son. Then, I had a discussion with my husband. He told me that we should give him some time. My husband feels that our son is just testing us and his teacher. That he needs to be pushed and that he needs to know that there are consequences to not doing his work. Having his free play time taken away at school and having his favorite items taken away at home are why he is unhappy.

We went through this with the potty training. In the end, he was fully potty trained within a month. The last two days of school have been better. His teacher concentrated on writing instead of typing. He finished his school work and has earned all of his items back. His teacher and I decided that since he was showing an interest, and some progress, in writing, we should concentrate on that.

As moms, we go through our daily lives with our families wanting everything to be perfect. Nothing is ever perfect, and we stress over it. When something happens that upsets the fragile balance that we have created, it can seem overwhelming. It doesn’t take much to through me into a tailspin. Luckily, this doesn’t happen as much now as it did when my son was younger. It helps having my husband here with me. He has a way of calming me down that I really appreciate. He sees things differently, and knows how to present his side to me in a manner that will not put me on the defensive. He reminded me that we are a team and we will deal with things as a team.

I hope you will join me over in the AutismLearningFelt forums and share your experiences. I was helped a lot there this past week. It was nice to be able to discuss with another mom what was going on in my life and know that she truly understood.