WTOW- Learning Difficulties

 

Over the past four years we have had our fair share of learning difficulties and accommodations. Last year I wrote a post about our biggest struggles and accommodations. You can read that by clicking here. In that post I really highlighted my daughter’s accommodations and not many of my son’s because I had not been schooling him for very long. Now we have completed Kindergarten, and have moved on to first grade. This year I have pin pointed a few of my son’s struggles, and am diligently working to help him with them.

I’ll keep you waiting no more. Here is our list for this year so far.  

• Never sits in his seat, was always flipping in it, or standing, switching from sitting on his bottom, or sitting on hos feet laying on the table etc.

This is something that I find extremely difficult to deal with as it throws me off track while trying to teach. For this we are working on getting a few accommodations in place.

1. We do as little table work as possible. This is the most important one.
2. I have him get up from his seat and jump between subjects
3. We are setting up an exercise band around his seat so that he can bounce his legs. What you do is take a resistance band and wrap it around the legs of the chair where his ankles hit. This allows the child to constantly bounce his legs and hopefully cut down of some of the wiggling.
4. We have a wiggle cushion in his seat.
5. We do a lot of hands on learning games that require him to run around.
6. We follow a sensory diet
7. Last but not least I do a bit of training. We have a 20 minute read time where I read to the kids. I am consistently engaging him in the story  as he sits on a rug spot with a fidget. In the beginning he had a really difficult time sitting on the rug spot. However over time and constant redirection he can now make it about 5 minutes without very much redirection.

• If he wants to do something, like play playdough, he will just get up and do it, then if I try to redirect back to what we are already doing, he becomes upset, and has a meltdown. This is particularly frustrating for both me and him.

1. We take regular breaks
2. We do as much hands on materials as possible
3. If something is on his mind like playdough and he can’t stop thinking about it, we will make a compromise as long as it is within reason. Sometimes this goes on ALL day, and on those days I have no solution. I just throw in the towel. (for now lol)

• Noises, and Distractions are a biggy in our house. It’s so difficult to accommodate as I have a three year old and a one year old, and a nine year old with needs as well. I have written posts in the past which talk about this. Here and Here. For Christopher the noise is a huge distraction for him. A few things we try are;

1. Headphones
2. Peaceful music
3. Ear Plugs
4. Doing reading time when the youngest is asleep
5. Having sister take the littles up to her room while we do his sit down work
6. Turn of the dishwasher, air conditioner, tv, etc.

Those are currently our biggest academic struggles with him. Unless you count handwriting, and well, that will have to be another post. All in all what has worked the best with him is getting outdoors.

WTOW- Easy to Love but Hard to Raise Giveaway Results

We had several wonderful entries for this giveaway. I entered the number into a random results generator at Random.org and came up with comment number 1 as our winner. Here’s what she said

Kristina Osgood said...

Trying to explain the issues with family or friends and their comment "but she looks normal to me" has got to be one of the most discouraging things ever. It's frustrating to try making people understand what is going on when they can't see it themselves. And when they see a behavior or are with her during a seizure they pretend it a)didn't happen or b)"All kids do that".

Congratulations! I will be contacting you to get your book to you.

 

WTOW- Easy to Love but Hard to Raise (Giveaway)

Invisible disabilities. HMMMMM……… My family has our fair share of them. “Invisible? Huh?” An invisible disability is disability that majorly affects a persons life, yet may not be immediately apparent to an onlooker. You may not know this, but about 80% of all disabilities could fit under this category. For parents this can be so difficult. If I had a penny for all the times I have heard someone say something about my children “looking normal” I would be rich. (yes I said penny) For my family I faced my first challenges with professionals. ie; therapists, Pediatricians, etc. After we jumped over those hurtles, we still have to jump through hurtles of friends, church members, random stranger . This can make a parent feel lonely. So, we look for other mom’s with kids like ours, web sites, forums, support groups, books etc. When we find them it’s like a breath of fresh air. we realize we are not alone.

Easy to Love but Hard to Raise is like a breath of fresh air. it contains real stories from real parents. Parents in the trenches. this book contains tips, statistics, advice, hope, laughter, tears, and much more. The over all message of the book is to let you know that, YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

I am excited to announce that the wonderful people at Easy to Love Hard to Raise have offered to give one of you lovely readers a copy of this book. You have three days to enter this give away.

To enter the giveaway simply leave a comment telling me how your life is affected by an invisible disability.

*please make sure to include your e-mail address in your comment.

Special Needs Homeschooling- Housework

Shortly after writing yesterday’s post, I went to the restroom and came out to find this. I thought that would be a great way to answer the question, “How do you do it all?” I DON’T!!!!!!!

At any given moment there are 3-4 loads of laundry to be done despite doing multiple loads a day.  I probably do 4 loads of dishes a day, and that does not always get done in a timely manner. Every time I get the boys room cleaned they go and do something like, dump muffin mix all over the floor. HAHA. Laundry is rarely put away, because I loath doing it. We do have chores as a part of our routine, and I don’t keep a nasty house, but it is simply not possible for me to keep up, and to keep my kids at home, and happy. There are certain aspects of our routine that are more important to our sanity than working myself to the bone keeping a spotless house.

So what does that have to do with Homeschooling Special Needs children? Well, we get school done at the cost of delayed housework, so I don’t do it all, I choose what is most important at that moment. If we are doing school work and having fun, then all of a sudden we are having a meltdown because I am also trying to do laundry, and dishes, and the sound of the dishwasher is to much, the dishwasher will be turned off, and we will probably end up with a full sink because of the delay.

We currently live in a small apartment, (moving soon) so school happens out in the open at our teeny tiny dining room table.

Both of my older children have sensory processing issues. The dining room/classroom is pushed up against the kitchen, making it impossible to not hear the dishwasher, Washing Machine, and dryer going. And so brings forth challenge of “doing it all”. And so I don’t!

You may be sitting there thinking, “But I thought children with Autism, ADHD, and the like, thrived in an orderly environment,?” They do!

Insert confession here> There are days when we “take a break” and get the house back in working order. It’s not the ideal scenario, and I am constantly attempting to improve my time management so that I can get it done, but I will say, pausing a load  of dishes and letting the sink pile up so that I can create educational success for my children, is worth it. 

I’m not giving you a license to live in filth. Remember, your children (any children) thrive in an orderly environment. But let’s face the facts. Many children with special needs have sensory issues, so the next time school is going well, and then all of a sudden it’s not, take a look at  your surroundings. What is going on? Is the dishwasher running? What about the washing machine? TV? Go ahead and let yourself and your child off the hook, and turn it all off. Who known's, you might just be able to accomplish several days worth of school work in one sitting. That could come in handy for those days where formal schooling is just not happening.

So in short, we struggle with sensory issues. I make accommodations at the expense of other things not getting done. Relax, peace is more important than an empty sink!

Isaiah 54:10

Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed," says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

 

Sensory Possessing is a real struggle for our family and for many other families. Here are some links to a few great articles highlighting the struggle with SPD. If you are not familiar with SPD, you may find the information interesting.

•  http://confessionsofanondomestichousewife.blogspot.com/2011/03/autism-awareness-meltdowns.html
• http://mytwohappyhomeschoolers.blogspot.com/2011/08/challenges-of-homeschooling-child-with_01.html
• http://www.sinetwork.org/about-sensory-processing-disorder.html

I hope you somehow found encouragement in my post. I am certainly not a wordsmith, but if you stay tuned I will do my best to be open and honest about things that are hard for most to talk about.

Homeschooling with Special Needs

I was recently told that I make life look easy. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! No really that’s what she said. The comment got me thinking about a post series I read from My Two Happy Homeschoolers, about homeschooling with Autism. In these posts she gave a real and candid look at Homeschooling with Autism. It’s easy to look at blogs, and wonder how in the world they have it together all of the time, but the truth is, it’s just a blog. Just a few pictures of the finished product. A look at all of the things we want you to know. It’s what you don’t see before and after those pictures are taken that is ‘Real Life’. LOL! On a blog we want to put our best foot forward, which often makes things seem almost angelic.

There’s nothing wrong with putting your best foot forward, and I’ll be honest with you, it helps me to see things come together so  nicely in a blog post. I often return to blog posts when I am questioning my decision to homeschool. It really helps inspire me, and remind me that we are accomplishing something, ANYTHING! The problem is that as mothers it’s also helpful for us to realize that other families struggle, fight, give up, cry, feel lost, etc. It’s helpful so that we know we are not alone, and so that we can encourage one another out of experience, and love.

Here is a quote taken from My Two Happy Homeschooler’s that I think pretty much clears it up how most special needs families feel when reading blogs,

“For the longest time, in our pre-diagnosis days, I would read about these perfect little homeschooling families, and I'd sit back and wonder, how come my homeschool days didn't look like theirs?? How come every time I was fun and creative my son would end up in tears? How come every time I followed his lead, he'd end up melting down? How come he couldn't sit still or be quiet? Or look at me when I was teaching him? How come he would become distracted by the smallest thing and couldn't get back on track? How come homeschooling him wasn't as fun as I thought it would be?”

As you can see the view from outside is great, but often times we need someone to be COMPLETELY honest. It’s hard for me to be candid about our struggles, but in the next few posts, I am going to give it a shot. I hope I can encourage you to know what another family struggles with, and how we cope.

When I sat down to do this post, I began to think of all the questions I have received about homeschooling with Special Needs. (or really homeschooling in general) I will try my best to answer these questions.

• How do you do it all?
• How do you get your kids to sit at the table and do school?
• How do you handle the distraction of having a baby and a toddler while homeschooling?
• Does the noise not bother your son?
• How do you get any school done with all those Dr. appointments?
• We struggle to get out of the house, how do you do it?
• Do you ever need a break?
• How do you get breaks?
• What accommodations do you recommend or  have in  place?
• How do you control your temper, do your kids not push to complete frustration?
• Your kids seem to have adjusted well, how do you get them to behave in public?
• How do you find friends who understand your children’s needs.?
• I would have never guessed that your children have special needs, What does that look like for your family?
• How do you choose a curriculum that fits your child’s needs?

This list could go on forever, but I think I have highlighted the most frequently asked questions. I hope you find the information in the upcoming posts informative and helpful. These posts will come every Thursday until I’ve answered all of the questions.

Pumpkin Rice Bin

I made this Pumpkin Rice bin for Sammy so that he wouldn’t feel left out of our pumpkin activities one day. Most of the activities that day were for the older kids. I was surprised that Hailey and Christopher wanted to play with it as well. Lot’s of fun for everyone.

An Odd yet Frequent Question

I get asked asked a question often that seems odd to me, but I guess in a way I understand. I was asked this question recently, and then I heard a hear wrenching story about an unwanted child, and it got me thinking. So what is the question? “If you had known about all of the health needs, and mental health needs of H & C would you still have adopted them?”

Every time I am asked this, I always say well, yes! But I am also stunned that people even ask this. It is kind of offensive. I’m perplexed that this is how people think. I mean, there are no guarantees that the child you gave birth to won’t have health issues, or mental health issues. If you knew that when your child was 6 he would develop a Brain condition and require surgery after surgery, would you still choose to have that child? When you give birth to a child, you have no way of knowing if they will develop Autism, or have ADHD, or develop seizures, or the many of unknown possibilities. You just take them as they come, and do your best to be the best parent you can be, and rely heavily on the Lord to get you all through. You love that child, because they are your child! It should be no different with an adopted child!

So in short, I may not have known about all the “issues” that would arise, but I did know some, and I would do all over again, because when God leads a child to your home, they are your child no matter how they got there. 

A Pink Pond

Have you ever wanted to play in a pink pond? We have, so we made one.

Make your own weighted Critter Piller

Weighted products such as, blankets lap pads and neck wraps are very popular tools in the world of Occupational therapy. One product I have found to work well with Christopher is a weighted neck wrap. We use this when he is having difficulty sitting for story time, or sitting at the dinner table. The pressure seems to help him calm down a little bit. Click the link below for a great explanation of why weighted products work.

http://www.sensorycraver.com/weighted-products-c-55.html

When I first started looking into weighted items, I saw how expensive they are and so I did not even try to get any. But then one day I saw a few Critter Piller in a consignment store. I decided to purchase them and make my own neck wrap to see how the work. I’m so glad I did. Making your own is quite easy, so here goes.

Directions:

1. Get a Critter Piller, or something like them. You can purchase a Critter Piller for about $10.00. I got mine for $3.00 at consignment. I like Critter Pillers, because they have zippers. :)

2. Open the back and remove half of the stuffing.

3. Spread 2lbs of butter beans evenly throughout the pillow. I used butter beans because they are bigger and can spread more evenly.

4. Place a layer of stuffing over the beans to keep them in place.

5. Zip and enjoy!

The best kind of Sensory Input for your Seeker

(Disclaimer: Please ignore the fat lady in the picture with Christopher)

I spent 2 weeks getting my son ready and prepared for our trip to the beach. I was concerned that his sensory aversions would keep us him from enjoying the beach. I had not anticipated that it would actually be very therapeutic for him. I prepared him well for the sand and I’m glad I did. But he spent most of his time in the water. The waves were a little bit rough and he loved feeling them crash against him, and the sound of the waves were very calming for him.  I have to say he was very well behaved, and I owe it all to the therapeutic power of the beach.

 

 

Shaving Cream Fun

Everybody needs a little shaving cream fun because, well, IT’S FUN!

Sensory Bowl

I know, I know, I have been doing a lot of sensory stuff. But the kids just love it, and it’s OT at home. (LOL)

What’s inside?

• Sand
• Water
• Foam Ocean pieces for playing hide and seek

Sensory Bins- Beach

• Sand
• Foam Beach Pieces
• Cooking Brush
• Hand painted Shells
• Bag Clip
• Tweezers thing (lol)

Autism Awareness- Getting Involved

There are many ways you can get involved in raising awareness about Autism. It doesn’t have to just be the month of April. Even though it is now May, I wanted to share with you how my family got involved this past weekend.

On Saturday we rose early, and made our way to the FROGS walk for Autism 2011. It was a 3k, so I wasn’t sure how the kids would do, but they did great! I was so surprised at how incredible the event was. I was so proud of my son Christopher. At this event he conquered his fear of dressed up people (at least for one day), He didn’t fuss that he couldn’t have a snow cone with the juice, He responded wonderfully to  our new transition method, He settled for a picture of the pink shoe trophy and didn’t cry when we told him he couldn’t have it. Our family was truly touched to see the amount of people that came out. The pictures do not do it justice, but I will share them anyway.