Book Review

Just a quick book review-

I have been reading the "Gone" series by Michael Grant. It was recommended to me by a bunch of 11 year old girls so it was likely that I would enjoy it. We have similar taste in reading material. :)

I did love the first one. "Gone" was great entertainment and a quick read- kind of a mix between the show "Lost" and "X-Men". Very cool. I'm about half way through the 2nd book "Hunger" and I am not sure if I will continue though. It's taking a turn for the disgusting. (I won't go into details here, but if you've read them you know what I'm talking about) Not much is being resolved in the story and more and more characters are being introduced to make for a dull and confusing book.

Poor Gregor the Overlander has been put aside and renewed twice from the library because the exciting sequel to "Gone" came up at the library on my hold shelf. I think it might be time to pick him back up.

Tuesday: Effective Advocating

Community Resources

Every community has resources available to support children of all abilities to participate in activities and programs. Summer time is often very difficult for children with autism and other developmental disabilities. Spencer thrives on a good routine. Here are a few ideas I’ve used in the past.

1. If your child is on the August-May schedule or something similar- Check out summer school- for children with an IEP it’s called ESY or extended school year. The planning for this begins before Christmas break so if you feel you need more assistance this year be sure to check it out for next year. Call for a team meeting in October/November to request a detailed explanation of the upcoming quarterly report and to discuss the possibility for ESY next year. At that meeting let the team know that you will be requesting data to be taken over the first 2 weeks after winter break is over to see if your child looses skills over winter break. If there is loss of skills based on the report and the following data then he/she might qualify for ESY. There’s a bit more to it than that, but this information will get you started.

2. Call your community center. PLB (Productive Living Board) of St. Louis County is a grant program that funds a number of worth wile resources in our area including an inclusion specialist for the city of Maryland Heights. She and I meet before Spencer after I enroll Spencer in a program at the center and discuss his needs and how to best support him. She reads his current IEP and behavior plan for school and does an in depth parent interview. Spencer does a summer day camp through the community center and they provide a shadow for him funded by the PLB and trained by the inclusion specialist!

3. Swimming Lessons- Many teachers will take 1:1 students and some specialize in teaching children with disabilities. Ask around at your local YMCA or pool and see if they offer these services.

4. Speaking of the YMCA! Our local YMCA chapters have an inclusion specialist as well! We have not tapped into this resource yet, but we can enroll Spencer in an activity at the YMCA and he will have a trained staff person to assist him in succeeding in the activity. They also have packet programs for children with disabilities where they can come meet their assistant 10 times for a set amount of money and work out, swim, play tennis or any of the other multitude of activities offered at the Y for members and you don’t have to join.

5. Community Resource Fairs- every March our area does an Autism Fair to allow parents the opportunity to talk to local vendors of services all in one place. We’ve gone to this a number of times. It saves a lot of time and energy and you find out a lot of new things.

6. Ask. It’s simple, but asking questions is a great way to find out things. I think Big Bird said that on Sesame Street. Either way it’s good advice- If there’s an activity you think your child will like, but you wonder how he or she will do because of the specific challenges they have- call up the company and ask. You might be surprised at what you learn.

Monday is Picture Day! Guess who? Answers

Here are the answers to the much anticipated Guess Who game. :)

1. Spencer

2. Spencer

3. Spencer

4. Tyler

5. Spencer

6. Spencer

7. Tyler

8. Tyler

9. Tyler- I love this picture of him

10. Spencer

11. Tyler below

12. Spencer

13. Tyler

Sunday: A Week of Fun!

A few very exciting events happened this week for us. 

First, I saw Eclipse on opening night and LOVED it!  Ultimate Girls Night Out!   The food, friends, and flick were all AMAZING!  Thanks guys for hanging out with me at the movies!

Second, Spencer started his PCA hours- personal care assistant- associated with his behavior plan developed by his behavior therapist.  Translation:  we had an extra grown up in the house 2 afternoons this week.  Next week we will start with our 3 afternoons a week schedule that will last the rest of the summer.  All of us had a better afternoon the days that our PCA was here to help out and look forward to getting to know her better.

Third, we were able to go to Springfield to see Darrin, Alexis and Parker and my parents for a cook out.  The food was delicious, the company great and Spencer actually ate all of his meals that day!  yahoo!

We’ll miss Sammie this week- she stayed at grandma and grandpa Burnett’s house.  I’ll have to have Darrin and Lex send me pictures of the day because my camera never left it’s case for some reason.  I never remember to use it if I happen to remember to bring it. 

Saturday: I'm a weight watcher! I'm a Weight Watcher!

I'm going to have to change this post title to something else. I'm not really going to weight watchers although I am technically still a member. I'm just glad I didn't sign up for the monthly pass or $40 a month would be taken out of my checkbook and I would not be going. I've been paying by the week so I only have to pay when I go- which is never. Pretty cheap huh?

I've joined sparkpeople.com and find it's a great way to log my food and exercise. They tally all of the calories, fat, protein etc. and help me set simple goals. You get spark points that go toward nothing but a pretty trophy on your home page, but it's like a grown up sticker chart and I feel strangely motivated to earn those points. I don't know if I've lost weight since I've joined, but I feel more proactive and I'm eating better so it's a step in the right direction.

Maybe I'll change it to: "I'm a Spark Person! I'm a Spark Person!" he he. Sounds kind of goofy.

My exercise log from this week:

Monday- I honestly don't remember... so probably not much- Oh, wait a minute- I can look at sparkpeople... Ahha! I did heavy cleaning (scouring after the plague), went swimming with the kids, and walked about a 25 minute mile.

Tuesday- 45 minutes treadmill, walked dog, swimming

Wednesday- Walked 60 minutes- this was the day I took the kids and dog to the park and walked the track- I was wonder mom that morning- got the dog walked, exercise in, and kids playing at the park all in one setting.

Thursday- walked to the dog park and had to hitch a ride back with a buddy when Sammie got stung by a wasp twice. I guess it was about 30 minutes to get there. Found out she's not allergic to wasps. Good to know.

Friday- Packing for trip, walked dog... that's about it.

Saturday- off to Jacksonville for the 4th!

Sunday- off

Friday: What I like about YOU!

Tyler Paul Atkins

We have the most pictures of him on our computer since he was a baby when we got a good digital camera. The others have scrap books though so I guess it's fair.

The story behind Tyler's middle name:

Thomas' Grandpa Atkins gave us the name Paul for Tyler's middle name. We were considering Kenneth after him and told him so. He said that if we wanted to name our son after him to name him Paul. His parents had chosen the name Paul for him and his sister was adamant that he be called Donald Kenneth so they changed it. He thought Paul was a much better name than Donald Kenneth and wanted to finally right that wrong.

His first name came to me when I was driving home and I remember the exact section of road that I thought of his name. Ah, the exit ramp of highway 40 and 270 will always bring back fond memories for me.

What I like about you!

Dad- He's funny and a good boy

Mom- He's great fun to hang out with and I love that he always gets dirt on his lower left cheek.So cute.

Spencer- He is my brother

Sammie- He's always willing to play with me... most of the time.

Tyler- That I like to go to McDonald's

Gizmo- He plays with/torments me.

Thursday's Organizing Challenge: Report

Just a quick update about some of the things we've tried to do this summer:

- Summer Reading Program- Sammie completed her summer reading program. She's turned into quite the bookworm- she sleeps with books- reads herself to sleep and wakes up in the morning and reads until she gets hungry. Spencer and Tyler have a few more weeks until they are done, but they should finish too.

- Returns bookcase- except for Sammie's books that she cuddles with at night we have kept this up. I need to holler every now and again, but overall it's good. I have put a limit on the number of materials they can check out though- we are at 5 each right now.

- Laundry System- works when I actually do laundry. Hmmm... go figure. Actually I think Sammie's basket is upstairs right now in her room full... have to handle that today.

- Sammie's Bendaroo Work List- She is finished! We found some bendaroos at Schnucks for $10 rather than $14 online and $20 at Target so we snatched them up and earned them Saturday. We are so proud of her and her dedication. It's a two for one- learning good skills and understanding that it takes hard work and money to buy the things we want. She wants to keep working on the list to earn extra money for her next big purchase.

Tyler did a short one to earn some hot wheel cars and he was excited too. He was my laundry helper, my dishwasher helper, and my set/clear the table guy the other day and did great!

- Atkins Family Summer list- we've knocked off a few things, but we were for sure more "gung ho" about it at first. We'll have to take a look at it again this weekend and see what we can check off.

I guess that's about it. I think it will be good for me to reflect on what has worked and what hasn't. Next week I'll think of something else to work on.