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Does he have hollow legs????
1 hour ago
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Tuesday, December 8, 2009
Biggest Predictor of Human Happiness
Reach Out
There is a difference between extroversion (which is inborn) and social connectedness (which one cultivates). Social connections are the biggest single predictor of human happiness, so I overcome my natural introversion by making a concerted effort to build my network. —Ilana Simons (The Literary Mind)
http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/200911/pt-blogs-news-you-can-use
Dec 2009 issue of Psychology Today (magazine), page 28
Dec 2009 issue of Psychology Today (magazine), page 28
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Top Score at Festival ! ! ! ! ! !
My middle schooler and one of her friends performed a duet for a judge at an area Festival today, earning top score and a blue ribbon medal. :)
Their judge was a Santa Claus look-alike who laughed with a jolly "hohohohohohohohohoho"!
Their judge was a Santa Claus look-alike who laughed with a jolly "hohohohohohohohohoho"!
Friday, December 4, 2009
John Shouse always has an interesting facebook status. It was Shouse who taught me uʍop ǝpısdn ǝʇıɹʍ oʇ ʍoɥ. Today, Shouse's status displays this quote:
If you want to build a ship, don't herd people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work. Rather, teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea. - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
The quote reminds me of the different approaches to autism intervention. Behavioral interventions can focus on skill building while completely missing the reason for "talk" and words, missing curiosity and the immensity of relationships.
When we focus on herding, assigning tasks and work as our approach of choice, we are at risk of completely missing the point of interaction and relationships.
If you want to build a ship, don't herd people together to collect wood and don't assign them tasks and work. Rather, teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea. - Antoine de Saint-Exupery
The quote reminds me of the different approaches to autism intervention. Behavioral interventions can focus on skill building while completely missing the reason for "talk" and words, missing curiosity and the immensity of relationships.
When we focus on herding, assigning tasks and work as our approach of choice, we are at risk of completely missing the point of interaction and relationships.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
The CHRISTmasTree Dilemma
A parent on an autism-related internet chat group posed the question about how to have a CHRISTmas tree when you have a child with autism who is a good climber and who can't leave the ornaments alone.
I'll tell you what I've done.
First, I had to give up the expectation of having a CHRISTmas tree that looks as if it came straight from a picture in a magazine. Second, I had to pack away anything breakable and think outside the box. Third, the sibs have a tiny tree for their room to decorate.
There's a lot to consider. Small parts, parts that are easily broken or removed are a hazard. Use my ideas at your own risk -- please take into account the challenges of your own child and make decisions based upon your own needs. I can share with you the things I have done.
Here's my approach: I look for soft, unbreakable ornaments and let the kids have their way with our tree. We had quite a few years where the only part of the tree that was decorated was the part that the children could reach, which means the bottom fourth of the tree. Yes, it lookedbizarre and extremely bottom heavy a teensy bit asymmetrical, but it worked. If you have a child with little-to-no impulse control who wants to touch the tree all the time, use fewer decorations rather than more, and keep them low on the tree. Decorating the tree together, enjoying it, admiring our hard work, spotlighting the "we-did-it!"relationship aspect, the "meaning making" is more important than the finished product.
Jingle bells and little pillows don't shatter. If I remember correctly, the red, oversided jingle bells in the photo below came from Target and the tasseled pillows came from Sears. I did not use bells until recently -- some bells are too small for little ones and all jingle bells contain a small part inside. Jingle bells are not a good option for some families.
We have a collection of stuffed animals that can double as ornaments. My mother bought them for us. She's brilliant. She reasoned that if a stuffed animal is safe enough for play, then it's safe enough for the tree. Raccoons, squirrels, Beanie Babies-sized animal creatures dressed in Santa hats, red-and-white striped scarves were perfect when my children were little. We had a few holiday Barneys and Baby Bops, too (which I detest, but the kids liked them). I could have sewn a ribbon onto our Beanie Babies and added them to the tree (I didn't think of it at the time).
I have some ball-shaped ornaments that are Styrofoam inside and look decoupaged on the outside. (The ball-shaped ornaments that are made of silky thread wrapped around and around a Styrofoam center are an absolute M.E.S.S. if they begin to come unwound, and I pitched every one of those ornaments in the trash.) Some of my "decoupaged" ornaments came from an Old Time Pottery many years ago and some came from Target in recent years.
Ribbons are better for hanging than wire. Get rid of wire hangers.
I thought bows would be a good choice -- I was wrong. A bow doesn't shatter if it drops, but it loses its shape very easily and I had trouble hanging them on the tree without accidentally untying them. Don't waste your money on bows.
Teeny stockings are festive on the tree and are soft, too. They are often left over on clearance aisles after Christmas at a good mark-down. You can find them at most discount stores.
Handmade felt ornaments allowed me the flexibility to add longer ribbons for hanging. Little hands can move these ornaments around more easily than ornaments with skimpy ribbons. I bought felt, ribbon, batting and embroidery thread and whipped up some pretty ornaments that the children can move around. I found packages of sparkly felt at Wal-Mart one year and used stencils to make stars, hearts, and bells. The downside of handmade fabric and felt ornaments is that Mom must make them in time for CHRISTmas. I kept my fabric, thread, ribbon, needle & thread in a plastic shoebox and took it to waiting rooms. I could work on ornaments all year when my daughter was in occupational therapy.
After Christmas, I made a habit of cruising around the decoration mark-downs, and scored lots of felt and fabric ornaments, some crocheted ornaments, and some teddy bears. Sears, K-Mart, Peebles, Dillard's, Macy's and Kohl's have quite a variety. I love a bargain! And every November, when we bring out the decorations, we always have a surprise when we discover what I found on clearance at the end of the previous season.
We have more ornaments on the tree now than in past years, and some ornaments actually make it to the top of the tree. ;) We still stick to soft and hard-to-break ornaments. Here are some of the ones I found on clearance after a holiday:
I bought a couple of packages of plastic snowflakes.
As my children discover talents and develop unique interests, I want the tree to reflect that:
I am a Christian, and I want my CHRISTmas tree to reflect that. We have lots of star-shaped ornaments on our tree, ornaments shaped into words like "GRACE" and "JOY". Kohl's sells individual letters that look like sugar cookies, which are great for spelling names.
At a craft store, I purchased wood cut-outs made to paint and decorate. Most of them are quite smooth, but be sure to check them for potential splinters. Rainy days in the summer are GREAT for painting CHRISTmas decorations! The kids made an adorable stable scene at church one year.
Resin ornaments are sturdy.
One2Believe makes a toy nativity set. The TOS Crew was privileged to review it last year.
That's all I can remember to put in this blog post at this point. I hope I've given a reader or two some ideas for brainstorming and troubleshooting. Please share with me your ideas and successes!
I'll tell you what I've done.
First, I had to give up the expectation of having a CHRISTmas tree that looks as if it came straight from a picture in a magazine. Second, I had to pack away anything breakable and think outside the box. Third, the sibs have a tiny tree for their room to decorate.
There's a lot to consider. Small parts, parts that are easily broken or removed are a hazard. Use my ideas at your own risk -- please take into account the challenges of your own child and make decisions based upon your own needs. I can share with you the things I have done.
Here's my approach: I look for soft, unbreakable ornaments and let the kids have their way with our tree. We had quite a few years where the only part of the tree that was decorated was the part that the children could reach, which means the bottom fourth of the tree. Yes, it looked
Jingle bells and little pillows don't shatter. If I remember correctly, the red, oversided jingle bells in the photo below came from Target and the tasseled pillows came from Sears. I did not use bells until recently -- some bells are too small for little ones and all jingle bells contain a small part inside. Jingle bells are not a good option for some families.
We have a collection of stuffed animals that can double as ornaments. My mother bought them for us. She's brilliant. She reasoned that if a stuffed animal is safe enough for play, then it's safe enough for the tree. Raccoons, squirrels, Beanie Babies-sized animal creatures dressed in Santa hats, red-and-white striped scarves were perfect when my children were little. We had a few holiday Barneys and Baby Bops, too (which I detest, but the kids liked them). I could have sewn a ribbon onto our Beanie Babies and added them to the tree (I didn't think of it at the time).
I have some ball-shaped ornaments that are Styrofoam inside and look decoupaged on the outside. (The ball-shaped ornaments that are made of silky thread wrapped around and around a Styrofoam center are an absolute M.E.S.S. if they begin to come unwound, and I pitched every one of those ornaments in the trash.) Some of my "decoupaged" ornaments came from an Old Time Pottery many years ago and some came from Target in recent years.
Ribbons are better for hanging than wire. Get rid of wire hangers.
I thought bows would be a good choice -- I was wrong. A bow doesn't shatter if it drops, but it loses its shape very easily and I had trouble hanging them on the tree without accidentally untying them. Don't waste your money on bows.
Teeny stockings are festive on the tree and are soft, too. They are often left over on clearance aisles after Christmas at a good mark-down. You can find them at most discount stores.
Handmade felt ornaments allowed me the flexibility to add longer ribbons for hanging. Little hands can move these ornaments around more easily than ornaments with skimpy ribbons. I bought felt, ribbon, batting and embroidery thread and whipped up some pretty ornaments that the children can move around. I found packages of sparkly felt at Wal-Mart one year and used stencils to make stars, hearts, and bells. The downside of handmade fabric and felt ornaments is that Mom must make them in time for CHRISTmas. I kept my fabric, thread, ribbon, needle & thread in a plastic shoebox and took it to waiting rooms. I could work on ornaments all year when my daughter was in occupational therapy.
After Christmas, I made a habit of cruising around the decoration mark-downs, and scored lots of felt and fabric ornaments, some crocheted ornaments, and some teddy bears. Sears, K-Mart, Peebles, Dillard's, Macy's and Kohl's have quite a variety. I love a bargain! And every November, when we bring out the decorations, we always have a surprise when we discover what I found on clearance at the end of the previous season.
We have more ornaments on the tree now than in past years, and some ornaments actually make it to the top of the tree. ;) We still stick to soft and hard-to-break ornaments. Here are some of the ones I found on clearance after a holiday:
I bought a couple of packages of plastic snowflakes.
As my children discover talents and develop unique interests, I want the tree to reflect that:
I am a Christian, and I want my CHRISTmas tree to reflect that. We have lots of star-shaped ornaments on our tree, ornaments shaped into words like "GRACE" and "JOY". Kohl's sells individual letters that look like sugar cookies, which are great for spelling names.
At a craft store, I purchased wood cut-outs made to paint and decorate. Most of them are quite smooth, but be sure to check them for potential splinters. Rainy days in the summer are GREAT for painting CHRISTmas decorations! The kids made an adorable stable scene at church one year.
Resin ornaments are sturdy.
One2Believe makes a toy nativity set. The TOS Crew was privileged to review it last year.
That's all I can remember to put in this blog post at this point. I hope I've given a reader or two some ideas for brainstorming and troubleshooting. Please share with me your ideas and successes!
I hope you have as much fun decorating your tree as we do decorating ours.
Merry CHRISTmas!
Merry CHRISTmas!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
The Repairman Carries Extra Parts - But Which Ones??? (aka GE STINKS)
November 12, 2009 when I was shopping for a new washer and dryer, I had no idea that THE question to ask the sales guy at the do-it-yourself store is,
"Which washing machine model parts are more likely to be on the repair guy's truck?"
Yes, that does mean what you think it means. My brand new (purchased November 12th and delivered two days later) GE Profile top loading high efficiency washing machine broke. THE BRAND NEW MOTOR DIED over the Thanksgiving holiday.
We were able to use the internet to schedule a service call for yesterday (a Tuesday). The repair man arrived, opened the front of my new washing machine, diagnosed the situation as a DEAD BRAND NEW MOTOR. He said, lucky for me, he had a new motor on his truck. He carries ONLY ONE motor for the model of washing machine I purchased. He has several motors for other models.
Apparently, the top loader is not as popular. I didn't want a front loader for a couple of reasons. One is that scene in the movie, Rainman, where Raymond is watching clothes in the laundromat and he says, "The red one always falls the same."
Back to yesterday's drama: The nice repair man retrieved the new motor. Guess what? DEAD, TOO. Go figure. He tells me he can have ANOTHER NEW ONE shipped here and he'll come Friday to install it. He said that if the repair center waited until Wednesday to overnight the parts that they might not get here until Thursday late, and the soonest he could return knowing the part would actually BE here was Friday.
FRIDAY??? I need to wash clothes NOW!
If the box arrives early, he told me, call GE and reschedule.
Amazingly, Fed-Ex delivered a box containing two new motors to my house this afternoon.
So, I called GE and placed a service call. Get someone here NOW, please. My middle schooler is out of clean pants.
No, they told me. Can't do that. I have to get into the system just like a brand new call and wait like everyone else.
Arg.
Not my fault I received not ONE but TWO faulty washing machine motors.
What if I want to return it for a new washing machine? Too late, I was told. The only thing they will do is repair the defective one I bought.
Double Arg.
I will not purchase GE products again.
"Which washing machine model parts are more likely to be on the repair guy's truck?"
Yes, that does mean what you think it means. My brand new (purchased November 12th and delivered two days later) GE Profile top loading high efficiency washing machine broke. THE BRAND NEW MOTOR DIED over the Thanksgiving holiday.
We were able to use the internet to schedule a service call for yesterday (a Tuesday). The repair man arrived, opened the front of my new washing machine, diagnosed the situation as a DEAD BRAND NEW MOTOR. He said, lucky for me, he had a new motor on his truck. He carries ONLY ONE motor for the model of washing machine I purchased. He has several motors for other models.
Apparently, the top loader is not as popular. I didn't want a front loader for a couple of reasons. One is that scene in the movie, Rainman, where Raymond is watching clothes in the laundromat and he says, "The red one always falls the same."
Back to yesterday's drama: The nice repair man retrieved the new motor. Guess what? DEAD, TOO. Go figure. He tells me he can have ANOTHER NEW ONE shipped here and he'll come Friday to install it. He said that if the repair center waited until Wednesday to overnight the parts that they might not get here until Thursday late, and the soonest he could return knowing the part would actually BE here was Friday.
FRIDAY??? I need to wash clothes NOW!
If the box arrives early, he told me, call GE and reschedule.
Amazingly, Fed-Ex delivered a box containing two new motors to my house this afternoon.
So, I called GE and placed a service call. Get someone here NOW, please. My middle schooler is out of clean pants.
No, they told me. Can't do that. I have to get into the system just like a brand new call and wait like everyone else.
Arg.
Not my fault I received not ONE but TWO faulty washing machine motors.
What if I want to return it for a new washing machine? Too late, I was told. The only thing they will do is repair the defective one I bought.
Double Arg.
I will not purchase GE products again.
PS: I phoned the store manager of the do-it-yourself store to let him know our experience, and he listened and thanked me and offered me a $50 gift card for my trouble, which I declined because I do not have a problem with the store. I wanted to know if they'd had other complaints about the GE top loading high efficiency washing machine and to let them know about the situation with the washing machine they just sold me. It's Lowes, if you're wondering, and they have awesome customer service!
PPS: The repairman arrived at approximately 8:15 am, Thursday, December 3rd, to install a third motor on the washing machine. Momma has been washing clothes ever since. Interestingly, he tried to get me to buy a 3 or 5 year warranty. Hmmmmmph. GE should GIVE me an extended warranty for my trouble.
PPS: The repairman arrived at approximately 8:15 am, Thursday, December 3rd, to install a third motor on the washing machine. Momma has been washing clothes ever since. Interestingly, he tried to get me to buy a 3 or 5 year warranty. Hmmmmmph. GE should GIVE me an extended warranty for my trouble.
Tuesday, December 1, 2009
Do Children With Autism Lack An Ability To Imitate?
I'm not the only one blogging about teaching imitation skills to children with autism this week. Related to my post from a few days ago is this one from a Psychology Today blogger, "Do Children With Autism Lack An Ability To Imitate?"
Sunday, November 29, 2009
It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like CHRISTmas
I buy CHRISTmas ornaments *after* CHRISTmas when they're marked way down. Sometimes, there's not much left to buy. And sometimes, I find a real cutie. I pack them away and forget about them until we decorate the next year, which means we always have a surprise or two waiting for us as we unpack the decorations.
Here's one of the surprises I opened tonight as we decorated our CHRISTmas tree.
IT'S A TALKING ELF:
IT'S A TALKING ELF:
(please press the play button)
Friday, November 27, 2009
Black Friday Sale at TOS Store
There is a lot of money-saving activity in the Schoolhouse Store this weekend! You can receive up to $1300 if FREE gifts during the TOS Black Friday Sale.
Plus, the one-year, print () subscriptions will be available for $7.95 during the sale which runs through Sunday. All those subscribing before December 7 will receive the Winter Issue. (Subscriptions received after that will begin with the Spring Issue.) As a bonus, you can select 10 gifts of your choice—there are 19 gifts from which to choose. There are only 1500 of these gift packs available.
This is a 68% savings! The $7.95 price is gone on December 31 at midnight. On January 1, 2010, the price goes back up to $25!
The 19 gifts can be viewed here: (Each subscriber picks 10 of the 19.)
http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/TOSSummer19Gifts/libanded/index.html
Remember, the more you spend in the Schoolhouse Store through Sunday, the more free gifts you receive. One of the gifts is a FREE one-year membership to and a free will from Homeschool Legal Advantage. Plus, there are so many other FREE homeschooling resources. Check it out at the following link:
http://www.thehomeschoolmagazine.com/2009BlackFridaySale/BF_Level1.htm
It’s so easy to earn the FREE gifts! Select a few items from the literature sale in the Schoolhouse Store or purchase the new Download N Go lapbooking and unit studies series from Amanda Bennett and TOS.
Black Friday Weekend-Write Shop Sale
Write Shop has a Black Friday weekend sale -- one of my favorite products that I reviewed is Story Builders. They have them half price this weekend. http://www.writeshop.com/blog/2009/11/24/black-friday-sale-at-writeshop/
Here's where I reviewed them: http://notnewtoautism.blogspot.com/2009/01/write-shop-story-builders-tos-crew.html
And no, I don't get a kickback if you order from them.
Here's where I reviewed them: http://notnewtoautism.blogspot.com/2009/01/write-shop-story-builders-tos-crew.html
And no, I don't get a kickback if you order from them.
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