Showing posts with label hands on learning. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hands on learning. Show all posts

Monday, September 23, 2013

The challenges of starting kindergarten with Autism

Well big surprise school started off crazy. My son was registered for all day kindergarten as I decided I did not want to have to travel to and from the school so much. I also did not want him to be half day and try to squeeze all his ot, social, and other sped services. He already struggles to learn how will he keep up if he misses half the stuff. Well big surprise he did not do so well going all day in the regular classroom so we decided to try him half day kindergarten and half day self contained where he can get all his sped services. This seems to be working for him as he melts down by lunch other then he bit a kid the other day not a real bite just a nibble really lol. When I asked him why he said he was looking at me and blocking the slide. Sigh! do kids just have this homing beacon for kids that are different and pick on them? I volunteered to drive for the senses field trip for my sons class. It was fun the teacher only assigned me my son and another sped boy he is a lot like my son she was worried to do so but I told her I was used to them so it would work fine.

LOL I always wished my son had a twin as then he would have a friend I am not so sure now they were fun to watch and played well till they did not want to do the same thing. Then you have a problem as one goes one way and one goes the other they do not listen well so if one wanders off you cant leave the other as they are not like other kids you never know what they are going to do. So you have to get the one and chase the other and quickly!

It reminded me of when my third daughter was 3 and my second was 5 she would just wander away with whatever had her attention. so I would have to uproot the 3 year old to chase the 5 year old and try to carry the baby. It was quite the challenge many mothers do not understand why I do not take my kids places much well there are several reasons: I have back issues, they tend to melt down, they don't listen well so it makes it difficult to divide yourself to get in each child's face to make sure they understood you.

Well back to kindergarten, my son is really good at math big surprise. However you have to read everything to him. He struggles to stay on the same task for very long. He works better if he has a fidget and a reward that is tangible he does not seem to get implied rewards. He can not handle the noise of the lunchroom. For fidgets he likes those party size playdough and those little balls with spaghetti strips coming off in center like these http://www.orientaltrading.com/halloween-porcupine-balls-a2-25_3355.fltr?prodCatId=551312 my oldest likes a good old stress ball or a worm like this http://www.orientaltrading.com/magic-worms-a2-16_1212.fltr I like these cause none of them are to expensive to replace if lost or ruined :)

Friday, August 23, 2013

A Day in the Atypical boys life

Well I thought I would share a typical day in my 5 year old sons life:

Well my son stays up late like most boys on the spectrum he does not sleep well this has been hard on the hubby and I but mostly me as my husband could sleep through a tornado!

So this said he is generally up by 10-11am, now I know I should wake him earlier we have tried that for a couple weeks straight but all that happens is I get even less sleep as he still stays up late.

He generally does not like to eat first thing but he does like to turn on the tv and watch rescue bots on netflix. I usually just bring him a bowl of dry cereal and he will eat on it then if he is in the mood he will come get milk. After one episode I have him go change his pull up and get dressed. He then finishes eating rarely will he just sit and eat he is constantly getting up. Then he watches another episode well he really does not watch it all he by now is awake enough to play with his cars with the movie running in the background.

If I do not keep my eye on him and have to do something I will walk in to find a box of cereal or crackers scattered on the floor and him mashing it with his cars his favorite activity since he was 18 months. I have tried everything short of buying locking cupboards to keep him out of the cereal it just was not worth it when I found him climbing over the counter and stretching to reach the top of the fridge just to get the cereal down. I have decided now that I am more familiar with autistic behaviors this is probably one of his stims he finds comfort in it. So now I deliberately leave a smaller portion of cereal around so maybe he wont use a whole box.

I have learned if nothing else from being the mom to children on the spectrum you have to pick your battles when possible. If I spend all the time trying to get them to conform to the same expectations for neuro typical children I would have a whole day and night of meltdowns and I am sorry but my sanity is important too. So I do expect certain things from my children mainly the really yucky things are unacceptable and sure to set me off lol like playing with your poop YUCK! Luckily I have not had much problem in this department till I got the youngest girl she does not like poopy diapers so she will play in them if you dont change them right away UGH!

Well back to the boy he as been pretty good in this department and thank goodness finally got trained to at least poop in the toilet. It has been two months since I had to change his poopy pants YEAH!!! He is still working on the urinating in toilet I really feel he just can not tell when he as to pee.

So after he plays with cars he generally wants to play in the sand box with cars even more so out he goes, usually with baby sister in tow, it kinda sucks in winter as I have no place to let him go play while I do some cleaning. I go check on him tons as it does not take him long to get into something I usually will go fold some laundry outside or sit on the deck and read. Usually after an hour or so he wants a drink or something and gets distracted with something inside. I usually have him do ABC Mouse while I make him some lunch and less he wants to help me cook it.

Then he usually turns on another movie like bob the builder and plays with cars again I try to get him to do a puzzle or something new sometimes he will sometimes he wont depends on his mood. We usually end up back outside I try to get him to notice something new in nature daily trying to get him interested in his surroundings not just those cars.

I usually go get the girls about this time and then my life gets to crazy to do much with him and he will usually watch a movie while I try to get the girls to do their chores and homework while I start dinner.

The kids usually play a game together including the boy or watch a movie then they get ready for bed have a story and go to bed except for the boy. He generally is up playing the only way we can get him to go to sleep is to hold him while we watch a movie and it has to be something boring. You can read to him and put him to bed and guarantee he is up playing with cars or doing whatever. I have put him to bed thought he was out go to bed myself only to be awakened by him getting into the fridge. Generally he is up till around 2am when you can finally bore him to death with music to get him to sleep.

Tuesday, August 20, 2013

Aspergirls

Well shortly after my sons testing the special ed teacher for my second daughter approached me she is 12 and asked if I had her behavior tested. I said for what exactly as she had been tested and they told me the same thing they have told me since she was 5 years old SHE IS FINE! Your just worried because she is normal and your oldest is gifted. Sign! I should have been more forceful I knew from a young age she had some problems but hey live and learn.

Well the special ed lady says well she does not make eye contact I said so she has always been that way that is just her. She gave me this look like I should know better which really I should as I do work with special needs kids but they are really profound so a mild case like my daughter is harder to spot. Then she says well when I try to get her to discuss what problems she is having with math she seems to ignore me for a couple minutes then she might respond or she might not. I said well yeah she has always done that she just takes a bit to gather her thoughts. She asked if I would be ok if they tested her for behavior issues I said fine. So she sends me to go get the screenings she wants to try and WOW big surprise she has me pick up ASQ and GARS and a couple others. I had never filled either of these questionnaires out before. As I am filling them out I realize they are for Autism or Atypical behaviors and OMG!

My second daughter had not smiled before like age 5 much and even then usually her expressions do not match the situation. If I could have used one word to describe my daughter 2 it would be grumpy even from a super young age. She had and still does have weird OCD things she at the age of 2 had played with her belly button so much she could pull it off her stomach. She then moved to biting she was always biting her sister and nothing seemed to help stop her. She sucked her clothes till they were misshapen and sucked her hair. She at the age of about 6 became obsessed with hugs she constantly wanted to hug which she never had really wanted before and frequently shoved people away when they wanted one. It reached the point where I had to limit her to 2 hugs per person per day and only if she asked for one, if someone else instigated it that did not count. Then she moved to chewing her fingernails which was ok till about 11 years old when she chewed the whole nail off down to the cuticle it was bad surprised it did not bleed.

I realized as I filled these out that there was a high probability that I now had another child on the spectrum. I also realized my oldest daughter fit alot of the asperger signs I was shocked she is 15 how could I have missed that I guess I always assumed erroneously that they were like rainman. I approached the special ed department and asked to have my oldest tested as well. Well the Psychologist on retainer for the school observed my daughters and went over the questionnaires she then had me read a couple books before our meeting she said they might help me decide if I think these really describe my daughters. I was amazed at how two girls who seemed very different could really have the same condition.

After reading the books I was convinced that after years of searching we might have discovered why my oldest with an almost genius IQ struggled to pass english mostly due to reading, she does not picture what she reads. My second I finally knew what she needed and why she seems fine one minute and looses it the next. They were probably both aspergirls I was in shock. Well we met with the psychologist and she agreed that they most likely are aspies in the 90% probability range. Why does it take 15 and 12 years to get a diagnoses or even be pointed in the right direction? I had my daughters tested multiple times and yet no one ever mentioned they might have a condition. I guess it happens but I had hoped we had come farther in the last 30 years.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

September Specials

September Specials

Email me to take advantage of these prices* I will send you a paypal invoice

*prices do not include shipping or tax if you live in utah

Dolls Are on Sale!
This is the month to order your Christmas Just Like Me Dolls! All our doll and clothes sets are on sale in September! THESE DOLLS AND CLOTHES ARE WASHABLE! Also made of high quality felt that lasts for years.

SAVE $5 On all Just Like Me Dolls
Imagine the joy and delight your child will experience when they have a doll that looks just like them! All we need is a photo of your child (school photo preferred) and we’ll do the rest.
80411 Just Like Me Girl $19.99
80402 Just Like Me Boy $19.99
80422 Just like Me Twin Boy $19.99
80421 Just Like Me Twin Boy $19.99

Purchase two Dolls and pay less!












All of our dolls (girl, boy and twins) can be purchased for $5.99 or purchase any two for only $9.99!

SAVE $3 on these Doll Clothes Sets
Color My Own Clothes
Your child can create beautiful designs and patterns on these Color My Own Clothes Sets. When their masterpiece is finished, sent to us and we’ll print them on felt for a lasting treasure. Set includes duffle bag too!
80091 Color My Own Girl Clothes, uncut $9.99, pre-cut $12.99
80095 Color My Own Fashion Clothes, uncut $9.99, pre-cut $12.99
80094 Color My Own Twins Clothes, uncut $9.99, pre-cut $12.99
80092 Color My Own Boy Clothes, uncut $9.99, pre-cut $12.99


Example of Color My Own Girl Clothes


8008 International Costumes
Uncut $12.99, Pre-cut $16.99
Fifteen international costumes that will fit the girl doll are included in this set. It also includes a duffle bag for storage and extensive paperwork with games, recipes, and information about each country.


80029 Girl Clothes
Uncut $13.99, Pre-cut $19.99
All kinds of fun will be had with all of these clothes to pla y with. Set also includes a duffle bag for storage.

80039 Boy Clothes
Uncut $13.99, Pre-cut $19.99
This set has everyday clothes as well as clothes for play and dress-up, nineteen figures in all. Set also includes a duffle bag for storage.

SAVE $2 on these clothes sets for the girl doll!
8011 Vintage Clothes
Uncut $9.99, Pre-cut $12.99
Twelve outfits plus accessories is ideal for playing dress-ups. There is literature explaining the time period of each outfit. Set includes a duffle bag for storage.









8012 Career Clothes
Uncut $7.99, Pre-cut $9.99
This set has eight different outfits that are worn on the job. Your little one may choose to be a doctor or a chocolatier! Set includes a duffle bag for storage.

Also on sale is our Fashion Dolls!
8007 Fashion Dolls
Uncut $14.99, Pre-cut $19.99 a $3 savings!
This set is a bit different in that the dolls are not on the ¼” felt and there are 4 dolls and the clothes in the set. They are like paper dolls of old. Set includes a duffle bag for storage.

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

Teaching Styles and Special Needs

Student with special needs require a more specialized teaching style then other students. These students will not thrive in a classroom where they are expected to sit quiet as mice and never speak out of turn. These students thrive better in classrooms that are more upbeat and allow some spontaneous discussion or input. The more senses you can use in your lessons the more your students will learn. You also have more students who understand the material being taught which leads to better test scores.
For example when teaching about chemical reactions make ice cream in a bag or goo students really love this stuff and will have a great time making it. While they are making ice cream or goo help them see what the different components do to react to each other. Then follow up with a worksheet with questions they need to answer about what they think happened. Another really great lesson I like to use for matter or compounds is to give a cooking lesson. I make cookies or a stir fry something that mixes ingredients to make something else. Before making the items I go over the measuring tools and how to convert different amounts if I am missing the specific size measuring tool this brings in a math lesson. I also have the students write or tell what they think the different ingredients do when combined. The students really get into this as they help put in or mix the ingredients, the smells and interactions really help them remember things you say to them or explain while doing the lesson.
Small focused group work is a great tool with students with special needs as long as the teacher spends time with each group or the most focused need group. Centers are a great way to implement this or you could do whole group instruction and get the main set of students going. Then bring a small group of students who need more individualized instruction back to a table to work with the teacher or aide.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

april products

April products
Table top town $46.99 for uncut and 57.99 for cut and assembled plus shipping and tax.












cut or not cut






Finger Play with CD $33.99 Uncut, 39.99 Precut




Choices







Welcome to Farm Field! Uncut $ 23.99, Pre-cut $28.99








Choices







Little League Line Up 9.99 Uncut & 11.99 Precut




Choices








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You may also look at our other products and order online using my name as the consultant at




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Thursday, March 5, 2009

Gifted Students

For this post I wanted to discuss various ways to help students who are gifted but may also have a learning disability. My oldest is gifted mostly in math however she does ok in the other areas except comprehension she does not seem to understand what she is reading. This can cause some problems since she can read on a 9th grade level when she is only a 6th grader. I finally got her to tell me that when she reads she does not picture what the story is about in her mind. They finally tested her and discovered that she does not sequence very well when you give her a list of directions out of order. I found this very frustrating as I have tried to get the schools to test her since she was in 2nd grade. Well at least she is not a high school student so we hopefully can help her with this problem.

When looking for any signs I may have missed that would have told me this was a problem. The only thing I could come up with was she had a severe lack of imagination from a young age. She never liked to play dolls or dress up. She only liked books with pictures and when she got to old for picture books she did not like to read anymore. I think if I had tried to get her to play house more or discussed what was happening during reading time, she might have been better at sequencing. I did discover something a few months ago that might have helped her and kicked myself for not thinking of it sooner. It seems so simple and that is felt stories they use pictures but you have to act out what you are hearing with movable figures so they are really hands on. I thought gosh I could have used paper figures for that matter but they are not as durable. I started using them with my other children and the kids loved them. I also discovered from a teacher at my daughters school that I could have done and am now doing this picture with a sentence game. You have a short phrase that is very descriptive and have the student draw what they think it should look like. This has helped some as now she has to think about what the sentence is saying and we can see what she is really getting out of her reading.
Her math is a different problem all of its own. She can do math like a twenty year old so most math for her age bores her senseless. I have struggled to get the schools to challenge her on a higher level but not had much success.