Thank you, Beth for your first entry! This is the best addition I have made to the class in a long time!
This week, we're discussing daily care needs for children with severe disabilities. Do either of your children require therapies after school? It is important for our future teachers to see how much time it takes to care for their students outside of school.
Sometimes, even though we mean well, we educators ask our parents to do just "one more" task at home - practice reading, do this exercise, etc. And it can be difficult to fit that one extra thing in!
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Monday, January 25, 2010
Introduction of Cooper
Hi everyone! I'm Beth, mom of 4 kids. Two have ASD's, one has ADHD and one (so far) is "normal".. love how we all say normal.. Not sure how to do all this, as this is my 1st blog experience.. feel free to ask anything..I'll probably type as though I'm talking to you in person so bare with me if some of rambles on or doesn't make sense.. I tend to get off track sometimes..
My oldest son, Cooper, will be 13 in June. He was a terrible pregnancy. I was sick from the day I found out, til after I delivered him. I was on many, many meds; most of which were nausea meds for cancer patients. I was in the hospital the majority of the pregnancy due to vomiting and all that goes with it. He was delivered fine; no problems; grew normally. All though we noticed from day one he slept ALOT... being a first time mom, I had no clue this was not normal but he had to be woke up to eat and play. He laughed, cried, did all the normal emotions a baby does.. no concerns.. he was growing fairly big, quickly. He had a big head but was always measuring off the growth chart at his well baby check ups so nothing was mentioned out of the normal. I was one of the moms who also got their kids shots on the THE DAY they turned 3mths; 6mths; 9mths; etc.. I wanted it to be exactly right when I put that length/weight in the baby book....I had taught pre-school for several years before having Cooper; and did notice that he wasn't saying anything... we lived in a retirement condo area; no family around at all; not too many friends; none of which had kids or were at home during the day. I was told numerous times by the Ped. that he's a boy; get him out; do things with him.... so I did.. he didn't like to do different things; he hated the car in reverse..would panic and freak out when it rolled in reverse.. so I managed to park facing out at all times..just one of those "quirky" things he did.. I didn't notice however; that he never pointed.. he did have eye contact and smiled and played well with me and his father... one thing I do remember is when I would take him to the tennis courts to play; he would rather walk the boundary outlines than play with the balls or he'd ride his bike around the lines and never off it.. to me I thought my kids a smart one! already following lines .. didn't realize what it really was. oh the hind sight!!
age 2, I was finally heard by the Ped... he referred Cooper to our early intervention program here in SC called BabyNet. He was evaluated to have speech; motor; cognitive delays and qualified for speech, OT, Pt, and 30 min a week of play therapy..in the mean time I enrolled him in a preschool program at a church I'd heard about...he went 2x a week for 3 hrs... they told me he never talked or played with the kids, he sat under the table with legos and balls; because he never bothered anyone; they just left him alone. His class picture, he is holding balls..he had to be picked up first each day or he'd scream in the hallway because he was not leaving as other did...so I had to get to the church 20 min each day early; just to get to the first of the line each time.... ..
By age 3 he was going to be transitioned into public school...OH BOY!!!.. this sounded wonderful to me.. I had no idea there was such a thing... your kid can actually go for free, 5x a week, all day to the elem. school just because he doesnt talk and has "quirks"??? sign me up!
For the next year (age 3-4), he went to the elem school across town. I drove him and picked him up every day. He was not allowed to stay past noon because he was too disruptive and wouldnt nap..at the end of the school year I was approached by the teacher.. had I ever thought about Autism... ?? Well, I had been told one time by his speech therapist that he couldn't have Autism because he could draw a smiley face .. which showed emotions..which kids with ASD don't understand.... YES!! I know .. CRAZY!!! and speech teachers are not allowed to say things like that either.. once again.. hind sight...
Our school system has an Autism Learning division.. the school he attended had a consulting teacher for Autism right across the hall from where he'd been the last year... she had been watching him and wanted to meet him for an eval.. after 20 min; she said she wanted to meet with my husband and I at the school the next morning to discuss the eval..
(I did not know this but before Cooper was diagnosed, there was a class action lawsuit against the school district to get ABA for kids; Cooper came through the system a few months after it was dismissed) we were told he scored enough to be considered Autistic. We were not shocked; we were not scared; numb; nothing.. we didnt even know what the definition meant.. they never told us what it was, I guess they assumed we had looked into it..the internet was not huge and we didnt even have it in our condo; so it was pretty foreign to just look something up and be given enough info to soon give a speech on it.
They offered him ABA therapy 30+hrs a week, intensive 1 on 1; is what we were told.. speech; OT; all kinds of wonderful things.. I mean we'd won the lottery pretty much as far as services goes.. in the last 9 yrs I have never met 1 person with a story like mine ; where their child received "it all"... we were quite lucky.
He stayed in the special ed classroom for another year, began to say sounds, do more things, etc.. then he was mainstreamed into kindergarten.. wonderful, understanding teacher.. she really took to Cooper and his therapists.. here was a kid that was really struggling to learn and didn't know how to goof off; he has a wonderful memory and is a sight reader.. so he learned his word wall words in kindergarten in a matter of months for the whole year! He learned routines and how to be flexible as well... more importantly... he was with NORMAL kids... they saw how he acted and from day 1; were told "he's ok; he's just upset; he doesn't understand; can you show him how to do it" and so on... the kids were always aware of him; he was front and center and picked to do the same jobs as the rest of them; he just had a "helper" with him..
2nd grade we noticed he was becoming obsessed with movies.. he repeats them; knows obscure facts about the; repeats scenes over and over; says many comments from movies at the wrong time.. he got into trouble alot.. he couldnt focus.. we decided to take him to MUSC in Charleston to see what the Drs thought about meds for him to focus. He was started on Adderall Xr for a few months then when school was over she changed him to Paxil (big mistake!!!) It's addicting and he went through withdrawl at the end of summer; like cocain withdrawl!! it was awful... sick and delierious...never again...
He stayed in that school through the 3rd grade; always mainstreamed; always with a 1 on 1 aide. Still got pulled out for resource (math, writing, speech, etc) but held his grades at an average level and had tons of friends.. he did many inappropriate things ; he was not the perfect kid).. would pull his pants down in class, said things that hurt feelings..( why do you have a big gap in your teech?) etc.. but each was a learning lession for all around him and he included..
3rd grade was most difficult, the teacher that he was placed with didnt like him; didnt like that he had an aide with him; didnt like that he had so many accomodations (which he has a ton); pretty much let it slip one day that she didnt "buy into all this" and he was removed from her class. He was moved into another classroom and had to start over; he was a mental basket because he knew she did not like him and became very anxious... we (his team) began a Circle of Friends lunch. every wed. he and 3 others would go out to a portable and eat lunch, skip recess, play games, chat, do a social story, etc.. hang out pretty much.. you'd have thought that he was taking these kids to the mall... there was a waiting list each week for the kids..the teacher loved it ; she even used it for many years following for other scenarios..
It was time to consider moving him to another elem. school.. his little brother would be started kindergarten soon and would be attending the school in our area.. Cooper's school was not our designated area. so we decided it was time to move him.. he'd go to 4th and 5th and then move on to the middle school...
The aide moved to the new school with him and we introduced Circle of Friends and it continued to be wonderful.. the teacher was handpicked (a male teacher) and he was wonderful. so undertanding and Cooper was paired with several boys that were athletic and didnt fit the usual type for hanging out with someone like Cooper. He had transition summer services to get him used to the school before he started and he did quite fine. He began in the chorus and was 1 of 2 boys in the whole thing; so he was pretty much guaranteed a part for every show! He stood in front of the whole school at most assemblies and announced things; sang a solo; loves being in front of the camera.. drama / music is his thing.
His favorite channel is TCM; he subscribes to the monthly magazine; he has all the old dvd's of lucy ball; abbott/costello; silent films; Gone with the Wind is one of his big collections; he knows all the actors and facts about them..
He is now in 6th grade and in middle school; he has grown 7 inches in the last 2 years and is quite tall; thin. He has begun stimming again, nervous, anxious, yelling, screaming when frightened; fire alarms are the worst; he has earplugs in his back pack for gym and any other time he may need them. There is no more recess or circle of friends. several schools combined to form this one so he has very few friends from the old school that are in his lower classes.. he is not interested in school like he once was; likes chorus but does not get along with the teacher as this is the "big time" and shows are paid admissions and graded and etc... so he is not "cute and funny" when he messes up or goes off on his own, etc.. that was a hard pill to swallow! He runs from class now when he doesnt understand things.. this is a very extremely difficult year based on the fact that we've had a pretty easy ride up til this point.. he was never high functioning.. the ABA and all the extras we created for him.. got him to this point.. he is maintaining an average grade but his aide creates his tests now... she takes his notes for him as his handwriting is so bad. he takes tests on his own or orally from her in a separate room.. so many things we had him doing maintstreamed he's regressed because of his fears/anxiety with the new school and situations he is put in each day. school begins an hour later and lets out an hour later from elem. school.. that alone was a huge ordeal for him.
the drs think his biggest hurdle is puberty; he is getting a moustache and has to use deodorant, etc.. and cries that he does not want to grow up. he has been suspended from school already for stomping on a teachers foot (an entire day of unfortunate things led up to this final breaking point) he has pulled a teachers hair and grabbed his own aide by the shoulders; all when faced with anxiety and frustration...
I have typed all this just to give you a glimpse of who Cooper is. I can tell you anything about him and answer any question you have about him or any therapy he has ever received. Please feel free to ask whatever...
My oldest son, Cooper, will be 13 in June. He was a terrible pregnancy. I was sick from the day I found out, til after I delivered him. I was on many, many meds; most of which were nausea meds for cancer patients. I was in the hospital the majority of the pregnancy due to vomiting and all that goes with it. He was delivered fine; no problems; grew normally. All though we noticed from day one he slept ALOT... being a first time mom, I had no clue this was not normal but he had to be woke up to eat and play. He laughed, cried, did all the normal emotions a baby does.. no concerns.. he was growing fairly big, quickly. He had a big head but was always measuring off the growth chart at his well baby check ups so nothing was mentioned out of the normal. I was one of the moms who also got their kids shots on the THE DAY they turned 3mths; 6mths; 9mths; etc.. I wanted it to be exactly right when I put that length/weight in the baby book....I had taught pre-school for several years before having Cooper; and did notice that he wasn't saying anything... we lived in a retirement condo area; no family around at all; not too many friends; none of which had kids or were at home during the day. I was told numerous times by the Ped. that he's a boy; get him out; do things with him.... so I did.. he didn't like to do different things; he hated the car in reverse..would panic and freak out when it rolled in reverse.. so I managed to park facing out at all times..just one of those "quirky" things he did.. I didn't notice however; that he never pointed.. he did have eye contact and smiled and played well with me and his father... one thing I do remember is when I would take him to the tennis courts to play; he would rather walk the boundary outlines than play with the balls or he'd ride his bike around the lines and never off it.. to me I thought my kids a smart one! already following lines .. didn't realize what it really was. oh the hind sight!!
age 2, I was finally heard by the Ped... he referred Cooper to our early intervention program here in SC called BabyNet. He was evaluated to have speech; motor; cognitive delays and qualified for speech, OT, Pt, and 30 min a week of play therapy..in the mean time I enrolled him in a preschool program at a church I'd heard about...he went 2x a week for 3 hrs... they told me he never talked or played with the kids, he sat under the table with legos and balls; because he never bothered anyone; they just left him alone. His class picture, he is holding balls..he had to be picked up first each day or he'd scream in the hallway because he was not leaving as other did...so I had to get to the church 20 min each day early; just to get to the first of the line each time.... ..
By age 3 he was going to be transitioned into public school...OH BOY!!!.. this sounded wonderful to me.. I had no idea there was such a thing... your kid can actually go for free, 5x a week, all day to the elem. school just because he doesnt talk and has "quirks"??? sign me up!
For the next year (age 3-4), he went to the elem school across town. I drove him and picked him up every day. He was not allowed to stay past noon because he was too disruptive and wouldnt nap..at the end of the school year I was approached by the teacher.. had I ever thought about Autism... ?? Well, I had been told one time by his speech therapist that he couldn't have Autism because he could draw a smiley face .. which showed emotions..which kids with ASD don't understand.... YES!! I know .. CRAZY!!! and speech teachers are not allowed to say things like that either.. once again.. hind sight...
Our school system has an Autism Learning division.. the school he attended had a consulting teacher for Autism right across the hall from where he'd been the last year... she had been watching him and wanted to meet him for an eval.. after 20 min; she said she wanted to meet with my husband and I at the school the next morning to discuss the eval..
(I did not know this but before Cooper was diagnosed, there was a class action lawsuit against the school district to get ABA for kids; Cooper came through the system a few months after it was dismissed) we were told he scored enough to be considered Autistic. We were not shocked; we were not scared; numb; nothing.. we didnt even know what the definition meant.. they never told us what it was, I guess they assumed we had looked into it..the internet was not huge and we didnt even have it in our condo; so it was pretty foreign to just look something up and be given enough info to soon give a speech on it.
They offered him ABA therapy 30+hrs a week, intensive 1 on 1; is what we were told.. speech; OT; all kinds of wonderful things.. I mean we'd won the lottery pretty much as far as services goes.. in the last 9 yrs I have never met 1 person with a story like mine ; where their child received "it all"... we were quite lucky.
He stayed in the special ed classroom for another year, began to say sounds, do more things, etc.. then he was mainstreamed into kindergarten.. wonderful, understanding teacher.. she really took to Cooper and his therapists.. here was a kid that was really struggling to learn and didn't know how to goof off; he has a wonderful memory and is a sight reader.. so he learned his word wall words in kindergarten in a matter of months for the whole year! He learned routines and how to be flexible as well... more importantly... he was with NORMAL kids... they saw how he acted and from day 1; were told "he's ok; he's just upset; he doesn't understand; can you show him how to do it" and so on... the kids were always aware of him; he was front and center and picked to do the same jobs as the rest of them; he just had a "helper" with him..
2nd grade we noticed he was becoming obsessed with movies.. he repeats them; knows obscure facts about the; repeats scenes over and over; says many comments from movies at the wrong time.. he got into trouble alot.. he couldnt focus.. we decided to take him to MUSC in Charleston to see what the Drs thought about meds for him to focus. He was started on Adderall Xr for a few months then when school was over she changed him to Paxil (big mistake!!!) It's addicting and he went through withdrawl at the end of summer; like cocain withdrawl!! it was awful... sick and delierious...never again...
He stayed in that school through the 3rd grade; always mainstreamed; always with a 1 on 1 aide. Still got pulled out for resource (math, writing, speech, etc) but held his grades at an average level and had tons of friends.. he did many inappropriate things ; he was not the perfect kid).. would pull his pants down in class, said things that hurt feelings..( why do you have a big gap in your teech?) etc.. but each was a learning lession for all around him and he included..
3rd grade was most difficult, the teacher that he was placed with didnt like him; didnt like that he had an aide with him; didnt like that he had so many accomodations (which he has a ton); pretty much let it slip one day that she didnt "buy into all this" and he was removed from her class. He was moved into another classroom and had to start over; he was a mental basket because he knew she did not like him and became very anxious... we (his team) began a Circle of Friends lunch. every wed. he and 3 others would go out to a portable and eat lunch, skip recess, play games, chat, do a social story, etc.. hang out pretty much.. you'd have thought that he was taking these kids to the mall... there was a waiting list each week for the kids..the teacher loved it ; she even used it for many years following for other scenarios..
It was time to consider moving him to another elem. school.. his little brother would be started kindergarten soon and would be attending the school in our area.. Cooper's school was not our designated area. so we decided it was time to move him.. he'd go to 4th and 5th and then move on to the middle school...
The aide moved to the new school with him and we introduced Circle of Friends and it continued to be wonderful.. the teacher was handpicked (a male teacher) and he was wonderful. so undertanding and Cooper was paired with several boys that were athletic and didnt fit the usual type for hanging out with someone like Cooper. He had transition summer services to get him used to the school before he started and he did quite fine. He began in the chorus and was 1 of 2 boys in the whole thing; so he was pretty much guaranteed a part for every show! He stood in front of the whole school at most assemblies and announced things; sang a solo; loves being in front of the camera.. drama / music is his thing.
His favorite channel is TCM; he subscribes to the monthly magazine; he has all the old dvd's of lucy ball; abbott/costello; silent films; Gone with the Wind is one of his big collections; he knows all the actors and facts about them..
He is now in 6th grade and in middle school; he has grown 7 inches in the last 2 years and is quite tall; thin. He has begun stimming again, nervous, anxious, yelling, screaming when frightened; fire alarms are the worst; he has earplugs in his back pack for gym and any other time he may need them. There is no more recess or circle of friends. several schools combined to form this one so he has very few friends from the old school that are in his lower classes.. he is not interested in school like he once was; likes chorus but does not get along with the teacher as this is the "big time" and shows are paid admissions and graded and etc... so he is not "cute and funny" when he messes up or goes off on his own, etc.. that was a hard pill to swallow! He runs from class now when he doesnt understand things.. this is a very extremely difficult year based on the fact that we've had a pretty easy ride up til this point.. he was never high functioning.. the ABA and all the extras we created for him.. got him to this point.. he is maintaining an average grade but his aide creates his tests now... she takes his notes for him as his handwriting is so bad. he takes tests on his own or orally from her in a separate room.. so many things we had him doing maintstreamed he's regressed because of his fears/anxiety with the new school and situations he is put in each day. school begins an hour later and lets out an hour later from elem. school.. that alone was a huge ordeal for him.
the drs think his biggest hurdle is puberty; he is getting a moustache and has to use deodorant, etc.. and cries that he does not want to grow up. he has been suspended from school already for stomping on a teachers foot (an entire day of unfortunate things led up to this final breaking point) he has pulled a teachers hair and grabbed his own aide by the shoulders; all when faced with anxiety and frustration...
I have typed all this just to give you a glimpse of who Cooper is. I can tell you anything about him and answer any question you have about him or any therapy he has ever received. Please feel free to ask whatever...
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Welcome to EDP 478/578!
This forum is designed to introduce you to my friend Beth Hedges, and to facilitate interaction and communication with her during the semester. Beth is the parent of four children, two of whom have Autism. Beth has graciously agreed to communicate with us this semester about her family, treatments, and school issues.
Welcome, Beth!
Welcome, Beth!
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