Saturday, May 30, 2009

Yet Again



Yes, folks, we have yet another victim of the Blue Bunny. Joey has asked the tooth fairy to bring him a truck. So I am off to the toy store, since all my reserve stuff is cars, not trucks.


Edit: I got him a watch and a matchbox truck, and I'm still under five bucks. Because I rock.

Friday, May 29, 2009

How I Got on the Radar

How did I miss this? I'm famous! But now, I'm also apparently on the radar. I said a lot more to the nice lady who interviewed me, but this looks like the heart of it.

Edit: Hey, look, the quote is all over the place, like here and here. I'm now better known for autism than for South Asian art history.

Is that a good thing?

Thursday, May 28, 2009

Rainbow Days

Rainbows have become associated with autism, mostly because of the term "autism spectrum disorders." The wide variety of children's abilities and needs "over the spectrum" is represented by the range of colors, blending one through another. However, I like the rainbow for another reason. I was brought up with the story of the Flood, and God's Promise.

the details of the story are unimportant. It is the idea of God's Promise: hope, life, and love. that is what is important, especially when you are in the thick of things. The rainbow reminds you, even at the edge of a storm, that there is sunshine ahead, that the sun is there behind the clouds, that no storm lasts forever.

That is good to remember in the midst of a hurricane.

When you find yourself in the midst of stormy days, it is good to remember and think about the Rainbow Days. We've been in the midst of a storm here. Joey has been having a lot of frustration and discomfort. Andy has been bouncing around like a pinball. I've been having a lot of bad days, especially the confusion about the fall schedule and what classes I may or may not be teaching; and when I am having a bad day, I can Guarantee You that Joey will be having one, too. These boys are very tuned in to my moods, so when my mood fails, everything goes to pieces.

That is when we think about the Rainbow Days. Days when the boys get to go play in the park, and have fun running about being boys. Days when Joey uses a lot of words and draws lots of puppets to cut out and play with. Days when we have pool parties, days when everyone is up for a nature walk, days when we make cookies. When things are clicking along, and everyone is making progress, and life is sunny. Looking through the storm to that sunshine, you can see the rainbow.

Not every day will be stormy. That is God's Promise.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Screaming Mimis

It has been a rough few days here. Joey is not feeling tippy-top, and his schedule has been thrown to the four winds. Monday was a holiday, and yesterday was a field trip. His aide said he did great on the trip, but he was a screaming mass of child at speech therapy. Today should be a "normal" day, but we'll see.

My work is all screwed up. I usually teach online, but the new person isn't getting much training or mentoring about the system or the class structures. She keeps offering me "classes" that don't exist, or seeming to conflate live with online sections. Consequently, I have no idea what is going on, or what I am teaching, and don't have my fall BlackBoard shells, and it's almost June! Oh, and did I mention I have to redesign the classes because we are going to be using a new textbook?

Ok, this morning's job: find a gastroenterologist for Joey. Yay.

Sunday, May 24, 2009

Twelve Years



Happy Anniversary.