G’s Place

Leon county schools (in Tallahassee) put disabled kids in a “time-out room” (sounds like solitary confinement) for “pouting” and “walking inappropriately (I am going to guess this means stomping). So, if they have a panic attack from being overloaded sensorily, they could be punished by going to the time-out room. If they stomp to help them feel “connected” to the ground, they get punished.

It really makes me mad. Too mad to talk about it almost…so a kid has a problem sending sensory information to the right place, they “act out”, and they get punished. They can’t help what they are doing, it is our jobs as educators to make them feel safe enough to try and route the sensory stuff to the right place. Not punish them.

Good god wake up North Florida. Everyone does not act the same. Sometimes people need compassion and help, not the wrath of God.

ok, so here’s what’s going on:

•  moving into a new position at work
• going to start an aane support group out in metro west
• grad school
• helping kids
• cleaning house
• getting ready to go to the FSU-BC game

This really sucks. I am so sick! I can’t breathe too deeply or I start coughing like a crazed woman. And it hurts! So I am taking mucinex, which is bringing up the bad stuff, but I have to cough (and did I already say that hurts?) And I am so achy and tired. I guess I am going to try and get into the doctor tomorrow.

We went to the farm for the last time this year. We bought a box of sweet potatoes, some pumpkins, a big bag of onions, a bushel of apples, and other stuff. It makes me sad, that means everything is going to start looking dead.

And Brian is downstairs prepping the system so we can turn on the heat.

BOO. I am not in the mood for winter.

I am wondering why I am in grad school at times like these…although I have totally done this to myself. I am working on a paper that is due midnight sunday about Information Processing and Knowledge Representation, stuck now on the section about the instructional value of mental imagery. So stuck I decided to take a break and blog.

Today is totally booked out. I am going to the dentist, going to get my hair and nails done because we are going to a wedding. I have to figure out what to wear since it’s going to be in th 70s, and I had planned to wear a dress with long sleeves. The sleeves are see-thru (so thin), but still. I’ll have a hot flash and be miserable if I wear it. You know, it’s the end of Oct and I am in MA. I would think planning to wear this dress was a safe bet. Of course Brian has no sympathy for me because he has to wear a suit. haha. Oh yeah, the brakes on my car are GONE. So gone that I think I am going to have to get it towed (I’m hoping a little brake fluid will do the job).

I need to get back to work…we want to go to go the last day of King Richard’s Faire.

Don’t even get me started about work, hopefully my plan is going to work out and I will be extracted from the drama. I think I am going to an AANE thing next week, and will hopefully get the guidance counselors at the high school interested enough to go listen as well.

OK, seriously, back to writing about mental imagery. bleeehhhhhh

Ok it’s starting to cool down for real. We took all the ACs out today. We are going to have a fire in the fireplace tonight, and I took out the big down comforter last night.

I promptly had the itchy eyes and headache today…so I wonder if I am allergic to down?

I have some apples and butternut squash in the oven….and I have all my “chilly” clothes out. Plus I bought some new boots today (yay boots).

Next thing you know it is going to snow and everything will look dead. bleh.

I went to an event tonight..and was all upset that I couldn’t find anyone….just to come home and realize the event is next week.

ok. I seriously need a break. officially.

my brain is FRIED.

According to this blog, Hans Asperger, the man who first wrote about weird people with remarkable skills, saved these “undesirables” from Hitler’s concentration camps by signing his patients up as British codebreakers. I wish there had been a reference link…I don’t have time to look it up now.

Anyone know if this is true?

I am sure you have heard the story: a 15-year-old girl met a 25-year-old on MySpace, falls in love, and the guy comes to get her to elope with him.

But the guy is actually a 40 something sexual predator.

I am listening to the dad, who says he’s computer stupid. It sounds like he did alot of things right. He had the computer in a public area. He tried to look over his daughter’s shoulder to keep up with what she was doing. But he needed to do more.

If your kids are on MySpace, you have to be on MySpace. Tell your kid that they have to friend you. My son told me I was the worst friend ever when I did that to him, and I reminded him I’m not supposed to be his friend. I watched what he did. What his friends were doing. I only told him he had to change something one time. I was able to watch what his friends were up to, and start conversations about it. He hated it. I am hoping one day he’ll understand.

If your kids are younger, make a rule that they can only IM or friend people that they know IRL (in real life). Make them tell you who the kids are (they will have WEIRD names, so make them tell you!) Tell them from very young to refuse to give ages and locations, if they can’t do that hide that info, and if they can’t do that, LIE. Say you are 66 from someplace across the country.

If you don’t understand this, leave a message or email me. I’ll try to help you figure it out. Social networking sites can be fantastic - they can help keep in touch with family in different locations, keep in touch with friends who move, and help the kids with homework (no really it can). You just have to keep on top of the kids. It’s the best insight you will ever get to your kid’s life…take advantage of it!

I have been so busy! Both kids off to school, and I started grad school. My major is Instructional Systems. This semester I am only taking one class (easing myself back into it), but the class is Theories of Learning and Cognition in Instruction.

We are covering many topics which were in my daughter’s diagnosis, or in her plans at school. Back then, I would look up the technical terms they were applying to my daughter and try to figure out what they were. Now, I am studying them all in this class! It’s very cool.

It makes it a little hard for me, because I will do the reading once to understand the terms, then I will go back and research the terms as they relate to autism. Then I will think about things my daughter has told me, to see if the things I find correlate to what she has experienced.

This week we are covering knowledge representation - how a person thinks. So I have already re-read Dr. Temple Grandin’s article Thinking in Pictures.

I’m so glad I picked this program!