So I posted Austin's story earlier in the week...now it's Connor's turn.
Note- only the New Yorkers may get this...
We were driving through downtown Albany, headed to the Geneticist. You never know what you are going to see along the way. I was busy scarfing down a McD's snack wrap, when I noticed the Liberty Tax Store on the side of the road. Now if you are familiar with the store, you know that during tax season there is almost always a person dressed as Lady Liberty standing out front trying to promote the business. Well, in the case it was a large man, in a green toga, with a foam crown and torch in one hand. Connor glances at the man and yells...Hi Dinosaur! It's a darn good thing my windows were up, because he did look sort of like a stegosaurus and I wasn't sure he was the type to take kindly to that. Regardless it was too cute and it took all my willpower not to snort snack wrap out of my nose!
I'll post on the genticist tomorrow, once I get a chance to do some research.
Wednesday, January 31, 2007
A Peek Into Kindergarten
As you all know, I have been stressing a lot over whether or not to send Austin to kindergarten next year. I am leaning towards holding him back, but I feel like the CPSE chair is going to push to place him in school with an Aide. I just don't think he's ready yet.
So one of the local elementary schools had a program last night to give parents an idea of what kindergarten is like. They went over concepts that the children should know and what is included in a typical day. Cognitively, Austin is very smart and he could excel. His trouble is taking that knowledge and making it functional...meaning using it to complete assignments. They make it clear the kids will be writing and have some reading capability at the end of the year, but Austin's fine motor is so far behind that he can't even draw a circle, much less a square. I just think it'll be too much.
After the session, I went to talk to two of the district reading teachers. They both agreed that if I had any reservations, then to keep him back. It made me feel very relieved that the professionals supported my decision. These are teachers that will be working with him. I think that extra year off will not only benefit him in his OT skills, but will give him increased maturity and self confidence. They also very kindly gave me two local pre-k programs to look into.
On another note, I had to sit there and snicker at some of the questions parents asked. Let me qualify this with the statement, that we live in a somewhat 'uppity' district. Actually, I could probably take the somewhat part out altogether! The reason we ended up in this district is because we found a great house in foreclosure and we could afford it. Given my choice, my kids would be in the district jeff and I grew up in...but I digress. If I had a dollar for each parent that asked...if my kid is gifted, what will you do for him/her....I could have bought myself a steak dinner at 677 Prime (HIGH end steakhouse in Albany). I think the principal summed it up best after the umpteenth similar question...'gifted is a term only to be applied after extensive testing, we use the word propensity towards'....slam dunk, two points for the principal, shut those moms right up. And then there is me...'what about services for the kids that need it, are they in class or pulled out.' He started to go into a spiel about not being concerned if the child needs services, it's not a direct reflection of poor rearing..or something along those lines, and I politely interrupted him and said, he's had services for 2.5 years, it was the best thing that ever happened to him. He seemed relieved that a parent was accepting of that situation. Versus, the moms unlike me...
Then there were the moms that commented on the fact the video of the k-garten class showed a boy in a wheelchair...he appeared to have cerebral palsy. At least two moms asked if he (or others like him) would 'interact' with their kids. The principal explained that all kids are mainstreamed, regardless. I could almost hear the groans. It's sad that there are still parents out their teaching their kids intolerance. Maybe I have such an issue with it because I have two kids with needs, but really, it's 2007, why do people need to continue raising kids to be intolerant. Besides this boy looked like he LOVED being part of the group and participating with his peers...why didn't the parents see that, instead of just his wheelchair. But, I suppose that is a post for another day.
Connor is off to genetics today. Not sure if it's just a discussion day or a testing day. I'll let you know. I am still pushing for the Tuberous Sclerosis testing. I am prepared to fight!
So one of the local elementary schools had a program last night to give parents an idea of what kindergarten is like. They went over concepts that the children should know and what is included in a typical day. Cognitively, Austin is very smart and he could excel. His trouble is taking that knowledge and making it functional...meaning using it to complete assignments. They make it clear the kids will be writing and have some reading capability at the end of the year, but Austin's fine motor is so far behind that he can't even draw a circle, much less a square. I just think it'll be too much.
After the session, I went to talk to two of the district reading teachers. They both agreed that if I had any reservations, then to keep him back. It made me feel very relieved that the professionals supported my decision. These are teachers that will be working with him. I think that extra year off will not only benefit him in his OT skills, but will give him increased maturity and self confidence. They also very kindly gave me two local pre-k programs to look into.
On another note, I had to sit there and snicker at some of the questions parents asked. Let me qualify this with the statement, that we live in a somewhat 'uppity' district. Actually, I could probably take the somewhat part out altogether! The reason we ended up in this district is because we found a great house in foreclosure and we could afford it. Given my choice, my kids would be in the district jeff and I grew up in...but I digress. If I had a dollar for each parent that asked...if my kid is gifted, what will you do for him/her....I could have bought myself a steak dinner at 677 Prime (HIGH end steakhouse in Albany). I think the principal summed it up best after the umpteenth similar question...'gifted is a term only to be applied after extensive testing, we use the word propensity towards'....slam dunk, two points for the principal, shut those moms right up. And then there is me...'what about services for the kids that need it, are they in class or pulled out.' He started to go into a spiel about not being concerned if the child needs services, it's not a direct reflection of poor rearing..or something along those lines, and I politely interrupted him and said, he's had services for 2.5 years, it was the best thing that ever happened to him. He seemed relieved that a parent was accepting of that situation. Versus, the moms unlike me...
Then there were the moms that commented on the fact the video of the k-garten class showed a boy in a wheelchair...he appeared to have cerebral palsy. At least two moms asked if he (or others like him) would 'interact' with their kids. The principal explained that all kids are mainstreamed, regardless. I could almost hear the groans. It's sad that there are still parents out their teaching their kids intolerance. Maybe I have such an issue with it because I have two kids with needs, but really, it's 2007, why do people need to continue raising kids to be intolerant. Besides this boy looked like he LOVED being part of the group and participating with his peers...why didn't the parents see that, instead of just his wheelchair. But, I suppose that is a post for another day.
Connor is off to genetics today. Not sure if it's just a discussion day or a testing day. I'll let you know. I am still pushing for the Tuberous Sclerosis testing. I am prepared to fight!
Monday, January 29, 2007
From the Mouths of Babes
Had to post this once I heard it....
Austin slept over at Nana and Big Papa's on Friday night. They awoke to snow on Saturday morning. A few hours later, Nana mentioned that the salt truck was in the neighborhood. Curious, Austin asked why they put salt down. So Nana launches into a story on how the salt melts the snow, and the plow clears the snow, so it's safe for people to drive on it. Austin's response....
Does he use pepper too?
Austin slept over at Nana and Big Papa's on Friday night. They awoke to snow on Saturday morning. A few hours later, Nana mentioned that the salt truck was in the neighborhood. Curious, Austin asked why they put salt down. So Nana launches into a story on how the salt melts the snow, and the plow clears the snow, so it's safe for people to drive on it. Austin's response....
Does he use pepper too?
Slacker
I am a major slacker lately when it comes to the blog...and my stress level is high. Work is unbelieveably busy and my next week or so is crammed with appointments and stuff.
Tues- meeting regarding kindergarten
Wed- Connor to genetics
Fri- Austin to neuro, Ben & Connor to three yr check up
Sat- PartyLite Party
Sun- B&C's b-day party and Super Bowl
Tue- Austin's speech eval and school party for Ben
Wed- B&C's 3rd b-day, my mom's b-day, Austin's psych eval, school party for Connor
Fri- Jeff's b-day
Sat- Carli's party
Following Wed- 24 hr in hospital EEG for Austin
With all this going on, I am having a hard time concentrating at work and at home. Once this is past, I hope things will quiet down for a bit. So I am apologizing now if I am absent for long periods of time....bear with me, I will catch you up on the latest.
Tues- meeting regarding kindergarten
Wed- Connor to genetics
Fri- Austin to neuro, Ben & Connor to three yr check up
Sat- PartyLite Party
Sun- B&C's b-day party and Super Bowl
Tue- Austin's speech eval and school party for Ben
Wed- B&C's 3rd b-day, my mom's b-day, Austin's psych eval, school party for Connor
Fri- Jeff's b-day
Sat- Carli's party
Following Wed- 24 hr in hospital EEG for Austin
With all this going on, I am having a hard time concentrating at work and at home. Once this is past, I hope things will quiet down for a bit. So I am apologizing now if I am absent for long periods of time....bear with me, I will catch you up on the latest.
Tuesday, January 23, 2007
Austin
Austin's OT and I met with the school's CPSE board today to review his therapy schedule and needs. We went in asking for a speech and special education evaluation and an increase to his OT therapy. We all feel that he has started to regress again. He is very smart but he is having troubles with auditory processing and attending to tasks. He can be given an assignment and understands what he has to do, but just can't/won't do it. He also is loosing ground in his OT skills. He can copy a circle and a plus but is incapable of drawing a square. He is no where near ready to begin writing letters. He just doesn't have the fine motor control. He also is still having difficulties feeding himself. He can do okay with a fork, but just can't control a spoon well. I try and encourage proper grip, but it ends up turning into a struggle and him deciding he doesn't want to eat. He doesn't want to fail, but he also is not receptive to constructive criticism.
The chairperson of the CPSE committee agreed to increase OT services. She is also requesting a new psych and speech evaluation. We are encouraged that the results of this will lead to additional services. Even though the services will be a huge help, we still think he won't be ready for kindergarten this fall. We just don't think he has the maturity and skills to handle the increasing demands. We aren't quite sure yet what we will do...perhaps a nursery school and some home schooling. We'll have to see how the next few months unfold before we firm up our plans. But at least we have some more ideas. We'll keep you posted.
The chairperson of the CPSE committee agreed to increase OT services. She is also requesting a new psych and speech evaluation. We are encouraged that the results of this will lead to additional services. Even though the services will be a huge help, we still think he won't be ready for kindergarten this fall. We just don't think he has the maturity and skills to handle the increasing demands. We aren't quite sure yet what we will do...perhaps a nursery school and some home schooling. We'll have to see how the next few months unfold before we firm up our plans. But at least we have some more ideas. We'll keep you posted.
Friday, January 19, 2007
Colleges
** Update: Barbara got her acceptance letter from Wentworth on Saturday!**
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Thought I would take the time to update the family on the college hunt for Sharon and Barbara.
Sharon wants engineering...like me. She applied to SUNY Delhi and Russel Sage. RS offers a 3+2 program with RPI. She got into Delhi and Russel Sage, BUT Sage only accepted her for their math curriculum. She has decided that even though she's not happy with the math curriculum, that she REALLY wants to attend Russell Sage. There is the chance that she can try and transfer into the 3+2 program, but it may require some hard work. Personally I am just glad that I will still have a sister working at Bella Napoli. The thought of being cut off my pastries completely was scaring the heck out of me.
Barbara wants Architecture...like Cindy. She applied to SUNY Delhi, University of Hartford and Wentworth in Boston. She got into Delhi and Hartford but hasn't heard from Wentworth. She decided last week, before hearing from Hartford, that she wanted to go to Wentworth or Delhi and NOT Hartford. But, when she got her acceptance letter from Hartford yesterday, they were so happy with her grades that they accepted her into the Honors program AND gave her a $12K Presidential Scholarship, renewable yearly with a 3.0 GPA. I think she needs to re-think her plan. She still is anxiously awaiting news from Wentworth. It is a difficult program, but she loved it there.
So, Sharon has decided, but we are waiting on Barbara.
---------------------------
Thought I would take the time to update the family on the college hunt for Sharon and Barbara.
Sharon wants engineering...like me. She applied to SUNY Delhi and Russel Sage. RS offers a 3+2 program with RPI. She got into Delhi and Russel Sage, BUT Sage only accepted her for their math curriculum. She has decided that even though she's not happy with the math curriculum, that she REALLY wants to attend Russell Sage. There is the chance that she can try and transfer into the 3+2 program, but it may require some hard work. Personally I am just glad that I will still have a sister working at Bella Napoli. The thought of being cut off my pastries completely was scaring the heck out of me.
Barbara wants Architecture...like Cindy. She applied to SUNY Delhi, University of Hartford and Wentworth in Boston. She got into Delhi and Hartford but hasn't heard from Wentworth. She decided last week, before hearing from Hartford, that she wanted to go to Wentworth or Delhi and NOT Hartford. But, when she got her acceptance letter from Hartford yesterday, they were so happy with her grades that they accepted her into the Honors program AND gave her a $12K Presidential Scholarship, renewable yearly with a 3.0 GPA. I think she needs to re-think her plan. She still is anxiously awaiting news from Wentworth. It is a difficult program, but she loved it there.
So, Sharon has decided, but we are waiting on Barbara.
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