Posts tagged: IEP

Why Emergency Responder Education – Part I

My son was 18 months old. He was standing next to my bed, humming, as I was folding laundry and separating the piles. Then he walked out. In the time it took me to fold a pair of jeans, this child had walked to the other end of the house, found my keys, figured out [...]

Monday August 30th, 2010 in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | No Comments »

It’s IEP Time… Put Our Dukes Down?

It can be hard not to go into an IEP meeting with an attitude of “me vs. them”, ready to defend your child. Especially if you’ve been pelted with behavioral labels, accused of not disciplining enough, or relentlessly badgered about why you are not medicating. And believe me, I’ve been called some really inappropriate names [...]

Sunday May 16th, 2010 in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Parents: Who Supports Us?

“Nobody told me there’d be days like these Nobody told me there’d be days like these Strange days indeed” John Lennon So you’re the parent of a child with Autism, Sensory Processing Disorder, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, or learning disability. When was the last time you gave yourself a break? Acknowledged your courage and persistence? Applauded [...]

Saturday May 1st, 2010 in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »

It’s Summer Camp Time Again… HELP!

I won’t lie, this time of year typically throws me into a panic.  Memories of being burned repeatedly and having my poor son bounced from program to program each summer makes me dread the search for a summer camp solution that is within a single parent’s budget yet offers my child the support he needs. [...]

Saturday April 17th, 2010 in , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments »

How to Make and Use Emotional Stage Index Cards

When speaking about Emotion Cards, there are two different types of uses and benefits: helping the child identify others’ unspoken emotional cues and helping identify the child’s own stages before a potential meltdown. Both are extremely helpful in introducing emotional identification, understanding, and regulation. Last year my son and I created Emotional Stages index cards [...]

Sunday March 21st, 2010 in , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

DENIED! Why am I Doing the Happy Dance?

Six months ago I applied for SSI Disability to help me provide for my Autistic son. Meeting the income guidelines for this assistance, I jumped through all the required hoops of their dog and pony show. I supplied them with a 92-page history and timeline of all Justin’s diagnoses, school records, IEP copies, behavioral and [...]

Saturday March 6th, 2010 in , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

Consequences, Consequences

There was a time when two to three days of the week I’d receive a phone call from the school demanding I come pick up my son for behavior they could not control. As a single parent working full time, you can imagine how well this went over. Aside from job concerns, I also began [...]

Sunday February 7th, 2010 in , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments »