4th Grade Letter to Teacher

It is that time again.  Haircuts, new clothes, new backpacks, new lunch boxes, and meetings to get James to know the people who will be instrumental in helping him succeed in the next year of school. (We met the new AP and will be meeting his his teacher the Friday before school starts.) School starts next week and I feel prepared; well, as prepared as I can feel.  I have done everything I can think of to make sure 4th grade will start off well. I found out that James's aide will be the one who finished the year with him after me pleading with the district to provide an aide and them telling me "NO" until he got suspended for 5 days for the exact reasons I told them I wanted an aide.  Not exactly the way I wanted it to go down but... well done James?... I guess.

Anyway... below is my letter to this year's teacher and then some resources (thanks Mama and snagglebox); also some ADHD adaptions for the classroom that any teacher can put in place with very little effort and time.  I just hope this year will be the year that James discoverers the joy of learning.  Well. a mum can dream can't she?

>>letter to teacher<< >>group work<<  >>paying attention<<  >>literal thinking<<  >>why transitions can be hard<<  >>making transitions easier<<  >>got to be prefect<<  >>strategies for working with ADHD in classroom<<  >>accommodations in classroom<<

Have a very happy first day of school whenever it may happen in your corner of the world! PEACE.

Ohhhh This Kid is RICH!!!

Direct quote from James...

"OHHHHHH... I have reached my new record of richness!! Before I was only $12 rich... Now I am $13 Rich!!!!"

Should I worry??  

We All Get Asked This...

Are they verbal?  This seems to be one of the top questions that we parents of children with Autism get asked.  I guess it is a valid question for someone who doesn't really have any understanding of what being verbal means about intelligence or level of functioning.  When in doubt... always presume intelligence >>click here<<  But what does it mean to be verbal?  Traditionally it means talking.  Is a child who is scripting movies but can't ask for needs or wants verbal? Technically... yes and no. They are speaking but the communicative intent isn't necessarily there. James was this type of verbal as a little guy.  His favorite scripts were CARS and SHREK.  He would replay the entire movie verbatim with intonation and switching between the characters but he couldn't tell me he was thirsty. Verbal?  Technically YES.  Verbal?  Functionally NO.  

Over the past 6 1/2 years, James has become functionally verbal so today when asked if he is verbal, I don't have to hesitate before saying YES.  He is currently fixated on Pokemon, Sonic and sometimes Mario but he can also ask for food, drink and answer questions.  He is in a typical classroom (which by the way... isn't always a good thing believe me!!).  He speech is still scripted as he learns nuances in the English language.  He is currently still trying to figure out idioms but is finally getting some joy out of seeing how silly they can be!  Now when he uses an idiom as part of his conversations he punctuates it with, "you know mom... it doesn't mean what you think it means!" I can hear his therapists saying that as he tries to grapple with something outside his black and white world but it makes me smile that he is trying to make his language more rich.  

Recently James has been using a few new phrases that I know for sure he was given to try out but they make me smile anyway.  I think my favorites are, "For the record" and "Let me rephrase that."

MOM!!!!!

Bath night is usually a horrible experience but after a weekend with no contact with overall cleaning, James NEEDED a bath.  I told my husband to concentrate on his neck because it looked like he could have grown the potatoes used to make his beloved french fries on it!!
James came down visually upset... "Mom, I want to give you a piece of my mind."  "OHHHH... which one can I have?" .............. "You know Mom, it doesn't mean what YOU think it means!"

I love IDIOMS!!!!   James apparently has a love/ hate relationship with them!

Don't Confuse Me with the Facts.... is it MINE??

Between me going back to work, the disastrous suspensions during the last two months of school, the end of school, the beginning of summer, our moving preparations and anything else that comes up like the annoying need to sleep every night...  I just don't seem to have the time to write daily.  It looks like I haven't written since the middle of last month.  I just need to get back into the pattern of writing.  For now here is a little tidbit...

Brian and I are taking every free minute during the weekends to go through boxes that have been in our garage since our last move to see what we can get rid of.  In the bottom of one I found a small bottle of bubbles.  Our kitty Kiefer adores bubbles and to keep him off the top of our piles of boxes, I was blowing bubbles for him.  James came down stairs and stated, "Hey, those are mine and you didn't ask!" "James these bubble have been at the bottom of a box in the garage for the past 4 years." "Oh, yeahbut....... are they MINE?"

They haven't even framed the foundation of our new home and I am already losing it!!!

Short and Sweet!!

Talking to James today about going to school and he was upset because at his aftercare program they go out when it is 100 degrees and he hates sunscreen.  I told him today was only going to be 80 degrees today so he should be okay.  He said that he would get a sunburn.  I looked at his very tanned body and told him that he doesn't burn.  I showed him my very burned neck and told him that I have crazy Scottish/ English skin and he has beautiful olive Italian skin.  I told him that people would pay a lot of money to have a beautiful tan like his.  "Mom!  Are you going to sell me?" Ah... Just another day of literal thinking from James.  Gotta love the kid!
This weekend he got upset because a friend just got a phone and he is only 11.  Our rule is 12 before getting a phone.  I told James that I guess that friends family could adopt him and then he could get a phone a year early.  James liked that idea... so I guess I won't have to put him on our plan on his 12th birthday.  I hope he forgets about this plan because I would really miss him but at least he could call me on his 11th birthday on his new phone from his adoptive family.

Another Brief Look into History Via James

Finishing breakfast and Brian mentioned if anyone wanted more toast he could make some.  James was the first to speak:
"You know, there was no toast in the Civil War."

Ah... Okay...
"You know Dad, about Abraham Lincoln in the book and the Civil War?"
Ah... Okay...
"James?  Do you mean to say that there was no toast during the Civil War?"
"Yeah Dad Don't you remember from Abe Lincoln the 14th President?"
I piped in here... "16th President."
"Yeahbut... I was close!!"

Just another day!!