Embracing the Chaos

Wednesday, December 31, 2008

Friday, December 26, 2008

Autism can't tear twin brothers apart

Autism can't tear twin brothers apart - St. Petersburg Times

Interesting article- this is something I think a lot about.

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Thursday, December 25, 2008

Mental patients isolated for years despite laws - Mental health- msnbc.com

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Wednesday, December 24, 2008

YouTube - The Magic Hockey Helmet

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Tuesday, December 23, 2008

My awesome, awesome kids

Dylan

Rachel

Kirsten

I couldn't be luckier.

They are 13 years old, and the joy of my life.

I miss Dylan every single day of my life, and my biggest regret is that I don't have 2 clones who could have helped to make him and his sisters safe at home.

Rachel is most likely the most intelligent person I will ever meet in my life- all of her test scores, workers and teachers and friends agree on that. Life with her is never, ever boring.

Kirsten is now 3 year post-cancer, and doing awesomely. 4 years ago on Boxing Day we had to shave her head because her hair was starting to fall out...damn, she's come a long way since then. Her automatic openness and empathy to people who are "different" from her always put me to shame. I do it from conviction and theory desire, she does it without even thinking of it.

Yes, they're all autistic, and yes, it's difficult for all of us a lot of the time. But we manage to muddle through, and still love each other, and contribute to the world around us, and bring joy to some of the people that we meet (I think that the joy part is inspired by them, not me!) With the help of an absolutely amazing husband, my kids make my life blessed.

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Monday, December 22, 2008

This American Life

This American Life

This week's episode:

370: Ruining It for the Rest of Us

"When they decided not to vaccinate their son against measles, two San Diego parents thought they were making the best decision for their child. But when the 7-year-old came home from an overseas trip suffering from the disease (pictured at left: measles virus), his family’s personal decision became a whole community’s problem. The resulting outbreak infected 11 children and endangered many others. This and other stories about what happens when people's actions and choices infringe on those around them. Including the disquieting truth about Amtrak’s Quiet Car."

If you listen to podcasts at all, you probably already know that This American Life is one of the best around. I'm looking forward to listening to this one.

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Sunday, December 21, 2008

What Child is This and Hava Nagila

YouTube - Jingle Cats What Child is This

I'll never cease to be amazed at what you can find online.

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The year 2008 in photographs (part 1 of 3) - The Big Picture - Boston.com

The year 2008 in photographs (part 1 of 3) - The Big Picture - Boston.com:

"Swiss pilot Yves Rossy, the world's first man to fly with a jet-powered fixed-wing apparatus strapped to his back, flies during his first official demonstration, on May 14, 2008 above Bex, Switzerland. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP/Getty Images) #"

I'm terrified of heights and flying, but I still think that he must be feeling pretty amazing.

Awesome pictures- well worth looking through.

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Saturday, December 20, 2008

pics

At our favourite restaurant

The night I met my husband (at a Fark party, actually)

My mother in law (left) and me

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Thursday, December 18, 2008

We have the most awesome special ed bus driver ever

We'd moved shortly before school started last year, and because my daughter R. always buses to school, we're always a bit on the edge waiting to see what her transportation is going to be like. She's taken everything from regular school buses, to "short buses", to cabs and vans, and it's always a bit nerve-wracking.

A couple of days before school started we had a knock on our door, and I opened it to find a gentleman in his 60s standing on our front porch. He introduced himself and said that he was R's new bus driver- that he'd been driving buses for years, but had never driven special ed kids before. He'd heard that children in special education were often more comfortable when they could anticipate a routine, so he was driving his route (that Saturday), not only to find out exactly how long it would take him, but to introduce himself to any of "his" kids that might be home that day. While I'm sure that the school board might have freaked out if they knew that he was driving around introducing himself to people, it was hugely helpful to us- he and R chatted for a few minutes, and it cut her anxiety down for the first day of school by a huge order or magnitude.

We ended up having transportation problems for the first few weeks- unknown to pretty much all of us, the school board had given him an extra route, so he was generally picking R up about 3/4 of an hour late. Needless to say that meant that she was pretty much in full melt-down by the time he got here- we all know that there's nothing more that a lot of autistic kids like than to have their routine thrown into that kind of disarray. We eventually got communication worked out between the four agencies that his routes involved, and he's been prompt, as well as incredibly patient and good with all of the kids.

This morning R went running out to her bus (she got a new sweater last night, so she was itching to get to school), and a few minutes later there was a knock on the door. He and his wife had put together a little Christmas package for each of "his" kids, but he thought that he should give it to me so that she wouldn't be gobbling down chocolate on the way to school.

We see so MANY stories about horrendous transportation experiences, and people who apparently have no ability or desire to get to know our kids. This man told me the first time I met him that he'd never been in a room with an autistic person before and was obviously nervous about it, and yet he has done a wonderful job because he treats "his" kids like people. We're lucky to run across people like him.

For the first time this year, I'm in a Christmas mood.

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Tuesday, December 16, 2008

update for Autism Twitter Day

Things are flying fast and furiously (figure of speech) on Autism Twitter Day.

For those people asking for more information- I have triplets, born in 1995- two girls, one boy. They are AWESOME kids. They were all diagnosed at 20 months of age after I noticed speech delays, and we were lucky enough to start with integrated daycare, speech therapy, occupational therapy, and integrated day care right away.

My son moved into a group home almost 5 years ago due to extreme self-injury and aggression. I was a single mom, and I couldn't keep him safe, or his sisters safe from him. He is in a fantastic home, we see him regularly, and he is still very much a part of our lives. Right now I have one child (D) in a group home who goes to a self-contained K-8 school, one child (R) who is in a self-contained classroom, and one child (K), who is in a "normal" classroom with no assistance.

The latest article on the kids talks about an awesome sensory playground that we go to every week.

I'm so glad that so many people are interested in us, as I have wonderful kids. They are a constant inspiration to me (and yes, we are going through puberty, so let's just say that every minute of every day is NOT inspirational).

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Monday, December 15, 2008

Board games for family fun

Board games for family fun

Some good reviews if you're looking for Christmas presents!

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Gingerbread Fantastic

YesButNoButYes: Gingerbread Fantastic

If there's a cooler gingerbread house than CBGB I'm not sure what it is :-) There are some awesome creations here.