growing up Archives - Page 7 of 15

Jul 21, 2010

An Early Love of Reading

Earlier in the summer, I was invited to visit the Columbus Metropolitan Library to learn about their programs, specifically their summer reading club. This was something the girls were only mildly excited about, because going to the library is a semi-regular occurrence for them. But little did they know that was the day the library was kicking off the summer reading program, and there were all sorts of special events going on at the library all day to celebrate.

Now, we don’t just have any old library here in Columbus – we have the TOP library. Columbus Metropolitan Library was named the top library of 2010 by Library Journal, along with several other honors they’ve received before. Our library is awesome – the diversity of their offerings is unmatched.

Cordy and Mira were both excited to sign up for their first summer reading club. Aaron signed up, too – adults are welcome to participate. Cordy already had a library card, but Mira got her first library card that day. (And wouldn’t you know it – it was PINK.) They each received a sheet to track their progress and selected several books to start with.

For the next few weeks, this was how we usually saw Cordy at home:

Yes, it’s a comic book, but there are words, so it counts!

Her nose was buried in a book, trying to earn time to get another box marked off of her sheet. But Mira wasn’t slacking, either – she brought me book after book and begged me to read until my eyes crossed.

And with only half of the summer complete, they have both finished their summer reading club tracking sheets. Aaron took them to the library on Saturday to turn in their tracking forms, and each girl received a library tote bag as her reward. They now use those tote bags to take library books to and from the library.

I’ve been thrilled to see Cordy’s interest in reading develop over the summer. I think she’s a stronger reader now than she was at the end of the school year. She may have trouble with social skills in kindergarten, but at least I feel confident that she’ll do fine with her academics this fall.

There’s still time to get your child enrolled in a summer reading club. Even if you don’t live in Columbus, this is something many libraries do each summer. Even my small hometown library had a summer reading club when I was a kid, although back then I had to give a verbal book report to the children’s librarian to earn my stamp. (You kids these days have it soooooo much easier! *said in my best old person voice*)

And if you have more time for reading that doesn’t involve navigating to Facebook, check out any adult reading club activities your library might have as well.

Locals: should you happen to live in the district of the Columbus Metropolitan Library, be aware that a levy to help fund the library will be on the November ballot this year. This will replace an expiring levy and help fund new services, as well as bringing back Sunday hours to the suburban branches. Don’t forget to vote for this levy!

Full disclosure: I was invited to come to the library as a special guest, and received a very nice presentation about all of the library’s services while my children were entertained by library staff during storytime. I received no compensation, other than the time of the Executive Director and other staff. Our family loves and supports our local library, and encourages you to love and support your local library, too!

Filed Under: Cordy, daily life, growing up, Mira, reviews ·

Jun 22, 2010

An Entirely Different Summer

By Christina ·

Last week was Cordy’s first week of summer camp. I drafted up a supplies list for Aaron to assemble for Cordy, and on Monday he took her for her first day at a school she’s never been to. She protested a little that she didn’t want to go to this summer camp, and she missed her old school, but Aaron kept reminding her that she would have fun at this camp. At least, we hoped she’d have fun at this camp.

When it was time to choose a summer camp, we were down to two choices. One was a special-needs summer camp, where we knew she’d be accepted without question. Her autism would be taken into account and her teachers would be trained to handle any meltdowns or odd behavior. The second camp was a Montessori-based summer camp that would be filled with typical children and could pose a challenge to Cordy. The teachers assured us they had experience dealing with children on the autism spectrum, but the routine was more fluid and therefore it carried the risk of upsetting Cordy’s need for consistency.

We chose the Montessori camp. As has been proven before, if you push Cordy right to the edge of her limits, she often learns from the challenge and grows as a result. I didn’t want her in a special needs camp when I know how easy it is for her to regress. If she’s going to prove to the school system that she deserves to be mainstreamed, then she must start surviving in a class with typical peers.

Of course I was terrified. I remembered last year, when certain teachers in her summer camp made it perfectly clear that they didn’t think she belonged with typical kids. I remember feeling guilty for expecting the teachers to deal with her issues. I only wanted her to have fun and make friends. By the end of the summer, I doubted that she could name any of the kids in her class, and she had been banned from swimming lessons after several meltdowns.

This year? Totally different.

This summer camp reports that she’s a little shrieky at times, but overall is doing really well. They asked early on for tips on how to handle her, and they took our advice to give her plenty of notice before transitions and help her talk through her feelings when she’s upset by a sensory overload. There have been no calls home in the middle of the afternoon. She likes to wear her bathing suit and play in the splashing pools. When Aaron picks her up each day, she’s often playing with other kids. Best of all, she says she wants to go back the next day.

I don’t know if it’s just because she’s older, or if it’s the school’s style of teaching or just great teachers, but so far it’s working. She fits in with the other kids, she’s happy, and there have been no complaints from the teachers about her behavior. I’m hoping this experience will yet again challenge her, helping her grow beyond the anxieties and difficulties she battles everyday.

Who knows? Maybe this summer camp will make it possible to transition her into a mainstream kindergarten even faster?

Either way, knowing she’s having a great summer is one less worry for me, and that makes me happy.

Side note: Those close to me may realize I’m entirely avoiding discussing how I feel about being 34 years old as of yesterday with this post. I had a birthday. I’m a year older. Nothing much to discuss.

Filed Under: Autism, Cordy, growing up, school ·

Jun 6, 2010

Graduation Day

By Christina ·

Last week Cordy ended her final year as a preschooler. She had been through two years of half-day special needs preschool, followed by a year of full-day pre-K, and to celebrate a graduation was held for all of the kids in her class.

They all wore baseball caps that said “Class of 2010” and had gold tassels on the top as they entered the classroom and sat down in front of all the parents. The kids gave us a presentation of their talent show performance of “Eight Days a Week” and then the teachers spoke about the progress each child has made over the past year.

(next lesson: teach Cordy to sit like a lady when wearing a skort)

Each child then received a diploma.

We ended with a tear-inducing slideshow followed by cake. Because cake makes everyone happy.

Next up for Cordy is a mainstream summer camp at a local Montessori school, followed by kindergarten back at her current school. After the massive meltdown she had on the last day of school, I’ll admit I’m a little nervous about how summer camp will go, but I’m trying to remain positive and remember that the Montessori method was designed for kids like her, and she’ll likely have a few rough days at first but will then settle into the routine of a new place.

Cordy’s also on a new medication now. Our two week period of no-meds wasn’t the worst time of our lives, but it certainly wasn’t the best, either. Despite the side-effects of the previous medication, I found myself wanting to call up the doctors and promise to never complain about irritability from the medication again if it meant she’d sit still for a few minutes to read a book or do a math workbook or do anything other than demanding to watch TV every minute of the day. The flapping came back. Her lack of focus was painful to deal with. And I forgot just how out-of-it she could be sometimes.

But after speaking with the doctors, we’re trying a new medication that they feel will reproduce the positive effects of the study medication without the irritability. It’s the safest option of the medications available, with the fewest and least harmful side-effects.

The downside is that if it works, the study will be over in a couple of weeks and we’ll have to find some way to pay for the $180/month medication.

Yep, still no health insurance here. No private insurance will cover autism, remember?

(But OF COURSE we don’t need health care reform in this country. Ahem.)

One option could be to use the old generic of the drug – when it was originally used as a blood pressure medication – which is thankfully inexpensive. But it isn’t an extended release like the newly patented version, so we’d have to give her multiple pills a day (not too big of a problem) and hope it doesn’t create a roller-coaster-like effect throughout the day (could be a big problem) as a result.

So far, we’re seeing modest improvements in Cordy already. She’s back to reading books and doing math problems. She’s drawing again. And while they do still fight like sisters – as any kids would do – she is actually letting Mira play with her sometimes. Another week or so should be enough time to evaluate her response.

I’m being optimistic, but I think that Cordy is going to have an amazing summer of growth. She earned her graduation and I’m confident she’ll continue to impress everyone she meets.

Please, fate, don’t let me have to eat those words.

Filed Under: Autism, Cordy, growing up ·

May 31, 2010

Mira’s Perfect PINK Party

By Christina ·

So Saturday was the great PINK party. Many guests showed up wearing pink for Mira, and Mira happily wore the PINK dress she picked out at The Children’s Place.

All of the decorations were PINK, and most of the presents were PINK, too. The cake? Oh yeah, it was PINK:

The cake was made by Krazy Kakes, a local Columbus small business. Even the inside of the cake was PINK with strawberry filling. Gorgeous, no? It tasted amazing, too! We also had a second PINK cake from Whole Foods for Cordy, which meant that nearly everyone got two slices of cake and was on a sugar high the remainder of the day.

I should have taken more photos. But I was too busy keeping things running. Hopefully someone else snapped a few for me.

And Mira celebrated her birthday in true diva fashion. You may remember that my children have a fondness for Lady Gaga. Well, for Mira it’s more of an obsession now. At preschool they occasionally turn on the radio for the kids, and when a Gaga song comes on, Mira screams, “Da Wadee Gaga!!”

So in true Gaga form, Mira’s preschool teachers made her a birthday crown unlike any other birthday crown ever made in that school.

Lady Gaga? I think you have a new three year old friend.

She wore it with true pride, even out to Bob Evans for dinner. And like Lady Gaga, she appreciated that everyone was looking at her.

What little monster have we created?

Filed Under: family time, growing up, Mira ·

May 27, 2010

Three

By Christina ·

Today I no longer have a toddler.

Today Miranda will start her day as a preschooler, or as she calls it, a “big girl.”

Unlike Cordy, Mira has been planning her third birthday for over a month. She immediately told me she wanted a PINK (her emphasis, not mine) party, with PINK balloons and PINK cake and PINK decorations. (Fun fact: Mira likes pink.) She created most of the guest list. And she’s been very good at making sure we don’t forget that her birthday is in May and she’ll be three.

All this birthday talk has spurred her to think about her future as a big girl, too. She spins stories of how she will someday go to work, and she’ll drive a PINK car to get there. She can’t even say PINK yet – due to her speech apraxia, it sounds more like HINK. However, I can understand her so much better than I could even half a year ago, thanks to all of the hard work she’s put in trying to be understood.

This younger daughter of ours is more than just a little girl – she’s a force of nature. Her impish spirit is obvious to everyone she meets, and her direct and sometimes forceful personality ensures she gets her way. She’s just now three years old, but she has already mastered manipulation, charm, and knowing just how to bat her eyes to get one more cookie. Where Cordy falters socially, Mira shines.

Today my little girl is three, and I’m mourning the baby that’s being traded in for this child. She longs to explore her world and make her place in it, going further from my reach each day, and I’m not ready to let her go yet.

But when bedtime is near, and she climbs onto my lap to cuddle for “jus too moh minuwtes” she nestles her head against my shoulder and reminds me that, “I noh ah baybee, I ah big girl. Buh I m stiw mahmee’s baybee.”

Happy birthday, Mira. You are a big girl, but you will always be my baby.