Sunday, October 23, 2011

A Monster Among Us

There is a monster among us, a lot of people know him by a few names....JB, Jeremy Brown and as his twitter handle @techieteacher. He was part of many twitter chats that most people found informative and useful. People trusted him and put their necks on the line for him, they also stood up for him in recent online arguments between him and another person on twitter.

But what shocks me to the core, what makes me want to lock my kids away forever is this article.....  ....I can't even write in a decent link tag.

In this first blog back from being away I think its important to remember, that not all people working with our children are God's gifts. But there are some out there...lets not forget that either.

To those fooled by him and his " greatness" let it be known that he was good at what he did and that was lying. That could happen to the best of us, and we can't beat ourselves up about that.

Its not enough for me that he was caught, it won't ever be enough for me that he will go to jail. Nothing will ever be enough for what he could have or has done to any child.

There just aren't enough words....

Saturday, October 8, 2011

The IEP from Hell



That's my two youngest boys there. They are both special needs and I love them to death, I'd walk over hot coals to get them the services they need. 

For Racer, getting help hasn't been as hard as its been getting help for Wolverine. But the need is still there, that need for services won't ever go away. 

This picture was taken on a day where my older daughter wasn't with us, on those days the boys cling to each other, they need each other. Whether they realize it or not I think deep down inside they see how different they are and that forms their closeness.


Since birth Wolverine has been different, he was my 4th born and in no way does that make me an expert but I knew he was. All babies like to be burrito wrapped, but Wolverine was at least 8 months old and still needing that wrapped feeling. He liked the dark, so I would have to put a blanket over his bassinet and he would be fine. He never craved that close comfort from either me or his dad, and only really allow me to barely hold him, he would scream and cry when Roy held him. It was odd but when we took him to the doc they said he was fine. When he was lil he was always just a little more bouncy then the rest of the kids, a little more aggressive then them as well. BUT he was my first full term boy, my oldest son was born premie so he wasn't much of a guideline as to what boys are like. 

It wasn't until school started that I thought we might have more of a problem then just the usual "boys will be boys" behavior. Kinder was a breeze for him, the teacher was stern but nice, but home life wasn't any better. The aggression was off the charts, it was almost like he knew he couldn't misbehave at school and brought it all home. I looked into all sorts of things it could possibly be ADHD being one of them, but every where I looked most places and research says that kids can't be Dx until there are issues both at school and home. For now I just had a emotional wreck of a 5yr old.

1st and 2nd grade were pretty much the same, start off really great but then it turned horribly bad, with behavior issues and outbursts and aggression. Towards the end of 2nd grade I finally got them to listen and agree to test him. I've blogged about it before and you can read it here and part 2 to that blog is here.

Finally the evaluation process is done. I was feeling good about it, I mean with all that Wolverine has done how could they not see that there was a problem......boy was I wrong!

Long story short they aren't giving him services, they feel that since he tested really well ONE ON ONE that he's fine. He's really smart, and at grade level and showed no problems focusing or any hyper activity.......ONE ON ONE. For those of you who have gone through the testing process, you know they send questionnaires  home for the parents to fill out, they also give them to the teacher and one to Wolverine to fill out. 

For the first time ever my answers along with the teachers answers were almost the same, we found him to either be "at risk" or having a problem in most of the same areas. But even this didn't matter to the special needs team. What a real eye opener was the results of Wolverines questionnaires....Now for those not knowing, most of the scores either have to be 70 or up to receive services, and others have to be lower then 30. But according to Wolverines answers he scored a 69 in the area of depression, so he's "at risk" BUT still they aren't going to do anything! 

I was shocked and shaking, and so pissed, that here they were saying he was "at risk" for certain things but since he tested really well he doesn't get services. No it didn't matter that they tested him alone, no it didn't matter that when he goes to class he refuses to do work and flips off the teacher, no it doesn't matter that he won't do rotations and so his other two teachers don't even know who the heck he is. None of that matters...cause guess what?!! It was all mine and Roys fault, we are apparently pawns in an 8yrs olds grand scheme to create domination and control....now that may be a paraphrasing BUT WTF IS THAT?  All his problems at school are MY FAULT?!! I'm not even fucking there but its my fault.

Bottom line, I refused to sign it....I left shaking and crying. Got home and relayed all of this to Roy and then we just kind of sat there. I don't even know where to begin when someone tells me my sweetheart of a lil boy is at risk for depression. I don't even know if he knows what it means....how do you tell your child that even though he knows he can't control what is going on inside his head and body that he's ok? 

So I pulled him from school, he's going to be doing this homeschooling online classes till we get the answers he needs. I can't let it go that he's at risk for anything and that the school refuses to do ANYTHING about it. Even as I sit here now writing this I look at the test scores and just cry, why or how they can let him wander the halls and look at him and know that this child is depressed or could be is a mystery to me. 


Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Games in Review ~~~ Discovery Bay Games

The last few weeks I've been bringing you tech stuff, like apps but today we have something really special to review!!

On my many adventures at BlogHer I was able to meet and speak to one of the reps of Discovery Bay Games!

Can I just say I LOVE THEM!! Not only did I get two really great games from them but the YuckMouths have been having a blast playing their games!




The first one I got to review with them is Highlights Match Patch



The directions were really simple and easy to remember. Basically you have to match either the food pictures to other food pictures on the cards or match the household items to the other household items. There is a point system, one point awarded if you play a hidden picture card. You earn hidden picture cards when you cover all the surrounding sides of the tiles.

The ages on this game are 6+ but I had no problem with my 4yr old who played and actually won a few games over her older siblings! There are so many ways to play this game, with or without the hidden picture tiles and with them. They get to create really silly patterns with the tiles as they match sides. It was a great tool for the younger ones to learn what items go together and thinking about which tiles could match certain spaces. 

The second game we got to review was 
Smithsonian Mission Museum Case of the Missing Mummy


Since I was able to pick two games to review I decided to go with something my older kids could enjoy.

The object of this game is to find the 3 artifacts that are on the mission cards you pick before the mummy escapes.  The directions for this game were simple as well and easy to explain to the kids. 


What I liked about this game is that it is set up for the players to work together as they solve the challenge cards and come up with an answer. Each challenge card has the answers on the back but you have to use the red magnifying glass to get the answers. Since it was a work together game I let my younger two play as well and they loved it!







The kids have really enjoyed playing these games the past few weeks. Its made for great family time and time where we are totally unplugged and just enjoying a good time. Please feel free to visit them online on their Facebook pageon Twitter and on their website! I loved them and you will too!


Monday, October 3, 2011

Rett Syndrome Awareness Month~~ Guest Blog By Terri

I want you all to meet someone! Her name is Abby, and I have the great pleasure of being friends with her mom! I wanted her to guest blog for me to bring awareness about Rett Syndrome! Before I met Teri I had only barely heard about it, I'm guessing some of you might be in the same boat! 







How exciting. I’ve never been asked to guest blog before so Thank You to Lisa and 7 Yuck Mouths.

My name is Terri and I am Mom, Advocate, wife and all around Autism awareness terrorist.
I run a little website called rettgirl.org and a YouTube channel called Rett We Can.

Why? Well thank you, I’m so glad you asked.

My 7 year old daughter Abby has Rett Syndrome. An X Chromosome Linked form of Autism, X chromosome linked means it is the only form of Autism with a known genetic cause. Because it is a mutated or fragmented gene on this Chromosome is why it mainly affects girl,s but there are a handful of boys that have it to and they are just as deeply affected.

The Bastard gene of which we speak is called MECP2. It is known as the regulatory gene between your brain and your body. It is the gene that tells every other gene when to turn on and off. Unfortunately for families this gene doesn’t turn itself on until your child is between 18 months and 2 years of age. Up to that point you have a perfectly normal, typical child doing all the things they are supposed to do. When this gene kicks on...if it is faulty like in Rett Syndrome everything shuts down, There is a rapid period of regression where every acquired slill is lost. Most purposeful hand use disappears almost immediately, a constant wringing, tapping or hand mouthing starts. All speech goes during this regression stage and your child turns back into an infant where she will stay…trapped in her own body until a cure is found.

Rett Syndrome is considered the first Curable Neurological disorder and it was announced in 2007 that Rett Syndrome had been reversed in laboratory mouse models. It’s there and until we can get it funded in a way that gets it right for humans, our babies remain locked in a world they can only observe.
The major debilitating factor in Rett Syndrome is called Apraxia. Apraxia is defined as the will to carry out intent is there, the physical ability is not. Some describe it as having Aurism,Cerebral Palsy and Parkinson’s all rolled up in one little girl.

Need to Knows:
·                    Debilitating neurological (movement) disorder that predominantly affects females.
·                    Baby girls are born "normal" but begin to lose acquired skills between the ages of 1-3 years old. 
·                    Caused by a single gene mutation that leads to underproduction of an important brain protein.
·                    The most severe form of autism.
·                    The leading genetic cause of severe impairment in girls - most cannot speak, walk or use their hands.
·                    Despite their physical disabilities, girls with Rett Syndrome are believed to be functioning mentally at a                                       much higher level than previously thought. 
·                    As prevalent as Cystic Fibrosis, ALS and Huntington's.
·                    Another little girl is born with Rett Syndrome every 90 minutes.
·                    Rett Syndrome is a potentially REVERSIBLE disorder. Research has proven once protein levels are back to normal levels, symptoms subside

Why have I never heard of this you may ask? That’s why we are here today. To inform, educate and raise awareness so little girls like mine will no longer be held in the unknown. Thank you to Lisa for allowing me to spread the word here.


To donate to Rett Syndrome research in Abby’s name and follow her personal story you can go to:
Thank you
Terri