Too busy to blog!

I was looking back at the blog archives and realized I used to post a lot more than now. I would pay so much attention to each word the twins said, or especially to anything they stopped doing. That was such an intense time. Well, it's still an intense time, but I feel more sure of who the twins are. I always used to be looking for a clue that they'd turn out high-functioning. Oh, those words... "high-functioning"! They were like Harvard or Yale, or "gifted and talented". Now I feel like I know they have a lot in there, but I also feel pretty sure they will need a lot of help throughout their lives. "High-functioning" has been replaced in my mind with "toilet-trained and able to communicate what they have to say". Now I think i'm more able to enjoy their quirkiness, and less apt to see everything as a clue to what they'll be like as adults (on the good days, anyway).

Going to get them early today, to use the IPad and IPod. Would like them to be able to use the IPad at school, but that's a whole other can of worms.

One more thing

My husband and I both thought we might have heard B. say "Mommy" today in the car. Which would be a first!

Articulation sneaking up on you

Sometime between last Christmas and this Christmas, B. can sing songs with perfectly recognizable words. It struck me when I heard "Santa Claus is Coming to Town"' turned around looking for G., and found myself looking at B. How could that clear little voice be coming out of B? When did this happen? They both are so musical, and it is such a joy. My husband, who has a harder time dealing with the twins' autism, has been takinf B. to a guitar store to try out instruments. There is an employee who also has two boys with autism, and apparently he's very understanding. My husband looks so happy when they come home from those outings. He's planning to get the boys a drum set for Christmas. I'm very glad they've found this common ground. Not so excited about the drum set, but I'll live with it. Well, this started out being about articulation, but it's all related. Music therapy, for kids and grown-ups.

A friend of mine moved from here to Connecticut for the autism services.  She had refused to send her daughter to our district and homeschooled her.

In CT,. her daughter has a full time aide trained in ABA, an IPad with ProLoQuo2Go on it, and is in inclusion 12 hours a week.  I may have to stop reading her emails!!

I am trying to be mature about this but I feel jealous!

Let's Get Physical

Tomorrow will be our second Saturday of Special Olympics bowling.  I think what I like most about it is that it's purely for the kids.  No discussion of treatment, cure, progress and so forth.  Just fun.

If anyone is actually reading this blog (other than my sisters, who only comment in emails... which is fine, by the way), I have to recommend TeachTown.

It's Discrete Trial Training, so limited in that way. On the other hand, if you have a child who is hard to motivate to do work, it could be just the thing. G. is working up a storm, although he still wishes it were YouTube.

Parent/Teacher conference

Well, I met with the twins' teacher this morning.  It may or may not have been smart to have had two big cups of coffee and a Sudafed before driving to the school.  That's not my recipe for getting high, it's just my normal coffee intake plus a little allergy problem I'm having.  I only take half a dose of Sudafed because it makes me feel as if I'm hovering a few feet off the ground.

Anyway, I brought about eight of the file folder games I've been talking about, our IPad and a box of Oreos, in case the teacher wanted me to demonstrate what either twin can do in the presence of the right sandwich cookie.  Their teacher greeted me and mentioned in the first ten minutes that she has ADHD and has been having hot flashes.  Between the two of us it was a pretty hyper and disjointed conversation.

It started out with her saying how surprised they were when one morning G. did an alphabet puzzle all by himself.  What the what?  Here we go again, I thought.  So I pulled out my file folders and gave her the Oreos, and now I'm just hoping that G.  does me proud and actually shows some of what he can do.

There was more chit-chat, but the gist of the meeting was that the twins can do more than they'll let on, and we're going to work together to get them to do some of it at school.  I know this teacher means well and is very motivated, so I'm hoping for the best.

Now if I can just figure out the secret of getting B. to show what he really knows.  One thing I'm trying (only with G. so far because he can use the computer mouse ):
"Teach Town Basics"


It's not cheap, but the boy can do it.  If I got a touchscreen, I think B. could, too.