Monday, February 26, 2007

In My Language...

Having two Autistic students who are new to public school this year, I've been literally trying to absorb as much knowledge about Autism as I can in order to understand them and meet their needs. I've come across this amazing You Tube Video on several blogs (beginning with Chris Brogan) across the net and it's completely floored me. Amanda presents with multiple self-stimulatory behaviors that I see on a daily basis in my classroom. As I watched and got to the second half, my jaw dropped. Watch all the way through and you'll see why.





I don't think I'll ever look at my boys in the same way again. Granted, not all non-verbal Autistic people are capable of such eloquent language and cognition varies from child to child, but I'll not take anything for granted. Obviously, Amanda Baggs has an extensive vocabulary and supreme intellect and she is not representative of all non-verbal Autistic people, but had she not gotten her hands on a keyboard, we might never know.

I've just discovered this remarkable woman and have yet to read anything else yet, but have subscribed to and will read her blog Ballastexistenz.

I've also been a subscriber to Autismpodcast since it's inception and find it very helpful and enjoyable. It's a nice blend of personal experience (Michael Boll has an autistic son), expert advice and roundtable discussions. As a member of The Autism Project of RI, I'll be attending various trainings over the next few months and reading everything I can on the Autism Spectrum... man... going to need that 25th hour!

Link to all of Amanda's videos.

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Sunday, February 25, 2007

Final day of vacation...

Wow... where did the week go? It totally flew by. Today will be a day of changing gears and getting ready to adjust to the work week. Next week, I have lots of appointments and meetings after school so I'll be jumping right in with both feet.

Today, I've got more ASSessment work to do and I'll likely be "attending" more Podcamp Toronto sessions online as I work. Yesterday, I took in quite a few great sessions right from the comfort of my own home via the streaming video.

I also had the pleasure of enjoying two online podsafe concerts within a week. On Tuesday, I checked out Podsafe Music Live while at the U-Turn Cafe in Second Life with a bunch of other podcasters. It was an AWESOME show featuring Matthew Ebel, David McMillin, Geoff Smith Codaphonic and Kevin Reeves.

Last night, Uncle Seth performed at C'est What in Toronto and I was able to listen via the stream. I could have jumped into SL as well but decided instead to unplug the headphones and play it on the speakers so that I could get some other things done around here and get out of this chair! I spent wayyyy too many hours sitting yesterday and needed to get up and get moving.

So, with my powerwalk already under my belt and my To Do list by my side, I'm getting an early start and look forward to a productive day. I need to hit the market later to get stocked up for lunches and healthy snacks for work. God... I'll be so relieved when this ASSessment is off my back, especially since I'm taking a course and also because I'm looking forward to moving in a new direction with my website and podcast(s).

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Friday, February 23, 2007

FREE HUGS!!

Thanks to Chris Brogan's Twitter post for sending this along just when I needed it.



It's been one of those long, emotional weeks for variety of reasons and with a To Do list a mile long, I been bit by the stomach bug. I spent the night being sick and don't feel much better today. So.. FREE HUGS are something that managed to bring a smile to this pale face today. School vacation has flown by and I'll be back to work before I know it. But.. the heck with that, I'm going to watch again :-)

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Thursday, February 22, 2007

Bum Rush the Charts!

For those of you who listen to the podcast, I'm sure you've heard many tunes by my favorite band, Black Lab .



Although I have already purchased their newest CD, Passion Leaves a Trace, and listen to it religiously, I'll be Bum Rushing the Charts on March 22nd and purchasing Mine Again from iTunes anyway.

So, join with me in obtaining some great music, promoting an excellent band, helping with college aid, and showing that new media really works!

Print out the Bum Rush flyer and find out the details!

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Sunday, February 18, 2007

Times They are a Changin...

Change... sometimes it's hard, sometimes easy.

This Week: I welcome the change from going to work to being home this week on February vacation... I've got lots to do this week and some decisions to make. I need to treat it as a "work from home" week though in terms of schedule because I've got to make a huge dent in the ASSessment.

Website: I'm not sure which direction to go in with the website as I've got some options; revamp either with someone's help or alone, let it go the way it is, call it a day, downsize... I'm sure I'll know what's right for me at some point.

Health/Weight: Although I'm not obese, I did catch a talking to from the doctor last week because I had gained some weight since the last time I was there. He wanted to know what was going on with me because I was in such great shape (getting up and going to the gym at 4:45 every day will do that for ya...) back then. He was concerned because even then, my cholesterol was borderline but I had great "good" cholesterol so the ratio was fine, BUT he's worried that the weight gain might have ruined that. So... being one to refuse to go on medication, that is serving to be more of a motivator to drop the extra 15 pounds than seeing my naked body and wanting to puke is...

Podcasting: Finding the time to keep up with my show and also the desire to start a completely new one while at the same time keeping the peace here and fitting it all in.

Decluttering and cleaning house... Letting go of old crap that is bringing me down and moving towards simplifying my life.. I've actually made a huge dent in this since the new year. I've donated so much stuff to someone who can put it to good use, and it's a freeing feeling and makes keeping things straight here much easier. Of course, all these "projects" take time but I've got extra this week so it's a good time to make some good headway.

Clearing my mind: Doing some good things for me emotionally and taking time just for me...

So, that's where I am right now. We may get some snow tonight (hope so!) During my early morning walk it certainly had the snow smell in the air and it was like the calm before the storm; very quiet, still and grey. Plan for the day is to work some more on the ASSessment, keep up with my twittering peeps, and maybe even do some playing online in Second Life for a bit. (Seems like lots of time on here lately has been spent working although that's not how it appears to some...sigh...)


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Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Ripped off....

Yep... just for those of you that have any doubt in your mind... "Teachers LOVE snow days!!" Of course, once again.. we got nothing but rain and slush so there goes that elusive bonus day off. It's a total mess out there right now and my front yard and driveway are under water. Supposedly, it may turn back over to snow tonight, but once again, tonight I'll prepare myself to go to work and do all of those things that I do the night before to get out of here stress-free in the morning.

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Thankfully, wrestling practice was cancelled for tonight so I don't have to venture out to drive the boys... it's the perfect day/night for staying home.


Happy Valentines Day everyone! Hope you can spend it with someone you love... With my own children growing up, I'm so thankful for my students.... To think I can elicit hugs and a random "I love you" just by walking through the door... sigh...

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Sunday, February 11, 2007

Sunday Check-In

Not sure where the weekend went... seems to have flown by and although I got tons of cleaning done (Kitchen completely spring cleaned!) there still remains tons of things on my list that I never got to this weekend.

I'm sitting here with a cup of tea, hoping to quell the queazy stomach that's been nagging at me all day. I'm hoping that the feeling will go away and that I'm not coming down with something... Tomorrow's schedule is a good one at school with gym (our planning period) and a long free period! So, I'll have lots of time to work on that dreaded ASSessment and will also get to take a walk to the library to return some overdue books. I'm so in need of getting out of the building for a bit on my unassigned periods like I'm accustomed to but have been chained to the computer trying to get that @#^$&*@# done.

Well... time to get things ready for tomorrow and jump in the shower soon as I just may be hitting the hay early tonight depending on this wave that's rearing it's ugly head again... sigh...

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Monday, February 05, 2007

A New Day...

The start of a new week... and one filled with meetings and commitments but at least I'm one step closer to vacation. I made some good headway in the ASSessment this weekend and worked quite a bit on it. Kelsea was sick on Thursday and Friday and I needed to take her to the doctors on Friday so I took the day out of work. (Strep throat... yuck!) It allowed me to get a jump start on my weekend... although most of the day was spent in tears. I guess the brunt of my January (aided by some Matthew Ebel and Black Lab) just all came crashing down and I needed to just get it out...

It was a busy weekend again (of course) but yesterday I refused to leave the house so that I could get some cleaning done and devote a good chunk of time to getting this monkey off my back. I scheduled all the running around for Friday and Saturday so that I could do that. So, I took on the incredible task of decluttering my desk... (yikes!) and got a few more ASSessment goals done. I even scheduled in some play time in Second Life during the Super Bowl (sorry Bears fans...)


Right now it's 12 degrees and it's time to head out the door to start my work week... I'm on my second cup of coffee and as soon as the car is warm, I'm heading out with the optimism that a new day brings....

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