Last week, Miggy and other special children were featured twice in Baguio newspapers, namely Sun Star and Midland Courier, to stir public awareness and acceptance of autism. "Many mentors marveled at the depth and perspective of the pictures taken by the participants, others commenting that the children took even better pictures at angles that even mentors didn't see."
Dec. 23, 2009 While I was folding Miggy's t-shirt, Miggy read the words on the shirt and said the names of animals printed on the shirt: "San Diego Zoo. Children's Zoo." "That's a monkey, a parrot, a elephant, a horse, a pig, a tiger, a turtle, a panda, a koala, a bird, a rat and a beaver."
In time with Panagbenga Festival and Autism month, photography artworks of 19 children with autism are showcased at SM Baguio. Exhibit runs from February 5 - 25, 2010.
* Miggy with Baguio City Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr.
* Miggy with Speech Therapist/ Owner of Play and Say Therapy Center, Justine Palou
Oct. 2, 2009: In one of my sessions with Miggy: Mom: What animal has a shell on its back, green color and moves very slow? Miggy: "It's a turtle." Mom: What animal says arf-arf and loves to eat bones? Miggy: "It's a dog." Mom: What animal has brown spots and has a long neck? Miggy: "It's a giraffe." Mom: What animal is very big, has long ears and colored gray? Miggy: "It's a elephant." Mom: What animal is also gray but is very, very small? (I was referring to a mouse) Miggy: "It's a very small elephant." Mom: No, it's gray, it's very, very small and it says squeak. Miggy: "It's a gray, small elephant .... that says squeak-squeak."
Last Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010, my family, together with all these families watched the sensory-friendly movie, "Alvin and the Chipmunks, The Squeakquel." This was a joint project of ShoeMart, Play and Say Therapy Center, Autism Society of the Philippines (Baguio Chapter) and PMA Bantay Laya.
I posted this event to show everyone how big a family we are in our SPECIAL KINGDOM. All these families came out in the open, full of courage and pride, unmindful of shame and the insult of society.... altogether joining our little voices to shout to the world that we may not be perfect (well, no one is) but we are unique, maybe not in society's standards but in the eyes of the Maker.
*To everyone: Please know that we too have feelings. Sometimes we get a little too sensitive and defensive. Why? Because we just couldn't stand it when other people look at our SPECIAL children with disgust. Their so-called disabilities are not at all disabling. They are not a burden to society. Like everyone else, they are also God's children, with equal rights to God's glory.
Oct. 30, 2009: Miggy at 7 yrs/2mos: Looking out the window, he said: "Wow, it's spring." "The birds are singing, the grass is green."
Note: We live in the Philippines and we don't have spring here. However, Miggy learned the four seasons: winter, spring, summer and autumn in one of his educational videos.
*Miggy has an American accent which he learned from educational videos. Anybody who hears him talk would think that he grew up in the U.S. Oftentimes, we are asked if he is a "balikbayan". The only Tagalog words he knows are pandesal, lumpia and butong-pakwan which he says in a funny way.
Miggy: "The yellow cat is playing the piano. The brown cat is playing the accordion. The gray cat is playing the trumpet and the blue cat is playing the big guitar." Mommy: And what are you doing? Miggy: "I am reading a book."
Photo 1: Inside Miggy's new tent (a Christmas gift from Ate) Photo 2: Playing with Troll dolls Photo 3: Miggy and Clarisse: studying and having fun. Hi-fives! Photo 3: Miggy tickles his Ate. He loves it all the more when he hears his Ate shout and laugh.
*These are moments that I thought would never ever happen.
Yesterday, Miggy and 16 other special children attended the Colors of Autism Spectrum Photography Workshop (a helping hand project of Autism Society of the Philippines, Play and Say Therapy Center and Baguio Photographers Club), held at the Botanical Garden, Baguio City.
My deepest and sincerest gratitude to Mr. Boopsie Erana who sponsored for Miggy, Mr. Martin Valeriano for being very kind and
patient in teaching Miggy the art of photography, Mr. Cess Garcia for the soulful prayer (he made us cry), Mr. Nelson Alavanza for generously lending his expensive and delicate camera to Miggy, Mr. Lino Tabangin for his support and warm acceptance, Mrs. Belette Viscocho,
Baguio City Mayor Reinaldo Bautista Jr., ABS-CBN Baguio Newscaster Pia Guttierez, and all other photographers, "special parents" and their very, very special children.
Of course, this event could not have been possible without the endless help and unwavering support of
Play and Say Therapy Center and the Autism Society of the Philippines. You have all made us very proud of our SPECIAL CHILDREN. Thank you very much. May God continue to bless you always and in all ways.
A big thank you is not even enough for what you have made of my son... perhaps a future photographer? Why not?
Out of bits and pieces, Miggy created this animal magnet without any assistance or guidance from me. He is becoming more independent, discovering and creating things on his own.
06 January 2010
End of the Holiday Season and all our visiting relatives had gone home: Miggy said : "Miggy look at the bedrooms." He checked every bedroom: "Oh, no! What happened? The bedroom is very empty. The cabinets are empty. The people are gone."
*Although the Holidays had ended, it left Miggy a social experience that he will carry on through the rest of his life. Enjoy these pictures as much as I did when I took them. Miggy engaged in social interaction with Yanni and Tamtam. "Baby, throw me the ball."
Dear Readers: Miggy wishes you: "Merry Christmas, everyone!" (He learned that from Hi-5 Christmas video. I still have to teach him the Happy New Year greetings.) We wish you all the best this Yuletide Season. This is Miggy's 7th Christmas and every year, his excitement for Christmas increases, unlike before when he didn't care about gifts, fireworks and Santa Claus riding his sleigh, entering through the chimney and leaving gifts under the Christmas Tree.
Dec. 24, 2009 It was already 10:30pm. I checked on Miggy, he wasn't asleep yet. He asked, "Mommy, where's the girl?" He was referring to his cousin, Ate Inah, whom he just met that day.
*They watched the Polar Express movie that day; they acted out some scenes from the movie, with Miggy leading the scenes. Miggy knew the movie by heart since he had watched it probably close to a hundred times already. He had memorized every scene, every dialogue, and every music played with all scenes.
*That's how Miggy is. If he likes a video, he will keep watching it over and over again for maybe a month, from morning until night. The only way for me to stop this routine is by hiding the dvd and telling him that the dvd is already broken. And he will always answer back: "Mommy, you fix it." or "Daddy will fix it." or "Mommy, you buy a dvd."
Dec. 18, 2009 Christmas Party of Ridgeview Academy *At the party, Miggy waited by the door, grabbed all gifts of arriving guests and neatly put them under the Christmas tree. He ran back and forth the room, always checking on the little chocolate cupcakes with frosting and sprinkled candies. Thanks to the school staff, parents and schoolmates of Miggy. They all warmly accepted my son's disability. It was nice, for a change, not having to explain to everyone that my son is special. No apologies made, no discrimination seen...just full acceptance of my son's uniqueness. I knew Miggy felt the warmth, he just couldn't express it.
Miggy and his friends participated in the fun and games. Look at them. Who would even notice and say that they are a little different from the regulars? The way I see it, they are lucky to have two worlds: their world and our world. Who could ever be so lucky and special to have the best of both worlds?
FLASHCARDS: These are some of the flashcards that Miggy used. These helped him increase his vocabulary and develop his language skills. What's this?, I asked as I showed him every card. How do you jump? kneel? sing? (action words flashcards). What's the color of the apple? the corn? (fruits and vegetables flashcards). What sound does a cat make? Can a dog say meow? Can a bird fly? (animal flashcards) E-E-Egg begins with the letter ____. P-P-Parrot starts with the letter ____. (with Mommy always stressing on the first beginning letter). What shape is this? How many sides does a square have? What color is the triangle? What shape is the pizza?
PUZZLES: Through the completion of these puzzles, his imagination developed and his attention span increased. He started from 6-pc puzzles and later he was able to complete more complex 100+pc. puzzles . Miggy, where does this go? Look at the color, can you find the other part? What's next? Look at the picture on the box.
At Stac-5 Therapy Center, when he was four, he completed the Philippine map puzzle for 20minutes, and when he was even younger, he could even complete the back of any puzzle (back as in back! the brown empty back of a puzzle!) That was his splinter skill.
