Studious

At the height of Glenda typhoon, even on a brownout night, Miggy was still doing his homework in Music. Studious!

Speech Therapy

Speech therapy today.

Hangman - He guessed all correct letters effortlessly today. Hmmm... very unusual. Guess what! Teacher found out that Miggy could see the letters illuminated at the back by the fluorescent light overhead.

Story Stunts Game Board - He made a silly story  from the text boards he earned from the game.

Berenstein Bears "Slumber Party" - He answered teacher's questions about the story.

Excellent job today!
His reward? "Mommy, you buy a Rio 2 DVD on Friday."

Just a few of our Mom Sessions

Dear readers,

I titled this post as "JUST A FEW" which wasn't meant to brag but to inspire. Majority of these activities were only from my 2014 sessions with Miggy, my 11-year-old autistic son. As early as when Miggy was 2yrs/9 months old and diagnosed with the disorder in 2005, I already started my "tutorials," "therapies" and "modifications" with him. Why are those words marked in quotations? Because I am not a SpEd teacher nor a therapist. I am simply a mom. Hey, not just an ordinary mom but a special mom! A hundred percent hands-on mom!

My point here is that it doesn't take any medical or teaching expertise to do all these. All it takes is patience, will power, energy, and tons and tons of the overused and sometimes misused "UNCONDITIONAL LOVE."

Mom sessions may not always be formal academic activities. It could simply be in any form - tangible or not, educational or basic life skills; in any time of the day - night or day, dusk or dawn; in any place, but  MUST be born out of love, fun, acceptance and willingness to make your child a better, coping and able individual. Mom sessions could be short or long depending on your availability, but MUST always be quality time.

Some examples of Mom Sessions/Family Sessions which you do a lot but you're probably unaware that these are actually therapeutic/educational/improvement sessions for your child:

-Bedtime prayers with your child -"Lord, thank you for the....... Bless ......."

-Instructional bathing "ceremonies"

-Setting the table 
         Let him do it! It's okay if he breaks a china. Before he breaks the whole set, he probably would have already mastered proper table setting.

-Teaching table manners

-Teaching and prompting social cues

-Singing and dancing together

-Going to the church

-Shopping 
         Let him make the shopping list and be firm in buying only the ones on the list.

-Playing with him, teaching him taking turns and waiting

-Watching TV with him 
          All throughout talking and asking him questions and prompting answers.

-Assisting him with homework

-Bringing him early to school to attend the flag ceremony and morning prayers

-Eating out

-Watching him play the iPad and asking him questions about the game. 
          Caution when there's wifi. Always supervise and guide his downloads.

-Getting him ready for changes in his routine by discussing with him days before the modification. 

Hmmm.... what else? It is actually endless. Any day, anywhere, anything is an opportunity for learning. It just doesn't stop. It's a cycle that loops and presents itself all the time. Every single time. 

So to all the special mothers out there, I wish you good luck!

Pines Teachers Orientation on Autism Management

Invited in Pines Montessori Teachers Orientation were officers of the Autism Society of the Philippines ASP Baguio Chapter and yours truly to share our life stories of the complexities, challenges, heartaches, rejections, surprises, and fun (the best part!) with living with autism. How the disability impacts the family, relationships, schooling of the special child, society's acceptance and rejection, and the day to day activities and experiences highlighted the discussion.

Rarely do we find education institutions that are REALLY sensitive to the needs of Special Children. The knowledge we, parents of the disabled children, impart is beyond books, theories and literature. After all, we are the actual observers, learners and sufferers of the disorder. We deal with it 24/7. We breathe it, we live it, we smell it, we enjoy it ... piece by piece.

Miggy is a mainstreamed fifth grader at Pines Montessori School under Teacher Reggie's class. 

New school, Same old challenges

The whole family (Daddy, Mommy, and Ate Clarisse) was there to provide full support to Miggy on his first day of classes in a new school, the Pines Montessori School. It went really well today. He joined the other students in the flag ceremony, prayers, and morning exercises after which they all marched quietly to their respective classrooms.

11 boys and 2 girls make up the fifth grade class. The school has a friendly, homey atmosphere. There are kids from different races but Pinoys take the majority of the student population.

Parents' Orientation is scheduled on June 12, Thursday, 9 am. And a Teachers' Meeting in the afternoon where I, being a mom of a 12-yr-old special child, am invited to share my knowledge on autism and my experiences in managing a special child. Autism Society of the Philippines Baguio Chapter is invited too.

Looming Bracelets

After watching the video tutorial once on how to make a single chain bracelet using the Rainbow Loom Bands, Miggy was able to loom his very own bracelet unassisted.

 The next collage shows SPECIAL MIGGY specially looming a special bracelet for Special Mommy.


Looming gives a therapeutic effect on children with autism. Fidgety movements, stimming behaviors and idle time are channeled  to a more productive activity. Watching the video tutorials and learning the looming process increase the child's attention span and concentration. Fine motor skills are addressed through correct grips and strengthened grasps. Social skills are developed as the child works and interacts with other kids while looming. Following directions and patterns, inventing individual designs, and mastery of the skill are enhanced as well.

Get your Rainbow Loom Bands at www.YarnSourceManila.com

Rainbow Loom

Thanks to Yarn Source Manila  www.yarnsourcemanila.com

for this therapeutic Rainbow Loom. 

Order your set at Yarn Source Manila

www.yarnsourcemanila.com

Cereals

When he was three, his developmental pediatrician experimented on the effect of sweets on his behavior. The doctor requested me to temporarily stop giving him cereals for breakfast and observe if his hyperactive behavior would decrease with the absence of sweets in his diet. 

My 2-week observation concluded that his hyperactivity did not diminish at all from the change in his diet. So we reverted  back to his old well-loved enjoyable breakfast - CEREALS!

Up to this day, Miggy now turning twelve in August, the cereals still ranks number one in his list of favorite food. The unbeatable cereals!

Actually, it's an addiction. 

Self Introduction

With just 2 weeks prior to the opening of classes for school year 2014-2015, I have to get him ready with a self introduction for grade 5 in his new school.

Flow Free

His most recent favorite. The Flow Free. 

Look how well he does it. Perfect!

Banoffee Ice Cream Pie

A brother-sister teamwork.

This was actually a Banoffee fail. The toffee was a bit runny and should have been cooked a little longer. 

It was so generous that it did not set. To remedy this, we put it in the freezer. Voila! It came out to be the best tasting Banoffee pie ever! Cake and ice cream packed in one! Such a short life, though. It survived only for 2 days.

Jeep

"Mommy, I will make my K-Zone project."

It took him around 30 mins to assemble his jeep. Following the steps enumerated on the page, he was able to do this independently. 

For any typical child, this is way too ordinary, outdated, probably shrugged off and wouldn't even receive praises; but for any parent of a special child, this is a major milestone. Too grand and deserving of  claps, congratulations, hugs, and even an ice cream cup and a slice of his favorite cake.

Excited for Grade 5

Where else would any Pinoy go to shop for school supplies? At the National Book Store!

"Natural book store" is what Miggy calls it.

Word Searches

This album is actually a mom-session. These word searches are all free printable materials from the web. I always have them in a folder, ready for our study time. Variations in activities make our sessions more attractive, more fun and less boring than the traditional style. And of course, at the end of every session is a treat or a reward. Treats and rewards could be as simple as a movie (dvd), more game time, a sweet, bubble time, a star, a magazine, a cd, a burger, a bike ride, a little toy free from a kiddie meal, or simply a promise to buy him something he really, really likes for a later date. And sometimes for a later, later, later date that we know he will never ever forget because he will remind us every single day, such as: "Ate Clarisse will buy a green iPhone for Miggy in 2017."

Speech Session, Reading Comprehension

Today's speech session is reading comprehension.
Teacher Justine (Miggy's speech therapist): Miggy, if you get 10 sad faces, you'll have no TV time this weekend.

An hour after, he got only 9 sad faces. We headed home with obvious delight on his face. A happy weekend ahead.

Recognition Day 2014

An academic year endeavored and won. Now ready for grade five.

Trip to a Rice Mill

"Miggy, this is where and how your rice is milled," I told him as we wandered around the mill.

I had seen several rice mills when I was little. My dad used to take me along during after every harvest season. We owned a huge rice field in Bulacan in the sixties to the eighties and we were lucky we never had to buy rice as all six of us, 5 girls and 1 boy, were growing up. The price of rice during that time was quite high and volatile. The rice mills I had been to were all old fashioned, rusty, dark and smelled of chicken poop.

A few hours before we reached the mill, we were all wondering how a rice mill could have costed too much.

"Oh" was singly what came from my mouth when we saw the 30 million pesos mill.

Life Coaching for New Sinai Educational System of Santa Rosa Laguna

A very, very warm hello to friends at Sinai Educational System of Santa Rosa Laguna. It was a wonderful feeling being surrounded by this receptive and sensitive audience. 

What did I life-coach for these students? By the way, these students are mostly nursing, education and psychology graduates already. Some are caregiver students.

When asked what their most memorable experience was during their retreat, majority of them liked my session (according to Mrs. Lilia Del Barrio, their professor and retreat coordinator) the best. It was easy, actually almost an impromptu. I didn't need any research or practice at all. I just told them my story, my first-hand experience with autism which made them cry. I just snatched a few pages from the book I have been writing for almost 5 years. All throughout my 2-hour sharing, Miggy was walking in and out of our session. He sat in one of the vacant chairs beside a young female student who was crying then. This student actually has a special sibling.
"Don't cry," Miggy said as he wiped her tears away, and all the more she cried.    

4th Grading Projects

A week before the deadline, Miggy already finished his school projects.
-Keyboard drawing
-Phases of the Moon

Cursive Writing

5 pages of cursive writing practice. One page for each day. The following day before going to school, I make him read a page.

With my initial instructions: Miguel, you read properly so I will not have you repeat from the start. Not the cartoon voice. And you have to pause when there's a comma, and stop when there's a period. Okay, Miggy?

"Yes, mommy."

"The space shuttle is NASA's space transportation system, designed to carry astronauts and cargo to and from Earth orbit. The first space shuttle flight took place in 1981. The space shuttle fleet is scheduled to be retired in 2010. When the shuttle program ends, the space shuttle will have been launched on about 130 missions."

He is used to the routine. Every morning if we still have time, I make him read a page or two of a book. I make sure that everyday we do something educational. And we never missed a single day. Even during vacation and holidays, we have "study time." We discuss the schedule and I make him write it. Of course at the end of study time, there should be a treat: GAME TIME!

Any time of the day and just about any place could be a learning experience for both of us. It could happen on the way to school, in the bathroom, while watching TV together, or any time I am with him. I don't waste any opportunity for him to learn. Educating this special child doesn't mean all books, videos, answering work sheets and those sorts of standard learning. Improvisation is the key. Parents and teachers have to be inventive and resourceful. Just look around you and you'll discover there are actually a lot of academic use in everything.