Three Basic Needs Homework

Shown in these photos is Miggy doing his homework: The 3 Basic Needs of Humans.

His LEGO Van

Here's one of his Lego creations.

Miggy - Already too big for his tent, yet he finds solace there.

Communication Strategy through Cellphone

Miggy at 9yrs/1month:

Two months ago, I tried another communication strategy with Miggy. I bought him a cheap cellphone with a qwerty keypad. No games, no camera but equipped with FM radio which I haven't taught him how to use yet... not yet. (Why not yet? Because he's not fond of music and he doesn't like the feel of earphones or anything that touches his ears.) I was thinking, why not teach him how to text and send messages? This will further improve his spelling and communication skills.

Here are a few samples of his text messages:

Message for his aunt:

"tita beth buy cereals fruit whirls and choco balls" Then he pressed SEND, then searched for TITA BETH in the phonebook, then he pressed SEND.

Jokingly, his Tita Beth replied: Do you like dogfood?

Miggy read the message and he told me: " I don't like dogfood!"

And I said: If you don't like dogfood, tell your Tita Beth.

Miggy texted back: "I dont like dogfood tita beth"

Then he pressed SEND.

Message for Teacher Valeree:

"teacher valeree see you on monday"

Message for Daddy:

"daddy buy pizza"

*Mostly, his text messages are buy-mes.

His Very First Lollipop

Miggy at nine years old, enjoying his very first lollipop.

I s there a link between sugar and hyperactivity in children?

Hyperactivity refers to increased movement, impulsiveness, distractibility, and decreased attention span. A popular but controversial belief is that children are more likely to be hyperactive if they eat sugar, artificial sweeteners, or certain food colorings.

Some people claim that sugar (such as sucrose), aspartame (NutraSweet), and artificial flavors and colors cause hyperactivity and other behavior problems in children. Some people argue that children should follow special diets that limit the amount of sugar, flavorings, or colors they eat.

It is important to remember that activity levels in children vary with their age. A 2 year old is usually more active, and has a shorter attention span, than a 10 year old. A child's attention level also will vary depending on his or her interest in an activity. The tolerance level of the supervising adult also plays a role -- parents may be able to tolerate a highly active child at a playground in the morning, for example, better than they can at home late at night.

However, if a special diet of foods without artificial flavors or colors works for a child, it may be because that family has begun to interact with each other differently when they are following the special diet. These behavioral changes, not the diet itself, may improve the child's own behavior and activity level.

Refined (processed) sugars may have some effect on children's activity. Because refined sugars and carbohydrates enter the bloodstream quickly, they produce rapid fluctuations in blood glucose levels. This might trigger adrenaline and make a child more active. Sometimes, falling adrenaline levels bring on a period of decreased activity.

A number of studies have shown a relationship between artificial colorings and hyperactivity. On the other hand, some studies do not show any effect of colorings on children's behavior. At least for now, the effect of food colorings remains another controversial issue.

Source: www.nlm.nih.gov

Framed Photos by Miggy

Miggy created these framed pictures. First, he selected a frame, then he picked a photo from an album, inserted and adjusted it into the frame. Last, he downloaded it. Voila!

Counting in his Sleep

Just now, I checked on him:

"One, two, three, four, five, six, seven....." up to seventeen, he counted.

It's okay, you're not in the classroom. Go back to sleep, I whispered.

Lego Fortress

Forgive

In today's Responsorial Psalm, Miggy reads:

"Lord, forgive not seven but seventy-seven times."

Mainstreaming

Miggy in grade 2, mainstreaming in Ridgeview Academy of Baguio:

This is proof that children with autism could be mainstreamed in a regular classroom. Just like their regular classmates, they could perform academically. They could likewise maintain their attention and regulate their behaviors and emotions in a regular classroom setting.

Image 1 and Image 5 show "accommodations for the child's difficulties". This is what the developmental pediatrician means when he/she recommends a small population classroom setting (small pupil-teacher ratio) that accommodates the special needs of the child.

In this case, some test instructions and words were modified to a language that could be understood by the "special" child.

Miggy and his bestfriend, Blessy.

Hi, readers! My book will be out hopefully before the year ends. This will feature real heartbreaking stories on Autism, ADHD, Asperger Syndrome, Cerebral Palsy, Down Syndrome, Hearing Impairment, Traumatic Brain Injury, Mental Retardation, Hearing Impairment, Global Development Delay, and Arthrogryposis.

This book is not just about filling words into every page so as to come up with a thick book. This is about fitting the exact words to describe one’s anguish, letting out emotions, venting out frustrations, surviving in the most trying of times, marveling at even the littlest of victories, and believing in miracles.

Witness how these individuals attempt to penetrate what seems to be impenetrable. See how they reach the unreachable and make possible the impossible.

Small to Big

Miggy's experiment:

Two expandables (a little princess and a tiny dragon) were left to soak overnight in a bowl of water..... and voila!

What happened to the little princess and the little dragon? I asked.

"Became big," he answered.

"Win a Prize!"

Yesterday, he went home (from school) with a pad of stickers. Thinking that he might have taken it from his teacher's drawer or it might have been grabbed from a schoolmate, I asked: Where did you get that?

"Win a prize, mommy. Win a prize."

This morning, I was surprised to see his 3 artworks displayed on the school's bulletin board. Oh, so that was how he earned those stickers. Stickers for a job well done!

"Miggy is the winner!" he told his daddy.

Lego Dream House

Shown here is Miggy's creative Lego play this morning.

"Not the Disney Channel"

For more than a year, Miggy has been watching only one television channel: the Cartoon Network. Last night, he and his sister watched the "Up" movie on Disney Channel. Good! A change of routine, I thought so. Wow, he's ready for a big change. Well, he's not.

Last night, he woke up at 2am and didn't sleep until 5am. He kept on saying: "Not the Disney Channel. Only the Cartoon Network. Do not watch the Disney Channel."

And over and over again, I assured him and whispered: Okay, okay. Not the Disney Channel.

This morning when he woke up, near tears he said: "Mommy, Miggy will not watch the Disney Channel. Only the Cartoon Network."

It wasn't until I hugged him really tight and said yes that he stopped.

Holy Miggy

Project-Making

What are you doing, Miggy? I asked.
"Cutting the pictures."
Complete sentence, I prompted.
"I am cutting the pictures and making a project."

Lesson of the Day: PRAY

This was posted by Miggy's tutor, Teacher Louella on Tots' Thoughts Tutorial Center homepage.

Miggy and I were reading words with the long a sound today when we came across the word pray, I asked what he says when he prays and he said "Thank You" I asked what else, he said "thank You God".
Sometimes when we pray all we do is ask we forget to say thanks. Thank you Miggy for the reminder.

Turtle Art

Hi! So sorry, I haven't blogged for quite some time. I'm saving all my entries for my book. It's coming out soon.

Share your story

Hi, readers!

I invite you to be part of my upcoming book. Share your experiences in raising your children with special needs. We are not alone in this battle. There are many out there wanting to hear our stories.

Send them to my email ad: yolette_cuevas@yahoo.com

Thank you very much. I would love to hear from you.

The Japan Tsunami, as viewed by the Autistic Mind

Yesterday, Japan was hit by a magnitude 8.9 earthquake which triggered a massive tsunami. We watched it on CNN News the minute we got home from Miggy's school.

That night:
Mommy: Miggy, can we turn off the dvd? Let's watch the news.
Miggy: "Not the news! Only the Dragon Tales!"
"Mommy, remove the earthquake. Throw in the garbage can. Remove the big wave and the flood. Make sand castles on the beach."

Again, I was dumbstruck. He knew what was happening. He saw the relation between what's evil and what's not, what's supposed to be and what's supposed to be not. Recovering, I grabbed my pen and wrote it down in my diary. Another milestone.

In the future: a chef

This post is lovingly dedicated to all of Miggy's classmates: Blessy, Syzzle, Kaychelle, Johann, Allen, and RJ, who at a very young age show compassion, understanding, and responsibility toward their "special" classmate. It always leaves a smile on my face every time I see them together. Cheers to their parents too for raising such wonderful kids.
And of course, to Teacher Tina who never tires of teaching Miggy social behavior and academic skills, and always bringing him out of his self-imposed seclusion with her powerful voice as she calls out "Miiiigggggyyyy!!!"

In the future: A chef
I will be designing the layout for the school's yearbook. My theme for the grade 1 is: What do I want to be when I grow up? All parents of Miggy's classmates probably already know what their children aspire to be in the future. Now, I wonder if my Miggy has any dream at all. I'm thinking that this is a mistake. How can I ask him a question so meaningless to his autistic mind? How can he envision himself as a grownup when he does not even know what "future" means? The very simple "tomorrow" took him almost forever to discern, how much more with a vague and a broader "future"?

Uncertain if I could push him for an answer, I tried.

Mommy: Miggy, you listen. Johann wants to be a soldier. Blessy wants to be a teacher. Syzzle wants to be a nurse. Allen wants to be a doctor. How about you, Miggy? What do you want to be?

Miggy answered quickly, "a chef!"

Oh, probably too inspired by the movie, Ratatouille.

Old Man

Using his grandmother's walker, "Miggy became an old man," he said.

Finally.... an Emotional Attachment

Night of January 25, 2011:

Reading homework.

"No homework! I don't like homework!"

No choice. He read the poem, frequently pausing and looking elsewhere :

"Everybody says

I look just like my mother.

Everybody says

I'm the image of Aunt Heather.

Everybody says

My nose is like my father's.

But I want to look like me,

Why can't they let me be?"

Mommy: Everybody says I look just like my.....?

Miggy: "Father."

Miggy: "Aunt Heather."

Mommy: No, you think. Read the poem again.

In all the 4 poems he read, he gave me only 50% correct answers. Why? He was upset that I turned the dvd off while his most current favorite (Veggie Tales) was playing. But when before the questions, I reminded him to answer properly so that I would give him a surprise, he answered correctly.

Mommy: Next time we do your homework, you answer correctly, huh Miggy?

Miggy: "Yes, answer correctly."

Dear readers, I know the following may sound cruel, abusive and traumatizing. Condemn me, curse me, I'll accept. But please let this moment be mine. Forgive me, this was my only way of checking. Believe me, I felt so bad. But in the end, I was rewarded. Well, it went like this:

I am not your mother anymore. Naty (our maid) is your mother, I said to him.

He looked at me, tears poured down his chubby cheeks, "Yolette only, not Ate Naty! Ate Naty is not my mother! My mother is Yolette!"

Pushing for more of this new emotion he displayed for the first time, I added: Your daddy is not Gerry. My son is RJ, not Miggy.

All the more he cried. Face all red, tears pouring non-stop, liquid dripping from his nose, he said: "My daddy is Gerry! Your son is not RJ! Miggy is your son!"

I hugged him tight, and savored the moment.

I have long waited for this. Finally, after 8 years, 5 months, and 21 days! That was his first display of emotional attachment to me.

Dinner Surprise

One late afternoon, I found this on my work table after I woke up from a quick nap.

Wow! What is this?, I asked.

Miggy replied, "A fish dinner." (which he made out of clay, just for me! Just for me!)

Not a schoolday

Yesterday, we were not able to attend the Sunday mass which broke Miggy's routine.

This morning:

Whining, Miggy said, "Today is Sunday, not Monday. No school! It's not a schoolday. It's a churchday. Miggy wear civilian clothes, not the green uniform."

Apology

Miggy tossed his sharpener at Kaychelle and accidentally hit the corner of her eye.

"I am a big boy."

Sept. 14, 2010

Mom: Come here, my baby.
Miggy: "You're not a baby."
(He still has difficulty with pronouns.)
Mom: Huh?
Correcting himself, he said: "I am not a baby. I am a big boy."

*****************
Miggy, you are very cute, I told him.
"Miggy is not cute. Miggy became ugly. Cutie became ugly."
He disagrees with anything I say when he doesn't get what he wants, like a show on tv. I do not allow him to watch the Power Rangers and Kamen Rider on Cartoon Network because of their violent content.

Torotot

"Mommy, close the window. Stop the fireworks," cried Miggy.

He didn't get up for the media noche and didn't witness the fireworks display by Camp John Hay and Baguio Country Club. Miggy and I stayed in bed, with my hands covering both of his ears. A little later, his dad and sister joined us.

* A week before the New Year, I had already taken out these horns (we call them Torotot here in the Philippines) from the cabinet. Ready and waiting for the event. But then I was hesitant to give them out to my family minutes before the clock struck twelve. Why? Miggy never liked the "Big Bang." Maybe for now and the years to come, these torotots will have to remain quiet...... until Miggy is ready.