children, college, life

Syllabi and phones —

(http://www.pcworld.com/article/173033/evolution_of_the_cell_phone.html

First I must confess I did have to look up if the plural of syllabus was syllabi – and certainly it is. I wonder where I came about that certain bit of information in my head – I’m certainly not sure – but slightly pleased to know that was right. LOL.

Since 1999 I have had a cell phone – a bit late on that front, but there it is. At first I shared with my mom a cell phone plan where I had a phone similar to the one in the photo. A little bigger perhaps, it was still an amazing thing to us! We progressed to having our own plan by 2004, where at first Roger had Alltel and I had T-Mobile – our workplaces and the connectivity thereto was of upmost importance, and Roger even had to have something of a direct connect right after with Nextel. I also toyed with Sprint before we both ended up getting Verizon in approximately 2006, and even with a brief period with AT&T we are now back with Verizon, as for us now they have the best connectivity of the bunch.

As everyone knows, cell phones are everywhere, and everyone seems addicted to them. They are precious possessions, connections with the world, comfort for parents that children can instantly check in, and entertainment for some, and internet connectivity for the lucky! Yet they are accident causers, confusion creating (remember the first time you saw someone talking on a Bluetooth?) and sometimes patience prodding (person in line online not paying attention – with embarrassment I admit I was that person in line the day after Christmas, talking with my daughter about some urgent question she had about a ride to an activity, where I didn’t hear the clerk say, “Please move your cart, ma’am, the stockboy needs to get through!”

After being in college now for a year, I am now in my first semester of taking three classes on college grounds. I have taken two other college classes on campus, one my first session (Spring 2010) and one in the Fall of 2010. The other 3 classes were online. I don’t recall what those syllabi said about cell phone use. What struck me this semester, is all three of the documents pretty much forbid even looking at the cell phone. I liked the humor in one of the paragraphs:

“Turn off and put away all electronic devices. This includes cell phones, pagers, Palm Pilots,
Blackberries, MP3 players, tape recorders, cameras, laptops, electronic notebooks, and all other
devices already in circulation or yet to be invented. For those who must be reachable, leave the
telephone number of Campus Police (440-525-7241) and your class schedule. Campus police
will be happy to dispatch an officer to your classroom. The person who needs to reach you will
be able to call Campus Police even if they lose the phone number. Lakeland is listed in the
phone book, and our police have access to your schedule.”

She does have a point. I actually am going to follow her directions and if anyone has an emergency they can call the campus police. Hopefully that policy won’t have be used, but it’s comforting to know it’s there! 

college, computer geekiness, deafness, house repairs, weight

Still reviewing all the old posts —

d8bcIn my spare time, here and there, have been tagging and categorizing my posts back to 2003.  I got to November 2005, then just found a way today to import all the comments from Livejournal!  This is exciting as I just don’t get to Livejournal much anymore so this way all my comments both from WordPress and Livejournal are in one place!  And this pleases my computer geeky self Open-mouthed smile

Any Live Journal readers here that were on my friends list in the mid 2000s – if you want to add this blog that would be great.  It’s fun re-reading your comments now as I re-add them [all the posts were imported in on private and I have to edit and tag each one] – it will take me a while to get them all in but hopefully in a few months all the comments to the posts that I have put on WordPress will be added (not all my Live Journal posts are on WordPress, so some comments will still only be on LJ – – -)

Have had a few things done to the house recently – some unsafe wiring fixed and getting some drains cleaned out.  It will be nice to have all that done for winter!  We had to clear part of the attic so in the process brought the tree down. It’s in my bedroom – we’ll probably put it up sometime this weekend without decorations.

Can’t believe the holidays are around the corner – refuse to change the background yet of my blog – ha ha – but will choose the layout and probably change it right away on Friday!

Took difficult square roots test in Algebra yesterday – hope I did all right.

Taking Ryan to his hearing evaluation today for school – it’s at our deaf school in Mayfield. 

Have lost 10 pounds since September but no more – need to get back on that.

 

autism, college, deafness, writing

Revising and tagging, and studying

Of course in the middle of fall semester (perhaps exactly in the middle?) and that is keeping me very busy!!  I tend to do algebra at the beginning of the week mostly and biology at the end.  Then I tuck transcription in usually Wed/Thurs (job due today, so nothing different there).

In the few evening hours I’ve had and sometimes early morning I’ve been going through ALL my blog posts here, starting ins 2003.  They all needed tagged and categorized.  I don’t even really understand the difference between that so I’m doing both – tagging and categorizing, mostly the same titles.  Ha.  If that causes trouble I suppose I shall find out somehow- but at this point it seems fine.  Also adding the pictures back in where I can where they were ”lost” going from Livejournal to wordpress.org then to wordpress.com then to blogger then back to wordpress.org. 

My goal is to have this blog ready for real publication, where I post it on autism sites, etc., and really try and get some help and recognition for autism and deafness.  Chris needs a lot of help.  I DID get a comment https://criscollrj.com/2010/05/23/the-brick-wall/ from a person at the National Deaf Academy, who found my blog online, and I was thrilled about that.  If I can just get all the tags done and the blog totally organized, and then keep trying to add to it, perhaps it can get top recognition and the boys can really get some help.

So then, of course this with studying, working, and everything else I’m doing, challenging, but it should be SO worth it!

 

children, life

Priorities —

39acAt first glance my priorities  seem very basic, and concrete, like:

  • Do the laundry
  • Do dishes
  • Get homework done
  • Make sure kids are safe.

I get up at 5 and make sure Colleen gets on her bus, then Ryan goes, and I know Gayle is getting Chris off to school.  Our family team is taking care of our kids and everyone is safe and secure.  Rog goes to work and I do work and school and try and build the Avon business.

I just felt this morning like I needed to sort out what our highest priorities are – I just don’t want to be in the position of the urgent ruling over the little moments of importance – of being so busy that we don’t have time to sit with a child for a moment or have a cup of tea with a loved one.  I want to take the minutes of being able to see little things the children are doing that are really unique and encouraging, and not overlooking them because I’m too busy doing homework or getting a job out.  I also want to treasure the minutes with Rog, Gayle, Chuck, my mom, and all our other relatives and our friends as well, and not only see them when I’m not busy working.

What I’m grateful for is that as a family through the years we have been good with getting our kids out to lots of different experiences and situations, both as a whole family and sometimes with just one or two of the kids.  I am happy that we can look back and remember (and look at pictures too) of all thfarm park 007e events we have attended as a family, as well as times that we just played at home.  There are moments of aggravation and stress, too, of course, trying to please everyone and having things go wrong, but I am really glad we at least try.

4I think back to trips, like when we went to North Carolina in 97 and then Port Clinton in 04 and 05.  I am really glad we did this, even though at the time it was hard.  We had a lot of fun and have good memories of these trips.  But also I am glad we do things like yesterday when Rog drove us out to his hometown and showed the boys his old house he grew up at, and other times we just drive to McDonald’s and get chicken nuggets.

So, even though at this point I think of priorities and I think of things like, get my transcription done this week before our trip out of town (business) on Monday, and study for my biology test, it will also include enjoying watch Chris eat a piece of cheese that he loves and treasuring his laugh, looking at Colleen’s beautiful artwork, and hearing Ryan sing the melody of one of our church songs yesterday and actually recognizing it (“Your Grace is Enough”), and taking the time to enjoy a good meal with Rog alone at times.  All of these things add up to a life of meaning and priority.

 

DSC04749 DSC00215 025 1f45

 

 

 

autism, college, deafness, God

Fall semester

0809101227

 

When I was a little girl I remember labeling and assembling all my school supplies weeks before school started.  I loved the way the notebooks and pencils looked, all new, crisp, and shiny, and the way they felt smooth and clean in my hands.  To this day I still have a habit of ruffling the side of book pages, feeling absent-mindedly how smooth the side of the book feels as I read or listen in class.  I don’t know what it all means but I do know it hasn’t gone away.  On a side note, I think Ryan has inherited my addiction to school supplies – he loves his notebooks and bookbags very much – it’s so cute!

 

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It is a good feeling to have gone back to school after wanting to for about 15 years.  I remember in 1995 first considering that I would like to go back to college after that time being absent for 9 years.  When I graduated in 1987 I had been going for 3 1/2 years, and even though I didn’t realize it at the time I think I needed a break simply from not knowing what I really wanted to do with my life.  Continue reading “Fall semester”

autism, chris, colleen, college, residency, Ryan, transcription

Seems fitting to attend a great barbecue the week before school!

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Sometimes it’s challenging to get through the summer easily trying to keep two rambunctious boys happy and safe in the heat.  But all in all I think we all accomplished this this summer.  We have worked as a team – Chris stays at his paternal grandparents’ still (while we await, seek, and research the appropriate placement) and Roger stays over there a lot to watch him.  Chris is very astute and is trying his best to learn the ways of unlocking doors so he can get some freedom outside.  However, their safety (Ryan will escape and run off as well) is our highest concern so we do have some fancy key locks on the doors at both houses.  So it is up to us to get them out as much as we can for their activities and exercise.

 

0808101957

So all and all we were pleased with their summer programs – next year I would like to get Ryan to Chris’s camp even more days – we got a grant this year for him to go 6 days but if we can get three grants then next summer he can go 18.  Chris went all summer from June 22 or so until this coming Friday the 20th.  This is where they met for camp – we started taking Ryan there a bit a few days this summer:

 

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It was very nice and also had a wood path.  The boys would walk with their class in the morning on the wood path.  Then by afternoon they’d usually visited another place and ended up swimming in a big pool across the county.  Really nice program.

 

Colleen stayed busy with different friends, often attending anime events and swimming. 

colleen and friends

Rog and I worked, and went out of town for business in June.  We’re going again the first week after school starts.  I also made it through computer class and Algebra 850 – intro to algebra.  I just finished that about 2 week ago and was happy to have passed (it was hard!).  On a break now, working on some transcription but not tons and going to be trying to get the house in shape before work and school again (school starts week of August 30 for me – biology and intermediate Algebra).  0809101226 Speech therapy and certification in autism and deafness is still the goal, Kent State.

 

Working with Congress at this point with several liaisons to try to find away to get Chris into the program at NDA.  We sure hope and pray it works. 

(2020, as I said before, program was closed in 2014 for abuse.  Sad.)  Watch the video about NDA’s autism/deafness program.  (2020 no site)  I just feel so excited that this could be the right program for Chris.  (nope)

children, life, organizing, work, work at home, writing

Trivial and important often reside together

As a person who has always been not so good at multi-tasking, I have had to learn to become quite good at it!

The important things in my mind always are:

  • Taking care of our children and the family’s basic needs.
  • Roger and I getting our work done.
  • Us getting our schoolwork done when we’re in school (Rog from ‘99 to ‘01 and possibly going back next year, me since January of 10).
  • Colleen getting her homework done, trying to get some entertainment/learning activities for Chris, and supervising Ryan in his education pursuits (He’s rather like me where he’s obsessed with school items and loves his alphabet and learning to spell, so that helps – he creates his own educational hobbies!)
  • And just keeping enough clothes to wear to be clean and dishes washed to be sanitary!

So I would always try and do these things first – still am!

But it’s amazing how many other things pile up when you do this.  Things you feel you never have time for.  More dishes that you just can’t get to.  Filing (started that last week as far as cleaning out the file cabinet!).  Grass that needed cut that Rog had been too ill to do (he’s outside now finishing it, and our friends helped us with it last week (pictures coming). 

Then things arise like 500pp of printing needed printed out for various agencies.  Like in one week (happened to me in April).  That means you run out of ink, and have to buy it.  Then you have massive phone calls on this, that and the other.  Every day is full of interruptions.  Necessary interruptions, unnecessary ones, and sometimes annoying ones!  Sometimes pleasant ones!  Sometimes a spontaneous trip to the park is a tremendous treat (hopefully soon!)!

All in all, I’m trying to learn, that it’s not always the important all the time.  Sure, I’m working on getting out my deadlines of the week for work, and do my homework, and cook dinner.  But I don’t want to be a once a year or once every six month blogger any more.  And I want to be spontaneous.  Enjoy Chris today who’s at the house as he didn’t get to go back to school yet after his hospital stay.  Enjoy the trivial.

 

Blessings!

 

autism, chris, deafness, residency, sleep, waiver placement lists, waivers

The brick wall

Getting Chris into the placement he needs (National Deaf Academy, which will meet his psychiatric, physical, deafness, and autism needs) has proven to be quite a challenge.

(2020 – thank goodness, in 2014 they were closed for abuse per my reading)

Chris recently underwent a med change at our local hospital due to increased agitation and other situations. However, the next step necessary to complete this med change is admission into a psychiatric stabilization unit and/or a nursing facility with a psychiatric lock-down stabilization unit. The usual pattern is that the individual gets the med change, has the psychiatric stay in the middle, and then after 30 days would be admitted into a residential center to live or go home if that’s appropriate. Now, Christopher has a likely residential center, that he can be admitted to in 30 days. It’s sounds pretty good, although it’s not perfect, and doesn’t have the extra autism and deafness therapies that Florida will provide. But we believe it will provide Christopher with a structured environment with professionals to meet his physical and medical and psychological needs.

It was very hard to come to this conclusion that Chris needs to go back into residency, but with his needs it had become apparent, and with a placement available, we decided to go ahead and pursue. However, with his needing a med change, we were awaiting an intermediate stay at a psychiatric center, and one could not be found in 5 days of our hospital stay. The social workers tried endlessly to place him but due to his age (either too old or two young) or his deafness or his being non-verbal, no one would accept him. This is in all kinds of centers in probably a 200 mile radius from here.

(2020 note – this was found to not be uncommon.  We tried again in 2017 (Chris had medical/neurological issues again causing him struggles with agitation, and then again with his brother in 2018, who had his own neurological/medical issues where we could not find placement.  Ryan got I/O waiver almost immediately after.  We have also had friends unable to get residential placement to assist in medication adjustments.  

We were floored, completely floored. We also inquired about how we can get funding for him to go right now to the Florida center. There is no funding known for it, though I have not stopped looking. The center says we have to pay for it with MRDD or Mentor Health Board moneys – we check with mental health board and they say MRDD should pay – and MRDD says they don’t have the funds for that at this point – we believe we need his I/O waiver to pay for it, which may come at some distant date – 10-15-20 years from now?

(2020, again so glad he did not go to the Florida center!)

Continue reading “The brick wall”

children, chris, colleen, reflections, Ryan

8 years old – thoughts

chrisbed 552d Photo268

As Ryan (here eating fries when we briefly stopped at the park a few weeks ago) was climbing on my lap today, I started thinking about how soon that may be getting harder for him to do.  He is a tall boy, still skinny, and can still fit upon my lap even though it’s a little poky in places :D.  I have to remember to appreciate that and cherish a little boy on my lap, as the years go so fast.

I remember when Chris (above, left) crawled into our laps and in our bed every night to sleep.  He loved to be held and would just laugh and laugh.  He loved to lay down with his dad and play tickle games and play with his toys. 

Colleen wasn’t so much a lap person but she loved to sit with us, especially her dad, and play her animal games.  She did that a lot at age eight, and had a game called the cows that she played with her dad about imaginary animals and their conversations.

Now Ryan is over eight years old, and where is the time going?  It just seems the childhood ages are going past me – Chris going to be 20, Colleen’s 16th birthday is in 11 days, and they’re growing up before my eyes.

 

autism

Autism awareness personified —

Watching our children grow up in the world of autism and deafness, it has become harder for me to really be active in the community of autism, as it takes all our energy to just keep our children safe and well in the world.  It is hard to see outside our own lives.  I am grateful, however, that many people in the world, even people who don’t have children or family members with autism, are working so hard to promote awareness and that today instead of being a rare condition it is becoming one of the most discussed and researched conditions.

I am hoping through my life to also work to be an advocate and learned person in the world of autism and deafness, which is the condition that most affects us personally.  That is an area of deficit today – there is little information or services on individuals with autism and deafness.

Here are a few:

 

(2020 – had to delete 3 other dead links.  will try and find more good links.  Now need to also add links about bipolar and pans/pandas (which can look the same)….

I am encouraged that there are way more than when I started these blogs in 2006.  I actually printed the Gallaudet University article (60 pages) and have read through about 30 pages of it.  We also are applying for Chris to go here:  

http://www.nda.com/services/autism.php

 It will be hard to send him all the way to Florida, but it really sounds like they could meet his needs there.

(2020 – we pursued this HARD!  I see the link is dead but left up anyway.  Stopped when we got the I/O waiver in 2011.  Later found out – years later – that there were some big problems with the place, but that does happen, and it doesn’t always mean the whole place is bad, or was always bad, or anything like that.  There are crappy people EVERYWHERE, and GOOD people everywhere.  But it was sad, the things I read about this place later when it was held in such high esteem by his for years…)

Just looked it up — wow it’s CLOSED.  I didn’t realize that  https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/national-deaf-academy-hit-abuse-allegations-closing-n497516

 

I am also thrilled that I am back in school and headed for this degree:  

http://www.kent.edu/ehhs/spa/index.cfm

 with 

http://www.kent.edu/ehhs/sped/index.cfm

(2020, of course now those specific degree links are not working – but it is still Kent so I will leave up.I believe it was the pre-speech therapy degree (which I later changed to special ed) and the autism certification.

  

 I also hope to get fluent in ASL either now at Lakeland (where I am currently attending) or at Kent.  I hope in the end I can be of more help to my boys as well as other individuals.

Thank you to everyone in the world working to make a better life for those touched by autism, as well as autism and deafness