28 February 2015

LINC Girls' Chess Tournament 2015

Rose participated in the K-3 section of LINC's Girls' Chess Tournament today.  She came in fifth out of 45 girls.  Not bad for a first-grader!  She's holding her little trophy in the picture.  There were about 100 girls total at this event. 

If you're in the Kansas City area, and you're looking for free beginner tournaments for your scholastic player, you should check them out and like them on facebook.  They even provide lunch at their full-day tournaments.

24 February 2015

POT-READY Spaghetti.

No need to go to allll that troubbbble of breaking the spaghetti noodles over the pot.  It's like they did all the work for you.  Image credit:  a friend from the Christian Homeschool Oasis facebook group let me borrow this one.

19 February 2015

Resources to Help Autistic Students Choose the Right College

by Dawn Marcotte

ASAN's Navigating College Handbook 

The Navigating College Handbook was published in 2011. This book was written by autistic students, for autistic students and its point of view is unique. The book is available for free at their website, Navigating College. The ebook contains information on getting academic accommodations, housing tips, health and safety, advocacy and social life.

Online Websites 

Searching for college is a big business online. There are many websites with information about colleges across the country. Unfortunately few of them include any information on the support services for autistic students. ThinkCollege.net is a web site that specifically targets autistic students.

The site has a listing of colleges, universities and post-secondary programs designed for autistic students. However the programs they list are submitted to them for inclusion on the list and the list is far from complete. If students have a specific school in mind, checking this site to see what programs are available is a good first step. However if the school is not listed here, it doesn't mean they don't have support programs available.

Another website to check is SpectrumU.This site lists many colleges in alphabetical order or by type of university. However this is in a list format, not a searchable database. The site does have some excellent information on searching for colleges with appropriate services.

Print Resources

Consumer Reports has done a review of online and print resources for college guides and comparisons. While none of the online resources they recommend address services for autistic students several of the print books do.

The College Handbook by the College Board, Guide to Colleges by Fiske and Profiles of American colleges by Barron's are all top resources and all include information on special services. College Handbook is actually the number one recommended book resource as it includes information on costs, educational quality, environment and has the largest number of schools included in the guide at 3,800. This may be a good first look to understand what is available and learn the vocabulary that goes with a school search.

Online Forums

There are also several forums where students and parents can go to learn more about college and post-secondary life from people who are living it.

· Aspie Central
· Wrong Planet
· College Confidential

These forums are all active and provide valuable information and discussions on college and other post-secondary options.

Other Options 

Not every autistic student is going to attend a college with support services. However there are independent programs who will provide needed support at the college or university of choice. These programs are fee based and vary widely in cost and services. Here are a few examples:

· AHEADD 
· College Internship Program
· College Living Experience 
· College Steps Program 
· Student Curriculum on Resilient Education 

Autistic students can be successful in college and beyond with the right supports in place.

 --  Dawn Marcotte is the CEO of www.asd-dr.com, a website featuring a free college success guide for autistic students and their families.

12 February 2015

Throwback Thursday!

Elf and Emperor, 2001
Because I miss that little Elf thumb. We saw a wonderful orthodontist who treated him like a tiny adult (he was six at the time) who explained to him that he could stop sucking his thumb any time he is ready, and these bandaids?  Will help remind him of all he can do.  Now his teeth are so wonderfully straight, and he never did need braces.  The irony is that Emperor sure did, despite quitting the habit well before his fourth birthday.  Kid is even rigged up with chains and rubber bands right now.  No kidding.  He won't let me blog it, though.  Teens.

04 February 2015

Waiting For Our Bunny Game to Load


We just got a subscription to Big IQ Kids' Spelling and Vocabulary. At the end of each lesson, the children can play a short game. I caught them doing this while the game was loading and said, "Hang on a sec while I get the camera!" Homeschooling rocks! :)

02 February 2015

Proud of My Defiant Child

Emperor had a substitute teacher for health class today.  She started the hour off with a small lecture along the lines of, "We have a pre-test to do, and I need you to be very mature about it and not giggle and that sort of thing."

Emperor raised his hand.  "Um, if this is about sex, I need to leave."  The teacher told him that he can sit down and do his work.  He sat.  The papers were passed out.  Emperor looked at the paper and the first question his eyes rested on contained the words "sexual contact."  Emperor flipped the paper over, slammed his hand upon it loudly, stood up and got his stuff together.  The teacher told him he could "just go to the office."

"Exactly where I was going anyway," he said as he left.

One of the school counsellors was walking by and asked him if he were in trouble.  "No," he replied, "They just started talking about sex and I left because I'm not taking their stupid survey."

"Ohhh," she said knowingly.  "That's ok.  I know your mom."

I'm surprised I didn't get a phone call, but I see my teenager handled it juuust fine on his own.

Bringing Garbage Home

Some people up the street were throwing this table away. It was in pretty bad shape and one of the legs was off. I've glued the leg back...