What is the difference between ignorance and indifference?
I don't know, and I don't care.
HA--until you have to explain it to kids with autism. They see definitions only.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Friday, May 3, 2013
Autism and Scholarship: Party Time
Now we're at the reception following the scholarship recognition ceremony.
Ryan and I hightailed it to the coffee line as the food line led to wheat laden food. (Ryan is gluten free except for wheat that I grind--unprocessed/unheated wheat.) At the coffee bar, we chatted a bit between ourselves and then with a few others we knew. Out of nowhere, Ryan announced, "I'm going to talk with that girl."
I reacted casually (?), "What girl?"
"THAT girl, in line."
Wow! OK. I recognized her from elementary school. When Ryan was home schooled, she made the effort to talk with Ryan. Ryan always answered her questions, but never ventured to initiate his own line of conversation. Well, today he did. He held a conversation with her. They included me. I was impressed. It was not too long when they walked away. Without me.
Too cool!
Ryan and I hightailed it to the coffee line as the food line led to wheat laden food. (Ryan is gluten free except for wheat that I grind--unprocessed/unheated wheat.) At the coffee bar, we chatted a bit between ourselves and then with a few others we knew. Out of nowhere, Ryan announced, "I'm going to talk with that girl."
I reacted casually (?), "What girl?"
"THAT girl, in line."
Wow! OK. I recognized her from elementary school. When Ryan was home schooled, she made the effort to talk with Ryan. Ryan always answered her questions, but never ventured to initiate his own line of conversation. Well, today he did. He held a conversation with her. They included me. I was impressed. It was not too long when they walked away. Without me.
Too cool!
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Autism and Scholarships: Thrilling!
Yesterday Mike and I were absolutely thrilled to watch Ryan walk across the stage at his high school to receive a certificate. This certificate recognized Ryan as a recipient of an academic scholarship. There were moments when I doubted we'd get to this point. Even applying for the scholarship had its moments. I've described some of that in previous posts, so I won't belabor "the steps" here.
Ryan's response to the event really surprised me.
He was happy. If you know Ryan, he doesn't smile often.
He tried to hide his smile when he walked down the steps of the stage, but for once, he couldn't hide his true emotion. He smiled, well ok, he smirked. He KNEW this was an accomplishment. He LIKED being recognized. Not comfortable. But liked.
New territory for Ryan.
After the ceremony, there was a reception. News about that will come in the next entry!
Ryan's response to the event really surprised me.
He was happy. If you know Ryan, he doesn't smile often.
He tried to hide his smile when he walked down the steps of the stage, but for once, he couldn't hide his true emotion. He smiled, well ok, he smirked. He KNEW this was an accomplishment. He LIKED being recognized. Not comfortable. But liked.
New territory for Ryan.
After the ceremony, there was a reception. News about that will come in the next entry!
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Autism Humor
I noticed a while back that Ryan had a difficult time filling forms. He can do the basic name, address, and phone number. However, many forms want the information above or below the line. With job and college applications, medical and insurance forms, etc, it can be really confusing!
So I've been teaching Ryan how to fill out forms. Today's form was a fundraising order form for Cam's little league team. Ryan did well with the form. Onward we went. Since this was a fundraiser, I had to pay for the items. Hmmm. The check presented another form.
Ryan felt confident. Ryan filled out the amount and the date on the check. He then looked to me. Who was to receive the check? I told him to look on the order form to find out who to make it payable to. On the form it said, "Make Checks Payable To The Organization Benefitting From The Fundraiser."
Guess who the check is made payable to?
Yeah, The Organization Benefitting...
Well, that's if he didn't ask. I saw that Ryan was only seeing the literal meaning of the words, not the figurative meaning. Once I explained it, Ryan filled out the check correctly.
Lesson of the story: Never assume!
So I've been teaching Ryan how to fill out forms. Today's form was a fundraising order form for Cam's little league team. Ryan did well with the form. Onward we went. Since this was a fundraiser, I had to pay for the items. Hmmm. The check presented another form.
Ryan felt confident. Ryan filled out the amount and the date on the check. He then looked to me. Who was to receive the check? I told him to look on the order form to find out who to make it payable to. On the form it said, "Make Checks Payable To The Organization Benefitting From The Fundraiser."
Guess who the check is made payable to?
Yeah, The Organization Benefitting...
Well, that's if he didn't ask. I saw that Ryan was only seeing the literal meaning of the words, not the figurative meaning. Once I explained it, Ryan filled out the check correctly.
Lesson of the story: Never assume!
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Autism and Interviews: Award -Winning!
Now we are focusing on what classes to take. Ryan wants to take online classes, and only writing classes. He also wants his own laptop, so he can write undisturbed.
We finally have a course of action! Yea.
Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/68751915@N05/with/6355220839/
Sunday, April 14, 2013
Autism and Interviews: Time Marches On!
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| Oceanside Beach, 2012 |
Alas, we've been busy doing other things. Today, Ryan and I filled out required paperwork for his SSI application. At least, we know that is in progress. That is another story. All this government bureaucracy is time consuming. Tis a lesson in patience, and I've learned that the lessons in patience take the longest.
Sigh.
So I try to be patient. Easiest way to do that is to picture the beach. Sunset too. Tis timeless.
Autism and Interviews: Mindful!
The application process was slow. I picked up the application. Ryan and I read through all the pages. We found the requirements, and Ryan and I agreed what the required steps would be. We agreed what he could do on his own, and what he might need help to accomplish. We set deadlines. The plan was set.
Until deadlines passed.
One of the first items we addressed was who to ask for letters of recommendation. We needed three, and those three had to fulfill different requirements set in the application form. We obtained the first one easily as that was a family friend.
The second was given to a teacher. I put a post-it on it with our personal deadline--three days ahead of the application deadline. Our lives were busy, and the initial day passed. I asked Ryan if he received the letter of recommendation from his teacher. Nope. I reminded him to get it. The next day he forgot. I texted him the following day, and I emailed the teacher. Ryan received it. We had one day left.
Ryan had to write a page describing several aspects of himself. Having autism, he wrote everything within four sentences. Four hundred words were required. Elaboration was needed. Ryan knew what that meant. His little brother sang a song when he was in second or third grade. The words to that song: elaboration means tell me more. Ryan understood that. How can he write more? Why was it needed? He has expressed himself concisely. He answered each question.
The first question he answered--he answered with: I have autism. That means I don't like to talk with people.
Blunt. Honest. I wondered how that would go over to his reading audience. Most papers probably described each applicant's career plans and how each will conquer poverty and achieve world peace. Not my son's. He just says he doesn't want to talk with people. Hmm.
Ryan wanted to be a writer, but he couldn't elaborate about himself. Oh yeah. Lots of steps. We worked on this like an English assignment. We wrote out the who, why, where, when, what, and how questions. We added prepositional phrases. Then we wrote out clauses, and we expanded the ideas. Talk about stretching. Physically and mentally, it was a workout.
But we had it done, and we turned it in about two hours before the deadline. Whew.
A few weeks later, we received a call, saying that he was a finalist. He needed to schedule an interview. YEA. That brings us to his interview last Sunday. And we await the results.
Ryan is hopeful. So am I!
Until deadlines passed.
One of the first items we addressed was who to ask for letters of recommendation. We needed three, and those three had to fulfill different requirements set in the application form. We obtained the first one easily as that was a family friend.
The second was given to a teacher. I put a post-it on it with our personal deadline--three days ahead of the application deadline. Our lives were busy, and the initial day passed. I asked Ryan if he received the letter of recommendation from his teacher. Nope. I reminded him to get it. The next day he forgot. I texted him the following day, and I emailed the teacher. Ryan received it. We had one day left.
Ryan had to write a page describing several aspects of himself. Having autism, he wrote everything within four sentences. Four hundred words were required. Elaboration was needed. Ryan knew what that meant. His little brother sang a song when he was in second or third grade. The words to that song: elaboration means tell me more. Ryan understood that. How can he write more? Why was it needed? He has expressed himself concisely. He answered each question.
The first question he answered--he answered with: I have autism. That means I don't like to talk with people.
Blunt. Honest. I wondered how that would go over to his reading audience. Most papers probably described each applicant's career plans and how each will conquer poverty and achieve world peace. Not my son's. He just says he doesn't want to talk with people. Hmm.
Ryan wanted to be a writer, but he couldn't elaborate about himself. Oh yeah. Lots of steps. We worked on this like an English assignment. We wrote out the who, why, where, when, what, and how questions. We added prepositional phrases. Then we wrote out clauses, and we expanded the ideas. Talk about stretching. Physically and mentally, it was a workout.
But we had it done, and we turned it in about two hours before the deadline. Whew.
A few weeks later, we received a call, saying that he was a finalist. He needed to schedule an interview. YEA. That brings us to his interview last Sunday. And we await the results.
Ryan is hopeful. So am I!
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