Saturday 18 June 2011

Colton the Exterminator....

My boy Colton like all little boys has his dreams for the future.
At this moment in time it's Colton the Exterminator.
Colton informed me this morning that he was going to be "Colton the exterminator, super sidekick to Billy the Exterminator saving Louisiana from pests!" Ummm...
Well we don't live in Louisiana *LOL* but he wants to go there and find a hotel with a bee problem so we can call on Billy so he can help him exterminate them. :)
According to him he just "Loves Louisiana".
My son has both Billy the Exterminator seasons on DVD and of course his Billy T shirt! He knows all the names of  Billy's family on the show introduction and will watch any Billy marathon that is on TV.
He also researches on the internet the creatures that Billy deals with on the show. Colton can tell you more than you want to know about mahogany wasps.
I should also let you know that Colton told his teacher that he had fire ants in his ear. She took this to mean that he had an earache and she sent him home. Ummm no ants and no earache but he was proud of himself for getting the afternoon off school!
 The giggle for me is that this is the little boy who sees a fly at a picnic and goes running off screaming in terror that the "bee" is going to get him. So much for any type of exterminating.
However dreams are deams and who am I to say that he won't grow up to be a world famous exterminator like Billy some day! 
Billy is his hero, who knows maybe I will get to take him to Louisiana some day!

Friday 3 June 2011

I have autism...

For any of my kids it could be any of the following or combinations...
I have autism...
I have aspergers...
I have a learning disability...
I have ADD...
I have ADHD...
and various others...

I have always taught them that it ok to speak up for themselves when they need help, especially to my kids in high school or college. Just saying the words, I have a learning disability, to a teacher who does not know them well or has not read their IEP can make a difference.
With my daughters it has been a benefit for them to be able to talk about their learning disabilities with their teachers.
It is so much more complicated to teach the boys about their needs, they just don't communicate or process information very well.
My youngest boy has learned to say I have autism. I didn't teach him, he just takes it as a matter of fact.  He has had varying results however some rather funny and some not so much.
We were in a restaurant up north after a long day in the car. The poor boy could not sit still at all.
He was rather bouncy and I guess the waitress was looking at him and he just looked right back at her and said " I have autism" "I just can't focus".  I just looked up at the waitress and said ya that's true *LOL* and we both laughed. Colton said that is funny, I made you laugh. Yes buddy you always make me laugh :). It was so darn cute!

Whether it is us advocating for our kids or the kids trying to advocate for themselves, schools and others around them and those working with them need to listen and tune into their needs.