Re-Post~ One of My Favorite Blogs
No school today, it’s “Building Articulation Day” (whatever that is). I was going to try and write but Nick is on a mission to drive me bonkers this morning. So I decided to re-post one of my favorite blogs. You will get a real sense of Nick’s world living with Down syndrome and autism.
Here’s a hint 🙂 ………. Splat!
That wasn’t part of the recipe, Nick…….. Poor Woody
Now that I have your curiosity, see what else Nick has done and what we do about it @https://nickspecialneeds.wordpress.com/2012/04/17/blog-3-getting-your-goat/
Hope you enjoyed Nick’s world, the rest of us are just trying to keep up. That’s what is in my noggin this week.
~Teresa
Down Syndrome with a Slice of Autism 
Teresa,I enjoyed the review. I remember vividly reading this post for the first time and wondering how I would manage to keep my cool with some of the behaviors you mentioned.I am still wondering even as I read this second post. About the icons, how do they affect Nick? Does the frowning face discourage him? I enjoy seeing pics of various events Nick has engaged in. So I’m wondering, do you take pics of the negative events and post them for him somewhere with a frowning face to reinforce that it is not wanted behavior? Perhaps, taking a pic of a fire alarm and making it poster size with a frowny face, would help with that behavior??? It seems Nick cues into pics and communicates very well with them. Yes?This reminds me: one of the booths at the Arcola show was sponsored by CTF ILLINOIS, 9 Muses Art Gallery. They were selling artwork done by their clients with developmental disabilities. The clients are taught principles and elements of art on a daily basis. They then create, sell and earn income from various forms of artwork they produce and showcase at the 9 Muses Gallery. I spoke with one of the teachers, Josh, about this agency. He said it gave their clients a voice for expression, as many were non-verbal. They could communicate their reality through art. I was so impressed with many of the art pieces on display. Two in particular I wanted to buy, they were so lovely. ( I did not because I severely limit my spending at shows. I’d defininety cut into our profits if I didn’t.) I also met one of the artists. I think he was probably about forty, very non-verbal and quite social. I think his name was Greg. Meeting him and seeing the wonderful art he and others in the program created made me curious if there was such a program like this for Nick’s involvement? The 9 Muses Gallery only provides services to adults who have maxed out of the state education system, which I understand Nick is on the cusp of doing. Has Nick ever been give Art lessons? Would there be a similar program to 9 Muses in your area? More questions i do not know the answer to. But since he is so visual I thought perhaps it could be a voice for him.Also when we spoke last week, and now in your blog, I am aware that you respond with laughter to many of Nick’s antics. I know I am somewhat deficient in humor genes, and I admire people with a great sense of humor (not my blessing). At the same time,because the smiley face is the indicator of acceptable behavior, I’m wondering if laughing at his antics, inadvertently reinforces it? As I think about it, there is such a fine line here. If you frown at an unacceptable behavior, Nick might think that you are frowning at him as a person and not the behavior. But then does laughing give him a subtle message that a behavior like burping/farting is acceptable. Am I being too analytical here or too rigid or uptight?So this brings me to another question, how to you discipline Nick or anyone with his level of mental ability? Or is discipline not possible, doable, effective? I seem to be full of question today and my curiosity continues to grow about Downs, but esp. about ASD. The number of children now experiencing ASD particularly has me so curious. Being someone who is passionate about natural remedies for healing, I believe that there is a remedy/aid there we just haven’t tapped into. The Medical System is an obvious failure in my book, and I wish more research was being done in alternative therapies in this regard. For example the benefit you found with with essential oils and diffusing it to aid sleep. What else might be out there, we just haven’t become aware of?The recent info I read about the whistleblower revealing that certain vaccines were related to some children and autism, is so unsettling. A part of me does not want to believe it, and sad to say I think the corruption of some drug companies is outrageous putting the most vulnerable at such peril.Well, I’ll sign off for now. I am glad we got to meet for lunch. I still regret I could not be at the reunion. Our craft show was not very rewarding. I am delighted when people buy our products, not such much because we make money (money is good) and my real reward is feeling that the health of the user of the herbal products will benefit. At this show, the majority of people went by our booth like herds of sheep, baaahhh! Clueless and incurious. That is what I find hard to deal with. Yes, I want everyone to be free to make choices, but intelligent choices. What I see is that so many people in our society have been brain-washed by Big Pharma. Where it bothers me the most, is realizing that so many of my own family members fit in this category. Sigh!May I should start my own blog: Healing Herbs with a slice of Ignorance. I guess not, who would read that????If every adult in my family bought just one of my products every year, I would consider myself extremely fortunate, not to mention making their lives better. I’ve been at this for ten years, so I am not holding my breath for that to happen.Thanks for all you do to raise my awareness about ASD. Nick is so blessed to have you as his mother, a strong, dynamic and brave woman! Bright Blessings of Health,JoleenePS, Did you by any chance get to observe Henry and Jude at the reunion. Were they even there? Do you think Jude is ASD? I think the whole family is in denial about Jude and Henry. I know my “intervention” would in no way be appreciated. It is an agony for me, esp. knowing what I have recently read about the research about the effects of gluten and young children’s neurological system. The older you get the harder it is to get accustomed to eating healthfully. So I think the sooner they would try gluten free the better it might be for their brain development. At this point I feel totally powerless and believe the most I can do is pray that they find what they need and soon.