Awesome App by Mobile Education Store

Awesome Language Skills App!

Last night I walked into my bedroom. Propped up with her ipad in our new king-sized bed was my ten year old, checking out her many apps. When I suggested Tense Builder she willingly opened the app and clicked on a lesson to watch.

Truth be told I have a child who loves to learn. But she learns in a way where traditional classroom methods don't always work. Because of brain, vision, and fine motor conditions she needs the material presented in alternative methods.

The ipad coupled with carefully chosen apps are moving her toward increased independence. Apps we look for are easy for her to manipulate, visually stimulating and have engaging content.

While she did not talk until she was 4-1/2 her love for language is insatiable. When I first introduced Sentence Builder, Conversation Builder, Language Builder, and Story Builder apps to her this summer she chose them over all of her others apps. This went on for weeks. She did the lessons and practiced the concepts. When she started fifth grade at a new school in August I could see the difference in the way she communicated with teachers and students.

Even so I wondered if she would be able to grasp the concepts in Tense Builder.

Silly me. She's had it for two weeks. I watch her eyes when she stops mid-sentence and rethinks what she just said. Then, typically with a question mark at the end of the sentence, she changes the tense and looks to me for approval. When I beam in response she knows she's figured it out.

Last night while I was typing I heard her say, "That's future tense." It was heartwarming to watch her go from timid to brave when she pressed the "play" button. It's an added bonus that she is able to practice her speech articulation.

Now I can't wait to install Conversation Builder for Teens.

Thank you Mobile Apps--keep them coming!-- Allyson

Favorite Features of Tensebuilder

• Visually stimulating and engaging animation
• Large print and nice contrast for those with visual limitations
• Settings: regular and irregular verbs; past, present, and future; levels 1 and 2
• Easy to understand speakers
• Performance report that teachers can use at school 
• Recording feature

What I Would Like

• Ability to increase text size 

Check out all of the products at Mobile Apps Store

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Gratitude

I wrote this poem when my ten year old was four to thank her doctors, teachers, physical, speech and occupational therapists, audiologists, teachers, educational assistants, school administrators, psychologists, social workers, personal care attendants, inclusion directors, camp counselors, clergy, child life specialists, nurses, receptionists, med techs and our friends and family who look at her and see her potential.

Today I'd like to share it with you.--Allyson

Seeing All There Is To See

Thank you for looking at our daughter and seeing all there is to see…
The smiles, the laughs, the curious glance, the memory of where the lollipops are kept.
Thank you for looking at our daughter and seeing her love for each and every human being,
her silly grin, her inquisitiveness, her understanding of what you say and how you’re feeling.
Thank you for seeing that her skills have improved and how much she has grown,
her ability to communicate and get her point across and to get you to respond.
Thank you for seeing and appreciating each behavior as it positively changes,
Her presence in the world, her gifts overriding each of many challenges.

Thank you for looking at our daughter and realizing we might need some help from you…
Identifying, researching and advocating for her as identified and needed.
Thank you for realizing that though we are her parents we aren’t experts on her conditions.
We didn’t start off knowing how to implement each doctor’s and therapist’s home renditions.
Thank you for realizing we need patience while we learn what it is that will help her flourish,
That each day can be filled with triumphs and defeats and words you say can nourish.
Thank you for realizing the amount of dedication we place in her personal development,
And that listening to our knowledge and intuition can play a role in her comportment.

Thank you for understanding the power of each of your attitudes and actions…
Never underestimating the impact of how you interact and what you communicate.
Thank you for understanding that your words to her and to us can make a difference,
How you say hello, that kind redirection, taking time to converse making connections,
Thank you for understanding that her thriving in this world will take extra focus and courage,
Along her path she will need ideas, hugs, humor, and words to encourage.
Thank you for understanding that support not pity sustains us as we maintain focus,
While this is not the direction we would have chosen her steps with us are blessed.

Thank you for looking at our daughter and seeing all there is to see…
The hopes, the dreams, the promises of all that she can and will achieve.
Thank you for looking at our daughter and never giving up, never showing doubt,
always looking, always searching for a way to bring her strengths from inside out.
Thank you for looking at reconnecting paths where none before existed,
Always searching for and trying different routes with gentle persistence.
Thank you for looking at our daughter and seeing all there is to see,

A little girl engaging the world with heartfelt possibility.                            

Copyright 2012 by Allyson Perling

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Why Cure Pity?

I stumbled across this link http://curepity.org/why-cure-pity/ yesterday when I was browsing through Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare's website. Our youngest child often frequented Gillette's specialists when she was young.

The CurePity pledge struck such a cord within me that I sat motionless on our couch while memories of people pitying us flooded my mind. It was the sentiment that drained me most when I had to get my children the help they needed.

Children don't need pity (nor do their parents). They thrive with support, engagement, access to excellent medical care, appropriate adaptations and inclusion in their schools and communities.

Take a moment to sign the pledge and check out the website at http://curepity.org/why-cure-pity/. --Allyson

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Toys For Kids With Specific or Special Needs

When my youngest was a baby we observed a red flag--she lacked interest in toys. We had no clue yet that she had limited fine motor skills. Once she started occupational therapy at nine months old we began the search for toys that she could manipulate and that would provide her with stimulation.

This was not easy. I kept trying toys my other children liked. Nothing interested her.

But then she had an elongated stay in the hospital over the holidays. The unit had gifts for all of the children. After spending a considerable amount of time hanging out with our little girl, the child life specialist handed her a brightly wrapped present.

I feigned my optimism when I said, "What a perfect gift!" I tried not to insult her kind gesture, but I was discouraged.

Sitting on the edge of the hospital bed my husband carefully unwrapped the paper as I liked to recycle it for art projects if possible. Inside was a simple Little Tikes toy. It had a screwdriver, a saw and a hammer. If you turned a knob a certain way it made noises. Loud noises. The kind I normally detested. They did not bother me so much this time.

And then there was a second gift--a flashlight in the shape of a lion. Each time you turned it on it roared! It was louder than the first. There was no off switch.


I watched my daughter most of that afternoon trying to make the sounds of both of those toys go off. Late that same day I thanked the child life specialist and told her those were the first toys my daughter had any interest in. She went over to a table and picked up a brochure titled, "Toys R Us, toy guide for differently-abled kids," http://www.toysrus.com/shop/index.jsp?categoryId=3261681. I clenched on to it tightly.

During a quiet moment, I flipped through the pages of the catalog. At a time of desperation I felt as though someone had opened up a window and allowed in fresh, crisp air. We were trying so hard to find a diagnosis and help our child grow and develop. In an odd sort of way this retail catalog offered hope.

Since that time there are more catalogs, websites, and stores that reach out to children with special needs. Here are some that I use and others that I plan to soon.

http://www.autismshop.com/ One of my favorite stores to buy fidgets. They have an extensive offering of books that I have seen on Autism and related topics. This was the place I went when I bought our first Time Timer and supplies to make visual schedules. I also found little tins of Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty which I use as gifts.

http://www.creativekidstuff.com/autism.html Creative Kidstuff is one of my favorite toy stores of all time. The staff are helpful in trying to find a perfect gift for any child no matter what their physical abilities are or are not. For years the manager at the store closest to our house became my consultant in toy buying. Now I see that they have partnered with St. David's Center-Child & Family Development http://www.stdavidscenter.org/ to create guidelines for toy buying for children with special needs. Awesome! I'm actually proud of Creative Kidstuff.

http://sensoryuniversity.com/main.sc This site is new to me, but I can't wait to see what I can find in their catalog for my 10 and 15 year olds. My older daughter can benefit from items to help her posture and for focusing. They have some items here that I have not seen before! When you enter their website they have their products listed on the right hand side. I find this as an easy to read and well laid out directory to use.

http://www.onestepahead.com/custserv/shop_smarter_article.jsp?pageName=Best_Toys This site offers a nice explanation of developmental areas to focus on for ages birth to 36 months. I struggled a bit with the use of the term "best." I suggest focusing on what the suggested learning is like "goal oriented and problem solving play" instead. Great resource.

http://www.specialneedstoys.com/usa/ This is also a new site to me and can't wait to look more thoughtfully. I love that they have some adaptive gardening supplies. I see this in my 10 year old's future http://www.specialneedstoys.com/usa/gardening/1895-radius-garden-set.html. I like that they have a "teenage/adult" section. While some of their items are meant for clinics--you can tell by the cost--they do have a range of affordable items for home use.

Those experiences with the child life specialist during that difficult hospital stay gave me new energy to keep looking for toys that were enticing and fun. It still wasn't easy. But for her birthday that same year I found bristle blocks. We didn't really need other toys--at least for a few years!

If you have any other products, stores, or websites you frequent let us know!--Allyson

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Holidays! Vacations! School Breaks!

When you read this title do the exclamation points elicit fear or excitement?

Depending upon your individual experiences your reactions may vary.

Holidays, vacations, and school breaks bring changes in routines, new people to meet or visit, airports to maneuver, hotels to select, restaurants or other's homes to eat in, present choices to make, sensory considerations to implement, and physical obstacles to overcome.

Please comment on any or all of these questions in the comment section below:

• How do you make holidays, vacations, and school breaks accessible for children and adults with special needs?
• If you give gifts, what stores offer choices that meet different learning and motor needs?
• What are some of your favorite gifts that encourage learning and enjoyment?
• When you choose a hotel do you seek specific elements in the environment?
• When preparing for a plane trip what extra items to do you bring to make things easier?
• What adaptations do family members and friends make that engage your family member with special needs?
• What recreational activities do you do that are accessible to all members of your family?

I'm excited to hear your ideas!--Allyson
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Thank You, Steve Jobs!

I wish I could send an email or letter to Steve Jobs. If I could, this is what I'd say.

Dear Steve Jobs,

You don't know me, but my family members often catch me saying out loud, "Thank you, Steve Jobs!"

I used a Macintosh before they were fashionable, and my husband and I have laptops and iphones. The music that circulates through our living room emanates from an ipod. And while each of those devices have enhanced our lives, there is yet another that has changed the outlook for my daughter's future.

My ten-year-old was born without her corpus callosum -- the communication center of her brain. Because of that, her speech and her fine and gross motor skills are affected. She has no depth perception or visual tracking skills. Over the years, the schools have tried various computers and numerous adaptations with only limited success.

One day when she was eight, I found her playing with my iphone. She had rearranged all of my apps into folders. As my iphone was still new, I had not yet learned how. Guess who taught me?

That was enough for my husband and I to take her into an Apple Store to try out an ipad. When her eyes widened to the size of golf balls, we knew she could see the words on the screen. It did not take long to realize our dollars would be well spent.

We found a school that allows her to use an ipad, as it is a way for her to access the mainstream curriculum. Not all do -- not yet at least. We download books and enlarge the print. There are apps for language use, social skills, math, science, communication, social stories, spelling, meditation, scheduling, and of course cooking! She wants to be a chef one day. As all of this is still in its infancy, new apps seem to come out each week.

We see the ipad as a path to our daughter's independence. Because of the intuitive nature of the ipad, she is able to teach herself most of the apps that we download. It has already changed her life and she is only ten. Others can now witness first hand her insatiable thirst and ability to learn.

With eternal gratitude--Allyson Perling

That is what I would say if I could communicate with Steve Jobs. Sadly I can't, but I can share this story with the hope that those who have not yet tried out an ipad or similar device will.

Conversation

• What impact has an ipad or similar device had on your life? Join the conversation in the comments below.
• If there is an app that you would like to recommend to others, please contribute using this form.

Stories

• Do you have a story to share how the ipad has brought out your own potential or that of someone you know? Share in the comments below.

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My Shitake Mushroom

“What do you want to be for Halloween?” I said looking at my ten year old with her long, brown curls draping over her shoulders.

“A shitake mushroom,” she said without an inch of hesitation.

My shoulders tensed like they did each time my youngest child's tenacity bubbled up. I looked over at her deep brown eyes. “Okay. What’s your second choice?”

“A portabello mushroom,” she said in a sing-songy tone. And off she went to make patterns with the Qwirkle tiles on the coffee table by the couch.

Chuckling I thought, I’m in trouble. Lucky for me I asked her two months before Halloween. I've learned over the years that extra time, when it comes to this child, can come in handy.

The day after Halloween, when our daughter was three months shy of turning two, a neurologist from her clinic called to tell us that the MRI results showed she had a rare neurological condition: Agenesis of the Corpus Callosum.

Even though we witnessed her miss every developmental milestone, and we had been taking her to specialists for over a year, having someone tell me that the communication center of my child’s brain never developed was something different. It was as if the neurologist pushed an eject button that sent me orbiting toward outer space.

Even before we had the underlying diagnosis, our daughter became a regular at private physical and occupational therapy twice a week, and was enrolled in the zero to three program through the public schools. A teacher, along with therapists, worked with her in our home. Our child was not talking, walking or using her hands.

Multiple times a week, we visited specialists trying to uncover what we did not yet know. Each of them searched for what was wrong that had to be fixed. They all noted, verbally and in writing, the long list of detailed deficits that they observed.

Each Halloween after the diagnosis, our family started to measure her successes. From not walking to walking at three, from nonverbal to speaking at four and a half years, from needing a stroller to running so fast down the street we could not catch up to her, from being ambivalent about any costume to informing me she wanted to be a Shitake mushroom.

I jotted down how much progress she made from the year before. These were my measurements. No one mentioned deficits that needed repair. Halloween never meant anything to me until now. This one night a year became a milestone marker. We looked forward to and planned for it months in advance.

The schools' charge is to prove why a child needs services. They have to show what is problematic. Doctors look at what is wrong to understand why and to offer solutions. But I, her mother, get to focus on what is right, her potential and her successes.

On Halloween each year I celebrate her growth.

When my daughter said to me she wanted to be a Shitake mushroom, I smiled thinking how far she has come. I had no idea how I was going to make this particular costume with fabric and a glue gun, but I would figure it out.

I packed away the Shitake mushroom hat this week, and realized Thanksgiving is upon us. What a great time to stop, take pause and recognize the growth in our children and in ourselves.

And be thankful. Very, very thankful.

Conversations

• Do you have a way to measure success that focuses on potential? 

• Is there a time of the year or a specific holiday that makes sense for you?

Stories

• Share a personal story that demonstrates growth from one year to the next.

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A Favorite Fidget

I love, love, love telling others about things that I think are terrific. It's been at least five years since we bought our first tin. Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty http://www.puttyworld.com/.

Just Part Of Our Collection

Wherever we go with my youngest we make sure we have at least one tin with us. When I go to the store to buy a new purse I make sure a tin can fit inside!

We take tins with us to friend's houses and to restaurants, to movies, plays and concerts and on planes to places like Georgia, Florida and California. We made sure we had many tins for our adventure all the way around Lake Superior--from Minnesota to Canada and back again.

Having one color was not enough. We have twilight, sunburst, amethyst blush, chameleon, lapis, electric green, pink, yellow, emerald green, red and brilliant gold. Okay...maybe a wee beet obsessive, but this product helps calm my kids when stressed, keeps them focused when distracted, strengthens weakened fingers and hands and fuels their boundless imagination. Many a tin have been transformed into ice cream cones, chicken drumsticks, beets, cucumbers, soup, bowls, frying pans, plates, cups and spoons.

One of my favorite moments with Crazy Aaron's Thinking Putty was when we went to the Wisconsin Dells over a holiday break. We had several kids, that struggle sitting for very long,  joining us for lunch. I threw three tins into my backpack. I looked across from me to the other side of the table and a 40 plus old male friend was skillfully crafting the putty into detailed scary creatures. It was then I realized this stuff has a wide range of interest!

We have given these really cool tins as gifts to kids only to find out adults and teachers wanted them too! When kids come to the house after they check out the beanbag room they look for the putty on the shelf in the corner.

You can stay in touch with them as they launch new colors at their facebook page. 

Do you have a favorite fidget? Would love to know more about it, what you like about it and how someone can buy it. Please submit a Contribute to the Blog form with detailed information.

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Week 2

By New Year's Eve, invite 5-10 families, and general and special education teachers to our discussion at Seasons of Potential.

You can also link them to our facebook page where new blog entries will announced.

A Gardener Of Sorts

I have always been a gardener of sorts. As an organization development consultant, I worked with management, and dug around in an organization’s history and culture to uncover its values.

When the organization’s early values were identified, we learned what members thought was important when the organization was formed. It proved valuable to examine implicit and explicit values before we implemented any long-lasting change. Often many of the existing values sustained their future.

But not always.

The organization chose which values to leave behind, and which to support their desired changes.

I'm digging again -- this time into the history of disability. Significant milestones made by courageous citizens have positively impacted children and adults. 

But is there more to be done? Undoubtedly.

For the past decade, I have bumped up against visible and invisible barriers as I parent my daughter with complex special needs. During my daughter’s early years, it was apparent her development was delayed. The winter before kindergarten started, my daughter’s special education team conducted evaluations that would provide her with an education label mandatory to get services.

Developmental cognitive delay (DCD) became the lens that people viewed our daughter through. It was common to hear lines like, "Well, kids with cognitive delays don’t ever...," and "Don’t hold high expectations for a child with a cognitive delay," and "Kids with cognitive delays are better off by themselves where there is not much pressure."

Over the years, a few educators did not begin a conversation with me until I disclosed her label. Some asked for the label before they asked for her name.

When working in organizations to unearth their culture, I said to employees, "If you come across something that gets in your way of implementing change and you're not sure what it is, you've probably found a deep rooted organizational value."

Only recently I have begun to understand what our family tripped over when we attempted to get our child the help she needed. This past summer, a speaker at a conference said that through his research on children with disabilities, the only group he found that was treated with less respect than the kids labelled with EBD (Emotional Behavior Disorder), were those labelled DCD (developmental cognitive delay).

As he stated his comment out loud, a knot formed in my stomach. It made perfect sense. My daughter is often treated differently than her peers. And sometimes as her family, we are too. It is common for people, who do not take the time to get to know her, to assume she has limited potential.

In order for people to look at all individuals and see what they can do rather than what they can't do -- what must still change?

Imagine for a moment a large group of people coming together -- a group comprised of families, medical practitioners, teachers, special educators, occupational, speech, and physical therapists, mental health professionals, clergy, personal care attendants, friends and concerned community members?

What if we use the internet as our meeting space?

What if we share conversations, and tell stories that exemplify advocacy, triumph and promise? Together we can broaden the definition of ability, and more effectively partner to nourish every child and adult to reach their potential. We can plant new roots into our culture that supports potential.

Please join me to create this vision through the use of this blog -- Seasons of Potential. The more voices we have involved, the more impact we can make. In addition to commenting on blog posts you can suggest topics, be a guest facilitator or recommend a resource (app, book, dvd, store, workshop, etc.) Just submit a completed form.

A culture takes concerted effort to change. It also takes time and patience. But with shared vision and focus, it can happen.

Our discussion starts as the leaves fall off the trees, and continues through the cycle of the seasons, to explore change and growth.

I look forward to hearing your voice.

--Allyson

This week's theme: Cultivating our culture for potential

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Broadening Our Definition Of Ability

Aimee Mullins is an athlete and actor. She was born with a medical condition that resulted in the amputation of both of her lower legs. In this Ted Talks podcast, Aimee Mullins helps us begin to understand the need to broaden our definition of ability.


"There’s an important difference and distinction between the objective medical fact of my being an amputee and the subjective societal opinion of whether or not I’m disabled. Truthfully, the only real and consistent disability I’ve had to confront is the world ever thinking that I could be described by those definitions,” Aimee Mullins says. Listen to her entire talk below.

Conversation: Have you ever looked up the definition of disability before? How is it defined in the dictionary that you use? Does the dictionary definition fit for you? If not, which words would you like to see eliminated? Which would you like to see added? Please submit your comments below.



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Week 1

I will ask you to take specific actions that will help move our vision forward. One action will involve inviting different groups of people to join in on the conversation and share stories. The more people we get involved, the deeper we can impact society's culture.

Invite your friends and family to follow the Seasons of Potential blog

Storycatcher: Making Sense of Our Lives Through the Power and Practice of Story

Find at Powells.com

Storycatcher by Christina Baldwin is a great book for those who are new to telling their personal stories. Telling stories is a way to educate others and effectively shape cultures. Christina Baldwin helps us learn how to write and tell our own stories. A recommended read as we begin our work together.

Synopsis

This remarkable guide illustrates the compassion, empathy, and humanity attainable when sharing stories with another person. At the same time, it encourages readers to identify their own personal stories and learn to actively cherish and strengthen them for a stronger sense of fulfillment. Story, the author contends, is the lifeblood of who we are — it helps us position our own identity in the larger world and focuses us on our own history. Stories, in essence, individualize us, and Christina Baldwin invites her readers to unlock the immense power that story holds for each of us.
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Apps: Flow Free

In a word, ipads and apps are -- AMAZING! They allow people to expand their opportunities to communicate and learn. I believe that ipads have opened doors for individuals where they have previously been closed. Each week we will share apps that help build potential. 

Flow Free by Big Duck

week 1: Flow Free is a puzzle app that is relaxing and encourages thinking and problem solving. I use it to wake up my mind before I write and my ten year old uses it after school to relax. 

For kids and adults
Cost: free

Other apps by Big Duck: Fireworks Arcade (free) and Spark Art! (free). All with 4+ ratings.

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