First Hand Experience As Self Advocate

All of January the focus of this blog has been on advocacy--for self and others. In the wee hours last Friday morning I blacked out and struck my head against a cast iron bathtub. I spent four days under careful scrutiny of the ER, Trauma and Neurosurgery units at the University of Minnesota. While it was decided that I was dehydrated other reasons for the black out are not yet known. I'm being treated for a nasty knot on my head, a broken nose and possible ligament damage in my neck. I'm seeing the world through a cervical collar for the next few weeks. And yes, there are stories to tell as my strength comes back to sit at my laptop for longer periods of time.

Allyson

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First Ever Raffle at Seasons of Potential

What fun! I have asked some of the vendors of the products I LOVE most to provide giveaways. Most of them graciously agreed. So here goes. First ever raffle for Seasons of Potential. Look for a new raffle each Friday! Drumroll please! This week's giveaway is PrepositionBuilder an app by Mobile Education Store.

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Self Advocacy: Listen To And Trust Yourself

A Guest Blog Post From Ken Barlow...

I knew when I was younger that something wasn't quite right. I remember in college that I really never could sleep. I didn't need to. 

As I knew this wasn't normal I sought out the college mental health counselor who suggested I see a neurologist. I had an EEG, a brain scan, which came back clean. I told the doctor that the EEG results must be wrong. He said, "No, you are." 

For the next twenty five years I went on with life and my massive ups and downs. I thought it was all in my head and that there was nothing wrong with me. 

In 2006 I moved to Boston for a job closer to my mom after my dad unexpectedly passed away. My family stayed in Minnesota while my kids finished school. I flew back and forth between the Twin Cities and Boston every weekend. I had no problem keeping up with this rigorous schedule. At least that's what I thought. I started to lose weight and wasn't sleeping. Because of these symptoms I went to a doctor who prescribed something to help me sleep. 

Usually my lows were the worst at the end of August which again brought me to the doctor. She thought I had an August grass allergy and gave me a prescription and an inhaler. Neither of which helped. Turns out it was the declining daylight which was a 'trigger' for my depression.

One night I mixed another medicine I was taking for a familial hand tremor (harmless hereditary shaking) with the sleeping aid. I ended up in the hospital. While there doctors on staff asked about my schedule and why I was taking a sleeping aid. I explained that I hadn't been able to sleep and I had that problem my whole life. But I also had times when I couldn't get out of bed. I wasn't sad. I just didn't care about anything.

With all of this in mind, along with additional testing and interviews it was determined that I had bipolar disorder. Initially it was diagnosed as the less severe type known as Bipolar II. Some things happened in the hospital that provided the doctors with additional information such that they instead diagnosed me with Bipolar I. I was isolated in a 24 hour watch for another week before finally being released. 

Six years later I have come full circle from anger and denial to acceptance. To me this is the single most important part of my success (so far) at managing my illness. The problem is that I knew the whole time that something was wrong, but it took the hospitalization to finally get the right diagnosis and the long sought after help I needed.

My advice for others--listen to and trust yourself. It's the same hindsight you hear from people finally diagnosed with other conditions. I wish I had gone for a second and third opinion. I KNEW something wasn't right with me but I just assumed the first doctor was correct even though my gut (and head) thought differently. Adults should go to their family doctor who will hopefully suggest a psychiatric evaluation. And if they don't request it.

If I could travel back in time to 1982 I would find the campus counselor and say to him, "My brain scan looks fine, now what do we do?" 

Ken Barlow

Ken Barlow, Founder and President
The Wellstone-Barlow Mental Health Initiative
www.wellstonebarlow.org




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Reducing The Stigma Associated With Mental Illness

I came across this new initiative and could not share it quickly enough with others. This project is focused on reducing stigma associated with mental illness and is a collaboration between Dave Wellstone and Ken Barlow.

They are requesting stories about experiences dealing with mental illness.

To find out more visit their website at Wellstone-Barlow Mental Initiative and to demonstrate your support in their efforts visit and like their Facebook Page.

What a great partnership!

--Allyson


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Kahn Academy: Changing How We Think About Education

Salman Kahn
Founder of Kahn Academy

When I first learned about Kahn Academy from my then fourteen-year-old daughter last spring, I thought I had been out of the loop and was one of the last people to discover this free online resource. But others keep asking me, "What is Kahn Academy?" I think everyone should know about this innovative approach that is changing education.

In this Ted Talk: Let's use videos to reinvent education Salman Kahn gives a history and an explanation of what Kahn Academy set out to achieve. As he explains, it began when he created a few You Tube tutorials on math for his nephews. In a short period of time his audience grew worldwide.

As a result Salman Kahn created Kahn Academy, a non-profit organization, now offering lectures on Math, Biology, Chemistry, Physics, Cosmology and Astronomy, Organic Chemistry, Finance and Capital Markets, Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Computer Science, Healthcare and Medicine, and Test Prep. All of these lectures are free and can be found at: http://www.khanacademy.org/.

  

Salman Kahn uses a visual approach to learning and mixes in an easy going personality and sense of humor. But his success is based more on an educational model and approach. A teacher or student selects a lecture based on where the individual learner is and what he needs to know. By the mere ability of being able to push a rewind button a student can repeat the lesson as many times as needed to master a concept.

Instead of delivering one lecture for all students, each student in effect has a lecture customized for them. Some teachers assign these lectures for homework and "flip the classroom" as they now are able to focus on individual needs. With private investments from the Gates Foundation and other organizations Kahn has been able to create collaborative projects with teachers and their classrooms to test these methods and gather data.

Last summer I watched my ten-year-old mesmerized with these videos. She learned multiplication facts and the beginnings of long division over the summer. She had minimal progress in both subjects during the school year. Part of it was that while in a special education classroom the expectations and exposure to these concepts were lower than for her peers. With an iPad in hand my daughter could decide for herself if this was something she wanted to learn. 

And learn she did.

I'm also struck that Kahn Academy's website is alive. By that I mean if Salman Kahn finds a subject that he feels warrants attention he creates a lecture. I happened upon his website today and there was a link to a talk on the history behind Les Miserables. I appreciated this information as I saw the movie last weekend and left with questions about where this event fit into the French Revolution. He saw that people were confused and he did something about it.

Recently I have read critical reviews of Kahn's work and while I have not found a review that I agree with I find each fascinating. For the first time in a long time the discussion about education has become dynamic and exciting.

Most importantly the focus is on the individual learner and mastery. If it works, who can argue with that?

I'm along for the ride and can't wait to see where we go.

--Allyson

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Just Ask Her...

  She shouldn't?
  She won't ever?
  She can't?
  She might not be able to?
  She musn't?

Just ask her...

Then step out of her way and cheer her on.


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Rekindling My Curiosity About Beauty Pageants

This past week two headlines caught my attention.

Tonight is the broadcast of the Miss America Pageant. While I have not watched a beauty pageant in over twenty years, I plan to watch when Alexis Wineman takes to the stage with her platform, "Normal is Just A Dryer Setting, Living with Autism." If she is one of the fourteen finalists, she will perform a stand up comedy routine for the talent competition.

Her story caught my eye and rekindled my curiosity about beauty pageants as did Tasha Schuh, Ms. Wheelchair USA, featured in Gillette Children's Speciality Healthcare website. Tasha, has written a memoir about her experience, My Last Step Backward.

Both of these women sought out opportunities to try things they never thought possible. Their stories teach us about hope, promise and possibility.

--Allyson

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First Ms. America Contest With Autism

Another Awesome App By Moblie Education Store

My ten year old daughter makes an immediate connection with many of the apps from the Mobile Education Store when introduced to them. In a previous review of Tense Builder I noted she chose Sentence Builder, Conversation Builder, Language Builder, and Story Builder over many of her other apps. That's including the games!

The same thing is happening with Preposition Builder. It's quite pleasing as a mom to listen to my child for forty five minutes, behind the closed door of her bedroom, choosing and recording prepositions to complete sentences.

Using Preposition Builder

My daughter benefits from lots of repetition. She thinks it is fun to listen to the speaker say the sentence and then in its easy to use format she repeats the sentence as often as she likes. Sometimes that is a lot.

As a visual learner she needs different ways to learn curriculum that other children may easily pick up. Preposition Builder along with many of the other app by the Mobile Educations Store are giving her opportunities to learn classroom content that she cannot in a traditional classroom environment.


Favorite Features of Preposition Builder

• Vividly colored animation.
• Nice contrast and large print.
• Opportunities for lots of repetition.
• Prepositions are in manageable groups to show how to use them.
• Showing that using the prepositions differently can change the meaning of a sentence.
• If you get the answer wrong that you are told why it was not the best choice.
• Option to record the sentence or to move on to the next sentence.
• Performance report and that it can be emailed to the teacher and/or student .
• Performance report can be reset.

What I Would Like

• I do enjoy that in many of the other mobile apps that you can adjust the levels of play. Would have liked that in this app as well.

Hopefully 2013 will bring even more new apps by the Mobile Education Store.

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How Vulnerable Are We When We Advocate For Ourselves and Others?

Watch Brene Brown discuss "The Power Of Vulnerability"  and then answer this question "How Vulnerable Are We When We Advocate For Others?

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Wheeeeeeeeeee!

Here's my daughter. She walked at three, has low muscle tone, no depth perception and zero fear.

I hold delight in each moment.

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Homage To An Advocate And Visionary

Some advocates and visionaries who change countless lives are not known by many. Here is an article about Mickey Boutilier--a man who with Eunice Kennedy Shriver--created a movement that changed the world.

Booth Bay Register

May his legacy remain in the forefront of our minds as we advocate for others.

--Allyson



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