Atropa Belladonna~ Raven (a.k.a. Nightshade)'s Weblog ~
These are the ARCHIVES of August 2005. For more archives, visit the Archives page. For the current Weblog entries, check the Main page.
Atropa Belladonna| Wed, Aug 31, 2005 (10:00am) All that and the Kitchen Sink I think I've caught up on most of my post-Gen-Con sleep deficeit, now. The luggage isn't entirely unpacked yet, but that's okay because there isn't much of it to go through (unlike last year, when we needed a spare suitcase to bring home our loot). This year, I spent perhaps 2 hours total in the dealers hall, most of that browsing the Art Show. As a result, I brought home a couple nice pieces of original art. I also picked up a bunch of dice which were special requests from friends. That's it. I didn't even buy any anime this year. The reason I was so busy at the Con is that True Dungeon was extremely short-staffed. Consider the following: Death: Hey, Raven... how are things going?As it turned out, "cover just until we find someone to run the room" was a bit of a fudge on their part. After running the room for an hour, I asked when my relief would be coming. They said, "2 am. That's when the Dungeon closes." I had to demand a replacement before then though, so I could go to the hotel room and take my evening meds & stuff. But I did come back after to help out with float duties and give some of the poor overworked stage-hands time for bathroom breaks, bring them snacks, & replace dead flashlights. (Note to self: It is difficult to keep up staff morale while denying your volunteers bathroom breaks.) Things have been pretty good since getting back home. Connor's toilet training has progressed to the point where we have accident-free days from time to time. Jasen is almost intolerably cute. Kalen is reading grade-two level books on her own, plowing her way through words like "mighty" and "laugh" and "eyes". Bah - the English language is such a complicated beast! Saturday evening our home was host to Starlin's Fabulous Birthday Party. I missed the bulk of it because I was at work, but the mere left-overs made a feast when I got home. Cleaning up was fun, between bites of checkerboard chocolate cake, and strawberry-spinach salad. Plus, I finished reading a very good book on the weekend (Paladin of Souls, by Lois McMaster Bujold. Which reminds me - Matermax! If you haven't read The Curse of Chalion or Paladin of Souls - both by Bujold - I think you ought to give them a go. They strike me as something you might enjoy, particularly the latter of the two.) On Sunday morning, I awoke to a flood. Well, more accurately, to Shades dealing with it. The garbage can was on the kitchen counter. Empty juice boxes were piled over the phone. Soaps and detergents were on high places out of baby's reach, instead of locked in the cupboards below. Filling the space previously occupied by these displaced items were piles of dripping towels. Despite their presence, water was leaking out from under the sink and onto the kitchen floor. Fortuitously, we had a plumber sleeping over, in the basement. Praise be to Starlin's birthday party, I say, as it was so spectacular as to litter our house with excellent food and useful people! Alas, the problem was not so easily fixed. It required a trip to the hardware store, and the purchase of a new kitchen faucet system. (So I guess it's a good thing I didn't spend any money on anime at Gen-Con. Kitchen taps can be expensive.) The new faucet has been installed, the problem fixed, the garbage and stuff returned to its proper place under the sink, and all is well again. Now I can focus on new and unfamiliar crises, like the fact that Elk Island Public Schools has neglected to put Connor on the bussing list for school, and they've already drawn up their route maps. Or that I have to be at 2 places at once on Kalen's Kindergarten orientation day. Or that I am almost out of dropjes and need to make an emergency run to my favorite Dutch delicatessen. (oh, wait - that's not a new crisis. That one is pretty common.) One thing to make my life easier, though: I don't have to write up a Month-in-Review Connor Report for August. Apparently, the support worker does one as part of her job! So I asked if I could have an electronic version to post, and K. said that would be fine. Here it is, for your perusal (if you enjoy that sort of thing. Otherwise, skip it as I know most people do...) - - - The Connor Report - August Progress Summary (Written by K.) Communication Have had some really good successes with the picture symbols. C. is responding well to his preferred foods choice board. He has a couple times gone to the board selected a picture and brought it to an adult. He has gotten distracted if the distance from the board and the adult is too far away but has been progressing in this nicely. Have been using symbols within activities to try and encourage him to distinguish between pictures, and I have also encouraged him to help me with creating his visual schedule a couple times. I believe his is quite able to distinguish between the more well know pictures like, puzzle, book, balloons, potty, and all the preferred food pictures however his ability to choose the correct picture depends greatly on his attention at the time. Lately he has more often than not been avoiding looking at the pictures and then choosing the incorrect one. On the other hand when looking at books he is becoming much more interested in looking at what he is pointing at. He still won't point independently but is paying more attention to the things I point to and help him to point to. His echoing has increased greatly this month and distance between C. hearing something and echoing it has decreased. He will now often repeat words right after hearing them. We have been using a microphone, which is highly motivating. With this microphone C. will repeat words modeled for him, attempt to repeat 2-4 word phrases, and occasionally complete well know phrases like: ready set ___. We have been utilizing this microphone across the board in a variety of his activities. Social Skills As above we have been using the microphone for social greetings as well, C. was initially having to have the appropriate greeting modeled into the microphone and then he would repeat the greeting into the microphone however he now responds into the microphone when someone says Hi/Hello to him. Not sure yet if he is repeating what the person who greeted him said or generating his own, at this point. He still requires some prompting to orient and wave to the person. His attention span for songs and social games has been lower this month so we spent a lot of time focusing on the language aspect of songs, we would break them down and say specific words into the microphone. Would generally only get through 1-2 songs per day. Have started some social games like Teddy Bear Teddy Bear in order to target reciprocal play, he seems to enjoy having this game done to him but requires a lot of help in order to do it on someone else. We have been using his name more purposefully and have noticed some recognition on C.'s part but he has not necessarily known what to do with that recognition at this point yet. Behaviour I am in process of creating some quiet time picture symbols to pair with our quiet time activity. Have not implemented set quiet times in his schedule yet. I have noticed that this month C. seems to have been covering his ears more often. He tends to do this when he is upset or to cope with outside stressors. He has also been much more sensory seeking this month, but is doing so in a positive way. C. is often seeking sensory attention for another person by means of squishing, tickling, etc. He has had a few mini melt downs during table time where I have been placing more demands on him however he is usually able to respond to a sensory break on the trampoline, or some deep breathing and re-focus with in a couple minutes. Learning Readiness We have been working on the first/then contingency with C. more this month. He is starting to get the idea in some structured tasks. I have been focusing primarily with reinforcers. First we do this then we get that. He seems to understand more because he allows me to take the reinforcer back and will occasionally even give it to me. We have been reading a book nearly everyday, I generally simplify the language but he is doing much better at waiting to turn the page and attended to the things I point at and label. Play Skills We have purchased a doll and have slowly introduced it into some of C. routines. I have taken the doll to the potty with C. a couple times but C. has found this difficult and frustrating. He tends to be more interested in undressing the doll, which he can nearly do independently. I have tried feeding the doll with C. talking with the doll, looking at books with the doll, etc. It is difficult to manipulate the doll and help C. to manipulate the doll at the same time so work with the doll might be better done in the afternoon Raven can help more. He has been doing exceedingly well with balloons and blow horn toys. He is now able to blow the blow horn totally out and to inflate a balloon partially. Motor Visual We have been working on drawing circles and lines on different surfaces, on chalkboard, on worksheets, in play dough, etc. They are progressing slowly. Noticed he was more willing to try drawing circles after I had him erase my circles on the chalkboard using a big circular motion with the cloth. We have also been targeting imitation lots this month using Lego; create puppets, gears & pegs, and the elastic peg game his O.T has lent us. He is definitely becoming more willing and receptive to this even some of the more abstract things he is attempting. We have continued working with scissors, I have tried modelling more than one snip in a row now a couple times with little success but he has picked up the scissors twice independently and is able to make numerous random snips in play dough and paper. I have tried working on ball skills with C. a few times but this again is one of those activities that requires two people and it is not a preferred activity, which adds to the difficulty. He does well at picking up a ball and throwing it away from himself generally but we need to work on the turn taking with another person. Daily Living We have been toilet training for the past three weeks and have seen some progress. C. has extended his visits to the toilet from every 20-30minutes to every 60-90minutes. His accident ratio continues to drop and more often than not we have an accident free day. C. has also spontaneously initiated going to the toilet himself or escorting an adult to the bathroom where he has successfully gone a few times. He has shown us that he can hold back his urine only going enough to please us and then having a very large accident a short time latter. The times this has occurred it has usually been when C. used the regular toilet verses his potty. We have not had any successful B.M's in the potty or toilet as of yet. Because we are toilet training there have been lots of opportunities for C. to practice putting on his pants. When he is focused he can do so independently once they are put in his hands. In regards to underwear there have been times were he has put them on incorrectly but he has now recognized his error a couple times and self corrected himself. He has also been progressing in the area of putting on his shirts. While grandma was watching the kids for a week C. was accepting and drinking out of a juice box on a regular basis however he has since rejected them again. I have discussed with Raven and we decided it might be the flavour so we are going to try switching back the berry type flavoured ones for a time. He still needs a little help with opening the straws but can do everything else independently. He has also tolerated eating with a fork and a spoon the few times I was able to work on this with him. His success in this area really depends on how cooperative the food is at staying on the fork or spoon and on his amount of persistence. These have varied day to day but overall it seems to be progressing well. Safety Have been working on following safety instructions primarily while we are out in the community. They are coming slowly, C. still doesn't respond to stop, or wait but Raven has told me that she has had some success with the instruction come. He will wander as far as I will let him and tends not to register any danger when I am out of his sight or respond to his name and stop when called out. That being said we are usually out at very crowded and loud places where there is a possibility that he doesn't hear me. He seems to be doing well around swings at the playground. I have not noticed him have any difficulty waiting for a safe time to cross in front of or behind a moving swing. |
| Thurs, Aug 25, 2005 (3:15pm) Back. Still exhausted. Quick pic of one party I went through the dungeons with: Dani, Widseth, Gary, George, Silkie, Me, and Dave. Oh - and never pick up a duck in a dungeon. Why? Because it's obviously cursed. You might have to wear it on your head and quack for the next 12 minutes. |
| Wed, Aug 17, 2005 (4:55am!!!) We're off ta Gen-Con! Ta! |
| Tues, Aug 16, 2005 (12:10am) Belatedly, we present: The Connor Report - A month in Review: June '05 Okay - this month was a blur in my mind. It involved a lot of paperwork, hassling Family Support for Children with Disabilities to get all appropriate forms signed, so we could get our Support Worker, and Respite Care, and access to handicapped services, and stuff. Man, the government works at the speed of molasses, sometimes. Just not so sweet. School was sporadic, with end-of-year activities and meetings, and a very broken-up schedule. Connor doesn't deal well with changes to his regular routines, so he was a bit 'off' of everything. He also was sick a little bit, and that usually put him a few steps back. Oh, and I was exhausted dealing with all this stuff, so perhaps I wasn't in my best form either. All tolld, it wasn't the best month. That said, lets just skip the rest of this report, kay. We're moving on to July. The Connor Report - A month in Review: July '05 Starting July 3rd, we've had a Support worker in the house. This is... wonderful. Not only do I have another adult around (for 5 hrs a day, 5 days a week) to help with Connor's therapy, but she's actually done this before! And we've got an Occupational Therapist who comes once a week to work with Connor and give us excercises to help Connor with during the rest of the week, and we've also got a Speech Language Pathologist who comes once a week to do much the same thing and give us ideas to help Connor's communication skills. Oh, and a Child Psychologist, too, but I'll see her less often - once a month, maybe. We've got some PECS communication strategies at home, now. Not just the snacktime picture transfer, but daily schedules, and item exchanges, and toys, and stuff like that. Eye contact has dropped over the last month or two, but we're trying to bring it back up again. We're continuing to work on Social Greetings (which had also dropped off a bit in the chaos of June). I've also noticed that Connor is responding less to his name again, but I'm not sure if that's because he isn't noticing it, or because he doesn't want to pay attention, since we're usually shouting 'Connor! Get away from the fishtank!' Coming in August, we'll have an IPP meeting, and set some goals. Communication is going to be the big one, again, but we're also going to look at self-help stuff like getting dressed, and using utensils at mealtimes, and maybe even potty training. Yikes. |
| Tues, Aug 16, 2005 (11:10am) Anna OverSeas sent me a nice public service pamphlet (online) a few days back, about Blog Depression. Now, I don't know if she was implying anything about my own weblogging habits (suspicious glance in Anna's direction) but I think it's amusing, and a worthwhile read for denizens of the blogosphere. Find it at: The Nonist and please click on 'read more' to see the pamphlet proper. |
| Mon, Aug 15, 2005 (10:40am) I don't think parenthood is for everyone, nor that parents should constantly be bragging about how wonderful their kids are (it gets a little nauseating after a while), but there are times when kids say the most fantastic things, and you absolutely can't help but share it with the world. Thus I present the following quotes from Kalen: "When I grow up, I wanna be a Dragon Slayer!" Or... "Mommy, if you're gonna be evil, go do it in your room!" Or my favorite (spoken completely out of the blue)... "You know what Mom? I love you so much, that I'm not even gonna call the Police." Isn't she great? |
| Sat, Aug 13, 2005 (11:50pm) When I was 8 or 9, my Mom taught me how to thread a sewing machine. It was actually a punishment - My brother and I had taken the thread off her machine for the 203rd time that day, in order to use it to build Ewok villages, or Stormtrooper bases, or G.I.Joe rip lines, or evil Cobra traps. I happened to be the unlucky soul caught holding the spool of thread, and Mom made me re-thread her machine 10 times in a row, to teach me not to take the thread off again. Of course, we kept using her thread. We just learned to take the bobbin from the underside of the machine, instead of taking the top spool. It was easier to put back into the machine, and Mom wasn't as likely to notice if it was gone, at a casual glance. But the upshot was that I learned how to thread a machine, whether I wanted to or not. This removed the biggest impediment to my own sewing career. Thus was born a decade of me sewing my own creations: from doll clothes, to hammocks for Ewoks, to straightjackets for G.I.Joe figures. I didn't have the patience to sew anything larger than Barbie-doll size clothes, so Mom still sewed our costumes - tunics and cloaks and tabards - but I did learn how to avoid sewing my fingers to my projects. Now, I sew a lot of stuff. Cloaks, mostly... but also gowns and pirate shirts, and leggings and tunics, and hoods and capes. What I like best, though, is still the tiny projects. I like being able to buy a pair of jeans, even though they are too long for me, and then taking them home and re-hemming them. And while I'm at it, getting rid of the stupid-looking bell-bottom effect known as "Nouveau Boot-cut". Ah, the joys of sewing. Mmm, and also the joy of again owning pants without holes in the knees. |
| Tues, Aug 9, 2005 (9:15am) Return of the SuperVillian Monologue "Kalen! Get back into bed!" "But... Mommy! You didn't see me out of bed, did you?" "No, but I know you were out of bed." "How do you know if you didn't see me?" "I have Mommy Powers." "Hmph! Well, then... I'll take your Powers, and steal them away from you, and shove them into a box, and lock the box with a key, and put the key waaaaaaay up high where you can't reach it, like on the ceiling, and then I'll glue it there so you won't ever be able to use your Powers again, Mommy! So there!" "Fine. But for now - Stay In Bed!" |
| Thurs, Aug 4, 2005 (9:15am) [Scene opens to a news reporter standing, in hip waders, in front of an average suburban home] "Well, according to our investigative reporters, this dwelling behind me is the source of the neighbourhood flooding situation. The waterline has receded in the past couple days, but if you look along the curbside, you'll still see telltale signs of the recent disaster. Here we have bags of soiled diapers, Pull-ups, and yellowed paper towels... definitely signs of on-going potty training." [A second reporter arrives on the scene, and passes an official-looking sheaf of papers towards the first.] "Hold on just a moment here. According to our most recent reports... (scans sheets) ...there has been a breakthrough! Could this mean there is an end in sight, Bob?" "Well, it's really too soon to say, Phil, but all indicators are looking good. According to our sources (vaguely gesturing towards the papers) yesterday was a turning point. The number of successful Potty trips actually exceeded the number of so-called "accidents" That's always a good thing. But as you can see by the number of chairs drying out in the back yard, and the extra-large towels draped across the baclony railings, the fight is hardly over. Residents will be cleaning up after this disaster for quite some time." "But 10 successes in one day! That's great news, especially when you consider that there were only 5 accidents. Six if you count the incident with the - " "Don't! Our viewers don't need that sort of image in their minds, Phil. It's bad enough that the locals have to deal with the stench." "Right. Sorry Bob. But you have to admit, things are looking good in the long-term forecasts!" "The real problem here, Phil, seems to be that the residents have no control over these floods. They're hoping that yesterday's promising patterns will hold, but the onus is still on them to catch a developing situation, and avert potential disaster. But if the problems can be dealt with at the source, we could potentially avoid the trickle-down effect. The younger generation needs to take some responsibility for alerting residents of imminent flooding: that would eliminate a great deal of guess work... and I think we'd see some serious improvement in those hit-to-miss ratios if we had a better early-warning system." "That's true, Bob, That's so true. ... Well, for channel 6 news, this has been Phil Opdenpotte reporting. Have a good day, folks... and watch out for scattered showers." |
