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Andrew is playing a DVD or YouTube or who-knows-what at top volume in the family room.
It's Barney, singing "Happy Kwanzaa."
The reason God thought it was a really good idea for me to have two autistic kids, instead of just one, is that I am possibly the only person on the planet who would find Barney singing Happy Kwanzaa at top volume in my family room in September amusing.
...........................
Now we've cycled through Oh Come All Ye Faithful and have moved on to a song about menorahs.
oh. I see. We're back to Kwanzaa. Barney is singing about the Kwanzaa menorah.
.........................
We Wish You a Merry Christmas.
And now Andrew is crying along with We Wish You a Merry Christmas!
Barney's probably singing the wrong thing. Andrew hates when that happens.
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Barney singing about Kwanzaa? That's worth the price of admission!
This post reminds me I've been meaning to ask whether you have any advice for the mother of a blind seven-year old boy who is autistic and non-verbal?
She is thinking of getting software that says letters when you type but that seems too complex to me.
(Also she is homeschooling.)
well.....
hmmmm
That doesn't necessarily sound too complex to me, given Andrew's love of the computer.
btw, I think quite a few autistic kids are also blind (I could be wrong)
I think the issue is "processing" -- Jimmy doesn't see well at all, but it has nothing to do with acuity; it can't be fixed with glasses
I wonder if this little boy is blind in that way?
When I say "processing," I think what I mean is that the visual stream isn't getting put together into a whole
One thing I've noticed is that Jimmy, back when he could barely see a thing, could see movement.
I would take him to the zoo and pray that the elephants would move so he could see them.
Does this apply to the little boy you know?
If it does, this is something I feel is hopeful.
I always say that Jimmy "learned to see."
He "sees" pretty well now.
Same thing with Andrew "learning" to "hear."
When Andrew was little he couldn't understand a single word we said. Not one; nothing.
He and Jimmy both, at some point, seemed to "kick in"; they seemed suddenly to be understanding more of what they heard.
(I don't think it was sudden on their part; I think there was a tipping point on our part, in terms of realizing we were being understood more. But, again, I don't know.)
In any case, what I'm saying is: this little boy's vision could improve if his problems are like Jimmy's.
Susan You might want to read Jeff Hawkins ON INTELLIGENCE.
He has a very long (and terrific) chapter on how the brain processes sensory data - amazing.
It's all about taking a visual stream, using a feedback & feed forward system to convert it to temporal sequences, and combining all of this into an "invariant representation."
I think it's correct to define an invariant representation as a whole that can be immediately recognized by any of its quite small parts.
A person can do this kind of recognition; a computer can't.
Barney singing about Kwanzaa? That's worth the price of admission!
I know!
It is!
If I were slightly more sentimental, I'd call it a blessing.
Do you remember when A & J seemed to be able to see and hear?
It's really interesting how you could "not see" and then be able to "see." It has the sense that something is changing, but then what? Is it neurons in the brain developing connections, i.e., is it a physical change? or is it process, autistic children simply need more experience and exposure to recognize the things they we take for granted?
I would think that autism research could help us understand so much about how the brain works and how it changes over time. Is there much overlap between autism and other brain-type issues, like ADHD? OCD?
I think one of the most frustrating things for parents is not knowing if anything you are doing helps at all, or if it is just a matter of time for the brain to make connections at it's own speed.
As for Barney, well, I'd love to see him accidentally light himself on fire with a menorrah.
Although, really, the menorrah is for Hanukkah, what is the candle holder called for Kwanzaa? I'm so culturally illiterate.
The candle holder for Kwanzaa is a kinara. (Thank god my daughter's math curriculum emphasized cultural awareness, because knowing the name of a kinara certainly makes her feel respected, and positively impacts her math education.)
"I think one of the most frustrating things for parents is not knowing if anything you are doing helps at all, or if it is just a matter of time for the brain to make connections at it's own speed."
I am wondering this same thing myself. My son C., a fourth grader, is agonizing over long division. He is currently working on three digit by two digit division in Kumon, and it is awful. I know he has a problem comprehending place value and nothing my husband and I do is helping him see the light. We've had a lot of tears this weekend.
What I find strange is how he can seemingly be fine one minute and totally forget how to do a problem the next day.
Thank god my daughter's math curriculum emphasized cultural awareness, because knowing the name of a kinara certainly makes her feel respected, and positively impacts her math education.
omg
I am going to have to go lie down now, so I don't die laughing.
good night!
back tomorrow!
Rogggeeeerrrrrr!!!!!!
Djokovic is an extremely cool dude, too.
Adorable.
Huge, huge personality.
Thanks for the feedback.
There is something called "Cortical Visual Impairment" or CVI where a person has trouble seeing because there is something wrong in the pathway between the eyes and the brain. CVI is actually a leading cause of visual impairment in children in the US. One of the strange aspects is that it fluctuates. You can Google it if you want to know more.
I think the child I was mentioning does not have CVI but has something else wrong with his vision.
It is true that a higher proportion of blind (or visually-impaired) children are autistic than of non-blind children. This is NOT because they are blind but rather comorbidity since both blindness and autism can be a result of the brain structures not developing properly.
I would think that autism research could help us understand so much about how the brain works and how it changes over time.
Hi, Lynn!
The single most brilliant person on the NAAR board used to always say autism was the Rosetta stone of the human brain.
He may actually have said autism was the Rosetta stone of what it is to be a person.
I have no idea how true that is, but I'm sure he's right.
There's something about autism that interferes with functions we perceive to be "core" to personhood -- and, frankly, to animalhood.
One of the most upsetting things about Jimmy, for me, was always the fact that our dog, Jazz, was far more socially tuned in and aware than Jimmy.
I think that's less the case now...
hmm....
I guess I'd say, now, that Jimmy's non-responsiveness reads as a "direct" deficit (like being blind or deaf), as opposed to an "in his own little world" quality.
Young autistic children can seem as if they are a different kind of being.
Now Jimmy seems like our kind of being, but with severe handicaps and/or sensory deficits.
There is something called "Cortical Visual Impairment" or CVI where a person has trouble seeing because there is something wrong in the pathway between the eyes and the brain. CVI is actually a leading cause of visual impairment in children in the US. One of the strange aspects is that it fluctuates. You can Google it if you want to know more.
Susan -- do you feel like writing up a post for us on this?
I'll make a new category (or you can).
Also, I can pull this comment up front.
I need to know more about blindness.
Vision is THE sense people know the most about, and I've always had trouble reading about it because it's so technical (precisely because scientists do know about it). I tend to space out when I get to the technical discussion.
I'll make a note to myself, too: Chris Frith recommends a particular book about vision.
I'll get that posted.
BUT: PREMACK PRINCIPLE SAYS NOT NOW!
later on
Paula - if you have time, put your comment up front.
I bet Linda Moran will have thoughts about place value.
Barry & Steve, too.
(You've been using Singapore Math, right? We just finished the 3A lesson on place value.)
Catherine,
How do I put the comment up front?
No we aren't using Singapore, we've started Saxon, but haven't got to this section yet. Perhaps I should skip ahead?
Paula,
Which Saxon do you have?
I know that 6/5 got into more detail about multi-digit division and place value. I have an old 5/4 text, too.
I would jump ahead, for sure, but you might need the next level up.
I had the same thing come up with my one son. His teacher would send home something that they barely covered. He clearly didn't understand it. I just jumped to the Saxon version and taught it correctly and thoroughly. Then I went back to what we doing afterwards.
Susan,
I am using Saxon for grade 2 because when I gave him the placement test he missed some questions in time and money. There are a few lessons on ordering two and three digit numbers. This is too easy for him. However, I could use this with my first grader. He is grasping arithmetic far quicker than his brother did (does).
You have a copy of the 5/4 text? Would you be willing to email me a sample lesson in place value?
Sure. If you want I could send you the whole book and teacher's text. I've been looking for someone to give it to who might actually use it.
It's an older, hard-back version (which many people like) so it might be missing chapters on box and whiskers graphs or probability, but it should have all of the basics.
If you want, get my email from Catherine (I'll shoot her one, too.) and we can go from there. That would be two more books out of my house.:)
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