Growing with gratitude for life's challenges
Just finished listening to “Carly’s Voice” by Arthur Fleischmann with his daughter, Carly. Carly, unlike her twin sister, did not develop normally, and after a barrage of tests and consultations was determined to be developmentally delayed and mentally challenged – autistic, non verbal. Having stumbled across ABA, Carly’s parents hired one-on-one therapists to work with […]
Read More“Can we watch something?” My four-year-old granddaughter climbs onto the bed and snuggles in. It’s been a routine we’ve shared as long as I’ve been ill. The question makes her parents cringe; they are trying hard to raise their child without excessive screen time. Cable TV does not exist in their world, so coming to […]
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Originally posted on Algebra Of Owls:
? Verb – an eager, tail-wagging little word, running wide-eyed between its bigger brothers; words such as conjunctions, prepositions. One of grammar’s doers, never content to lie supine, always knowing that action speaks louder than other words. Pronouns are full of their own importance; adjectives are pure decoration and…
Go play in traffic, kids! was a favourite direction of one of my aunt’s. This particular aunt was snarly, often critical, and never filtered in her commentary on life. Her favourite point of contention was how spoiled we children were, how unappreciative, etc. She also frequently threatened to move to Alaska to get away from […]
Read MoreFrom the time I was preteen, I was obsessed with drawing the same cartoon over and over; the first illustration showed the shapely backside of a long-haired temptress, and the next frame revealed the fact that the things are not as they appear – a woman with a monstrously ugly face. It was a self-portrait, […]
Read MoreI have this recurring dream that I am teaching a class, composed of adults and adolescents, which is spread out over three rooms. Try as I might to build community through ice breaking activities, it is physically impossible to reach all the students at one time. I am reminded of how it feels to teach […]
Read MoreI’ll Give You the Sun, by Jandy Nelson is a poignant, multi-faceted approach to many issues facing young people today; a coming of age story that examines both the female and male experience through the voices of twins, Jude and Noah. Not surprisingly, this novel has won many awards (click on link above for listing). […]
Read MoreAmanda Lindhout, along with Sara Corbett, has written a riveting tale of her kidnapping and captivity during a trip to Somalia. I first became interested in Lindhout’s story when I caught a glimpse of an interview on a television program. How, I wondered, does someone survive such a horrendous experience? A House in the Sky, […]
Read MoreJust finished listening to Life, Animated: A Story of Sidekicks, Heroes, and Autism by Ron Suskind. Suskind, a Pulitzer prize-winning author, writes a very intriguing and enlightening memoir about parenting a child with Autism. His son, Owen, once unable to speak, finds his voice and self through the magic of Disney. The story of Owen […]
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One Woman's Quest II 