report card day!

On Tuesday, the boys brought home their 3rd nine weeks report card.  Bob's grades were good (as usual), minus the 80 he got in Spelling.  He would have actually had a 90 something, but he neglected to turn in 3 homework assignments.  (They were done, but he just didn't take them out of his folder!)  I did have to take his favorite computer game away from him for 2 days as a punishment. 

SJ's grades were good as well.  He got an 88 in Language/Grammar, a 99 in Spelling, a 92 in Social Studies, a 97 in Science, a 92 in Math and a 79 in Reading.  He thought I was going to be upset with him over the 79 in Reading.  I wasn't, though.  Reading comprehension is SJ's greatest difficulty.  He received "performed successfully" in recognizing and applying vocabulary and reading with comprehension.  He received "experiencing difficulty" in reading fluently with expression.  

This is not new for SJ.  He always has trouble with all the facets of reading comprehension.  He can't always see the main idea, because he tends to focus on some minute detail that may or may not be pertinent to the story.  He still hasn't mastered the skills he needs to find the main idea or key details to the plot.  We continue to work on this at home and during his speech sessions.  I am hoping that with all the extra time we spend working on this SJ will eventually improve in this area. 

When SJ asked me if I was mad, I told him I wasn't.  I told him that I simply expected to do his best.  If a 79 is the best he can do, then it is fine with Daddy and me.  He seemed relieved.  I was relieved that his worst grade is a high C.  I always knew SJ was bright, but I didn't know if the PDD would hold him back academically.  I am happy to report that it is only a minor bump in the road when it comes to his grades. 

He also received a report from his school Speech Therapist.  He has three goals that she focuses on.  Number one:  In the school environment, SJ will demonstrate and maintain appropriate pragmatic language skills by maintaining eye contact and conversational topic for 3-5 conversational turns 80% of the time during speech language sessions for 3 consecutive months.  His progress was that he is maintaining and has mastered this skill in the speech room.  He is maintaining eye contact and the conversational topics for 3-5 turns without difficulty.  She added that he is doing so well!  Yeah!

Number two:  SJ will improve his expressive language by using and understanding vocabulary words at age appropriate levels.  She reported that SJ was administered the Expressive and Receptive One Word Picture Vocabulary Test which has been used to chart SJ’s vocabulary growth over the past few years.  Seth’s expressive language was judged to be a 95, where the average is 90-100.  On the receptive portion of this measure he scored a 94 (up 15 points from 2011).  This measure suggests that SJ’s score is average and equivalent to his same age peers.  SJ is answering “why” questions with appropriate answers in 15/18 opportunities.  During a predicting/inferencing activity he had difficulty deciding what was going to happen next-he guessed correctly or appropriately (i.e. not “I don’t know”) in 4/9 opportunities.

Number three:  SJ will improve his expressive language by using 3 complex sentences out of 5 sentences with appropriate grammar verbally and written.  She reported that SJ is improving his written and oral expressive language by using more complex sentences when prompted.  He orally produced complex sentences during a structured language activity in 5 out of 6 opportunities requiring 3 prompts for more detail and complexity.    

We celebrated their good grades by going to our favorite restaurant, Chili's.  I allowed SJ to get a grilled cheese (he is on a limited casein-free diet) and he was thrilled.  Bob got their pizza and I got my standard grilled chicken sandwich and yummy mashed potatoes.  It was a nice way to celebrate all their hard work for these nine weeks.  I can't believe they only have one more nine weeks to go as 4th and 5th graders.  Where does the year go?

sj turns double digits!

Last Saturday was SJ's 10th birthday. He was so excited about it all week. He was telling me each morning how many more days there were until he turned "double digits". On Friday, SJ took in vanilla cupcakes with orange icing (orange in color, not in taste) for his class. I sent in enough for all the other kids, his teacher, his aide and the other two aides who work in his room. I assumed he would pass them out to all of those people and then give one to his principal, Mr. Stone. (I later found out that he neglected to give one to his teacher and two of the aides that work in his room...what am I going to do with him?)


On Saturday, we had his birthday party at a local bowling alley. He had invited all the boys in his class, but only 5 were attending. He also invited a few friends and his cousins. He had a total of 11 guests at his party. This worked out well for the bowling lanes. We had three kids on four adjacent lanes. After they all bowled their two games, they were served pizza and drinks.

Next came the singing. This can be especially challenging for SJ. Sometimes if the singing gets too loud, he will start shouting for people to "be quiet". We are used to this, but a new attendee at his party may consider this "rude". (By the way, it is rude. In SJ's defense though, the loud noises REALLY bother his ears. It is a sensory thing that typical people have a hard time understanding.) We have been "whisper" singing to him (a wonderful suggestion by SJ's paraprofessional), but I neglected to say we were going to sing that way. Unbelievably, SJ just stopped up his ears with his fingers and smiled the whole time! Way to go, SJ! It is amazing how well he can adjust himself to sensory difficulties in the typical world.

We then had SJ open his presents. His presents were many cards with money and gift cards in them. SJ read through them so quickly and then asked where his "presents" were. I explained to him that the cards with cash and gift cards were his presents. He had a very difficult time understanding this. I passed out the treat bags to the guests and waited for their parents to retrieve them.

While we were waiting for the parents to come, I overhead one of SJ's classmates say something so sweet to him. He said, "SJ, you are so lucky. You are so popular and everyone likes you." Then, I watched them do a "secret handshake". I could feel a tear well up in my eye. It meant so much to me to hear that sentiment from SJ's friend. I would have loved to give him a hug for it, but that wouldn't have looked too cool to a 10 year old.

After all the kids were picked up or dropped off, we returned to our house. My sister, her husband and her kids, as well as my other sister and my parents, came to have dinner with us. The kids played while we waited for dinner to be done. After dinner, SJ opened his presents from my sister and my parents. My sister gave him yet another gift card and my parents gave him a punching bag. (SJ says he wants to be a boxer when he grows up.) He seemed so sad when he finished opening that present. He said, "Oh no, not this. I wanted more presents, not all these cards."

I felt so bad for my parents. They had just had him at Dicks Sporting Goods and he said he would love to have a punching bag. I told them that he just doesn't understand that the cash and gift cards are his presents. It wasn't as if he didn't like their gift. In his mind, he was expecting all these wrapped presents (like Christmas time). He was so sad. He cried for hours. I felt horrible! I had suggested that people give him gift cards, since he NEVER wants anything. My mistake! I will make him write down a list next year and suggest that people get him things off the list.

We went out on Sunday, so that SJ could use his cash and gift cards to buy his presents. We went to 4 stores and this is what he ended up with: 2 Mario plushies, Mario repositionable decals for his room's walls, a K'Nex Yoshi and a Wii game. We ordered him 4 more Mario plushies online, so they will be little surprises when they arrive.

When we returned home from shopping, he was right on that punching bag. So Mom, if you are reading this, your gift was a hit. It just took a little while for SJ to realize it. Happy 10th Birthday SJ!

after school speech part 21

I was able to take SJ to his speech session last week.  I had spoke to his new therapist on the phone and discussed with her his speech program.  I also asked her to work on his repeating (a big complaint of Bob's) and to continue working on his comprehension difficulties.

He had a particularly difficult day at school, so I was unsure if he would be cooperative for the therapist.  Fortunately, my worry was unnecessary.  He did great for his therapist!  She said he was very talkative.  When he started to repeat with her, she was able to guide him onto different subjects.  (Maybe I should send Bob in with him to get some tips!) 

She worked on several Problem Solving worksheets.  He was shown a picture and then had to read a story.  She had him answer Who, What and How questions.  She also had him predict what was going to happen in the story.  After he answered the questions, she had him retell the story by stating the Where, What and How answers.  The worksheet also had questions on Main Idea and Details.  She said he did very well with these activities. 

I was very pleased that his difficult day at school hadn't rolled over to his speech session.  I never know if even something small let alone something big will derail him.  Maybe it is maturity or he is managing his emotions better now that he is 10.  Whatever it is, I will take it!

sj's bad day at school

On Thursday, the boys in SJ's class were being punished.  Apparently, they were very difficult for the substitute teacher on Wednesday.  SJ's teacher, Mr. Gold, decided that since they were difficult the day before they needed a consequence (I agree!).  When the boys went to lunch, they were not allowed to talk.  This is a reasonable punishment for most kids, but this is an excruciating punishment for SJ.  It is practically impossible for SJ to be quiet for more than a few minutes. 

When SJ went to lunch, he talked when the boys were to be quiet.  (No surprise here!)  Mr. Gold told him that he would have to write his spelling words 10x each and he had to move to the back of the room to complete his punishment.  SJ was not too happy about this.  He hates changing his seat and he hates writing!!!  SJ got through the punishment, but he was obviously not a happy camper.

When I saw his aide at the end of the day, she warned me that he would probably be in a bad mood.  She told me what had happened and I told her that it should be a fun night (did you hear my sarcasm?).  When I got up to the office a few minutes later, SJ was quick to tell me that he had a bad day.  "I won't do it again, Mom.  I swear I won't.  I'm sorry.  I'm sorry," said SJ. 

I told him that he already had his consequence, so we should move on.  I was concerned about how this would affect him for the remainder of the evening.  I was also worried about how it was going to affect me.  I had so much to do that evening.  I had to take him to speech, come home and make cupcakes for his class and start cleaning my house. 

Thank goodness his bad day didn't affect his (or my) evening at all!  Hopefully, we won't have a day like that again for a long, long while!

dogs+sj=unhappy moments

We went to a party this weekend. Our dear friend invited us over to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. SJ didn't want to go. "Why don't you want to go?" I asked him. "The dogs," said SJ. Oh, the dogs. I almost forgot they had dogs. Ever since last summer, SJ has been squeamish around dogs. He was playing in a neighbor's yard when their very energetic dog came outside. SJ was running from him and the dog thought he was playing. After a few minutes of SJ running, the dog got him on the bottom.

SJ came running home screaming that the dog tried to "eat his butt". The neighbor followed him to our house. She was very upset and apologetic for her dog's behavior. I told her that it was no problem and that I was sure SJ was fine.

I checked his bottom and it was bleeding a little bit. SJ is all up-to-date on his shots, so I knew I didn't need to take him for a tetanus shot. I cleaned him up and put on a bandage.

Ever since then, he gets so upset when he is around dogs. I assured him that our friend's dogs were nice dogs and wouldn't bite him. When we got to their house, the one older dog (a beagle) just sauntered up to smell SJ. He immediately got agitated and told the dog to get away from him. I told him that the dog just smelled him and wouldn't harm him. He seemed to settle down when the dog slowly moved into the next room. Then, the younger energetic dog (a mutt) bounded into the room. He wanted to jump up and kiss SJ. SJ wasn't going to have anything to do when him.

"Get away dog!" shouted SJ. Our friend's son got the dog to leave the room and SJ gradually calmed down. This dance went on all night. The younger dog would come near SJ, SJ would get agitated, someone would distract the dog and eventually SJ would calm down. At one point, I heard SJ yelling to the dog to stay away or he was going to shoot him between the eyes.

I heard my husband tell him that it is not nice to say you are going to shoot anybody or anything. We will have to keep reassuring him that dogs are nice and most dogs will not try to bite him. I just don't want him to go through life being afraid of or worse yet not liking dogs. We got through the night as SJ and the dogs got tired out. Hopefully the next time we are invited to their house, SJ will remain calm and be kind around our four-legged friends.

science fair=happy sj

SJ decided to enter our elementary school's annual science fair.  He wanted to do something on gravity.  His dad and he designed three different tracks for the marbles to run down.  (Initially, SJ wanted to use different size marbles, but the time difference was so minute that they went in a different direction.)  He used his marble set, which he got for Christmas a few years ago, a pvc pipe track and a clear rubber tubing track. 

My husband had SJ help with some of the cutting, sawing, gluing, and painting of the project.  (The stuff with the big power tools had to be done by my husband.)  SJ helped measure the tracks to see their lengths and heights.  After the project was built, SJ dropped a marble into each track and he timed them.  We found out that the longest track (clear rubber tubing) was the quickest.  The shortest track (one of the marble set tracks) was the slowest. 

I had SJ dictate to me the steps that he used to design, build and test his tracks.  I typed them up for him and had him place them on the tri-fold board.  I took lots of pictures of SJ doing the different steps.  I had him place them on the board as well.  On Thursday after school, we dropped them off in the gymnasium.  (No speech this week since we can't be in two places at a time!)  SJ saw some friends there and was surprised to find out participants received a free piece of pizza.  (He was thrilled about that!) 

Last night, we went back up to the school at 6:00 for the display presentations.  There were a lot of really interesting projects.  Even though I was very impressed by his competitors, I still felt that SJ had a strong chance to place in the top three.  Every time I looked over at his display, there were kids testing it out. 

At 7:00, we moved into the auditorium for the awards presentation.  Every participant gets a certificate and a goody bag.  SJ was excited about the bag.  After all the certificates were distributed, they moved into the awards.  SJ was in the Physics 4th and 5th grade division.  Third and fourth graders aren't required to do an experiment.  They can choose to do a demonstration.  That is what SJ chose to do. 

I was really hoping he would place.  I was afraid if he didn't place that he would never participate again.  Unfortunately, he only received an Honorable Mention in his division.  That was fair, though.  He was competing against several experiments that had much more science involved.  When he returned to his seat after going to the stage to get his medal, I was waiting for the emotional explosion to begin.  To my happy surprise, there was only a slight grumbling.  He looked at my husband and me and said, "I didn't place, I didn't place."  We said, "That is okay.  You did a great job." 

After the divisional awards were done, they moved on to the Best of Awards.  They had Best Use of Scientific Method, Best Report, Best Use of Mathematics and Most Creative Display.  Sixth grade students won the first two Best of Awards.  When they announced that SJ had won Most Creative Display, I felt the same excitement in my body that SJ expressed on his face.  He fist pumped his way onto the stage to get his trophy.  I was so proud of him.  Obviously I was proud of his achievement, but I was more proud that he held himself together when he thought he only won an Honorable Mention. 

As we were leaving the school, SJ was just beaming as we were walking to our car.  "Look, Bob.  See my trophies!" he said to Bob.  When we got home, he quickly ran upstairs to put them with his other trophies that he got by playing soccer and baseball.  "I am a winner, Mom," he said to me.  Yes, you are SJ.  Yes, you are!

PSSA Testing

This is the week for our elementary school's PSSA testing. The teachers have been prepping the students for weeks (and possibly months) with practice tests and strategy skills. SJ HATES PSSA week. There are several reasons for this.

First, it throws off his normal schedule. He is so used to his school routine. He is always the first one in class. He has his language arts time, science or social studies, lunch, math, recess and then the daily special (art, library, music, etc.) and going home. On a PSSA day, they have testing all morning and even one or two afternoons.  No specials, but they do get recess.

Second, there is A LOT of reading and writing that has to be done. SJ has some trouble reading in his head, so his aide has to take him to another room to stop him from interfering with the other test taking students. The math days aren't so bad, but reading days are especially frustrating for him. He has to read passages and answer questions about the passage. Sometimes, they have to complete a writing prompt about the story as well. I have it in his IEP that his aide scribes for him. It is still his words, but she will write his answers for him. He has weak muscles in his fingertips (not uncommon with a child on the spectrum) and he complains terribly when he has to write extensively.

Third, he hates being pulled from the classroom. It is to his benefit, but he hates being singled out. He knows he is different, but he wants desperately to be one of the typical students. Hopefully at some point in his life, he will realize the teachers and aides did this to help him. Right now, he just knows that the pull-out time makes him special (and he definitely doesn't want to be special!).

Today is going to be a particularly long day for him. They are doubling up with the testing. Reading is in the morning and math is after lunch. I am hoping he is not too exhausted when he gets home. I may just have to get a treat for him for afterschool. What to get? What to get? Maybe a juicy drop pop. Always a favorite!

after school speech part 20

On Thursday, SJ had his weekly speech therapy session.  SJ's day started out in a particularly grumpy mood, so I wasn't surprised when he started to protest about going to speech.  We let him grumble, but my husband still took him. 

His therapist first worked on Identifying Problems and Solutions.  She showed SJ a picture of a wounded girl sitting on a couch.  She was holding a slip of paper that said she had a field trip in a few weeks.  The story said she had been looking forward to a field trip for months.  The week before the trip she fell and sprained her leg.  Her doctor said she wouldn't be able to walk on it for three weeks.  SJ had to identify the problem.  The therapist indicated that he was able to do this.  Then, he had to propose some solutions.  SJ suggested that she could hop or use a wheelchair. 

Next, she worked on Sentence Stories with him.  She showed him a picture (example:  A little girl, who is holding a present, sitting in Santa's lap.)  and then he had to answer a few questions.  He did fairly well with this exercise.  When she showed him another Sentence Story picture, he had more difficulty with it.  It was a picture of a girl lying on a couch.  The sentence said that she went to her aunt's house for dinner.  She ate too much food and got a stomachache.  She went to lie down.  SJ had trouble answering a few of the questions, such as when did she go to her aunt's house.  The therapist had to underline key words in the sentence to give him assistance. 

Considering the morning he started off with, I wasn't too surprised at his abilities today.  He has a hard enough time focusing when he is feeling 100%, let alone when he is tired and cranky.  Hopefully, next time he we will be more rested and better able to focus. 

their behavior is unacceptable!

On Tuesday, SJ was a little sad when I picked him up from school. I asked him what was wrong. And this is the conversation that we had.

Me: What is wrong, SJ?

SJ: I was playing football with some kids at recess today.

Me: That sounds like fun. Why are you sad about playing football?

SJ: I was on a team with Mr. Gold's class (his class) and we were versing Mr. Montgomery's class.

Me: Okay. Did you get tackled?

SJ: No! Actually, I made a pass and I accidentally threw it to someone in Mr. Montgomery's class.

Me: That is an easy mistake to make.

SJ: The kids started making fun of me. They said I wasn't good.

Me: Well, you don't play football too often. How are you supposed to be good at something you don't play?

SJ: Well, the kids shouldn't have made fun of me. Their behavior is unacceptable and they should ALL apologize to me!

Me: Well, they shouldn't had made fun of you, but sometimes that is how kids are when they are playing ball. They all still like you. They just didn't like the way you passed the ball.

SJ: I guess I will have to practice my football skills.

Me: That is a good idea.

When my husband got home from work, I told him about what happened at SJ's recess. Even though it was pretty chilly outside, SJ and his dad worked on his football skills after dinner. The next day, our new neighbors' grandkids were visiting. SJ knows the one grandson from school. His brother and he were playing in our neighbor's yard. SJ had a snack and went out and joined them. I watched from the window to see how he was getting on with the kids. He seemed to be playing quite nicely with them. No one was making fun of him and he was just another boy playing football in the backyard. I guess that little extra practice went a long way!

parent teacher conference part 2

Our school has parent-teacher conferences twice a year.  We just had ours last week.  My husband was out of town, so I had to attend the meetings.  The meetings fell on a Thursday, so I had to cancel SJ's after-school speech (he wasn't too sad!).  I had Bob's meeting first.  His grades were all A's (except in spelling...and it is not because he can't spell, but because he continues to forget to turn in his spelling homework!) and overall he is doing fine.  He is a quiet kid in public and his teacher reported that he has been even quieter.  I am not sure what is going on with him, but I have a strong feeling that it is hormone related (he is 11 now!). 

SJ's meeting was second.  Mr. Gold had lots of positive things to tell me.  First off, his grades are fairly good.  Not as good as Bob's, but some A's and B's.  He is still at a high C in reading comprehension, but that is his weakest subject.  (If you have read other blog posts on here, you know that is one of the areas his speech therapist works on too.)  Mr. Gold told me that SJ has not been "grumbling" or complaining when work is presented to him.  He said he hasn't had to pull him out into the pod for individual work for over 3 weeks.  Yeah! 

He also told me how well he has been doing socially.  He said that SJ has been trying hard to converse with him when he first arrives in Mr. Gold's classroom.  Mr. Gold has him pass out morning work and SJ tells the other students what Mr. Gold would like them to work on.  He told me that he has friends in the class and seems very happy on most days. 

Overall, I was very happy with both conferences.  Now, if I can get Bob to remember to turn in his homework (I have suggested that he wear a watch on days when he has to turn things in.) and to get him to talk and participate more and if SJ can grasp comprehension more, this will be a banner year!