Thanks to Dylan's mommy for the extra pictures! Thought everyone would enjoy these too. 
Tuesday, March 25
Monday, March 24
Easter
We enjoyed our first Easter egg hunt! There were LOTS of eggs hidden. Liam even found a 'golden' egg which he turned in (with daddy's help) for Veggie Tales coloring book, yippee!
And guess what I did? Mom made me a plate of yummy food from all the potluck'd items.... and I ate the whole HEAPING plate. Let's see if mom can remember all that was on it --> I ate a fruit kabob of pineapple, grapes, cantalope, honeydew melon; and I ate a souffle of ham, eggs and cheese, and then I ate strawberries and then I ate some bread! YUMMY
Thanks Max and your mommy Amy for inviting us! We had fun.
On Easter we drove to Tacoma to visit grandma Dorothy, uncle Bruce, uncle Marty and cousins. And guess who met us there? Grandpa Bill and Grandma Sue! Liam and me were happy to spend the day with our two grandmas and our grandpa!
Mommy has two traveling highchairs now. So she lines us up, just like home and we enjoy our yummies.
Uncle Bruce and I had fun. Grandma Sue and I played with a rattle.
Thanks to everyone for a very fun Easter weekend.
And guess what I did? Mom made me a plate of yummy food from all the potluck'd items.... and I ate the whole HEAPING plate. Let's see if mom can remember all that was on it --> I ate a fruit kabob of pineapple, grapes, cantalope, honeydew melon; and I ate a souffle of ham, eggs and cheese, and then I ate strawberries and then I ate some bread! YUMMY
Thanks Max and your mommy Amy for inviting us! We had fun.
On Easter we drove to Tacoma to visit grandma Dorothy, uncle Bruce, uncle Marty and cousins. And guess who met us there? Grandpa Bill and Grandma Sue! Liam and me were happy to spend the day with our two grandmas and our grandpa!
Mommy has two traveling highchairs now. So she lines us up, just like home and we enjoy our yummies.
Uncle Bruce and I had fun. Grandma Sue and I played with a rattle.
Thanks to everyone for a very fun Easter weekend.
Thursday, March 20
World Down Syndrome Day 3/21
A whole day to promoting the acceptance of diversity!
The equality that we have comes from the fact that we are all unique. Any developmental delay, and Down Syndrome is but one, is just an expression of that uniqueness.
http://www.worlddownsyndromeday.org/
Maybe we could do this everyday of the year? :)
The equality that we have comes from the fact that we are all unique. Any developmental delay, and Down Syndrome is but one, is just an expression of that uniqueness.
http://www.worlddownsyndromeday.org/
Maybe we could do this everyday of the year? :)
Blankie, hips and underwear
I really like my new blankie from my great auntie Elizabeth. She made one for Liam too! They are very soft and the ribbons around the edges are shiny. Thank you!!
My hip helpers came today. Mom had to take a 'before' and after picture. I kind of feel like a mermaid in them. The occupational therapist suggested that I wear them at night while I sleep to help my legs not flop out. I'll trust mommy to remember to slip these on at night.
And one last picture, my brother Liam with underwear on his head :) Isn't he funny. Daddy was having a good time with us boys while mommy 'tried' to sort laundry.
Monday, March 17
On your mark, get set, dye eggs!
This year was minimal interest from my kids on Easter egg coloring. Nate was interested for awhile, but not long. Hannah was focused on homework. Liam LOVED the hard boiled eggs in his mouth but didn't care for the stickers or anything else. Tommy was too involved with toys.
So mommy enjoyed coloring eggs! Here is the before and after pictures. Hope next year has more of my kids with their fingers colored! :)
Happy Easter everyone!
Developmental therapy
I am in the 9am developmental therapy group now. MUCH better for my beauty sleep (morning nap and then we go to play group). We miss our friends in the 11am, but we have more friends now! Today Liam and I played in cornmeal. We used shovels, our hands, sifters.... and I used my toes (alot). I loved the feeling of all that cornmeal. I pushed it this way, I threw it in the air (sorry mom), I grasped it in a clenched fist, I pointed at it with my finger and of course I didn't eat any of it. Liam did though :)
We ate avocado for snack. And sang good bye. It was fun.
Thursday, March 13
Looking ahead
Since Tommy is asleep, mommy is going to grab the microphone and post something about a training she went to last week.
The training was by a national speaker who talks to different groups about inclusion and employment. His background and years of training was in sheltered workshops, supported employment, and the transition from the closing of institutions to residential/home settings.
I should have known when he said he had worked during the years of instution closings it was going to be hard to listen to. He showed articles from newpapers calling people with a disability "it" rather than "he or she". He showed an article about a group home not being allowed in a neighborhood because the adults in that home could have "he man strength" and hurt kids.
First of all, I personally believe in humanity. I believe that every person is a possibility. And most, if not all, are able to work for pay in some sort of employment setting that is appropriate for them. We may not have figured out the right job settings for everyone to be able to work (and that is our problem in communities), but for the most part if you want to work, you should be able to (wether you have a developmental disability or not).
Adults with DD have a 70% unemployment rate. We cringe when the unemployment rate hits 6 over 7% and yet for a HUGE population of us it's 70%!
I understand that the current 'system' finds patterns (intellectual disability, hypotonia, autism, spinal disorders, etc) in people and then apply labels to those patterns (Down syndrome, Autism, CP, etc) and then the label receives certain funding and the funding determines the services that you receive. Heavy sigh. That system doesn't work. The services are antiquated and not applicable to the real world.
I have worked for almost 20 years in the public sector. Alongside many people that have developmental delays or physical disabilities; and I have learned more life lessons from them, than my 'typical' coworkers. I learned to strengthen my communication skills from working alongside a blind woman and I learned to be an advocate for the ADA while working alongside a young man with DD. I wish more people could have the opportunity to learn how rich these experiences are for all.
Back to talking about services, currently, Tommy receives "birth thru 3 years old" services. And for the most part they are effectual. But that's only approximately 5% of his life span.
The next period of time he will be in the public school system from 3 thru let's say 21. That's only 25% of his life. Which is huge, but I know there are some pieces to that education and social skills that will be wonderful contributes to his skill set. I worry though that middle and high school won't be as vocation oriented as they will need to be for him.
The next phase of his life, let's say age 22 thru his 60's (or beginning of 70) is the majority of his life. He will be of working age and there are "minimal to no" services for him to help with employment. And the bigger issue for me is our communities don't want to offer employment opportunities.
There are minimal employment services because we live in communities that don't value humanity. They cannot see the rich experiences that come from working alongside someone (anyone) who happens to have DD. Disability is natural. It is part of life. It should be part of everyone's everyday life, wether you see someone at the grocery store with with DD, or in the bank, etc.
I would love to hear from those in other parts of the nation or other countries on what employment opportunities exist for adults with developmental or other disabilities.
The training was by a national speaker who talks to different groups about inclusion and employment. His background and years of training was in sheltered workshops, supported employment, and the transition from the closing of institutions to residential/home settings.
I should have known when he said he had worked during the years of instution closings it was going to be hard to listen to. He showed articles from newpapers calling people with a disability "it" rather than "he or she". He showed an article about a group home not being allowed in a neighborhood because the adults in that home could have "he man strength" and hurt kids.
First of all, I personally believe in humanity. I believe that every person is a possibility. And most, if not all, are able to work for pay in some sort of employment setting that is appropriate for them. We may not have figured out the right job settings for everyone to be able to work (and that is our problem in communities), but for the most part if you want to work, you should be able to (wether you have a developmental disability or not).
Adults with DD have a 70% unemployment rate. We cringe when the unemployment rate hits 6 over 7% and yet for a HUGE population of us it's 70%!
I understand that the current 'system' finds patterns (intellectual disability, hypotonia, autism, spinal disorders, etc) in people and then apply labels to those patterns (Down syndrome, Autism, CP, etc) and then the label receives certain funding and the funding determines the services that you receive. Heavy sigh. That system doesn't work. The services are antiquated and not applicable to the real world.
I have worked for almost 20 years in the public sector. Alongside many people that have developmental delays or physical disabilities; and I have learned more life lessons from them, than my 'typical' coworkers. I learned to strengthen my communication skills from working alongside a blind woman and I learned to be an advocate for the ADA while working alongside a young man with DD. I wish more people could have the opportunity to learn how rich these experiences are for all.
Back to talking about services, currently, Tommy receives "birth thru 3 years old" services. And for the most part they are effectual. But that's only approximately 5% of his life span.
The next period of time he will be in the public school system from 3 thru let's say 21. That's only 25% of his life. Which is huge, but I know there are some pieces to that education and social skills that will be wonderful contributes to his skill set. I worry though that middle and high school won't be as vocation oriented as they will need to be for him.
The next phase of his life, let's say age 22 thru his 60's (or beginning of 70) is the majority of his life. He will be of working age and there are "minimal to no" services for him to help with employment. And the bigger issue for me is our communities don't want to offer employment opportunities.
There are minimal employment services because we live in communities that don't value humanity. They cannot see the rich experiences that come from working alongside someone (anyone) who happens to have DD. Disability is natural. It is part of life. It should be part of everyone's everyday life, wether you see someone at the grocery store with with DD, or in the bank, etc.
I would love to hear from those in other parts of the nation or other countries on what employment opportunities exist for adults with developmental or other disabilities.
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