Yahoo has replied to my request for Autism Gear for the avatars. The answer is "no."
Hi Joan,
Thanks for your suggestion. All of our Issues and Causes Avatar gear are actually associated with strategic annual campaigns. We are not planning on adding any additional gear to this section in the near future but will keep your idea in mind if anything changes.
Best,
XXXXXX
Friday, January 25, 2008
Baby It's Cold Outside!
Wow, it is 10 below zero out here!
That's not "wind chill," or anything like that. That's the actual temperature.
Yikes. I don't even want to go out when it gets like this. I started wanting spring right after New Years, LOL! I don't like extremes in temperatures, hot or cold. My favorite times of the year are spring and fall. Geez, my heart goes out to my poor co-workers who have to go outside on a day like today and do physical labor. They are repair technicians, and must make housecalls. I've ridden with them on "ride alongs," and it is very cold work, even on the mild days that I shared with them. They had to spend much of their time in open construction, where they are lucky to have all the walls, let alone heat. I just want to tell them all to come into the office, stay warm, and I'll call your appointments and cancel or reschedule.
Well, I better get ready for work. I don't want my hair to still be wet from the shower when I go to leave. And I'll have to leave early, to drive my son to the bus. (Then he can wait in the car with me, and stay warm, while he waits for the bus.)
They're saying it's supposed to warm up today. It's expected to get into the 20s! That will seem like a heat wave after the bitter cold we've been dealing with all week.
Stay warm!
That's not "wind chill," or anything like that. That's the actual temperature.
Yikes. I don't even want to go out when it gets like this. I started wanting spring right after New Years, LOL! I don't like extremes in temperatures, hot or cold. My favorite times of the year are spring and fall. Geez, my heart goes out to my poor co-workers who have to go outside on a day like today and do physical labor. They are repair technicians, and must make housecalls. I've ridden with them on "ride alongs," and it is very cold work, even on the mild days that I shared with them. They had to spend much of their time in open construction, where they are lucky to have all the walls, let alone heat. I just want to tell them all to come into the office, stay warm, and I'll call your appointments and cancel or reschedule.
Well, I better get ready for work. I don't want my hair to still be wet from the shower when I go to leave. And I'll have to leave early, to drive my son to the bus. (Then he can wait in the car with me, and stay warm, while he waits for the bus.)
They're saying it's supposed to warm up today. It's expected to get into the 20s! That will seem like a heat wave after the bitter cold we've been dealing with all week.
Stay warm!
Sunday, January 13, 2008
No Offense Intended
I was on a group forum, and the discussion was the Five for Fighting video, that is trying to raise money for a cure for autism. Many were excitedly passing along the link, and I did so as well. But an autistic gentleman spoke up, and took offense at these efforts. He said, "As a person on the autistic spectrum, myself, I find it very appalling that anyone would want to raise funds to find a "cure" for autism without consulting those living with autism or within the autistic spectrum, in any way." He went on to discourage us from participating in watching the video and thus contributing money toward this cause.
It raised conflicting feelings in me. I do want there to be scientific research into autism. But I also support Neurodiversity.
This is what I wrote in response to his post. What are your thoughts on this topic?
***
I have an autistic son. I am not looking for a "cure," as most
people define it. I think my son is perfect, exactly as he is.
However, my son does struggle at times. Painfully so. And if I
could take that pain away, and help him to achieve the control over
himself that he desperately seeks, then yes, I would be interested in
helping him. Does that mean I want a cure? I don't wish to make
him "normal" or "typical," or to remove that which makes him so
beautiful and unique, but I do wish I could help him to live more
easily in this world.
I guess I wonder what is meant by "cure." Would it be a full out
cure, that takes an autistic and turns him neurotypical? I don't see
that as something we'll see in our lifetime. I can't even imagine
how that could be possible, since the autism affects so many aspects
of his person and his personality, his thinking and his actions.
Perhaps there will be smaller "cures," little things that improve
parts of the autism so that life is easier. Herbals to help with
this, vitamins to help with that, therapy to improve whatever.
That's not so different with what we all deal with in some form or
another. Not trying to "cure" the autism and make it vanish, but to
find ways to make life less abrasive, to make autistics more
comfortable and retain better control when frustration strikes.
I don't think the word "cure" means the same thing to everybody. But
I'm certainly not going to tell my friend, who is the father of an
autistic boy, that he shouldn't look for a cure. Not after he just
held his son to keep him from injuring himself while his son looked
up tearfully and asked, "Why can't I stop, Daddy?" And I'm not going
to take the hope out of a mother's dream of seeing her daughter speak
one day. Their children may never be looked upon as "cured," but
perhaps their lives can be made easier. Is that looking for a cure?
And if a musician wants to donate money that could benefit any and
all autistics and their families, by supporting research and
awareness, then I would applaud that musician, and support their
efforts.
That video by Five for Fighting is raising awareness. That benefits
us all, whether we are seeking a "cure" or not. And any research
that this band supports may eventually make your life easier, even if
it can't ever make you neurotypical, and even if you have no desire
to ever *be* neurotypical. Any "cure" requires research, and
research can enlighten. The deeper science delves into what autism
is, and how it affects us all, the more likely they will be to find
ways to assist us. That's a good thing. That can promote
understanding. Perhaps even acceptance. I don't think of it as
supporting a "cure." I do support research. They'll never rip the
autism from my child. It is part of who he is. And he is perfect,
just as he was created. But in the search for a cure, perhaps we
will all learn more about autism, and perhaps find new things that
can benefit us all.
So yes, I'll watch the video, and I'll pass it on to others. I do
support neurodiversity. I am not looking for a "cure." I don't wish
to banish autism into extinction. I do seek understanding. I seek
acceptance. I want research. I seek help for those who might need
some assistance in functioning comfortably in this world. And I seek
to make my son's life easier for him.
It raised conflicting feelings in me. I do want there to be scientific research into autism. But I also support Neurodiversity.
This is what I wrote in response to his post. What are your thoughts on this topic?
***
I have an autistic son. I am not looking for a "cure," as most
people define it. I think my son is perfect, exactly as he is.
However, my son does struggle at times. Painfully so. And if I
could take that pain away, and help him to achieve the control over
himself that he desperately seeks, then yes, I would be interested in
helping him. Does that mean I want a cure? I don't wish to make
him "normal" or "typical," or to remove that which makes him so
beautiful and unique, but I do wish I could help him to live more
easily in this world.
I guess I wonder what is meant by "cure." Would it be a full out
cure, that takes an autistic and turns him neurotypical? I don't see
that as something we'll see in our lifetime. I can't even imagine
how that could be possible, since the autism affects so many aspects
of his person and his personality, his thinking and his actions.
Perhaps there will be smaller "cures," little things that improve
parts of the autism so that life is easier. Herbals to help with
this, vitamins to help with that, therapy to improve whatever.
That's not so different with what we all deal with in some form or
another. Not trying to "cure" the autism and make it vanish, but to
find ways to make life less abrasive, to make autistics more
comfortable and retain better control when frustration strikes.
I don't think the word "cure" means the same thing to everybody. But
I'm certainly not going to tell my friend, who is the father of an
autistic boy, that he shouldn't look for a cure. Not after he just
held his son to keep him from injuring himself while his son looked
up tearfully and asked, "Why can't I stop, Daddy?" And I'm not going
to take the hope out of a mother's dream of seeing her daughter speak
one day. Their children may never be looked upon as "cured," but
perhaps their lives can be made easier. Is that looking for a cure?
And if a musician wants to donate money that could benefit any and
all autistics and their families, by supporting research and
awareness, then I would applaud that musician, and support their
efforts.
That video by Five for Fighting is raising awareness. That benefits
us all, whether we are seeking a "cure" or not. And any research
that this band supports may eventually make your life easier, even if
it can't ever make you neurotypical, and even if you have no desire
to ever *be* neurotypical. Any "cure" requires research, and
research can enlighten. The deeper science delves into what autism
is, and how it affects us all, the more likely they will be to find
ways to assist us. That's a good thing. That can promote
understanding. Perhaps even acceptance. I don't think of it as
supporting a "cure." I do support research. They'll never rip the
autism from my child. It is part of who he is. And he is perfect,
just as he was created. But in the search for a cure, perhaps we
will all learn more about autism, and perhaps find new things that
can benefit us all.
So yes, I'll watch the video, and I'll pass it on to others. I do
support neurodiversity. I am not looking for a "cure." I don't wish
to banish autism into extinction. I do seek understanding. I seek
acceptance. I want research. I seek help for those who might need
some assistance in functioning comfortably in this world. And I seek
to make my son's life easier for him.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Doctors and more doctors
Yesterday was a real doctor day.
Dh and I took Nathan to see a new doctor, first thing in the morning. Her specialty is child behavior. She was very very nice, and worked well with Nathan. Dh and I both had a good feeling about her. Unfortunately, since we were there together, I kept feeling like we were talking over each other, each trying to express their concerns, and really creating more confusion than helping. Oh well. Believe it or not, that was the first time we've been to a doctor, regarding Nathan's autism, together. Usually it's me alone. Rarely, it's dh alone. I felt like I couldn't get a single thought expressed completely without it getting verbally stepped on, interrupted, and sidetracked. It was frustrating. But I'm sure he felt the same way, too, and it's about time he got a chance to give his opinions as well. And in that spirit, I was very pleased that he was there. On the other hand, I do think it will be more productive if we get a chance to go singularly to the doctor. Maybe me one time, him another. The poor doctor, lol! But I'm sure she could see how we are both very involved, and both very concerned about all the school frustrations, and we'd really like to all work together to find a better way.
Right when we left the doctor, we were going to head over to dh's new workplace. His company was purchased a couple years ago, and they are now moving everybody into one building. Sadly, it is quite a bit further for dh to drive to work. I hadn't seen the new building yet, so we were going to take a little side trip past the new place. During the doctor appointment, my cell phone had gone off, and I just reached down and pressed the button to send the call to voicemail, without looking at the caller. I wish I had looked. As we left the doctor's place, I checked my phone to see that it was my MIL. She rarely calls my cell. I was instantly concerned. I called her back and found out that my FIL is quite ill, and they wanted us to take them to the immergency care clinic. Hooboy. This is not good. You have to be pretty much knocking on death's door for the to aggree to go to a doctor. We immediately turned around and headed back to town.
The immergency care clinic was unbelievably slow. Poor FIL looked awful, and seemed to be staggering at times. He has diabetes, and I worried about the high blood sugar levels he was getting, let alone this flu that had hit him particularly hard, and was not going away. I was pretty sure we would be soon heading for the hospital. Because of that possibility, dh instructed me and Nathan to follow in my car, as we all headed for the clinic.
Thank God we went. FIL has pneumonia. With some strong meds, he should be okay, and they felt that the hospital wouldn't be necessary. Though we were given strict instructions to keep an eye on that blood sugar, and if it didn't go down and stay down, we were to get him back to the doctor pronto.
We spent the next couple HOURS trying to get his script filled. MIL asked us to go to Walmart, since that is where they usually go, and their history is with them. What horrible service!! They were closed for lunch when we arrived, so we had to wait over 20 minutes to even turn in the script. That 20 minutes turned into another 15 minutes. Then they said it would be 25 minutes before it would be ready. That 20 minutes turned into another 15 minutes, which turned into another 15 minutes. Finally they had the script, but the had run out of the medicine! So they could only give us HALF the script. (You mean we have to go through this AGAIN???) At least they gave it to us at no charge, but still, it was not the money that was the issue here. It was the horrible service. And when we described what happened to MIL, she gave us the impression that this is not at all unusual. Oh for crying out loud! They live a half a block from a 24 hour Walgreens! With a Drive-Thru no less! We finally persuaded them to switch to that pharmacy after this. Hell, I'll gladly pay if it's more expensive. I can't believe they would deal with that crap every time they need meds. And the sad thing is that Walmart was surely not lacking in customers. They must be a lot cheaper, or why would anyone deal with that? That's just awful. Most of those customers were seniors, too. Very senior. Waiting around with no place to sit, some with walkers. They had one little bench, that could hold maybe three small adults, but the line was all the way through the department. It's not right to treat seniors that way.
So that took up most of our day. We were exhausted after that. We never did get to the errands we wanted to run. Oh well. At least FIL got to a doc. That always scares us, when he won't go. We tried to get him to go last week, and he refused. He's in his mid 80's, so you don't want to mess around, taking chances with health issues.
I'm hoping we don't have more doctor visits in the near future.
Dh and I took Nathan to see a new doctor, first thing in the morning. Her specialty is child behavior. She was very very nice, and worked well with Nathan. Dh and I both had a good feeling about her. Unfortunately, since we were there together, I kept feeling like we were talking over each other, each trying to express their concerns, and really creating more confusion than helping. Oh well. Believe it or not, that was the first time we've been to a doctor, regarding Nathan's autism, together. Usually it's me alone. Rarely, it's dh alone. I felt like I couldn't get a single thought expressed completely without it getting verbally stepped on, interrupted, and sidetracked. It was frustrating. But I'm sure he felt the same way, too, and it's about time he got a chance to give his opinions as well. And in that spirit, I was very pleased that he was there. On the other hand, I do think it will be more productive if we get a chance to go singularly to the doctor. Maybe me one time, him another. The poor doctor, lol! But I'm sure she could see how we are both very involved, and both very concerned about all the school frustrations, and we'd really like to all work together to find a better way.
Right when we left the doctor, we were going to head over to dh's new workplace. His company was purchased a couple years ago, and they are now moving everybody into one building. Sadly, it is quite a bit further for dh to drive to work. I hadn't seen the new building yet, so we were going to take a little side trip past the new place. During the doctor appointment, my cell phone had gone off, and I just reached down and pressed the button to send the call to voicemail, without looking at the caller. I wish I had looked. As we left the doctor's place, I checked my phone to see that it was my MIL. She rarely calls my cell. I was instantly concerned. I called her back and found out that my FIL is quite ill, and they wanted us to take them to the immergency care clinic. Hooboy. This is not good. You have to be pretty much knocking on death's door for the to aggree to go to a doctor. We immediately turned around and headed back to town.
The immergency care clinic was unbelievably slow. Poor FIL looked awful, and seemed to be staggering at times. He has diabetes, and I worried about the high blood sugar levels he was getting, let alone this flu that had hit him particularly hard, and was not going away. I was pretty sure we would be soon heading for the hospital. Because of that possibility, dh instructed me and Nathan to follow in my car, as we all headed for the clinic.
Thank God we went. FIL has pneumonia. With some strong meds, he should be okay, and they felt that the hospital wouldn't be necessary. Though we were given strict instructions to keep an eye on that blood sugar, and if it didn't go down and stay down, we were to get him back to the doctor pronto.
We spent the next couple HOURS trying to get his script filled. MIL asked us to go to Walmart, since that is where they usually go, and their history is with them. What horrible service!! They were closed for lunch when we arrived, so we had to wait over 20 minutes to even turn in the script. That 20 minutes turned into another 15 minutes. Then they said it would be 25 minutes before it would be ready. That 20 minutes turned into another 15 minutes, which turned into another 15 minutes. Finally they had the script, but the had run out of the medicine! So they could only give us HALF the script. (You mean we have to go through this AGAIN???) At least they gave it to us at no charge, but still, it was not the money that was the issue here. It was the horrible service. And when we described what happened to MIL, she gave us the impression that this is not at all unusual. Oh for crying out loud! They live a half a block from a 24 hour Walgreens! With a Drive-Thru no less! We finally persuaded them to switch to that pharmacy after this. Hell, I'll gladly pay if it's more expensive. I can't believe they would deal with that crap every time they need meds. And the sad thing is that Walmart was surely not lacking in customers. They must be a lot cheaper, or why would anyone deal with that? That's just awful. Most of those customers were seniors, too. Very senior. Waiting around with no place to sit, some with walkers. They had one little bench, that could hold maybe three small adults, but the line was all the way through the department. It's not right to treat seniors that way.
So that took up most of our day. We were exhausted after that. We never did get to the errands we wanted to run. Oh well. At least FIL got to a doc. That always scares us, when he won't go. We tried to get him to go last week, and he refused. He's in his mid 80's, so you don't want to mess around, taking chances with health issues.
I'm hoping we don't have more doctor visits in the near future.
Sunday, December 30, 2007
I'm back!
Things are still not settled with the school, and that's a whole other pain in the backside, but for the time being, I've decided to return to my blogging community, and jump back in with the people who have offered me the most support, the most hope and the most optimism.
Happy New Year to all of you!
I'm glad to see that Yahoo 360 is still here. Anybody hear any word on that? Last I heard, it would bite the dust in "early 2008." Well, I'm going to look with interest to see what happens then. Who knows? Maybe Yahoo will get it right with the new 360, or YMash, or whatever the heck it is. If I don't care for it, well, I've got numerous other online communities that I am also apart of, and I'll probably catch you all around those places.
In the mean time, just in case Yahoo has a good thing coming up, I want to try something new this New Year. One thing I have always wanted to see was autism gear for the avatars. I know there were online petitions before, demanding that Yahoo put autism gear out there, but I want to take a little more gentle approach. From what I gather, after politely requesting autism gear for over a year now, Yahoo doesn't see us as a big group, like the Breast Cancer Foundation or the AIDS Awareness groups (which DO have avatar gear). And perhaps we aren't that big. But we do have numbers, and I think if we speak out and nicely ask that Yahoo take us into consideration, perhaps Yahoo will relent and give us a puzzle piece background or a puzzle piece ribbon or something. We may not have the publicity of the cancer or AIDS groups, but we do have a huge volume of Yahoo customers, hoping for representation. Why don't we just ASK? All of us!
What I am proposing we do, is to POLITELY ask Yahoo to provide us with autism gear. Don't whine or complain or criticize. Just request it. After all, they say honey attracts more bees than vinegar, right? So let's give them some honey!
Here's a sample letter that I have sent numerous times to Yahoo. Feel free to use it, or to add your own words or whatever. All I ask is that you keep it nice and friendly:
Dear Yahoo,
Could Yahoo please come up with some Autism gear for our avatars? Perhaps a puzzle piece background, or Autism Awareness tshirts, or the Autism Awareness ribbon, etc?
Please, Yahoo?
Autism now affects 1 in every 150 children. This is more prevalent than Juvenile Diabetes, Childhood Cancer and Pediatric Aids, COMBINED. A child is diagnosed with autism about every 20 minutes. And the prevalence is growing.
Many parents, and autistic individuals, would greatly appreciate the time and effort you put forth to create something for Autism Awareness (myself included). If you need samples of the Autism Awareness Ribbon, or anything like that, I would be thrilled to help you.
Thank you.
YOU CAN SEND THESE LETTER TO YAHOO AVATAR FEEDBACK:
http://feedback.help.yahoo.com/feedback.php?.src=ATT&.done=http://avatars.yah...
How does that sound? Now let's get as many of those letters out there as we can! Maybe if they get a lot of letters, they might be interested in helping us. Pass it around. Ask everyone you know in the autism online community to participate. Let's show Yahoo that we are out here, and that we care about autism, and that we would love their help in making others aware. What do we have to lose?
Peace, and Happy New Year!
Joni
Wednesday, December 5, 2007
Magically Transported
I'm entering this out of sequence, but I didn't want to neglect noting this restraint in my blog, because it helps me to see how often this stuff happens in one year.
Nathan's day was very good until they began the math lesson in the afternoon. He had a quarter in class that the the teacher had asked him to put away. He was asked to put it away because he was banging it on the table during class. He took the quarter out again in the afternoon and was making noises with it. He had been asked four times to put the quarter away before he was told if they heard it again it would be put on his teacher's desk. He continued the behavior so they tried to take the quarter off the table. He snatched the quarter, crawled under the table, and grabbed the table leg.
He was again told to give up the quarter and he said it was his. He was told that there would be a consequence for his choices and told the teacher to go away.
He was then given the consequence of not being allowed to purchase popcorn on the next popcorn day. He then said he didn't care. Then he pushed the table against the chair of another student that pinned that student between the tables. They were able to remove the student from the area, but he continued to push the table against the other table now pinning the two remaining students. They then told him he had to leave the room. He was asked to follow them. He refused to walk with them. So they transported him to the office so he could collect himself. He calmed down and returned to class to collect his things to go to daycare.
He was not be able to purchase popcorn on popcorn day.
When I asked the teacher if by "transported him" they meant that they restrained, removed and secluded him, I was informed that grabbing him by the arms and forcefully dragging him from the room is not "restraint." It is "transport," and this is not restraint. Yeah, right. According to the State Board of Ed, it's restraint all right.
Nathan's day was very good until they began the math lesson in the afternoon. He had a quarter in class that the the teacher had asked him to put away. He was asked to put it away because he was banging it on the table during class. He took the quarter out again in the afternoon and was making noises with it. He had been asked four times to put the quarter away before he was told if they heard it again it would be put on his teacher's desk. He continued the behavior so they tried to take the quarter off the table. He snatched the quarter, crawled under the table, and grabbed the table leg.
He was again told to give up the quarter and he said it was his. He was told that there would be a consequence for his choices and told the teacher to go away.
He was then given the consequence of not being allowed to purchase popcorn on the next popcorn day. He then said he didn't care. Then he pushed the table against the chair of another student that pinned that student between the tables. They were able to remove the student from the area, but he continued to push the table against the other table now pinning the two remaining students. They then told him he had to leave the room. He was asked to follow them. He refused to walk with them. So they transported him to the office so he could collect himself. He calmed down and returned to class to collect his things to go to daycare.
He was not be able to purchase popcorn on popcorn day.
When I asked the teacher if by "transported him" they meant that they restrained, removed and secluded him, I was informed that grabbing him by the arms and forcefully dragging him from the room is not "restraint." It is "transport," and this is not restraint. Yeah, right. According to the State Board of Ed, it's restraint all right.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
As The School Turns
Yesterday was awful. Nathan had a meltdown. He hit a teacher and an aide, and was suspended today. The principal informed me that he is being suspended because the teacher feels "his behavior is not in the realm of his autism." They believe he was deliberate in his actions, and therefore was not influenced by his autism.
I have taken the first step to appeal.
Sorry for the short post, and the lack of detail. I've spent so much time on the computer doing research and contacting Easter Seals and going to the doctor, I'm just too exhausted and too frustrated to write much today. I'll try to post more this weekend.
I have taken the first step to appeal.
Sorry for the short post, and the lack of detail. I've spent so much time on the computer doing research and contacting Easter Seals and going to the doctor, I'm just too exhausted and too frustrated to write much today. I'll try to post more this weekend.
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