This is Rose, a wonderful little puppy that we will be picking up in three weeks (when she’s old enough to leave her mommy). We will be training her to be an Autism Service Dog for Ian. She’s a Golden Retriever whose mommy and daddy are both up here in Alaska. They are wonderful dog’s … we are so excited! We know it’s gonna be tons of work to get her certified, but it will be worth it for Ian.
We’ve started a new/different page for our Special Hearts blog: http://home.maggiemccormick.com/special_hearts_blog/
If you have a Special Needs Child, get yourself a hug cup of Mocha (or tea or coffee or …) and follow the link for some great time of help, encouragement and the realization that you are NOT alone! You can do this – yes, it’s hard – in fact, it’s the hardest thing you have ever done … but you CAN do it! 
We are starting a Special Needs Support Group (on Yahoo) primarily for those homeschooling their High Functioning Special Needs Kids. This includes ADHD, ADD, ODD, OCD, Aspergers Syndrome, All High Functioning Autism Disorders and all other High Functioning Special Needs Kids. However, ALL Special Needs Families are welcome.
This is a Christian Group where we will encourage one another along our journey and also share Success Stories along with our Flops!
You will be requested to fill out a questionnaire before you are approved to join the group. This is to keep Spammers out. We welcome all Special Needs Families.
Once you have been approved, please take a moment to introduce yourself, the child you homeschool (boy or girl) and what Special Needs you are working with.
No Spamming, Flaming or Advertising Allowed.
This group is sponsored by http://www./home.maggiemccormick.com and McCormick Family Ministries.
I am amazed at how many kids …. mainly boys are learning how to read later in life now a days. It’s not just the Special Needs Kids who are learning to read late. I’ve got good news for you: Don’t give up, they can still learn to read!
These “Late Learners” have a unique challenge: wanting to read something that is their level of reader, but not full of baby pictures! While trying to teach Ian to read, I came to the heartbreaking reality that there really aren’t any good Supplements out there for older learners. All the Supplements are geared toward younger kids and have lots of graphics and big chunky drawings all over them.
So, I got busy and researched and tested. My poor kids had so many different designs and “here, try this … do you like it? Will you use it?” but in the end, they loved using the Big Kid Supplements. And what’s better …. they were fun, easy and they worked!
Ian’s first favorite and therefore the first of the Supplements we produced are the Word Fans. The Word Fans consists of 30 Word Family endings that can make over 100 different words! All you need to do is print and cut out the fans and connect with a brad. Personally, I made one fan for every Word Family and put them all in a plastic bag. At first, I put them in five different bags (a, e, i, o, u). But as Ian got better and better at making real words, I put them all in one bag and he got to pick out several Word Fans for that days “Fun Time”.
These Fans are very versatile. As your child gets older, you can add other consonants that might or might not make a word in that word family. Or you can take one of each of the consonants and each of the Word Families and secure them all into one fan. Then your child can make any kind of word or create a “non-word”. That, of course opens up another avenue to teach about words and “non-words”. While your at it, try your hand at Creative Writing using some of those non-words! There are so many ways to use these wonderful fans.
Although we had a difficult delivery of our first born, we didn’t think much of it. We were so proud that we had a big baby boy! It wasn’t till Ian was about three years old that our world was turned upside down.
When Ian was about three years old, we tried to place him in a preschool. They took him for one day then told us that they could not accommodate his “disabilities”. Ummm, hello? Disabilities??? What were they talking about? They just didn’t know anything, that’s all there is to it. Then it all started to sink in and our world started falling apart.
By the time Ian was five, he was started on medicine … “to fix him”. (little did we realize that it was the adults that needed to be fixed, myself included) We held Ian back for a year so that he could “catch up” to the other kids mentally. When Ian was 7, he was in first grade in a Christian School that had a “Special Needs Department”. The teacher kept telling me (and sending notes to the Dr telling him) that we needed to increase the medication because it just wasn’t working. Ian was still “disrupting the class”. So, the meds just kept getting increased and increased. I listened to the teacher and the doctor … after all, they were the professionals, right??? Finally, Ian overdosed where he freaked out. He lost complete control of himself and couldn’t stop screaming or moving. They sent him to the office where he hid under a table and swatted at anyone who got near to him.
I had taken off work early … just because. I got there and the principal told me that she was ready to call the Police on him. Ok, wait, STOP. This is a 7 year old kid who is overdosing on the drugs that you and your teacher INSISTED that he take??? And YOU want to call the cops???
I found Ian in a corner, under a table rocking back and forth, mumbling unintelligibly. I gathered him into my arms and carried him off … Ian never went back to a “formal” school.
Our world came crashing down around us. Suddenly we had a different kind of “Normal”. All those hopes and dreams of a normal life with a kid who could go to a school, play on a team sport, be baby sat by a teenager … all those things that most people take for granted … all those dreams & expectations were lying at our feet in a crumpled mess.
The pain and heartache of the next few years is hard to put into words. We tried to put those pieces back together again. Unfortunately I wasn’t smart enough to get him completely off of the drugs that those fools had him on. That, I deeply regret. Because Ian has Aspergers Syndrome AND ADHD and ODD (along with other Learning Disabilities) the medication that he was on for 5 years was only making him worse. I so wanted him to be “normal”. I guess that’s why we hung on to the meds for so long … just trying to be “normal” like everyone else.
But “like everyone else” was not where God wants us. God is allowing us to learn and grow in ways that we never thought we would. We’re still learning and growing, but finally to a place where we can reach out to others. That’s what this web site is all about. A way we can reach out to others going through what we have been through and are still going through right now.
We aren’t Doctors or Psychologists, just fellow Special Moms and Dads who have been there and know that! We want you to know that you are not alone. There is a God out there with a Master Plan that includes you and your Special Child. That I know for sure. Another thing I know, my grandmother taught me when I was just a little girl. It’s summarized in a song … the song I still sing my daughter to sleep with: Jesus Loves Me, this I know. For the Bible tells me so. Little ones to Him belong. They are weak, but He is strong. Yes, Jesus loves me, yes, Jesus loves me. Yes, Jesus loves me … the Bible tells me so. Sometimes, it’s all I can do to hang on to that one truth … but never let go … never.
Hey all you fellow Californian’s! I would LOVE to meet you! I will be at the CHN Convention here in California on August 10th, 11th & 12th in Ontario. Come and say “Hi” to me at the Hands Of A Child booth or at one of two seminars. The fist seminar is on Friday, August 10th at 1pm in room 310 and it is “Lapbooking for Special Needs”. This one is gonna be great! Lots of ideas to take home and try with your own Special Kid. The next seminar is Sunday, August 12th at 9:30am. This one is a General Lapbooking seminar and fellow Homeschooling mom and awesome writer, Kris Doyle, will be joining me. We will be sharing lots of tricks to creating fun and exciting Lapbooks including the new Template Unit from HOAC!
The CHN convention will be held at Ontario Marriott Hotel. Check out the web page for the convention: http://www.californiahomeschool.net/events/expo/familyexpo.htm . Lots and lots for everyone to do! See you there!
Ever seen those pictures of moms with their kids all lined up in a row, standing patiently in a line, just waiting for mom to get done with what ever it is that she is doing? Well … don’t believe it! It’s fake!! Those aren’t real moms and they certainly DO NOT have Special Kids!!!
As moms and dads of Special Needs Kids, our life is harder than the “normal” that is all around us. Because of this, I think it’s important that I share the down times as well as the wonderful mountain top experiences that we have. So here’s one of my diary entries of late. This past summer has been extremely hard on our family. From the death of close family to me being laid up on bed rest for 6-8 weeks, life has been tough for us.
Down in the trenches, down in the dumps. Life is so hard right now. We are trying to do what God is asking us to, trying to homeschool, trying to make a go of it living out in the country, doing everything we can to give our kids a better life. Yet, we continually go backwards.
It’s not all wonderful and I’m not the best mom in the whole wide world! I’m broken and He is trying to fix me … daily.
I have Philippians 4:6-7 printed out above my computer. I try to read it every day. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
So Lord … You know everything. You know the finances (or lack there of), You know the structure / discipline (or lack there of) You know our hearts and our desires.
I’m drawn back to a song … one I wrote in Jr High.
When nobody seems to care
I’m all alone out there
With nobody at my side
I just want to run and hide.
But when I’m feeling down
You always come around
To show me a better way
To live my life everyday.
For You, You know what I want
You know what I need
You care about me
For You, show me the way
Through everyday
In every way
For You
You know what I need
And You … You care about me
You’re always there.
Please come show me You are here Lord. I need You … we need You. Give us that peace that passes all understanding. The kind that only comes from You.
“Stop that.” “Don’t go in there.” “Is that your toy? Give it back.” “Share with your sister.” “Stop teasing.” “Stop yelling.” “Play nice.”
AHHHHHHHH! Just be normal. But then again, what really is normal? No child, even those “normal” children are good all the time. Their mom might think that, might even say that, but the reality is no child is perfect, no mother is perfect. However, we are the perfect mother for this perfect child! (God says so)
As a mom of a Special Kid, I’ve realized that what works today, might not work tomorrow. That’s true in all area’s of my son’s life: Schooling, Discipline … you name it, I’ve got to always be on the lookout for something new to switch up with what I’m doing now (cause all of a sudden, what I’m doing now isn’t working anymore!) So I thought it would be good to share what we do, as far as discipline, with our Special Kids. Maybe we could get some new ideas that we hadn’t thought of before and make our lives just a little bit easier.
The thing that works the most often with Ian is to re-direct him. If he’s throwing a fit about not getting his way (watch TV for example), I try to get him to do something that he does well … that only he does. Something that a “man” needs to do. Remind him of something that I rely on him to do it and continue talking about that for a while, then he calms down and we can talk about the other. Because we live out in the middle of no where and I know next to nothing about cars, I rely on Ian to help me out when Dave is at work. Like this morning, he put air in the tires and then when the car wouldn’t start, he realized the battery was dead and went and got the battery charger and put it on to charge. (ok, so I could have done all those things … but who wants to?? Especially when I see the smile and confidence in my son grow and grow by letting him do the “man” things around the house.)
One thing I’ve learned the hard way is to NEVER get in his face. He is ODD and getting into his face and MAKING him do what I want him to do is like 10 steps back in our relationship. On the flip side, my daughter looses respect for me if I don’t get in her face and make her do it my way!!! It’s just the difference between the physiological make up of the two. It’s taken me SOOOOO long to accept that. And I’m still learning.
So … out with it! What do you do that works the best … and what works the worst?
“I have the best Special Needs Curriculum for you.” Ever heard that before? I have, tons of times! The longer you homeschool your Special Needs Child, the more you realize that there is NO curriculum out there that is “perfect” for every Special Needs Child. As a mom and teacher, you know your child better than any one else. God’s given you the ability to listen and learn about your child more than any one else in the whole world.
An amazing fact that I am still wrestling with is that what clicks with my Special Son one day, might not click with him the next day. How he learned yesterday isn’t how he’s learning today. It means that I need to have tons of ideas to teach the same thing. Tons of ways to say/eat/feel/act the same thing. I’m not that good. I need help!
That’s where CoOps come in. Only problem with the “normal” CoOps is that we live up in the mountains and it takes about 45 min to drive off the mountain, then another who knows how long to get where ever! So … I turned to my friend: the internet!
I’ve already written about Homeschooling Conventions and how to not sell the farm when going to one (http://www.maggiemccormick.com/?cat=6), so I won’t repeat myself. But I do want to reference back to my meeting Tammy Duby (a normal mom who just happens to be famous). When sitting in Tammy’s workshop, learning how to make Lapbooks, I realized that this is a great way to reach Ian (my Special Son). But I was totally stuck on how to take the information and actually create a lapbook.
Enter “Hands of a Child” (http://www.handsofachild.com) If you like the idea of a Lapbook, but don’t have a clue how to put it all together, you have to check out this company. They take the pain out of putting it all together. Kimm and Niki create the most wonderful mini-books and graphics and Katie writes the guides that tell all about the unit. It works out great. They have a free lapbook that you can download so that you can see if you and your child like lapbooking. (follow the “Freebie” link)
Personally, I downloaded the free Lapbook, did it with my kids and was hooked! I became a Super Member and got lots of free stuff. Then Niki started up this thing called CoOps. Oh wow! I signed up for the CoOps and we started on a learning adventure!
What we, as moms/teachers of Special Needs kids need most is options. Options of ways to present the same material in a multitude of different ways. That’s what’s so great about the HOAC CoOps. Here is a very short explanation of the HOAC CoOps:
Now, here’s where we get all the options. There are about 9 “core” jobs and 7 other jobs that are filled when more moms join the CoOps. So … even if only the “core” jobs are filled … you still have everything that the HOAC ladies bring to the unit, plus all the other “jobs” that the other moms bring to the unit … all placed into the Daily Unit Planner. You can then print out the Daily Unit Planner (or just bring it up on your computer) and pick and choose all the things that will work for your Special Learner. My favorite job to look through is the Preschool Princess. No, my son is not Preschool, but the fun, hands on stuff they come up with is just perfect for my Special Son.
How do I know so much about the CoOps? Well, after several CoOps, Niki figured out just how much I LOVE the CoOps and asked me if I wanted to help out with them. One thing lead to another and now I’m the CoOps Coordinator for HOAC. But even if I didn’t have anything to do with the running of the CoOps … I’d still be signed up for every single one of them and totally involved. They are THAT great!
If you are interested in learning more about the HOAC CoOps, you can join the “News Group” at http://www.groups.yahoo.com/group/HOAC-Co-Op-News/ (if this link doesn’t work, please copy/paste into your browsers address bar). Look in the files section for the 2007 … 2008 Schedule and the SOP (Standard Operating Procedure). The SOP will give you a great overview of what the CoOps are and how they work. You can also email Niki or I at Co-Ops@HandsofaChild.com with any questions that you might have.
I’ve been reading through the most amazing book … Goodbye Chaos, Hello Peace! by Cynthia Hancox (http://www.cynthiahancox.com). In four short days it has changed my life and changed my house! My hubby is so impressed, and thankful!
Even though the main focus of GCHP is getting your home and life under control, doing the self-assessment part of the manual has caused me to really see other areas I need to work on too. The main thing that has hit me so far has been my lack of teaching my son. My son is Special Needs and I really need to continue to change the way I teach so that I can get through to him. What works one day might not work the next day. I was so excited this morning. My daughter and I sat down at the table to work on our HOAC Human Body Lapbook and we read “The Magic School Bus: Inside the Human Body”. My son said that he didn’t want to sit down and read with us, but by the end, Ian was the one sitting there listening and answering all sorts of questions, while my “normal” child was off throwing a fit!
I get to do things differently with Ian … get to scan through the internet, finding cool pictures of what we are learning about and sometimes even creating a different mini-book so that Ian can feel good about doing his Lapbook … cause you know what? It’s all about the kids learning … not about how good / professional it looks from a mom’s standpoint. I have to keep telling myself that as he doodles over his stuff! I’m also working on creating Phonics resources for him. He’s upset … feeling like he will never read … yet I know he will … we just have to keep on, little bits everyday. Kinda like me and this house and my routines … little bit everyday and I’ll get there!
You can find Cynthia Hancox at http://www.CynthiaHancox.com. Goodbye Chaos, Hello Peace! is available completely FREE when you sign up for her weekly e-zine mailing list. You can even join a discussion group for the books (details on that sent to you when you join the mailing list).