Does back-to-school make your stomach do backflips? Ours, too. So we asked some of TPGA’s contributors what they wish they’d known — as parents, or as students — about the back-to-school season. Here’s what they shared: Mir Kamin wouldashoulda.com I knew it was okay to press for what my kid needed, but it took me a really long time to learn that it was also okay to admit when it’s time to stop trying to hammer your square peg into a round hole (and go find a square hole). I never in my wildest dreams expected to be a part-time homeschooler/unschooler, and yet it turned out to be a wonderful solution for our family once I gave up on the assumption of “making it work” with public school. Mind you, classroom accommodations provided by my son’s IEP worked for a while … until they didn’t. I’m so glad I finally…
Tag: Kristen Spina
Kristen Spina kristenspina.wordpress.com I’ve spent the first few days of Autism Awareness month blogging about nothing important. I should say, deliberately blogging about nothing important. The problem I’m having is that with all this focused attention, all eyes on us, so to speak, I’m having a hard time putting words to what I feel, what I think about autism in our lives. One of the things I know is that I can’t speak for anyone other than myself. I can’t speak for my son, for my husband, for our families or friends, or for any of you who walk a similar path. As I read other blogs and listen to some of what the media is saying, I am overwhelmed by the diversity of thought and opinion. The polar extremes of the spectrum itself. I am reminded that the inherent challenges of autism have to do with perception — from…
Kristen Spina http://kristenspina.wordpress.com/ I hang back, following but not too closely, watching my son and his two best friends through the viewfinder, my face hidden behind the awkwardness of a zoom lens. As I watch the boys cross the red wood bridge, I snap half a dozen photos. And then again, as they settle in on the dock, taking turns casting, tossing pieces of bread to a giant turtle bobbing on the lake’s surface. There is little to show here for my son’s differences. He is simply one of the guys, enjoying a bit of freedom and fun on a weekend in the Catskills. I scan the lake and the mountains beyond, the grey clouds sitting low in the sky, and think about how remarkable the scene really is — how its very ordinariness is something to celebrate. I take a few more pictures, then leave the boys to their…