My College Papers - New Tab Added

     I have added a new tab to the AOTA blog. It's called "My College Papers", and these are papers that I wrote for college about Teagan and his disabilities. There is a lot of good information in these, and I thought I would share them. Just click on the "My College Papers" for the link or click on the "My College Papers" tab at the top of the blog, then click on the titles to view the actual papers. Please respect my generosity, and do not copy these papers and submit them as your own. Thank you.

What Fresh Hell Is This?

     Yeah, you read it right.  So, Teagan has been having a very, very shitty year.  First, we already discussed the assault by his first bus driver.  Then, we have to pull him from his hateful school, and put him in a behavior program, which he really isn't a behavior problem, but this was their solution instead of continuing to send him home because the teacher did not want to deal with his special needs.
     THEN... the teacher's assistant, who is fond of grabbing Teagan around the upper arm jabs her nail into his baby flesh, making him bleed and leaving an ugly mark.  You know there was hell to pay for that.  However, Teagan tried to confront her, and she called him a liar.  See below about this lying business.
     THEN... some hateful kid at school gets pissed off at him because he tells this kid that he saw him running to class.  The kid tells him to "shut the f*ck up" and lobs his calculator at Teagan.  Teagan says it hit him in the leg, his lying teacher says it missed him.  I'm more apt to believe Teagan.  He does not lie well.  Well, what I mean to say is, he just can't lie.  He doesn't know how to do it and we will never correct that.
     THEN... four days later, this same kid gets pissed off because everyone in class got ice cream as a special treat, and because this kid is the Devil Incarnate, he takes his anger out on the first kid he sees... which just happens to be MY F*CKING KID!  This kid punched Teagan in the face four times and somehow in all of this a very large (like 6 inches wide) bruise appears on his leg the same day, before the three full-time adults in a classroom of 8 children could pull him off of Teagan.  ARE YOU F*CKING KIDDING ME?!?!?!?
     THEN... three days later, two girls get into an argument at breakfast and one of them says the other girl made her nose bleed, and Teagan told her he didn't see any blood, she tells him to "shut the hell up" then pinches the shit out of him.  You should have seen the bruises.
     So... I call a meeting of the team leader, the school therapist, and his case worker, and I explain exactly how it is going to be.  I told them I see one more person, adult or child, leave a mark on my child again, I will be filing police reports.  I may still do it against that one kid who punched him.  He is a f*cking menace to society.  And threatened to yank him out of their program, if it happens again, which would result in a loss of funding from his Medicaid.
     You know, there really isn't much more than I can take, before I start throwing punches.  Does my child not have enough going on already?  And I've only given you all half of the story.  He has something more going on, that I cannot even go into, due to the personal nature of it.  Eventually, I may be able to share the last pieces of Teagan's mental puzzle, but for now, suffice it to say that Teagan's mental trauma threshold has been filled to capacity and is nearly overflowing, along with my threshold for patience with everyone.

Homework Headaches

This photo is actually not of Teagan in pain, but
showing off his newly lost teeth, but thought
it was appropriate for this post, because
homework is just like pulling teeth
sometimes. LOL

     Homework is a two-person battle, no matter how old your child is. With a child who has special needs, especially for those who have multiple diagnoses, homework is the devil’s work, and best left to the ninth level of Hell. Homework requires focus, an understanding of what is being asked, and an ability to write what the brain processes. Some children, those with ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) for example, have a very difficult time staying focused and sitting still.
     As the mother of a child with not only severe ADHD, but also five other diagnoses, I feel very qualified to help those who may be experiencing the same headaches with homework that we deal with every day in my house. These techniques will also work for any child struggling to complete homework.
     You will want to make sure you are in a well-lit area with a nice flat surface to write on. Ensure your child’s chair is of appropriate height so that he or she can reach the table or desk without kneeling in the chair. Another helpful tip is to place a small stool beneath your child’s feet, so they are not kicking and wiggling while working. You will then want to alleviate any distractions: put your pet in another room, turn off all televisions, radios, cell phones, etc.
     After you have the appropriate environment, make homework fun. Make spelling words a game, count to 10 for each word, and see if your child can write the word before you get to 10. For math, use something your child enjoys. An example would be if you have 10 cars and I borrow 5, how many cars do you have left? If your child still struggles, ask them how you could make it easier for them. Children may have an idea or two you haven’t thought of.
     Homework doesn’t have to be a nightmare; it can be an enjoyable time to help your child succeed in school and a valuable way to bond. Making homework more about fun and less about work will bring your child from the ninth level of Hell to top of the class.