Focus Building Year

Now that Gus is on the cusp of his 'tween years, it seems more important than ever that he learns to manage himself without the need of constant adult prompting. Middle school is right around the corner, and state exams are at the end of this school year. While he'll get every accommodation available, it will be a major hurdle for him. I'd like to see him do well.

I'm not a big fan of standardized tests as the only way to determine what a child has learned, but I'm more interested in how he will view the results. I want him to do well because if he doesn't he'll feel badly – plain and simple. So whatever we can do this year to help him succeed, we'll do. The two big areas in need of major development are: focus and self-regulating. Gus will need to learn not only to focus, but also to recognize when his focus has shifted off task. He will also need to start controlling his impulses. We've seen some progress over the summer, but if he's going to manage a three-hour test, he's got a long way to go.

This morning I read an article (not a very recent one) about certain video games that could help to build focus. The games mentioned in the article seem older, but the concept intrigues me. One of the things that can hold Gus's attention for hours is his video games. I'm wondering if we can find a focus building game that is reasonably priced. (The Brain Train games were particularly astronomical.) It doesn't seem like a 'fad' method because another article published just this month in the Redding Pilot online, also discusses neurofeedback that uses video games as a basis. Play Attention seems like a possibility, but at $100 a month, I'm not so sure. They offer a free demo CD.

I'll post again if we decide to try it out.

What will your child be working on this year?

Thankfulness Thursday...On Thursday Even!

Usually giving myself permission to not do something makes it a little easier to get it done. So it's Thursday and here we are. What am I thankful for this week?

• I am thankful that Gus is not allergic to bee stings. We just learned this because he got stung by a bee yesterday at school. He seems perfectly calm about the whole thing - gotta love that aspie rationale ("it happens") and the ADHD lack of focus (really helps one to move on) sometimes!
• I am thankful that our camping trip last weekend went well, despite some overnight rain drama (everyone stayed dry - that's the important thing). We were at a new site and Gus got to wander into the woods a little further than normal to climb on an old rock wall that provided a whole weekend worth of entertainment. He respected the boundaries for the most part and gained a little freedom - go Gus!
• I am thankful that my neighbors didn't lodge complaints against my kids when they were complaining about other kids in the neighborhood, even though MM is sometimes out there playing with the rest of them. Some people seem to be of the opinion that children should not be allowed to play in their own back yards because, you know, noise. It's summertime, people! Lighten up! These kids are almost all (with the exception of 2 older siblings) aged 8 and under - they can't be kept indoors all summer, and why should they? They have as much right to utilize the space as grownups do. They aren't damaging property or causing any trouble - just playing ball with soft, rubber balls (the big ones you get in the supermarket for $2). Seriously? Many adults in this country need to get over themselves and need to learn a little tolerance. This was one time that Gus's challenges worked in his favor - he doesn't play ball or even play with the other kids and everyone knows this. So he can't be dragged into situations like this. MM plays outside, but rarely plays ball - she's usually on someone's deck or picking flowers or riding her bike. I'm still glad to have avoided the hassle, especially since one of the plaintiffs lives right next door to me. That would have been a drama I don't need!

What are you thankful for this week? There has to be something - it's summertime and the sun is shining (well, if it's not shining for you right this moment, it's shining somewhere). Leave a comment and spread the gratitude! Have a great day!

Time Article on ADHD

Thanks to a Tweet by Dana Jonson, I saw this Time article entitled Kids with ADHD May Learn Better by Fidgeting. In essence, the article highlights a small but thorough study done by Mark Rapport that demonstrates when kids with ADHD are fidgeting, their brains are stimulated in a similar way as with stimulant medications. It seems that if they are allowed to fidget (obviously not to the point of climbing walls) they may actually focus better (even if that seems backwards to a teacher whose brain doesn't work the same way).

I love coming across studies like this because they validate what I've always known about Gus. From the time he was born, two things were very evident: he was extremely alert and taking everything in, and he was never still. Before he could walk, his little legs were always going. I remember trying to teach him to count when he was about 18 months old. Whenever I would ask him something or tell him something, he'd always run to the opposite end of our apartment and then come back with a response. Clearly, this was his way of processing information. So, this day when I worked on counting with him, I took a bunch of apples to the living room and gave them to him, one at a time. Each time he would run and put the apple in the kitchen and we counted up as he returned for the next one. He learned many things doing laps around our apartment.

One of the things I appreciate about his current school program is that when he needs to fidget or move around, he can communicate that to his teacher and be allowed to do so. Before coming into class, he might hop through the hall like a kangaroo to his seat. Then he can start his morning assignment. The movement seems to help a lot.

ADHD is only part of Gus's trouble with focus, because he also has a bunch of sensory integration issues, but ADHD is also the one that we've been advised on occasion to try to medicate. Maybe this study will bring about a shift away from medication and toward giving ADHD kids a little more freedom so their minds can work the way they're wired to. And maybe 'Least Restrictive Environment' might take on a more literal meaning.

And maybe now I won't feel so bad when I don't stop Gus from running the length of the house. He's just stimulating his brain!



*image from cksinfo.com

Thursday Thankfulness and Tomato Plant Update

I can't believe it's already Thursday! As the weather gets warmer, time seems to speed up - why is that? Anyway, on to thankfulness!

Today I am thankful for:

1. New furniture that my in-laws have so generously given us. Gus is particularly fond of the new club chairs that he can curl up in and get lots of sensory input apparently. Hopefully, the arms of the chair are strong enough to withstand his affection. The new dining table is large enough that I can sit right next to him during homework without feeling squished. The proximity is good for him; the space is good for me. Win-win situation all around.
2. I am thankful that my kids are so environmentally conscious! MM wanted to do a neighborhood clean-up for Earth Day, so we got our gloves and bags and cleaned up the playground...in the rain...massive allergy attack followed.... But it was well worth it! Nature seems to be very soothing to many kids on the autism spectrum or with ADHD. I recently published an article at Bright Hub about a study that showed how a 20 minute nature walk increased the ability to focus. So, if protecting this precious resource has the added effect of making homework easier, I'll do it, even if it means having my head feeling like a balloon.
3. I am thankful that tomorrow is Friday and it's supposed to be a beautiful day. If it dries out enough I might be able to breathe! The down side of warm weather is that Gus's allergies and eczema seem to be causing more sensory-seeking than normal. But I think, like me, he'll take it over being cooped up in cold weather. We're just going to have to stock up on allergy medication!
4. And a bonus since I seem to have missed last Thursday: I am thankful that both my kids got stellar report cards and Gus is finally showing some progress in his IEP goals! It was getting a little depressing seeing the No-Progress marks. They have gotten the High School Musical 3 DVD as a reward and we'll be taking them to see a children's theater performance of Robin Hood over the weekend.

Oh! And the tomato plant seems to be rallying slowly but surely! The second shoot is greener and seems to be growing a little. So, I'm grateful for that too! What are you thankful for today? Please share in a comment!

Where Does Quirkiness End and the Spectrum Begin?

Last summer I read a book called Kids, Parents and Power Struggles by Mary Sheedy Kurcinka. While I don't typically read a lot of parenting books, this one stuck with me. Kurcinka talks a bit about temperament and personality types, and what I found most interesting was that some of the extreme manifestations of different types of behavior came very close to mild manifestations of behavior that you might see in a child on the minor end of the autism spectrum. For example, some traits that she discusses in her book are persistence, sensitivity and activity. There's a scale to measure if your child exhibits these traits at a high level or a low level. I remember reading and thinking that there seemed to be a pretty thin line between a highly persistent child and one on the spectrum who might be mildly obsessive. From her description of the sensitivity trait, I wondered where the separation was between a highly sensitive child and a child with mild Sensory Integration Disorder. It occurs to me that these distinctions are purely subjective. I have to wonder if this subjectivity, coupled with a culture that strikes me as obsessed with conformity and sameness, might be a factor in what often appears to be a sudden rise in autism diagnoses.

Years ago when I was in elementary school, I got straight A's, but I rarely paid attention, I often daydreamed, I sometimes got out of my seat for no good reason (one spring I used to sit on top of my desk trying to sun-bleach my hair), and I was often disruptive but not overly active. If I were the same student today, I might be diagnosed with ADD, but back then no one felt the need to classify me as anything. I was just a really smart kid who was probably bored and talked a lot. When Gus was about 18 months old, I noticed that he always seemed to isolate himself from the other kids in his daycare class, but being that I had a deep appreciation for solitude and little experience with 'typical' behavior for a child his age, I wasn't inclined to think of his behavior as problematic. My bigger issue was with his teachers who never seemed to be aware that he was at the opposite end of the play yard all alone.

The more I learn about the autism spectrum, the more similarities I notice between my son and myself, the more I question the validity of some of the things that have been labeled as 'dysfunctional.' I rock side-to-side; if Gus did that he'd be stimming. My friend had a lot to say and a doctor asked her if she had ADHD. Why couldn't it just be a simple case of her having a lot to get off her chest? When did every little difference become such a big issue?

I'm not suggesting that individuals on the autism spectrum don't need extra support because often they do. What they don't need is the stigma of being damaged in some way because of their differences. Maybe instead of trying to force these individuals to perform in a way that is unnatural for them, perhaps the world needs to do a little adapting to the fact that we are not all carbon copies of each other, nor should we be.