Good article regarding news sources linking violence to Asperger's

http://www.autism-society.org/news/autism-society-no-linkage.html

Chula Vista - Wisconsin Dells

Traditionally, we spend Thanksgiving with my father’s side of the family.  The cousin who usually hosts went out of town this year to Myrtle Beach.  We thought, why don’t we go out of town, too?  We spent Thanksgiving this year in Wisconsin Dells.

 

Wisconsin Dells is like Vegas for little kids. There’s even a main strip and old downtown area.  Many childhood family trips were made to the Dells, as it is only a four hour drive from Chicago.  My husband and I have brought the kids to the Dells several times. 

 

This year’s Thanksgiving trip was exciting for my brothers who had not been to the Dells since childhood.  We had two first-timers – my sister-in-law, who is from San Diego and my six-month-old nephew.

 

On my last visit to the Dells in April, we had a buffet dinner at Chula Vista.  It was fabulous and the kids actually behaved!  The resort is off the beaten path – you keep driving and driving deeper into the woods until you think you must be lost and then there it is.  Actually, about a mile before you reach Chula Vista, there’s a sign by another facility that says, “Chula Vista one mile,” leading me to believe they must get a lot of travelers who believe they are lost.  My brother determined they had a suite big enough for the whole family (9 of us), so we decided on Chula Vista.

 

Two experiences I want to report – the mother of two (twin) classmates of my boys reported to me that when her family stayed at Chula Vista this past year, the pullout couch-bed smelled like urine.  She was given attitude by the staff, especially the housekeeping staff.  Those were her only complaints and the rest of the visit was positive. (We didn’t have any dealings with the housekeeping staff, as we were staying in a condo, which is only cleaned upon check-out.)  My husband’s aunt spent New Year’s Eve at Chula Vista a few years ago with a group of friends and had a fantastic experience.

 

Our road trip to Chula Vista was uneventful and our cell phone GPS was accurate for once.  The condo was beautiful.  Cathedral ceilings, nice kitchen, roomy living and dining areas, three bedrooms, two with en suite bathrooms, one with a balcony, one community bathroom off the dining area.  The living area had a fireplace – the flickering flames were a hologram and a vent just above the flames blew out warm air.  There was a large flat-screen tv right above the fireplace and tvs in each bedroom. 

 

The balcony was in our room, but the balcony door was camouflaged by heavy curtains.  The kids thankfully didn’t discover it was there until the last day.  The only criticism I had was the lack of child locks on the doors.  The balcony door easily opened and the front door had a bolt/bar lock, but it was down low enough that Todd was able to open it.  We had issues with him trying to escape out the front door.  When we stayed at Disney World over the summer, the doors were much more secure with child locks up high. 

 

Chula Vista has an indoor water park.  This was very kid friendly.  When we stayed at Mt. Olympus this past April, there was only a small kiddie area and the non-little kid friendly areas were close to the little kid area and not cordoned off well.  At Mt. Olympus, Sean kept taking off and trying to jump into one of the pool areas restricted for older and more experienced swimmers.  The Chula Vista park is entirely kid friendly.  The kids can run around and not easily run into any danger zones.  It consists mostly of water slides.  Sean went on every single one.  There is one that is a water slide-rollercoaster combo, one where you go head first down the slide on a mat – he tried everything.

 

There is a spa on the lower level of the resort.  The spa primarily specializes in massages.  My sister-in-law and I got pedicures.  They did a good job!

 

As usual, we really enjoyed the food at Chula Vista.  Thanksgiving dinner was done very well.  The turkey was juicy and tasty – not easy to do when cooking for so many people.  There were many other meat options – chicken, beef and pork.  There were kid options like chicken nuggets and mac & cheese. There were fish options, a ton of sides and a huge dessert table.  Everything tasted great and was well-prepared.  The only criticism I would have would be that the reservations could have been staggered better.  We waited in line for quite a while, even though we had a reservation.  This was tough, as waiting is so difficult for autism kids.  About halfway through our meal, the restaurant was empty.  Then when we were leaving, we saw an even bigger line for those with reservations, this one about a block long.

 

We usually end a trip to the Dells with a trip to the Tanger Outlet Mall.  Since this time we were visiting over Thanksgiving, I took a pass.  Much as I love shopping, I hate crowds, so I am definitely not a Black Friday shopper!  I prefer ordering gifts from my computer and having them delivered.  

 

On the drive home, we made the requisite stop for Wisconsin cheese.  My kids love cheese curds.  My husband won’t touch the stuff – I think because the name sounds gross, but it’s really just globs of yellow cheese that taste like mozzarella.  My Todd could eat the whole bag in one sitting – I have to cut him off. 

 

Overall, we had a lovely visit to Chula Vista.  We enjoyed having a destination Thanksgiving.  This may become a new tradition! J

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I am sorry I haven't been posting much lately - so much going on between shows, work, trips and the holidays.  For those who do the Twitter thing - I am on Twitter as @snippygirl66.  I post links to articles and sites that are relevant and interesting to me and those like me :)

iPads through Autism Speaks

Autism Speaks: announce that through the generosity of Sevenly.org and the James W. Pickle Foundation, 625 financially disadvantaged individuals with autism and schools will receive an Apple iPad 2! Eligible applicants are individuals who: - Have been diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder by a licensed professional, - Reside in the United States, - Have limited income and cannot afford to purchase an iPad. Note: If you already submitted an application for the iPad 2 grant in February 2012, you must re-apply to be considered for the new round. Technology Grant Timeline December 3: Online Application Opens December 7: Application Closes December 7-14: Review Committee Selects Recipients December 17: Recipients Announced and iPads sent out!! How to Apply Applications must be submitted by the person with autism, an immediate family member of the person with autism, or a licensed teacher, social worker, or therapist. The Technology Grant Review Committee will review eligible applications based on established criteria and select the iPad grant recipients. Some applicants will be contacted by staff for follow up information. All applicants selected to receive an iPad 2 will be contacted on December 17. Others will receive an email informing them of their status. Visit the AutismCares website to apply! You must create a login and select Autism Speaks iPad Grant. Note: Please DO NOT complete the application entitled "AutismCares Application" if you are applying for an iPad. Only those applicants that complete the application entitled “Autism Speaks iPad Grant” will be considered. Note: Only applicants in the United States will be considered. We cannot accept applications from outside the United States. Earlier this year, Autism Speaks was able to award 180 iPads to families across the USA. Read more about it here! Questions or comments? Contact Serena Selkin, Family Services Grants Manager at sselkin@autismspeaks.org or (917) 475-5059.

Other Autism Resources: Blogs Books Catalogs of Products Manuals and Tool Kits Video Tools and DVD's Websites for Families Quick Links: Autism in the Workplace 100 Day Kit Local Resources Community Connections Participate in Research Studies School Community Tool Kit Autism Video Glossary With your support, we can help families in need.

Aut

ADHD in Young Children: Unlocking the Secrets to Good Behavior

This is a great article - raging ADHD behaviors are so common with ASD kids...I checked out the website - several other interesting articles.

ADHD in Young Children: Unlocking the Secrets to Good Behavior

Special Kids Day 12-5-12

This looks great - we will try to make it out there...

http://specialkidsday.org/events.htm

Music Man

I am once again blown away by the kindness and tolerance directed at my child in yet another show, "Music Man," performed with the Beverly Theatre Guild.  My husband and I know too well that Sean can be hard to understand.  The theatre community is the polar opposite of our neighbors. Theatre people “get” him better than the general public. When he exhibits "behaviors," they don't judge and he works through what he needs to work through.  I think those with artistic abilities exist on a different level and that level is closer to the wavelength autistics are on.  He has fit right in as a kindred spirit with the theatre crowd. His teacher sent me a note asking if he was in another play because he was talking about rehearsal.

 He had a line this time.  This is a new concept for him.  I actually thought he wouldn’t get it and the line would just be assigned to another child.  That is sort of the case – it was made into a cute bit where each child says “good morning, Mayor Shinn” and the mayor is annoyed by all the attention.  Sean was initially set to say the line first, but was re-set to be last. He got it right every time and projected his voice nice and loud.  I’m very proud of him.  Baby step victories.

 

He's become quite comfortable having his photo taken.  Lots of photos are taken during the production of a show.  I received a phone call from his school asking if he could be videotaped as a demo to show other students how to have their picture taken.

 

He was fascinated with the technical aspects of the show.  During tech rehearsals, he was mesmerized by the lighting, sound and set activities and the communications between the individual crews.

We have so far been lucky in shows to have young people willing and able to “Sean wrangle” when my husband and I are on stage or changing costumes.  The other kids, especially the teenagers, are wonderful to him.

Sean was hilarious on the ride home.  During both “Wizard of Oz” and “Music Man,” he sang songs from the show in the correct key, a cappella, in the car.  He would imitate solos exactly the way the actor in the show sang them – even if they were off-key, he would sing the exact wrong notes that they sang.  He also chose different characters to act out at home – one day Mayor Shinn, the next Charlie Cowell, then Marcellus, Harold Hill.  Spot on imitations there, too.

He’s developed a better sense of sequence through both school and theatre.  A member of the costume crew was asked to help him with a costume change.  She came backstage, saying he wouldn’t let her change him at that point.  Turns out, she was told the wrong time to change him, it wasn’t time yet, he was correct!

There was a section during the “76 Trombones” dance break where he was center stage.  Sometimes he would do the dance, sometimes dance while looking at other dancers’ feet behind him, sometimes just stand there and grin at the audience.  When he would just stand there, the conductor and orchestra would encourage him to keep dancing.  The last few performances, he just broke out and did his own freestyle dance at this point in the number.  That got a good reaction from the crowd!  The smallest cast member can get usually away with stuff like that.

As in “Wizard of Oz,” a big group of teachers and therapists from Sean’s school came to see him perform.  I was so happy for them to be there, not just because it made Sean happy, but I’m glad they could see Sean up on stage.  When he came to Elim School, he could barely speak a few words and was so easily distracted he couldn’t focus on anything for longer than a few seconds.  He was lost in a fog.  Now, several years later, he’s able to sing, dance and act in a show.  The staff at his school had a lot to do with that.  They work very hard with him and what a lovely result!

 The show ran two weekends and he was so upset on the days all he had to do was go to school.  “I don’t want to go to school!  I just want to sing and dance!”  He’s officially a theatre kid!

In the end, Sean once again had a terrific theatre experience.  I don’t believe our director or music director have a background dealing with special needs children, however, they were absolutely wonderful to Sean.  They saw past his difficulties through to his abilities and spirit.  Our second to last performance, he came offstage after curtain call, threw his arms up in the air and shouted, “I LOVE THIS PLACE!”  I think that sums up his experience.

Our next show is “Scrooge & Marley,” with Opening Night Arts Group, to be performed at Trinity College in Palos Heights, Illinois the first weekend of December.  Sean will be one of the Cratchit children.  I will be playing Mrs. Cratchit, so if he calls me Mama on stage, no biggie, I am his mama in this show. I have been working with him on his line: “The goose has arrived to be eaten.”  So far, he says, “The goose is here and we eat it.”  Close enough!  Either way, I’m sure the line delivery will be received well.  More theatre posts to come!