Happy Mother’s Day!!

Mother’s Day Sign from Boutique Cafe

To all the mothers, grandmothers, great-grandmothers and mothers-to-be, Enjoy your special day.

Love,

Janet

 

World Asthma Day

Asthma in America (Photo credit: GDS Infographics)

Did you know that today is World Asthma Awareness Day?  Neither did I.  Totally slipped under the radar.  I looked on NIH and CDC websites, saw nothing about it.  On one of the local news channels they talked about it.  Something wrong with this picture?  I think so.  One in twelve kids in America has asthma.  I was one, now I’m an adult with severe asthma.  My kids both have it from childhood, though my son’s seems to be gone.  My brilliant asthmatic daughter smokes!!  Could wring her neck.  Anyway, it’s an epidemic.  Higher incidents among the poor, cockroach leavings are a huge trigger.

Asthma (Photo credit: liliazdad)

Exercise induced asthma is common, I have that.  Cold induced asthma is common, I have that, too.  I never knew till 2 years ago that drinking a beverage with ice in it (which hospitals give patients all the time) could trigger or worsen an asthma attack.  It makes sense; the trachea and esophagus are so close.  And of course we all know of allergy induced asthma.  That’s what my daughter had and I have.  They finally gave up on telling me I’d out-grow it when I was 40, I think.  DUH   I found a recognition item!

Related articles

• World Asthma Day 2013 (medindia.net)

Then we have the myriad of treatments.  A good thing.  When I was young and having frequent asthma attacks, prednisone (cortico steroid) was treatment of choice for persistent asthma.  When you’re allergic to cigarette smoke and live with a smoker, that happens.  So I’ve been on some dosage since I was twelve.  Now remember, I’m vintage so that’s a lot of prednisone.  That has it’s own collection of serious side effects, but it was what they had, and all of this was unknown.  Now, thank God, there are safer options.

asthma treatment (Photo credit: pilsna)

Such a cheery post, huh?  Well, now you know why I don’t have a lot of posts, though I wish I did, about tag sales (which I love), thrifting, even shopping for materials to make projects because that means leaving my sealed tight house (energy efficiency–climate control is a bonus) to get supplies.  Though I did finally finish something that I’ll post when I get pics into the computer.  I also have CRS, .

Anyone with experiences, comments?  I’d love to hear from you.

Love,

Janet

Autism Awareness Month

From Hoybycrafts.blogspot.com by Shannon Eyer 

First I want to say there should not need to be one month of the 12 for awareness of autism, breast cancer, or any of the dozens of others, it should be awareness all year.  Off my soapbox now.

Shannon is an  Autism Support teacher, and a very dedicated one if what she writes is any indication.  To Shannon and all like her I say a very sincere thanks. I include para-professionals in the field–they keep the student-instructor ration way, way down, much smaller class sizes than in any public school setting.  Without your amazing help and cooperation with us as a family; including us as a part of his team, he wouldn’t be where he is today and neither would we.  We learned almost as much under your guidance as our son did.

 He is now a young man, not a secret to any who follow my blog.  (To those that do– Thank you)  Needless to say, he has benefited greatly over his eighteen years in the education system by teachers who are dedicated to helping people like himself be all they can be; all they were meant to be.  We went outside the box of conventional wisdom in the 80s and 90s and had him placed out of district into schools that specialized in helping children like ours that didn’t learn conventionally.  We were demeaned for that choice almost as much as he was when we tried placing him for kindergarten and 1st grade in town.  The teacher in 1st grade couldn’t handle the other kids’ reaction to him, though she honestly tried to teach him.  So back to out of district he went.  The schools we experienced were wonderful at their goal of helping these students where they were at, regardless of their chronological age.  Parents were welcome there and were included by way of “shuttle notebook” what was happening there, we returned the notebook with info on what was happening here.  These kids are very impacted by what happens outside the classroom; at home or on the bus.

His toilet-training was done as a joint effort of the school staff and us, his family.  We communicated our charts of how often he was toileted, success and failure ratio, and once the diapers were off, they never went on again., at home or at school.  Not even pull-ups.  Not taking any change of circumstance well is a trait common among those with autism, and this boy was no exception.  Many superhero underwear and extra clothes were bought and washed during that time.  Many, many.  On vacation I was resentful of spending part of every day at the laundromat.  And we’re talking three day vacations.  That is all he could tolerate away from his routine.  He went to summer school, they made it fun by having day camp type activities built into the day, but so were academics.  An entire summer off from school, these students regressed a lot.

I had the privilege of working as a substitute para-professional in one school (where our son ended up spending twelve of his eighteen years of school).  I was bitten by a student because of her disability, whatever it was.   Another student who had Tourette’s Syndrome  (I had to be warned of behaviors) spit on me, kicked me, used unacceptable language.  All was accepted, though verbally corrected, because of his diagnosis and its severity.  He also has cerebral palsy to the severity he was in a wheelchair and at 21 still could not walk, stand, talk clearly or much of what you would expect of a “normal” 21 year old.  Yet he, like all of the students, were accepted there. Through that school our son learned to be non-judgmental of others, he was our guy’s friend.  Because this young man graduated before our son, he came back to the school to see our guy, his friend, graduate.

Our son has held competitive employment, working 40 hours a week.  That never would have happened if he had stayed in public school here.  He is currently unemployed, as many are, seeking employment, doing jobs at home.  We’re glad he does, especially considering we both have disease in our lumbar areas that make doing many of the things he does impossible for us.  He was scraping popcorn paint off the ceiling yesterday.  That amount of time standing would not be possible for either of us, his parents.

If anyone has anything to say or ask,  please do.  This blog is set up as a no-reply because I cannot change it at this point in time, but my email is at the top right of the page.  Thanks for showing your interest by reading this.

Janet

Related articles

• 10 Best Autism Apps for the iPad (laptopmag.com)

Thrifting Finds

Hubs found this listing on eBay the other day.  Nice, huh?  The center drawer is a flour bin.  It is a farmer’s baking table so I guess that’s logical.  Look at the price.  $695 plus shipping.  That would not be cheap.  It’s the table alone. BAKER’S FARM TABLE WITH ENAMEL TOP C US $695.00 The table and chairs below we got from our favorite Used Furniture Store right here in Windsor Locks, about a mile from our house.

2 drawers, one a silverware drawer

Sorry about the very, very poor picture quality and the fact that the legs of the table are chopped off, lol.  It looked much better before it finally made it to the post.  Anyone else have a problem with getting iPhone pictures into a photo folder that allows them to be put directly into a blog?  I finally e-mailed this to myself and copied and pasted after almost 3 hours.  Special kind of technically challenged am I.

Anyway, guess what this one, that really does look better in real life, cost?  $100 !!!

We got these, too!! See the table does have legs.

Care to guess what this pair of turquoise retro chairs cost in this wonderful store?  $60!!  Can you believe it?  The store is owned by a husband and wife.  We asked if they came across another pair to grab them for us and she said it’s highly unlikely to find another pair that color.  Who cares???  Same vintage and style would be fabulous.  Hubs went in the basement and came up with a wood chair with spindles in the back, just a shade lighter than these.  Neither of us  could believe our good fortune that day.  And to top it off, they bought the table & chairs that had been in the place our new old one is, and some other stuff from the basement.  He and a helper did the exchange and saw other things he wanted to tell the wife about, but he definitely wanted a few things.  We didn’t see him when we were there recently, but surely we will.

Another time I’ll show you some other things from this store.  And I’ll take the pictures with our real camera that loads into a program that works.  Another thing to add to my list of things to fix for the PC guy……I have Photo Streamed and used pics before but not tonight.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Easter!

Janet

Great New Blog & Giveaway

Well, it’s new to me anyway.  I followed a link from Facebook from WorthingCourt, a great blog itself.  It brought me to Thrift My House (Blogger). To get there, go to sherrysbeesnest.blogspot.com.  She has amazing ideas and examples of making a house a home on a budget, and don’t we all need that!!  

She is having an awesome giveaway.  How’s this for a prize?!

                                                       

I’m entered, will you?

Janet

A Child WITH Autism

This could have been anyone’s child.  Except my child with autism would never have done that.  Some with it and some without it would think nothing of kneeling down to play in a puddle, wearing his galoshes, holding his umbrella.  At that age (judging by size) my boy couldn’t have gotten out of the rain quickly enough, it was like he would melt.  The only way you could get him to venture out at all was if he had to go to the bus for school or from the bus.

Just as is true of “typical” people, those with autism vary greatly.  One thing almost all have in common is difficulty in social interactions. I doubt there are many people now who haven’t heard the words “spectrum disorder” associated with autism.  While I know how that came to be, I prefer “If you’ve met one child or adult with autism, you’ve met one child or adult with autism” italicized words are mine because my son is now an adult.  This is not something that goes away.  It is a life long disorder, but many services for those with autism stop when they graduate or finish school.  Not all qualify for a diploma at the end of their school season, in the school year in which they turn 21. Then what?  It depends on where you live.  I worked for a while as a paraprofessional at a school for disabled students who couldn’t be taught in mainstream schools.  Sometimes it was because of the severity of the student’s disability (often autism in this setting, but not always) and sometimes it was the lack of knowledge and training in teaching these individuals in their local district schools.  One classroom I worked in had a man who would graduate that year who was completely non-verbal, did the stereotypical hand flapping and toe walking that is usually associated with young people.  And he was dangerous; though he may have had a co-occurring disorder, I don’t know.  Another who would graduate that year did the same thing with me every day, he tried to identify coins.  In the spectrum disorder model these would most certainly be low-functioning.

My son also attended that school.  His description in the same scale was high-functioning by then.  Though when he was much younger, he too was violent, non-verbal when others his age were chatterboxes, used people (me if I was available) as tools to get what he wanted.  He would take me by the hand, drag me to where what he wanted was, point our hands and make noises.  Like many with autism (and many other problems) he had extreme sensory issues.  He felt gentle touch as pain and very firm touch was comfortable.  One couldn’t just gently touch his arm without him going into a tirade, but firmly grasp his shoulder and that was fine.  He only ate 3 foods at a time, brand specific, with some rotation, Cheerios being constant, until he was 9 years old.  And that only started because his asthma doctor, a wonderful man who loved every patient and parent, and all loved him, joined with me in tricking my son into expanding his horizon to include, of all things with nutritional value, Ensure. yuk  But from there we were able in a group effort including school and doctors, to get him to eat a better variety.  Now, he has preferences, as we all do, but he eats textures and tastes that were only a dream for us in his younger years.

These are but a few examples of what autism can look like.  I forgot to mention this school had a vocational program all students age 16 and up took part in.  They started assembling and disassembling nuts and bolts, stuffing envelopes, etc.  At the time, my son was the youngest student they’d had work in the community successfully.  He had many jobs that any teen would be likely to have (they all rotated jobs) and was hired to work privately by two companies.  And he graduated with a diploma from that school and from his home district, he had enough credits in all subjects and we were all very proud.  He had been labelled “ineducable” (unable to be taught) when he was three.  Just shows how unpredictable this, like anything else, can be.  Some go on to college.  Have you heard of Temple Grandin?  She is a woman, now in her forties at least, who has autism as well as a doctoral degree in animal husbandry, her own company, has written books and does public speaking.  She admits, though, that she is more comfortable, one on one, with animals than with people.  Those who have Asperger’s Syndrome are often among the highest functioning academically, but according to the Diagnostic Statistics Manual by which all conditions involving the brain are determined, Asperger’s is no longer an autism disorder, or at least so I’ve been told by those in a position to know.  By the way, did you know that autism is a neurological disorder?  It has manifestations that certainly fall in the category of mentality, but it is a genetic, neurological disorder in origin.

This is but a thumbprint description of what autism can look like.  I’ve come across others in blogland who have young ones with autism, but I’ve seen none with adults.  If there are any who read this, or if any reader knows someone in that category, please get in touch, we all need that community that is specific to our situations.

Opinions?  Experiences? Parents, teachers, doctors, social workers, occupational or physical therapists, speech therapists, nurses?  I’d love to hear from any and all of you.  Whether you agree or disagree.  My email address is at the top of this blog.  Thanks to all.

Love you,

Janet

Related articles

• What Will the DSM5 Cost Your Child? (prn.fm)
• Who’s at Risk for Autism? (everydayhealth.com)
• The Presence Of Animals Increases Positive Social Behaviors In Children With Autism (medicalnewstoday.com)

Comfort Foods and Depression (i.e.- Self-Medicating with Donuts...it's tastier than Prozac)

Reblogged from Oh What a Pain in the...:

If you are anything like me, you know that sometimes an episode of depression can lead to eating!  After all, I didn’t get to my highest weight of almost 300 pounds last year because I was happy with life!  But, eating when you are depressed doesn’t help because you are not getting to the root of the problem with food.  As a matter of fact, an episode of depression can lead you to consume thousands of extra calories that may give you a much-needed mood boost, but sadly, it is short-lived and can lead to a cycle of overeating.

Read more… 667 more words

This Storm Wins in the Comparison of Blizzards

I guess I’m brain dead , below is, first an attempt to embed a time release of the storm, (I see code) 2nd a link to the news feed of the time release.

<script type=’text/javascript’ src=’http://WFSB.images.worldnow.com/interface/js/WNVideo.js?rnd=73766;hostDomain=www.wfsb.com;playerWidth=645;playerHeight=380;isShowIcon=true;clipId=8345641;flvUri=;partnerclipid=;adTag=Video%2520Player;advertisingZone=;enableAds=true;landingPage=;islandingPageoverride=false;playerType=STANDARD_EMBEDDEDscript;controlsType=fixed;galleryType=wncategory’></script><a href=”http://www.wfsb.com&#8221; title=”WFSB Channel 3″>WFSB Channel 3</a>

http://www.wfsb.com/global/category.asp?c=208507&autoStart=true&topVideoCatNo=default&clipId=8345641

This record-breaking snow and wind that was storm Nemo to many, Charlotte to this news channel, caused the governor to shut down all roads to non-essential travel as plow trucks got stuck.  Our street is plowed, but the corners are one lane–hope and pray nobody from the other side of the snow bank is trying to turn to where you are.  Some towns didn’t get that all done.  This pic is from wfsb news in the town of Berlin, CT, residents clearing their street with staggered snow blowers.  This was yesterday.  Today after temps starting in single digits, it’s in the 40′s now, so lots of melting, re-freezing creating black ice.  We have dense fog, too.  I’m not going out, that’s for sure.

Of course the airport a couple miles from my house closed for an extended period.  The president declared a state of emergency.  One town alone, not the one above, has 240 miles of roads un-plowed.  Photo below also from WFSB-TV.  A parking lot in a business district and no one can get their cars out due to road closures.

State workers were told not to go to work today unless they’re in the essential group, most get tomorrow off, too.  And we’re having another storm today, bringing freezing rain, rain, sleet, a real mixed bag that will add weight to the 2′ of snow already on roofs.  There have been 16 collapses already.

None of us are snow lovers.  Less so now.  And there’s a good possibility of more snow Thursday.  Watching people sled and ski down stairways of buildings, crazy.  What were your storm experiences? I’d love to hear.  I want to join all you southerners!!

Janet

Blizzards Compare

Okay. I will give away my age.  Does anyone else remember the Blizzard that hit the Northeast in 1978?  It was compared to the Blizzard of 1888, and I’m NOT old enough to have experienced that one.  Of course the ability to communicate, predict the storm, clear the mess deposited (snow, freezing rain, etc.), look for people stranded and all storm-related things were not comparable to the 20th century storm.  In Connecticut on February 6,7, 1978 the governor closed the roads to non-essential  people so they could be open for emergency personnel and essential workers, like hospital, nursing home, electric, water company suppliers, etc..  To say it was a nasty storm with many lengthy power outages and injuries and deaths, is an understatement.

The storm we are in now started around 9:00 AM at my house in Connecticut about twelve miles from the border with Massachusetts.  ”Charlotte” is coming from the south, as did the storm of 1978, so people at the shoreline and other places south of us, got hit first and hardest, in my opinion.  There hurricane force winds not only blew snow, but also drove flood waters that brought terrible destruction.

The meteorologists are comparing the storm that is blanketing a lot of New England, parts of New York state and New Jersey to that storm.  That is their expectation by the time it leaves this area sometime tomorrow afternoon, hopefully.  Certainly the technology we have now will bring a huge difference in ability to get people to stay in if possible, go to an emergency shelter if  need be as early as possible, especially people with medical needs requiring electricity unless they have generators. There are many more emergency shelters available.  We got emergency preparedness pre-recorded phone calls from the electric company and the water company yesterday.  Many schools and businesses closed for today, making announcements yesterday.  Stores were horrible to navigate yesterday as everyone stocked up on necessities.  The governor told non-essential state workers to stay home, all DOT plow operators put chains on their tires in preparedness for the ice that likely formed as the snow hit the frozen ground.  I imagine most of the private contractors working this event did the same.  All available linemen and tree removal personnel are ready and requests have been made to states in other regions for help. Cell phones are everywhere and people (like us) with generators or in emergency shelters can charge them.  We’re much more prepared, thanks to modern technology, than in 1978.  That was the last time, maybe the only time, the state was shut down.  We have no need to go anywhere and we’re not.

In 1978, however, I was a nurse’s aide in a nursing home, essential personnel.  So I picked up others afraid to drive, going about 8 miles north for two workers to go southeast to our workplace.  On arrival I was told it was necessary for someone to drive into Hartford on the other side of the river I had just crossed, to get nurses.  No four-wheel drive then, I had a Nova!!  Young and reckless.  The streets of our capital city were not plowed, but in I went to get them, doing the whole thing in reverse after 16 hour shifts.  Once I refused and we all stayed, sleeping on the floors.  Did you know that storms like that effect people who have mental illnesses more than the full moon?  (It is true about the moon, by the way)  I was chosen by two different men in two different areas of the large facility to be assaulted.  Like I said, reckless.  Once only I fishtailed into a guardrail with a plow approaching me, but I righted the direction and traveled on.  I had a lot of guardian angels that day!!  This is what the roads looked like.

I sure hope the meteorologists are wrong.  How are things where you are?  I’d love to hear.

Janet

OOPS!!!!!!!!!!

Yesterday I wrote about six steps and Mandi of Vintage Revivals inspiring that post.  As much as I enjoy Mandi and her great posts, this one didn’t come from her.  I ask forgiveness from Donna of Funky Junk Interiors.  She made things seem real and funny at the same time.  She wrote, quite well in fact, of needing to spend time with her son, the high importance of that.  And she wrote of six changes she was working on.  My six changes remain.  So sorry Donna.

Janet