Are You Ready?

We've had quite the week, but it was no where near as difficult as others in our state had.

It started last Monday with something called a derecho. I had to look it up, but apparently it means a really bad storm with exceptionally bad winds - pretty much a tornado's first cousin. That storm traveled in a straight path down the highway that is behind our house. We experienced downed trees and power outages, but our power company was pretty fast to respond. Amazingly our power was only out for about 8 hours, but for others it was a couple of days.

Then just as things were starting to get back to a normal, sweltering summer, two more storms hit. Again they were called derechos, but this time they brought their cousin, the tornado. By Sunday morning, our power company had said this was the worst non-hurricane event our state had ever seen with 1 million people without power. Our governor declared a state of emergency, and the heat began to soar over 100 degrees.

God's hand must have been covering my house because through it all we never lost power. The worst event for my state short of a hurricane - 1 million without power - and we who lose power if a squirrel sneezes - were fine. The weather guys called it a derecho again, but I called it a miracle.

What all this highlighted for me was the importance of a family disaster plan. I've addressed this several times in the past, usually right after a disaster hits. And here I go again, but this time I am determined to get our plan worked out BEFORE the next disaster.

How about you and your family? What are your plans in the event a disaster - wildfires, hurricanes, tornados, floods, derechos - hits and you must leave your home? Below are some links and a video I found to help me refine my plan. Maybe you will find them useful also.

Red Cross, Disaster Preparedness for People with Disabilities

FEMA, Planning and Preparedness for People with Special Needs

Disability.Gov - Emergency Preparedness

Thankful Thursday

Today I am thankful...

• that the cortisone shot my orthopedist gave me in my elbow 4 weeks ago is still working


• that my oldest son and I finally finished his FAFSA application for his college choices


• that even though there were four accidents on the freeway on my way to work this morning, I still wasn't late


• that I have learned to accept the fact that no matter how concientious I am, an auditor will always be able to find something that doesn't pass muster


• for the snow shower we had yesterday morning. We have yet to have any significant snow this year, and I really miss it.


• that I am not alone in my anger over the way my school district conducts its special education business


• that Ashley's audiology appointment went well this past Monday. The tiny bit of hearing she had in just one ear has deteriorated, but she doesn't seem to care. She signed to the audiologist that 'deaf ok'.


• that Tatiana del Tora got eliminated on American Idol last night - what a basket case that young lady was!


• that even though I missed our snow this year, Spring is just around the corner - I need some sun and warmth


• that tomorrow is Friday and on Saturday we will be visiting elephants at the circus!

Filling In The Form

Wow! It's the first day of the new school year, and I couldn't be happier. Everything seems to be going right. The bus showed up ON TIME this morning, and the aide on the bus actually started signing to Ashley as she approached the bus. Ashley was thrilled. There were lots of other children on the bus, and Ashley sat next to a young man in her class.

I got a text message from the teacher a little later saying that the bus arrived to school on time, and that Ashley's new aide - yes, late last Friday, an aide with proficient sign language skills was hired to be Ashley's one-on-one aide - had really clicked with Ashley.

The teacher then went on to tell me that the school district had finally been able to hire two new vision teachers, and Ashley would begin receiving services immediately. The teacher wants to schedule an IEP meeting so we can finally get Braille instruction written into the IEP.

Yes, it's looking like it could be a really good school year….IF ALL THE ABOVE WEREN'T A COMPLETE SET OF LIES!!!!

The bus, as I expected, was 30 minutes late, meaning Ashley was late arriving at school. No aide has been hired although Ashley's IEP calls for 6.75 hours of instructional assistant support from someone who is "sufficiently proficient in sign and speech so as to provide a language role model." The classroom aide is "filling in" as the assistant principal told me two weeks ago, filling in when she's not helping other children or doing other administrative work that classroom aides are required to do. When the classroom aide is not filling in, NO ONE else in the school knows sign language. Sign language is Ashley's only means of communication. That fact makes me feel all warm and fuzzy - kind of like I just ate a quart of wooly catepillars. The email I sent to the Director of Special Ed has gone unanswered, and no one has mentioned the support of a vision teacher.

So, it's actually looking like every other school year - rotten and full of battles. Today I printed out the complaint form from our state department of education, and I will be submitting at least one of those by the end of the week.

Yea, I'm really, really happy…

Like Cracking an Egg

I’ve been noticing for a while now – at least a year – that children aren’t wearing helmets much anymore when riding their bikes, skateboards, and scooters. At first, I thought it might only be in my neighborhood. But, I’ve been to other neighborhoods and parks and noticed the same thing – no helmets. My kids are tired of me commenting and asking “What are their parents thinking?”, but I still do it every time I see a child riding without a helmet. I would really like to take the parents on a field trip to our local children's rehab hospital. I would like the childen in that facility to tell the parents what it is like to have a traumatic brain injury. Maybe if the parents heard it first hand, I'd be seeing more helmeted children. Unfortunately last night, my fears for what might happen to one of the helmetless children became reality.

I had taken Lizzie the dog out for our nightly stroll around our neighborhood. Many of my neighbors had the same idea and were walking also. I heard the laughter and squeals of children behind me, and soon, a young boy, maybe 8-10 years old, comes speeding by on his bike. I heard his mother behind me telling him to slow down, which, of course, he chose to not hear. His mom and his younger sister were also riding their bikes, and were still a little ways behind me. Neither the mom, the little boy or the little girl were wearing a helmet.

And then it happened. I heard the little girl yell, heard her bike fall and scrape the roadway, and then I heard a sickening thump. I was almost afraid to turn around and look because I knew that thump was probably her head striking the pavement.

Her mother threw down her bike and she and I rushed to the little girl at the same time. The little girl was unconscious and completely unresponsive. While her mother was understandably starting to panic, I called 911 on my cell phone. Within minutes, the rescue squad arrived. The little girl never regained consciousness, and the emergency medical technicians loaded her into the ambulance, along with her mother and brother, and drove away. I moved all their bikes off the side of the road, and because I was too shaky and upset to continue my walk, Lizzie and I returned home.

I don’t know how the little girl is doing. I had never seen these particular neighbors before, and I don’t know where they live. If I find out anything, I will update this blog entry, but in the meantime, please, please, please don’t let your children ride their bikes or skateboards or scooters without a helmet. The same goes for roller blades.

Ready or Not?

On this sixth anniversary of the World Trade Center attacks, I started thinking yet again about disaster planning. I know that the Office of Homeland Security, most businesses, and other government organizations have said that security and disaster planning is a priority, but I wonder if anything really has changed since September 11, 2001. We (the U.S.) even had another event to put into practice all that had supposedly been learned and developed – the hurricane Katrina disaster. Obviously that event was also a failure from the viewpoint of preparedness and disaster recovery. But the thing that occupies my mind most today is more personal – what would the impact be on my family should a disaster (natural or man-made) occur right now, right where we live?

I examined this question from several angles. First, if the disastrous event occurred while my children were in school, how would the schools handle things, and how would I get reunited with my children? I remember on September 11th, six years ago, that I felt compelled to leave work, and rush to the sides of my children. I knew I would just feel better if they were all with me, not spread around three different school buildings. That condition still exists today – my four children are in three different schools. How, and in what order would I go to get them, if I even could get to them? How would they all handle the waiting for me, or worse, how would the handle being injured? Could I depend on the school staff to comfort my children and make sure they were as safe as possible? Unfortunately, I think the answer to that question, at least for my three children with disabilities, is NO. In two of the three schools attended by my children, the teachers of children labeled with severe disabilities are advised not to take their kids outside for fire drills. So, how will the teachers and the students know when the loud buzzer is signaling a drill or an actual event? The cynical me thinks the disaster plan for children with disabilities is to sacrifice them in favor of getting the non-disabled to a safe place.

The second scenario I envisioned was being at home with my children when a disaster struck. I asked myself do I have a disaster plan in place, and especially one that addresses the significant needs of my children with disabilities? The answer is no, unless you count the jumbled list of thoughts in my head a disaster plan. So, while I am questioning and suggesting and demanding that my school system develop a comprehensive disaster plan, I need to do the same thing myself at home. After googling a bit, I found some good resources to help me down that path. They are listed below and I suggest everyone, especially families who have family members with special needs, take the time to review them.

• Red Cross Disaster Preparedness for People with Disabilities


• FEMA - Preparing for a Disaster / People with Special Needs


• Ready America for People with Special Needs


• DisabilityInfo.Gov - Emergency Preparedness