THAT GIRL

Just 5 more days.

Ronnie has been counting down to the start of school. He wanted it to start like yesterday, and the waiting has been very tough for him.

Do you wonder why? Well, he is anxious to get back to our neighborhood school - last year we tried a different school with an emphasis supposedly on students with hearing impairments. (Didn't work). He's anxious to see the teachers and staff who think he is just the bee's knees. He's anxious to get back to the special basketball squad for students with disabilities at the school. But mostly, he's anxious to get back to see THE GIRL.

I have to put THE GIRL in all caps because it completely expresses the joy in his eyes when he thinks of her. THE GIRL actually graduated a year ago, but because she couldn't find employement, and because she was receiving special education services and was not yet 22 years old, she can apparently decide to come back to school this year.

When Ronnie heard that it was like the heavens opened and the angels started to sing.

Me? Not so excited.

You see, THE GIRL is a player. Moving between boys faster than a constant lane changer on a busy highway. But when those moves bring her back to Ronnie with many proffered statements of undying love, he melts into a puddle of goo!

I just wish there were ways a mother could warn her son about THOSE GIRLS such that the son would believe, understand and move on to the girl, the lower case girl that would hold his hand without furtively checking out every other boy that walked by, the girl that wouldn't constantly say "I love you", but would show in her eyes that Ronnie was important and special to her.

Any lower case girls that might be attending Tucker High School in 5 days and who are willing to find out just how special my son is, call me.

Hunter

I'm sure most of you have already seen or heard this story. Three year old Hunter from Nebraska is Deaf and has a name sign. Problem is - his name sign resembles making a gun shape with his hands. (You can see the sign for Hunt at the www.aslpro.com website). Hi school has problems with that, and prefers that he spell his name using the ASL alphabet.

I don't know about Hunter, but if my Ashley was told to letter sign her name rather than use her name sign, she certainly couldn't have done it at age 3. Heck, she can't do it now, but she knows her name sign and uses it daily.

To me, a name sign is as personal as the name itself. Asking a Deaf person to change their name sign would be tantamount to asking you to change your name completely. And it is just plain wrong.

Here's a great article from Deaf mother, Karen Putz, that I believe sums up the issue very well:

When a School Tells You to Change Your Child's Name

So what is your take on this? Should Hunter change his name sign, or should the school stop overreacting?

Here is Hunter's Facebook page

Special Exposure Wednesday

Track and field ended last night. Ronnie is going to really miss it, at least until wheelchair basketball starts in mid-September...

Standing Tall

Recently some of Ronnie's doctors as well as his physical therapist have decided that Ronnie needs some more upright time, time not spent sitting in his wheelchair. Apparently, being upright will aid with digestion, avoiding urinary tract infections and will help him avoid osteoporosis in the future. They've all said that it is a good practice for someone who is paralyzed to get into a standing position on a regular basis.

The first thought was that Ronnie would need a stander, a device that he would get strapped into for some period of the day, which would allow him to stand up. He could do school work - art class, for example - or he could do homework or even something like washing the dishes while being upright. But then the physical therapist and an equipment representative hit on another idea - a standing wheelchair.

There are two manufacturers that make manual, standing wheelchairs. There are a lot more that make power standing wheelchairs, but Ronnie does not need a power chair (even though he would love one so he could go fast around his school campus!). The equipment rep is going to contact the two manufacturers and see if we can get one of each chair for Ronnie to try.

He's pretty excited about it, and I think if it works, it will help not only with health benefits but also with social benefits. He will be able to finally be at eye level with his peers (and kissing level with his girlfriend!), and I think he will like that very much!

Here are some pictures of one of the chairs:

Getting Ready

We've got pencils and pens - notebooks and composition books - hand sanitizer and tissues - backpacks and lunchboxes. We've got new clothes and shoes and haircuts.

We've also got a spare G-tube, KY Jelly, ibuprofen, and tylenol. We've got wheelchairs and standers and a cane, catheters and lubrication. We've got seizure medicines, syringes, and the requisite forms that allow the use of those things.

Gives new meaning to the words "School Supplies."

What does your back to school list look like?

Tick Tock - Ice Cream!

The final day of our vacation took us to a clock and watch museum (sounds boring, eh? But really it wasn't), and to the Turkey Hill Ice Cream Factory.

The clock and watch museum was tucked away in a residental neighborhood just a few blocks from Turkey Hill. It obviously has some wealthy patrons because the place was huge, packed with tons of history, and one of the most well-maintained museums I have ever visited.

There were clocks and watches of all sorts, even one that used water!

After spending time in the museum (get it - spending time!), we made the short drive to Turkey Hill. Yummmm!!

We donned the appropriate hats - well, everyone but Ashley donned hats - she still will not tolerate anything on her head, and Ashley even found her name on one of the displays!

Ashley and Ronnie attempted to milk the lifesize fake cow, and judging by their ewwww! reactions, I'm betting they will never ever come close to milking a real cow.

And then it was ice cream sampling time. All the ice cream we could eat..Yes, I said ALL THE ICE CREAM WE COULD EAT. That alone was worth the price of the vacation!!!

We had a wonderful week in and around Lancaster, PA and I highly recommend it to others who are looking for a great family getaway!

Hershey Gardens

The same day that we ate our weight in chocolate, we also visited Hershey Gardens. I like the think that all the walking up and down the hills of the garden helped cancel out the calories from the chocolate, but in all honesty, I probably would have had to walk 24 hours a day for a week for that to really happen!

Hershey Gardens were beautiful! We have a family membership to the botanical gardens in our city, and with that we are able to visit other gardens around the country at no cost. It's a real bargain!!

We started the day early in the gardens. There were no crowds and the morning mist was just leaving the well manicured lawns and beautiful flowers. Here's a picture from the gardens where you can see the Hershey plant and Hershey Park (an amusement park) in the background.

Many flowers, including roses, were in bloom, and Chip got some great pictures.

The highlight of the visit was the Children's Garden, including the butterfly exhibit.

Besides flowers and butterflies, the Children's Garden was full of music! Ashley was able to play an outdoor xylophone and stomp her feet to play another instrument. Ronnie even got on the stomp-your-feet thing and jumped up and down in his wheelchair to make music!

If you are ever in Hershey, a visit to the Gardens would be well worth your time!!

Tomorrow - Tick tock, ice cream time!