I have written this way back in first to 2nd quarter of 2012 in our quest for a private school that have the benefits of being with neuro-typical students housed in the same building. In northern NJ, many of them or shall I say, almost all of them, the private schools do not have a mixture of neuro-typical and students with disabilities. I do not like this set-up because we are not living in a segregated world just like the stark experiences of Blacks and Whites. Students with disabilities have to be incorporated or included in this world of ours. Of course, there are parents who have different views but all we want is what is best for our children.
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We have been looking for a private school for AX and so far, we have seen three of them within the county. We are looking for a school that somehow mirrors what he has in the public school and that is, surrounded by neuro-typical children. I know I would not find one but still I put aside the doubts and hope that there is something in the private schools that AX may be able to fit in. As expected, the private schools we visited are not suited for him although one has humane touch in it but enriching the mind is far from their goals. I was told that all schools know that their children will not reach or go to college. I am not saying that going to college is the ultimate goal. I just want AX to enjoy what other kids of his age are enjoying. In this coming school year, we will take AX back to his school. I hope for the best.
The South Bergen Jointure Commission (SBJC) in Lodi is located in front of a nunnery and beside a small cemetery perhaps, for the nuns. The assistant principal is knowledgeable and explained to us their mission/services. SBJC houses students with autism and children with multiple disabilities until age 21. It is a pretty neat place but very empty. It has more classrooms and staffs than students studying there. I got alarmed with this ratio. The Math room, computer room, PE rooms were vacant. The computer teacher was busy poking his cellphone and immediately hid it the moment he saw us coming. There were no students inside. The Math room is quite neat since the textbooks and exercise books are hardly untouched. We saw some students who were the ages of AX and they are probably Jewish. The students went in front of the nunnery building where there is a gazebo and well-manicured grass/lawn. The scene reminds me of the movie, Shutter Island, when Leonardo went to the mental hospital to do some investigation. He and his colleague passed by the widespread beautiful lawn where the mentally-ill patients are busy doing their businesses.
The second private school we visited was Phoenix Center in Nutley, NJ. It was really a pain to go here from our place just like the third private school that I will mention later. It was raining heavily on the day of our visit. The drive in Garden State Parkway was like visiting Hades and I had to make sure to read every exit. It was hard to find a parking space when I finally located the school. I saw the front of the school and parked in front just like all the other cars of parents or their helpers taking the kids to school. Many arrived late due to the inclement weather. The front office has this stern lady whose voice reminds me of the lead actress in 101 Dalmatians. The case manager or the person-in-charge arrived late and somehow immediately showed us the classrooms. The children with disabilities were mostly young. It was nice to see that set-up and any parents would immediately fall to help and still aim for a better future. There are also classrooms with children who are restrained. One child was far away from his peers and was with his male assistant. We were told that the child would be overwhelmed when he is with the group so he was seated within a significant distance from the rest just like he has leprosy. On another side note, the building is very suffocating. Its windows are all closed. If I am not mistaken, the gym is underground and there is another level below that they are using. Actually, my head hurt during the tour.
Our third private school is in Montclair, NJ. The school is called Sawtelle Learning Center. It is somehow affiliated with YCS. I view children with autism no matter how wild, how disconnect, how timid, how muted, how talkative as children who can still think. During and after visiting Sawtelle, all my fears of what other people are doing to children with autism came into light. You see, a floor below the main office is a room where we saw a kid blocked in a corner with a table and two female adults were somehow restraining him. The poor black boy was being hurt. The older female grabbed the boy's head and tilted it backwards. The boy was fighting back and shouting. All the while that this was happening I noticed that the lights were off. The moment our backs were facing them the lights were on. It was hard to see how a skimpy kid is restrained by two female adults. It is just not right. In one classroom, the teen boy was wimping and we asked his age. He managed to answer. The principal said, he is just acting up (in reference to his wimping). One big boy in his teenage years was on his seat and on his desk was a piece of paper. He is tasked to do adding single digits just like Kindergarteners. I can not believe how low these people in the school think of these kids but it is really disheartening to see the kids who are rocking on their seats and looking blankly on the walls. The staff members are adequate in number, I think. It is just that when we went there, it seems like the kids were all over. Many are not attended adequately. A big boy in his teens was on the floor for quite some time and the 2 teachers are on their nerves most likely because the visitors (us and another parent) were there. It was disheartening to see him in that state and all the others are looking at us like they have seen for the first time some people outside of the building.
We went to a fourth school and I believe, it is Washington South Program in Paramus. This is a public school. If I am not mistaken, this building is like a hospital from the outside and it is surrounded by different government offices. Once we got here, the place is like entering a hospital for the mentally-ill people! In one hallway, we passed by a boy who did not want to go with the paraprofessional so he dropped himself to the floor. The paraprofessional was having a hard time dealing with the student who was about less than 10 years of age. I noticed that in one classroom with young kids like 5 years old, the atmosphere was good. It seems like the personnel believe that these students with disabilities can still be rescued or helped. That is always the case in many public and private schools I have been into. However, as the students age, the desire to educate them (with modifications or significant modifications) just like they are typical students, lessen. It is just sad. The school has a big gym and also an OT kind of room. I think, AX was with me when we were seeing this school as I remember he wanted to play with some of the furniture/toys in the OT room. The lady in-charge is accommodating but somehow reserved. If I remember correctly, many of the students there stay for good and will not or have not been returned to their respective districts.
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
Starting B6 and Magnesium
Some days are noisy and some days are just whispers that you could hardly decipher what is being told. Have been away from writing as I just put my thoughts in my e-mail and let things pile up there. Many times, it is the best so people will not misconstrue.
Going two weeks now, we started B6 and Mg on AX and somehow, we are starting to see some differences or changes in his behavior. We give him 100 mg of B6 and 250 mg of Mg per day. He is much, much calmer and has less of the mannerism he does on his hands/fingers all the time. He rarely does his "antics" of doing whatever things over and over and over again. A good example of this is open and close the book several times that you would be affected as he does not stop. He stopped things @ his own pace and when we intervened, it means protest on his part. Since last, last week, he does not pluck his eyebrows and eyelashes so these hairs are growing back again. The changes we see in him make us happy and calm.
He is still not yet a communicator that you would expect for a boy of his age. We keep on hoping though and that is what matters. We do not medicate him and this is the least of the things we have on our minds in order to help him.
AX is almost 12.5 years of age and his body and voice had changed. He is taller @ 5 feet and 1 inch and thinner compared to years before of being chubby. He has undergone puberty faster than I anticipated it. I think, I started noticing body changes when he turned 11 years old. It is still young age to enter puberty though I know adolescence period is around the corner.
He likes Caucasian girls or shall I say, he prefers them. He likes Katy Perry, Pink, Lady Gaga and some of the songs of Adele. He listens to Get Lucky by Daft Punk and Wrecking Ball of a young performer.
He likes going to coolmath website and keeps on typing on google.com for words he does not know or for things or words he likes to search or know more about. He uses the images section of google.com to help him understand something. He plays Minecraft together with his brother, sister and father. This is his current top favorite thing to do. Hence, he keeps asking for the tablet.
He eats more fruits like strawberry, banana, apple, grape, orange, melon, watermelon, blueberry and mango. I give him and his brother their morning fruits on the plate before they eat their rice, hotdog and egg. The egg is usually mixed with mixed vegetables or potatoes or tomatoes and onion. He gets less to nothing of sugary foods and I make sure, he does not indulge. I would rather throw the ice cream than have him consume it all. The kids' viand usually have vegetables even though the second boy complains a bit. AX eats the vegetables with zest.
We have volunteered him to be part of a research study @ Albert Einstein Medical Center in Bronx. It started last 12/2013 and this 2/2014, we will go back there again.
As usual, we are still sparring with the school in terms of placement. The school wants to put him in MD and remove him from his present LLD. I do not think, problems with school will ever be gone and remember the people here should know better but they want to segregate students with disabilities from the general population. You can not tell me differently as this is the 3rd state we have lived in and we have the same problems or issues with the schools. I will relate more on this in another post.
Going two weeks now, we started B6 and Mg on AX and somehow, we are starting to see some differences or changes in his behavior. We give him 100 mg of B6 and 250 mg of Mg per day. He is much, much calmer and has less of the mannerism he does on his hands/fingers all the time. He rarely does his "antics" of doing whatever things over and over and over again. A good example of this is open and close the book several times that you would be affected as he does not stop. He stopped things @ his own pace and when we intervened, it means protest on his part. Since last, last week, he does not pluck his eyebrows and eyelashes so these hairs are growing back again. The changes we see in him make us happy and calm.
He is still not yet a communicator that you would expect for a boy of his age. We keep on hoping though and that is what matters. We do not medicate him and this is the least of the things we have on our minds in order to help him.
AX is almost 12.5 years of age and his body and voice had changed. He is taller @ 5 feet and 1 inch and thinner compared to years before of being chubby. He has undergone puberty faster than I anticipated it. I think, I started noticing body changes when he turned 11 years old. It is still young age to enter puberty though I know adolescence period is around the corner.
He likes Caucasian girls or shall I say, he prefers them. He likes Katy Perry, Pink, Lady Gaga and some of the songs of Adele. He listens to Get Lucky by Daft Punk and Wrecking Ball of a young performer.
He likes going to coolmath website and keeps on typing on google.com for words he does not know or for things or words he likes to search or know more about. He uses the images section of google.com to help him understand something. He plays Minecraft together with his brother, sister and father. This is his current top favorite thing to do. Hence, he keeps asking for the tablet.
He eats more fruits like strawberry, banana, apple, grape, orange, melon, watermelon, blueberry and mango. I give him and his brother their morning fruits on the plate before they eat their rice, hotdog and egg. The egg is usually mixed with mixed vegetables or potatoes or tomatoes and onion. He gets less to nothing of sugary foods and I make sure, he does not indulge. I would rather throw the ice cream than have him consume it all. The kids' viand usually have vegetables even though the second boy complains a bit. AX eats the vegetables with zest.
We have volunteered him to be part of a research study @ Albert Einstein Medical Center in Bronx. It started last 12/2013 and this 2/2014, we will go back there again.
As usual, we are still sparring with the school in terms of placement. The school wants to put him in MD and remove him from his present LLD. I do not think, problems with school will ever be gone and remember the people here should know better but they want to segregate students with disabilities from the general population. You can not tell me differently as this is the 3rd state we have lived in and we have the same problems or issues with the schools. I will relate more on this in another post.
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