Yes, kids with autism can feel. The Boy has been fascinated with feelings lately. He's always asking how I'm feeling. He recognizes when I'm happy, sad or angry. And when I'm sad or angry, he always tries to make me feel better. But feelings are still complex for Norrin to understand and he's been working on them in school. He put together this book at his wonderful school and it was so cute and sweet, I wanted to share.
Here's what makes me happy: I go on the bus to go home
Here's what makes me mad: When I knock over the blocksHere's what makes me sad: I cut dad's hair
Here's what makes me laugh (it really makes me glad): Splashing water I feel confused when I am sad
And this is my beautiful Mother's Day gift - I love it!
I love mommy because: She dances with me She gives me presents She loves me She's funny I like to hug and kiss her She takes me to the park
I remember when The Boy was first diagnosed with autism, he couldn't clap his hands or point his finger let alone hold a crayon to color or a pair of scissors to cut. Suddenly art became part of his therapy, something that needed to be taught. Something that was work. And in the beginning, coloring wasn't his favorite thing. Cutting was frustrating. And let's not even get started on gluing. And then one day all of that changed. Art became fun for The Boy. He started asking for crayons. He started coming home from school and was eager to show his art work. As for cutting and gluing? I have to hide the scissors and glue. Art allows The Boy to express himself in a way he can't do so verbally. He takes pride in his work and his creations bring him both joy and satisfaction.
So I am thrilled to partner with The Motherhood and Blick Art Materials to help The Boy's former teacher, Kiley, raise funds for art supplies using Blick's Art Room Aid program.
The Art Room Aid was created in 2009 by Blick Art Materials. A company that focuses on educational and professional art supplies, Blick has also consistently supported arts education in diverse ways. Whether sponsoring art scholarships or creating lesson plans that address national standards of learning while easing the burden on busy educators, Blick understands just how important collaboration is.
Blick continues to nurture that deeply rooted investment in the arts and in educational communities with Art Room Aid. As the world becomes increasingly linked, skills like visual communication and creative problem-solving are more important than ever.
If you’re an art educator, Art Room Aid provides the tools to easily share your dreams and funding needs without complicated applications or fees that take away from contributions. If you’re an arts advocate you can quickly locate a project that resonates with you and make a high-quality contribution that will go directly to a project in need.
An art major in college, Kiley - now a special education teacher - understands the importance of art, especially for children with autism. Kiley believes "art builds independence, imagination and creativity. It also gives our students a new way to communicate and express themselves when sometimes words are not possible." Kiley was eager to set up her Art Room Aidprogram to create her wish list of supplies for a Valentine's Day project: I Love You to Pieces. Kiley will use puzzle pieces and have students color them for their parents, she will assist her students to write "I love you to pieces" on them. If you would like to support Kiley and help her student give their parents a gift they will cherish for years to come, please visit Kiley's wish list here - http://www.dickblick.com/ara/lists/2700/home. Every little bit helps and is always appreciated.
Kiley's favorite picture about art
Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post in collaboration with The Motherhood and Blick Art Materials. All opinions are my own and have not been influenced in any way.
For the warmth of my humble apartment. There are so many still without heat.
To have someplace to go tomorrow for Thanksgiving dinner. There will be many who will be alone.
The Boy who has not yet discovered that I am not perfect. To him, I am close enough. I have a husband who knows that I am not perfect. He loves me anyway.
I have family and a handful of friends who I can count on - no matter what.
I have a job. It's not the dream but it pays the bills.
The Boy has made SO MUCH PROGRESS. Every single day, I am amazed. I haven't really had a chance to write much these days. But I am so very proud.
I got one whole hour to myself today. I was completely alone. I ate my lunch in one sitting. I watched Parenthood on Hulu without pressing pause once.
My gratitude list could go on and on. But I'll stop here. Click HERE and visit my post on Parents.com/ToTheMax and find out what some of my autism blog friends are grateful for.
The Boy made this at school. I cannot take credit for such creativity. I just don't have it.
This is actually 90 pieces, I had already filled a cup cake holder with 10 pieces.
Today we concentrated on the number 100. It was inspired by a class project to celebrate the 100th day of school this Tuesday. And I wanted to do something a little creative (and cheap).
Since the beginning of the school year, we've gone through lots of crayons. (Seriously, there are crayons everywhere in our apartment.) And we had a 100 pieces of broken crayons. So last night The Boy and I peeled off the paper (though he's done a good job of doing that himself over the last few months).
Now a while back someone told me she did this with her kids and suggested I try it with The Boy. And I kind of laughed. Because (a) I'm not artsy craftsy and (b) I don't really bake. (Yes, I realize, this doesn't really count as baking.) Anyway - I've seen lots of other bloggy moms do it. So...I figured why not.
And it was pretty cool! Wanna know how I did it? Well, I went to a bunch of different blog mom sites and it's all the same. But since the Unknown Mamiis one of my favorite mommy blog writers - go HERE to see how she did it. I didn't have the cool tray she has and when I pulled them out of the oven, I swirled the liquidy crayon mixture around with a takeout chopstick. (Some sites, suggested toothpicks - I just don't keep toothpicks around. So I improvised).
I'm not sure if this is the kind of project The Boy's teacher had in mind. So I'm sending in a backup project...just in case. Check out the video below. Today I heard The Boy count to 100! Something I wasn't sure he could do. (Don't worry - I started recording 80.) But he was so proud when he finished and that smile is priceless! (After he colored the numbered squares, he cut them out and glued them on another sheet of paper.)
