Autism Vox

Back to School with b5media (September Theme Day)

by Kristina Chew, PhD on September 13th, 2007

My son Charlie has been back to school now for a week: He is in the fifth grade, his last year in elementary school. (Yes, middle school is coming up, and soon.) Charlie is, too, in a self-contained autism classroom in a school in our town, and, while he continues to work on learning one new word at a time and not to forget the ones he has already learned, and to remember what sound each letter of the alphabet makes, a number of more practical skills are part of the curriculum. There is laundry; there is food prep (leading me to contemplate questions like “should Charlie learn to make a sandwich even though he does not eat sandwiches or bread”—the answer has turned out to be yes); there is crossing the street.

I took Charlie to the pediatric neurologist on Tuesday for his bi-yearly visit. The doctor seemed to grow a bit more quiet when I said, for the nth visit in a row, that Charlie was working on reading sight words from flash cards, doing his best to write and starting to learn to type, not yet onto arithmetic. “Academic skills are just really hard,” I said, and ended by noting Charlie’s strengths, that he’d been taking piano lessons all year and had learned to read music, and had started to surf. “We just keep working at the reading,” I added. “However long it takes.” (And a September 13th New York Times article recounts one Minnesota autism mother’s journey from “adversity” to “opportunity” in founding a center offering educational, speech and other services for autistic children.)

In the great school of life, there is no set of curriculum. There are some things it’s helpful to learn (to read those “Men” and “Women” signs on the public restrooms) and others less so (a great novelist on women in love and men). And I’ve never been in a classroom with so many new discoveries and unexpected flashes of wisdom as in my continuing education with Charlie.

In celebration of going “back to school,” September’s Theme Day for the b5media Science and Health Channel is about education and schools.

(And while there won’t be a quiz on the posts below, I do recommend that you read with care…….)

Alicia at Mental Health Notes offers some basics you should know in Mental Health 101: Even If It’s Not Your Major.

Ruth at Eating Fabulous describes the key to eating fabulous in school. (Charlie brings his lunch—-he has his favorite paper-wrapped chicken, watermelon, grapes, rice all packed for today.)

Angela at Breastfeeding 1-2-3 considers whether breastfeeding education is appropriate at any or all levels of a child’s education. Read what she has to say and voice your own opinion in the poll on her post. (I nursed Charlie until he was 13 months—-I knew zero about breastfeeding before he was born; my own mother, following doctor’s advice/orders in the 60s, bottle-fed my sister and me.)

Gloria at Cancer Commentary notes that young people going back to school will benefit most in cancer prevention by adjusting to some healthy lifestyle habits - which we know already- but would not hurt to be reminded of any time we can get.

No matter what time of the day, my college students can be guaranteed to tell me “I’m tired”: Laura at CFS Squared writes about studying when you are so tired.

And, over at Baldiness, Laura also posts about what you can do if, well, as a result of sleeping through your alarm, you have no time to beautify yourself before racing out the door: Wear knitted hair!. (Rather than try this for my son, he’s getting a buzz cut today.)

Where does education end and “indoctrination” begin? Julie at Veggic Chic considers this question in Health Education or Vegan Indoctrination?. (Charlie still has this thing for cauliflower, onions, green onions, and, as of this week, gai lan—Chinese broccoli.)

Kendra at A Hearty Life ask how you feel about AED’s in schools? When you look at how many children actually die from sudden cardiac arrest a year… 7,000- it is a “no brainer” to have an AED there on the spot.

Back to school can be very stressful. Kendra at Diabetes Notes has one more thing to add to the equation: What if your little one has juvenile diabetes—-the situation could go from stressful to down right scary.

Kristen at Lively Women offers offers 6 ways to get a brain boost even if you’re not hopping on the big yellow bus this month. (But even if you do hop on one, or are a student in pre-quiz mode, a neuro-boost might still be helpful!)

Mary Emma at Alzheimer’s Notes has some compelling words on why we need to save those memories of school days and related activities when your Alzheimer’s family member drifts back in time. They’re part of your family legacy for future generations.

Penny at Genetics and Health posts about how kids need more sport—kids today live an ever increasingly sedentary lifestyle which has a major impact on increasing them being at risk of developing a disease if they hold the genes for a particular disease. Me being the mother of a sports-minded boy, I can’t agree more (Charlie is doing soccer now in his daily Adapted P.E. class).

Grace wraps it all up with some helpful back to school tips!

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