Category: Uncategorized

Hope Floats!

This morning, I drove Nolan to school.  Before we jumped into the car, Nolan shared how beautiful the flowers at school looked.  He said they are red and yellow.  He said they looked like a trumpet.  I explained they are called Trumpet Vines.  Then he began to share another tidbit about his friends in PE class.  He said, “We like to suck the nectar out of the flower. The other kids think it is gross but my friends and I think is sweet like ambrosia.”  I asked him the names of his friends.  He has about five new friends. 
Why is this such a big deal?  Well for one Nolan is new at this school and all year long he said he has no friends.  Then just last week he said he had acquaintances but no friends.  NOW HE HAS FRIENDS.   This is so exciting.  I try now to seem over excited.  But, I plant the seed to obtain phone numbers so he could hang out over the summer.  Another plus, these kids my be going to the same high school next year.  If Nolan maintains a friendship, he will not feel alone when he starts his new high school. 

This made my day! 

First day on the Treadmill

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Lately, Nico has been telling us that he needs to get in shape.  We tell him what a great idea this is to release stress.  We remind him we have a gym in the building and now he is old enough to use it.  We offer to teach him how to use the equipment, but he never wanted to really take us up on it.  So, in order not to push, we dropped the conversation. 

Well the other day, Nico brought the workout subject up again.  I asked what days he thought he would like to schedule these workouts.  He said mom, “Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays?”  I ask why these days.  He said, “I don’t have my tutor.” 
Well yesterday after school, Nico hit the gym and ran on the treadmill. 
I am so proud of him.  This was all his doing.  YAY NICO!!!!

Have these people heard of "LEAST RESTRICTIVE ENVIRONMENT"?

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The other day I had a forty-five minute conversation about my son going to high school.  The current middle school he is at wants to place my son in SDC (Which would be far away from his neighborhood school). This is fine for some children but my child is accessing the curriculum and tests at advanced and proficient.  Furthermore, my son’s grades are A’s and B’s.

So, why do they want to send him to SDC?  The teacher of record is worried that my son’s off topic comments, nervous ticks, and occasional blurts will appear rude and the high school teachers will become upset.  Really???  Then, maybe these teachers need some training in compassion and understanding.  
Each day, I get some email about my son’s day.  For the most part, my son has great days.  Every now and then, I receive an email that says the teacher was upset because my son shouted our in class. While I appreciate the feedback, I expect this person to return to these teachers and say, “He has Asperger’s!  This is part of his disability.”  This seems to be where the school system differs from what the parents expect the teacher of record (person who is in charge of the child and the IEP while in that school) expect.  My middle school experience for my son has shown that these teachers tend to be weak and ineffective.   These teachers only care about making waves.  They are more concerned with the feelings of the teacher than the needs of the student.

My First Blog as a Mom of Aspie Teen

Well, this is my first blog ever!!!!!!!!  Let me begin by introducing myself.  I am a normal everyday working mom.  I am a 2nd grade teacher. 

I am married to my husband for 20 years.  We have an amazingly intelligent fourteen-year-old son, named Nico.  He has Asperger’s and major Anxiety issues.   My son was diagnosed in 3rd grade.  Currently, he is in 8th grade. Our public school experience has been dicey to say the least.  I am sure the other parents with special needs children are able to relate to my frustration.  


I don’t want to go all the way back in time and discuss all my issues with public schools and the lack of compassion by most general education teachers.  I want this blog to mainly discuss issues with teenagers with Asperger’s.  I want this blog to be a way of putting together a community of parents who need to be heard and who need to share their experiences.