Our youngest son, Adrian, has Celiac Disease.  He is on a strict gluten free diet, and besides that, is a perfectly normal (lol, sometimes) kid!

Use this facebook cover to show your love of someone with Celiac Disease!

here and here.

Our youngest son, Adrian, has Celiac Disease.  He is on a strict gluten free diet, and besides that, is a perfectly normal (lol, sometimes) kid!

Use this facebook cover to show your love of someone with Celiac Disease!

How it works:

• This image works with Facebook’s timeline.
• It works as a cover photo.
• Your profile photo will show up in the bottom left corner where the arrow is pointing towards.
• Click on the image for it to show up on your screen in its full size, (851 x 315).
• Right click, then choose to save the image to your computer.
• Go to your facebook page, scroll over your current cover photo and “change cover” will appear in the right bottom corner of the cover.
• Click on that, and then upload this image.
• A quick tweet or facebook mention of my blog would be great!

Tonight I was fiddling around with the graphics program a bit.  The background for the cover photo was found here.

How it works:

My  group of friends and I recently went through our own small bout of it.  We made it out relatively unscathed, but [...]]]> Internet drama sucks.  When it is between really good friends, it doubly sucks.  With political tensions rising due to some big elections this year, we’re bound to see more internet drama than normal.

My  group of friends and I recently went through our own small bout of it.  We made it out relatively unscathed, but you’re always left thinking “wtf just happened?” after something like this.

So, here are my Ryan Gosling Memes to add to the millions already circulating out there.

For Timmy’s 8th birthday party he REALLY wanted a snow party.  He wanted sledding, snow forts, hot chocolate, and red rosy cheeks and frozen fingers.  However, our normal NY winter was all but [...]]]> I pinned this 7 weeks ago. Follow me on Pinterest to find some other cool things I’ve pinned lately!

For Timmy’s 8th birthday party he REALLY wanted a snow party.  He wanted sledding, snow forts, hot chocolate, and red rosy cheeks and frozen fingers.  However, our normal NY winter was all but non-existent this year.  Unless we were planning on building mud forts and sledding down muddy, but freezing hills, then the his dream party just wasn’t going to work.

We sat down and tossed around a few ideas, and we settled on having a spy birthday party.

We bought fake mustaches, goofy glasses, magnifying glasses, notebooks, pens, compasses, and then a bunch of other things for goody bags.

I found inspiration for the spy party from pinterest, of course!  The main person that inspired me was Kim at Monson Family.  Her blog is no longer up, but Creative Party Place has all the info up!  Check out all the pins in my BOY PARTY section of Pinterest to see where I got inspiration for all of the miscellaneous stuff!

The invitations I made for Timmy to give to all of his classmates. The code at the bottom comes out to say "Do Not Forget Your Swim Gear".

After everyone was fingerprinted and given their spy goody bags, they all had their picture taken before the Agency sign for their id cards.

We had gluten free pizza, regular pizza, gluten free cake, gluten free ice cream, chips, and pop for food. We took a yellow streamer and wrote "C aution! Police Line - Do Not Cross" all over it and put it in front of the food and present tables.

My husband made this amazing Spy Training Course out of PVC pipe and red yarn. This was THE biggest hit of the party.

The kids had to get through the Spy Trainer without touching the red yarn (lasers). They had a blast trying!

The kids stood in line waiting to go through Spy Training. And as soon as they got through it, they ran to get back into line!

All of the little spies sat around and watched Timmy open presents. Then it was on to the delicious cake & ice cream.

After the spies finished their training, they all graduated to the pool!

I didn't get a full head count, but I know that there were 28 people swimming from the party. I also know there were at least 10 people sitting and watching the swimming. We really had a wonderful turn out of friends and family for Timmy's party.

Linked up at-

Someday Crafts,

This is an update to my previous post, Another Bout Of Bullying.

The Asst. Principal called me to talk some more about the bullying incident with Timmy on the bus.  I told her that I was upset that she had told Timmy that he was not bullied and not punched.  She said that [...]]]>

This is an update to my previous post, Another Bout Of Bullying.

The Asst. Principal called me to talk some more about the bullying incident with Timmy on the bus.  I told her that I was upset that she had told Timmy that he was not bullied and not punched.  She said that she asked him to show her how the other boy had punched him, and he lightly put his hand on her belly, so that wasn’t a punch.  She did not see him get punched on the video, but when I asked if it was possible for the boy to punch him without being seen, she did say that she couldn’t see behind the seats.  She admitted to telling Timothy that he was not bullied.  She informed us that Timothy could be in as much trouble as this other child if she informed his parents, because he had pushed the other child back.  She reiterated that she had questioned him and his story had changed.
First, let me just remind you, my son is Autistic.  When he gets angry or hurt about something, if he is in a place that he is not comfortable with, he will normally hide those feelings.  Those feelings only come out later when he had a meltdown at home.
Second, when my son was asked to show her how the other child punched him in the stomach, did the assistant principal expect him to haul off and punch her?
Third, my Autistic son is very much easily led and confused during conversation.  His story didn’t change because it was untrue.  His story changed, because she told him that she had seen the video and that she didn’t see him get punched.  His story changed, because she kept asking him the same questions, but wanting different answers.
Right now the Asst Principal and I have set it up that Timothy will be riding the BOCES bus again for the next three weeks.  This means he will be missing an hour of school every day.  At the end of that three weeks, she said she would ride the regular bus with Timothy so that she could teach him how to behave on the bus.
She told me that because of his disability that he can come off wrong or annoying to other children.  He needs to learn proper bus etiquette.
My take on this is, he is Autistic and will never be totally socially proficient.  No matter how much my son may be annoying another child, that never gives that other child the right to hit, kick, punch, spit on, or taunt my son.  My son is being punished for being Autistic.  His social ineptitude, which is part of his Autism, is what is being blamed for these other children hurting him physically and mentally.
We are being forced to make a decision to either make him miss an hour of school every day, or be traumatized on the normal bus by other children.  He already misses classroom time by going to speech therapy and occupational therapy.  On top of that, he will now be missing the last hour of classroom time.
What I want for Timothy, is to just be protected while he is in school custody.  I want him to be safe and feel safe on the bus, as well as in school.  I don’t believe that I’m asking for too much on that.
What I’m asking of the school is this.

1. Provide Timothy with safe transportation.  I request that either an aide be put on the normal bus to ensure his safety, or the school provide him with an alternate form of transportation that does not require him leaving school early.

2. Investigate the transportation department.  In the last four years, I have called the busing supervisor over 20 times to complain about children hurting my son, and there have been no reports written up.  There is no documentation done.

3. Further Autism training for all employees of CLCS.  This would include bus drivers, transportation supervisors, administration and more.  To have it said by a few people that my son was not bullied because he showed no emotion, tells me that these individuals are not very knowledgeable about Autism.  To be told that because of my son’s disability, he comes off as annoying to other children, and use that as an excuse to why he is bullied is unacceptable.

Now if I could only find a way for them to truly hear me, and do what I ask.  I feel like I’m fighting a battle under water.  Everything I say to them is coming out garbled, and every time I push forward, the current pushes me back.  *sigh*

Last year when we were setting up Timothy’s IEP we had decided that he would ride on the BOCES bus to and from school, with the hopes of transitioning him to the regular bus during the school year .  A few weeks into the school year, Timothy’s teacher contacted me and let me know [...]]]>

Last year when we were setting up Timothy’s IEP we had decided that he would ride on the BOCES bus to and from school, with the hopes of transitioning him to the regular bus during the school year .  A few weeks into the school year, Timothy’s teacher contacted me and let me know that she didn’t think that him riding home on the BOCES bus was working well for him, because it was making him lose an hour of school every day, since the BOCES bus left school year every day.  Timmy wasn’t ready to transition to the regular bus at that time, so I agreed to pick him up from school everyday, until he was ready to do the transition.

Two weeks ago Timmy informed me that he was ready to start riding the regular bus home from school.  I let the school know, and Timmy took that big step back onto the bus that he had been so traumatised by before.

Last week, one of the kids that had previously bullied him, was spitting on his fingers and shoving them into Timmy’s ears and mouth.  I told Timmy to make sure that he let the bus driver know.

At the end of his first week, we received a phone call from the assistant principal, stating that Timmy was bouncing from seat to seat and disturbing the bus.  As we are not a family to let our boys get away with misbehaving, we laid down the law with him.  He lost his privileges over the weekend, had to write “I will not misbehave on the bus” 50 times and had to write an apology letter to his bus driver.

Thursday I met the boys at the bottom of the driveway as they got off the bus.  We had some errands we had to run.  As soon as Timmy got into the van he started getting very upset, and looked to be on the verge of having a meltdown.  I asked him what was wrong and he told me that Josh had punched and pushed him.

I asked him to tell me exactly what happened.  “I got on the bus and there weren’t any places to sit, so I had to sit with Josh.  When I sat down, Josh told me to move.  I told him I couldn’t.  He told me to move again.  I told him no.  I didn’t want to move and get in trouble again like I did last week.  Josh punched me in the stomach.  I still wouldn’t move.  Josh punched me and punched me and punched me and punched me.  I still didn’t move.  So he shoved me out into the aisle and I bumped into Abby.  Abby yelled at him to stop it.  Niko was watching, too, and said to stop.  I told him to stop because I was going to get mad and he didn’t want to see me get mad.  Josh kept pushing me.  He was pushing me with his feet and his head and his hands.  I used my strong muscles to stay in the seat.  The punching didn’t hurt too much.  Just some.  It just scares me.  And when he pushed me out into the aisle it really scared me.”

At this point, I reminded him to practice his deep breathing, as it always seems to calm him down.  Niko chimed in at that point and told me that he had seen it all, and that Timmy was telling the truth.

I let my husband know what had happened, and he called and left a message with the school that, once again, Timmy was getting bullied on the bus.  That he wanted something down about it.  That we would be calling the police about it.

We did call the police and they came out later that night to get a statement.

The next day my husband called the busing supervisor to make sure she had gotten his message.  She did.  She stated that she had watched the video tape and that she didn’t see the boy punch Timmy, nor did she see anything else happen.  Timmy seemed fine on the video and got off the bus without looking upset.  Nothing happened.

My husband was upset, because something HAD happened, so she transferred him to the assistant principal to talk.  He left a voicemail for her.

The assistant principal called us back a little later.  She informed us that she had talked to Timmy about what had happened.  She questioned him about it, and at first he said that he was punched and pushed, but the more she questioned him, the more his story changed, until he agreed that he had been pushed, but not punched.  She told us that she told him she had seen the video and did not see him get punched.  She did see the boy push Timmy out into the aisle and make him bump into another child.  (Hmm, but the busing supervisor from earlier told us that she had watched the video and NOTHING happened).  She also told us that this was a case of the boys goofing around, and that Timmy had pushed the boy back at one point, so they were both at fault.  The end.  She said that it was obvious that nothing had happened to hurt Timmy, because Timmy did not show any emotion about it on the bus.  He didn’t seem distraught or crying or anything…. therefore he was not really hurt.  We did tell her “You do realize he is Autistic, right?  He shows no emotion and then has a meltdown later when he feels he is in a safe place to do so.”  She ignored that.  She informed us that he could go back to riding the BOCES bus.  We told her that his teacher felt he was missing too much school by riding the BOCES bus, and he shouldn’t have to miss an hour of school everyday because the school wouldn’t protect him.  She informed us that they were, and that she would forward our complaint on to the superintendent.

When Timmy got home he told us that she had taken him into a room by himself and she told him that she had watched the video and that he wasn’t punched on the video.  She told him that he WAS NOT bullied, and that this was just goofing around.  He says “So I wasn’t punched and I wasn’t bullied.”  I said, “Ok.  Is that how you feel?”  He said, “Well she said I wasn’t punched and I wasn’t bullied.”  Me “Were you punched?”  Him “Yes, but she says I wasn’t and I wasn’t bullied.”  Me “Ok, but were you punched?”  Him “Yes”.  Me “Did you feel scared?”  Him “Yes”.  Me “Did you feel like you were being bullied?”  Him “Yes.  But I guess I was wrong about it all, because she told me I wasn’t.”

So the Police Officer from the night before shows up and he tells us that he talked to the busing supervisor and she told him that she, the assistant principal, and the superintendent all sat down and watched the tape and that no punching was seen on it.  Also, that Timmy didn’t show any emotion, so nothing happened.  (HELLO?!?!?  HE IS AUTISTIC!!!!)  And hello, people, the boy was punching him in the seat where you can’t see it on the video camera.  UGH!  The police officer told us that it kinda looks like a boys will be boys type of thing and that if we are still uncomfortable, then Timmy can sit in the front seat.   (The front seat of our bus is where children that misbehave have to sit).  Oh, and he didn’t get to see the video either.

So that is it.  Once again, our school is more worried about covering their own asses, than in protecting a child. How DARE she question my child and tell him that she didn’t see the punching so it didn’t happen and that this isn’t bullying and only goofing around?  Keep questioning him over and over, and yes his story is going to chance, especially when you are telling him that he is wrong.  He is autistic.  He has a history of being bullied.  He will back down and tell you whatever you want to hear so that you will stop badgering him.  YOU are being a bully.  UGH!  To top it off, it was his BIRTHDAY that she was questioning/badgering him on!

I detest this school.  Not the teachers.  I do believe the teachers are wonderful.  It is the administration.  Our school is supposed to be one of the best for special needs children, but I know many parents of SN children in our district that have had to fight tooth and nail to get their child the services and protection they need.

I also know for a fact that other parents have viewed video tapes from the bus, but they will not allow me to see the ones of Timmy on the bus.

All I want is for Timmy to have safe transportation to and from school.  If he rides the BOCES bus, he does get that.  HOWEVER, when he rides the BOCES bus home from school in the afternoon, he has to miss the last hour of school to do so.  An hour out of the day, on top of him missing time in his classroom for speech therapy, occupational therapy, and resource room time.  Yes, this is detrimental to his education.  So he should SUFFER because the school can’t keep him protected from the bullies on the bus?

I’ve asked for an aide to be on the bus, but was denied.

We have contacted a special needs lawyer that we had consulted before regarding issues with this school.

All I want is for him to be safe.  why can’t they do that?