Sorting Through Life's Lessons

Monday, May 3, 2010

The Best Kind of Different

I saw Curt and Shonda Shilling doing an interview about this book on tv and decided to reserve it at the library. As a Red Sox fan I was familiar with their work on skin cancer and ALS, but I had not heard of their experiences with Aspergers.

My first experience with Aspergers was with a student about nine years ago. Our school provided great resources for teachers on learning disabilities, but our resources on behavioral disorders were not as wide. I found myself utilizing outside resources to educate myself on the topic. It was frustrating as an educator that practical resources were hard to come by and I can only imagine how parents felt. I was fortunate to find parents groups that welcomed me online and shared their wealth of knowledge and places to look.

This book was a great read. I was thinking this would be a great book to share with family and friends as one is trying to introduce them to the topic of Aspergers. The book is autobiographical, but it does address the factual issues of Aspergers and parents and teachers who have walked with families through a diagnosis can relate to the story. For family who may be sports fans it introduces the topic through the story of a sports family. I can think of some people this would have been useful to have given this to as an early read. For family members who may not be able to relate to the behaviors, the technical terms, and issues that start with the diagnosis, this may be a good introductory point.

I was able to find this book through interlibrary loan. That may be a great place to test the book to see if you find it helpful. I will be purchasing a few copies as gifts.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Patriot's Day

A favorite trivia question to ask my students was why there was a Massachusetts state holiday in April that the rest of the country did not celebrate. I would challenge them to consider why the date, which is always moved to a Monday to create a long weekend, exists.

The most common answer received, even among adults, has to do with the Boston Marathon. That however, is not the correct answer. Patriot's Day celebrates the beginning of the American Revolution with the battles fought in Concord and Lexington Massachusetts and all along the road returning to Boston.

Those who live in Massachusetts can take advantage of the local historical reenactments that occur not only around Patriot's day, but also through the summer and into the fall to reconnect with local American history. Online sites can help others reconnect with the fascinating history of the birth of our country.

Challenge your kids and yourself to sort through the myths and the legends. For instance, the poem many of us memorized regarding Paul Revere’s Ride. Poor Paul, while an amazing spymaster and a true patriot was not in fact the one who did warn the countryside as Longfellow led us to believe. He had the best of intentions. Like several of the riders, however he was stopped by a British patrol. Your children will find it fascinating to read Longfellow’s eloquent poem and then to uncover the amazing group effort that it took to warn the countryside and get them prepared to fight.

There are free online resources resources to use. Review the social studies links I have collected.

Picture Credits:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/soyunterrorista/ / CC BY-ND 2.0