Hi, I just read the post. I was wondering - have you made it clear to them that they are allowed to discuss her special needs? I am a high school teacher in NJ and even in our inclusion classes we are not allowed to discuss a child's special needs in front of other students due to confidentiality. We are warned that it will stigmatize the child. In many cases I agree with not mentioning it but in the case you describe and in a couple of situations I have had, it would have been helpful for the other students to understand how different developmental conditions affect communication and interaction.
As a silent follower of this blog for many, many a year... jeepers I could get myself into a very long-winded rant here, but why is it you're not writing here, on this blog, anymore? Are you hoarding your writing for another book? Every time I check in, it's only for a Monday celebrity post over at SSN. While I relish your weekly writing there... blah blah blah, compliments compliments. Please don't mistake all this for insincerity - I do adore your writing and am more than happy to gush, but for brevity's sake: What's up? Where's your head at, these days? You're so distant.
I'm not exactly sure what you're asking, but the stuff I'm writing over at SfSN isn't any different than what I would be saying here. The only difference is that I get a little more exposure from being in two places. People who come here to read are easily redirected, and the Support for Special Needs crowd can find me there.
Before I started writing for SfSN, I was writing here about once a week, and often much less. Being on a schedule there means I'm probably writing more, not less.
So I appreciate the sentiment, but I'm not exactly sure why it's off-putting to read me there instead of here. The material is the same (except I swear a lot less over there, which my editor at St. Martin's would have told you is a positive development; one of her biggest contributions to my book was to bring my vulgarity down to manageable levels).
Can Schuyler do something different, like knock on a table or do something different to get their attention? I expect her eventually to find a way to steamroll this problem.
For whatever it's worth, I've found it pretty easy to follow your links from here over to there. It works. And yeah, seems like we're reading more Rob -- not less.
For everyone making suggestions on how Schuyler can get others' attention, it sounds like the issue is more that she developed this habit early on. If the magical talking fairy arrived tomorrow, Schuyler would probably continue to be a very touchy-huggy person. On top of the communication challenges, she seems like the type of warm, outgoing, go-for-it type of kid who would've likely been pretty touchful regardless. Some kids just are (my son is one example) and some have to work harder to control those impulses.
Man. You're right, this is not an easy one. I mean on the one hand it's not like she's stabbing people with her pen. They could chill a little... but on the other hand, in general in life she will have an easier time keeping friends if she can learn to back off when a person wants her to.
When I was in high school we had a program called Peer Helpers, which was basically training on how to deal with different situations, how to set personal boundaries, how to offer support to your peers, etc. It would have been perfect for this situation. I wonder if they would consider implementing something like that?
6 comments:
Love you too, Schuyler
Hi, I just read the post. I was wondering - have you made it clear to them that they are allowed to discuss her special needs? I am a high school teacher in NJ and even in our inclusion classes we are not allowed to discuss a child's special needs in front of other students due to confidentiality. We are warned that it will stigmatize the child. In many cases I agree with not mentioning it but in the case you describe and in a couple of situations I have had, it would have been helpful for the other students to understand how different developmental conditions affect communication and interaction.
Rob,
As a silent follower of this blog for many, many a year... jeepers I could get myself into a very long-winded rant here, but why is it you're not writing here, on this blog, anymore? Are you hoarding your writing for another book? Every time I check in, it's only for a Monday celebrity post over at SSN. While I relish your weekly writing there... blah blah blah, compliments compliments. Please don't mistake all this for insincerity - I do adore your writing and am more than happy to gush, but for brevity's sake: What's up? Where's your head at, these days? You're so distant.
Distant? I'm but a click away.
I'm not exactly sure what you're asking, but the stuff I'm writing over at SfSN isn't any different than what I would be saying here. The only difference is that I get a little more exposure from being in two places. People who come here to read are easily redirected, and the Support for Special Needs crowd can find me there.
Before I started writing for SfSN, I was writing here about once a week, and often much less. Being on a schedule there means I'm probably writing more, not less.
So I appreciate the sentiment, but I'm not exactly sure why it's off-putting to read me there instead of here. The material is the same (except I swear a lot less over there, which my editor at St. Martin's would have told you is a positive development; one of her biggest contributions to my book was to bring my vulgarity down to manageable levels).
Can Schuyler do something different, like knock on a table or do something different to get their attention? I expect her eventually to find a way to steamroll this problem.
For whatever it's worth, I've found it pretty easy to follow your links from here over to there. It works. And yeah, seems like we're reading more Rob -- not less.
For everyone making suggestions on how Schuyler can get others' attention, it sounds like the issue is more that she developed this habit early on. If the magical talking fairy arrived tomorrow, Schuyler would probably continue to be a very touchy-huggy person. On top of the communication challenges, she seems like the type of warm, outgoing, go-for-it type of kid who would've likely been pretty touchful regardless. Some kids just are (my son is one example) and some have to work harder to control those impulses.
Man. You're right, this is not an easy one. I mean on the one hand it's not like she's stabbing people with her pen. They could chill a little... but on the other hand, in general in life she will have an easier time keeping friends if she can learn to back off when a person wants her to.
When I was in high school we had a program called Peer Helpers, which was basically training on how to deal with different situations, how to set personal boundaries, how to offer support to your peers, etc. It would have been perfect for this situation. I wonder if they would consider implementing something like that?
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