What Are You Doing With Your Summer?

I enrolled my son in an enrichment class for the summer at Fusion Academy in Huntington Beach. The school’s specialty is one-to-one teaching, so I thought it would suit him just fine. Of course it’s a film criticism class and after his first two-hour session, he emerged smiling from ear to ear. “Mom, thanks so much for signing me up for this class!”

It’s not free and I wouldn’t say it’s inexpensive, but you get what you pay for. After just two sessions, he’s been talking about films in a whole new light–more in-depth, making comparisons and best of all, on the way to class this morning he talked about a movie he’d write and direct! <Plant the seed!>

At the same time, we signed him up for a Pro-Tools I Tracking Course with Paul Murphy of Hollywood Recording Workshop in Anaheim. Again, a one-to-one tutorial.

In my opinion, the best money we’ve spent to date on summer programs for our son.

Best of all, any class or course you enroll you child in imposes a discipline of routine.

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A Note of Appreciation

Thank you to Amanda Wolfgang M.S., CCC-SLP, Director of Therapy Services, Newport Language and Speech Centers/Providence Speech and Hearing Center for inviting me to speak to its clinicians about services available to help support parents who have kids with ASDs. I was grateful for the warm welcome from all five offices. Thanks again!

Debora

 

Keep Your Kids Moving!

I find it a constant challenge to keep my kid active. If your attempts at pulling your child away from the computer/TV are unsuccessful, try to think outside the box:

Shared interest—I learned early on that the only way I could pull my son away from his books [not that reading is a bad thing!], was to tie the activity into something he’s interested in. When he was young, I’d tie games into names of U.S. Presidents or states or cities. For example, toss the ball and name the next President, starting with Washington and going in sequential order. [An easy task for my son, who at 5 knew them all. I, on the other hand, used a cheat sheet. Shhhh!] Too much work? Naw. I was thrilled to see him tossing a ball. This can be adapted to any activity, any subject matter.  

And putting a start and stop time to these ‘dreaded’ activities can help with cooperation levels. Or attaching rules: 12 successful catches, 10 jumps, etc.

Physical activity is crucial for our kids, so parents, it’s time to get creative! If you have a successful strategy, please share it here.