California Father

Recent Activity

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  California signed the petition | about 1 year ago

  Tell President Obama To Help Kids With Disabilities Realize Their Full Potential
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  California signed the petition | almost 2 years ago

  Don't Let Texas Rewrite History
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  California signed the petition | about 2 years ago

  Tell the Senate to Pass Crucial Funding for our Nation's Kids!
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  California commented on the article | over 2 years ago

  Proprioception and the Brain

  Kristina, Read about this too. S has huge problems climbing and is only now learning to ride a trike. Thank goodness he has such an excellent OT teacher. She's helped him a lot. Apropos (sort of) of this topic is a recent LA Times article about overzealous parents and teachers who jump the gun in providing therapy such as OT and speech (http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-themd6-2009jul06,0,1434954.story). The author stresses the importance of watchful waiting. I say baloney. If my kid needs help, he's going to get it now.

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  California commented on the article | over 2 years ago

  Autism Therapy Fatigue

  Hello, Kristina. I sometimes think our son needs a break...from me. For example, after a period of torturing him with flash cards and phonics workbooks I concluded, Hey, this kid ain't ready for this. He didn't like letters or spelling so I let it go. Fast forward a couple of months to this morning and here he is labeling everything in the house with blue painter's tape (the stuff is miraculous, peels right off).  He labeled his crayon drawer "crayons", his superhero drawer "superheroes."  And beside each word he drew a picture, in case a friend came over "who couldn't read."  I helped with spelling and letter identification, pointing to a sound/letter card I brought from school.  But my biggest contribution was staying out of his way.

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  California commented on the article | over 2 years ago

  The Same Old Same Old

  This is so beautiful.  Thank you.

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  California commented on the article | over 2 years ago

  More Duncanisms

  
  entrepreneur: n business person who attempts to make a profit by risk and initiative
  
  teacher: n a person or thing that educates, esp. a teacher, principal, or other person involved in planning or directing education.
  
  

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  California commented on the article | over 2 years ago

  The Limitations of Public Schools

  I can understand the frustration with tenure but what is the alternative?  Teachers afraid to act in the best interest of their special needs students lest they get fired arbitrarily?  Charter schools, driven by high stakes testing, that allow neither tenure nor kids with disabilities within their walls? No easy answers here. Tenure doesn't equal bad teaching and certification doesn't equal good.

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  California commented on the article | over 2 years ago

  More Students on the Spectrum, More Lawsuits......

  I am guessing that strapped school districts are willing to absorb those big legal costs because providing FAPE to autistic child with all the therapies involved would cost a lot more.  With parents who are not savvy about special ed offer a designation that only involves an RSP or speech teacher (SLD, SLI).  With parents who are savvy, go to court. Hopefully more states will force insurers to cover these therapies.  Expecting the schools or other governmental agencies to do so might be expecting too much.
  

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  California commented on the article | over 2 years ago

  L.A. Times v. L.A. Teachers: America Writ Small

  Thank you for posting this.  I would like to know more about Jason Song and his friends at LAT, and why the series came out when it did (the same time the New Yorker piece about Steve Barr appeared)?  Though I am not into conspiracy theories (maybe I should be), I wonder what your take is on the timing of this concerted effort to bring teachers down.