Classroom Accommodations #1

Homeschooling makes it easier for me to make classroom accommodations for my Hailey. But I thought some of you would like to see some of the things we are doing, that could also be used in a regular classroom. Hailey is in Second grade.

We recently started measuring to the 1/2 inch. I quickly noticed that Hailey was having a hard time seeing the lines on the ruler. After trying out several different rulers, and her still being unable to see the lines, I made and adaption to a wooden ruler. This adaption was such a wonderful solution, and gave her confidence in her ability to succeed. She is now measuring to the 1/2 inch with no problems. Oh, and she can also now measure to the 1/4 inch.

Field of Angels

 

(long post, but worth the read)

If you have a child with special needs, whether it be medical needs, or mental health needs, you know the reality of your child being left out of activities. Now I am all for inclusion, but sometimes that is not a reality.

Take baseball for instance; Sure they will let your child on the team if they have ADHD, or even mild Autism. Some teams will have children in wheelchairs. But what is the reality of that child truly being included? They get to bat (because the league requires it), They may even play one inning in the field, but most of the game they are on the bench. It’s really hard for parents as well. That’s something only a parent of a SN child would understand. It’s so hard as the parent to fight ALL of the time for inclusion for your child.

Hailey has always wanted to play sports. We have tried several.  Though they were fun for her at times. They also presented challenges. Well, seeing as how she had 5 brain surgeries this summer, I was not planning to have her in any sports. The accommodations would just be overwhelming, and I didn’t feel like having her stared at and treated differently.

Last week I was told about a special needs Baseball league that was starting called, Field of Angel’s. I gathered all of the information, and reluctantly signed her up. I’ll be honest, I had no idea what to expect, and I was concerned that this would draw even more attention to the fact that she was different.

I was pleasantly surprised when we arrived at practice. She was accepted as part of the group right away. There were all types of children, with all types of diagnoses’. Hailey made friends immediately. Each child had a “Buddy” to assist them as little or as much as needed. There was no attention brought to the SN of the children. They were all treated just like any other child. Practice went like any other practice.

So what was the difference? Each child was given a fair chance to be successful,  Each child received the individual help that they needed, There was cheering and encouragement the whole time, If a child needed a break they took one, and nobody thought anything about it. They all got hit’s, They all got to play, they all made it to home plate! If they sat down in the field, it was OK, and nobody looked at the parent and wondered why their child wouldn’t cooperate. The parents were all understanding of each other, and therefore friendships could be made.

Saturday was their first game. It was set up like any other baseball game. the field was lined, the Fan’s were there, and the games went smoothly. It was the most amazing thing i have ever been apart of. Just look at the pictures and decide for yourself.

All I can say is that I was in tears the whole game. this league is truly amazing, and God given. I wish there were more things like this out there.

Vision improved

Last week we went to the eye Doctor to for Hailey's monthly check up. We were supposed to be patching half a day, everyday. I had done some research about patching, and I decided that Hailey would benefit from patching less time, but adding some vision therapy. When i told the Doctor that we had been doing this, he was less than pleased, and went into this huge spill about the importance of patching. (like I didn't know, she been patching since she was 4) Anyways after he did her eye exam he reluctantly said, "Di spite your not patching as directed, she shows improvement". VICTORY!!!

We are praying that after we move we can find her a good vision therapist. If what little I have done at home has helped, I can't imagine what a professional could do.

Eye Turn

I'm always worried when we go to the eye Doctor. There has never been any consistency in the report that we get, and I'm always scared that things are getting worse and not better. However, the last report was so good and we made several changes in our treatment, and so I was not sure what to expect.

Poor Hailey had only one thing on her mind. She was going to march in and demand a new pair of glasses. The new ones we got are to small on the bridge of her nose. They hurt her and she complains everyday about them. Even though I told her that we were going to save to get her a new pair, she still felt that she could somehow demand that they give her a different pair.

This past Monday we went to the eye Doctor. Hailey's plan went into action. While they did not give her a new pair they did work very hard to make them more comfortable for her. The report was both good and bad. The good part was that there has been no change in her eyesight good or bad. I'll take that.

Now for the bad news, On Saturday I noticed that Hailey's eyes looked strange. It looked like the eye that tuns out was turning in. I asked the Doctor to take a look. First he told me that does not happen, I made him look anyway. It has in fact turned in a little bit. He didn't say much about it other than we would keep with what we are doing.

We have one more appointment before we move and then we look for someone else. We are hoping to find a specialist that offers vision Therapy.

Clearing up the Confusion

In my last post I celebrated our success with Hailey's eyes. While we are so thankful to the Lord for His healing and know that he deserves all of the glory, I seem to have left out a few details that have confused a few people as why Hailey would even need glasses. I would like to take this time to clear things up.

Hailey's vision score of 20/30 ans 20/25 is while she is wearing glasses. Hailey has other vision problems that will keep her in glasses. The typical knowledge of the different vision problems and how they affect your eyesight is usually very little. Most of our lives we are told that if you have 20/20 vision you have perfect eyesight. However, there are other contributing factors to vision such as, Astigmatism, Tracking, Wondering eyes, Depth Perception, and many more. For instance, you can have 20/20 vision and see things Backwards due to weak muscles in the eyes. This Problem could be helped by wearing glasses with a Prisma in the lens that pulls your eyes to the correct place. So while we thrilled with the results we know that only half of the battle has been won.

In the photo blow you will see what 20/20 vision with an astigmastism looks like.