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Just Because My Pickle Talks Does Not Make Me An Idiot



My son with Asperger's Syndrome is very creative. Yesterday he was talking to his imaginary pickle. Today? Well, you'll just have to come in and find out.











Welcome

Thank you for stopping by to see what Jonathan is doing today. Just grab something to drink off the counter, pull a chair up to the kitchen table and let me tell you all about it. And if you'd like to hear about his daily antics, please follow or subscribe, we always have plenty of Jonathan stories to tell.












Tuesday, December 15, 2009



Where Did the Name Come From?




I rewrote my first post since I'm sure most of you have never read it. I explain how our blog

got it's name.  
We were 18 months away from Jonathan starting kindergarten. I was panicked. He refused potty-training. For three and a half years I kept raising my concerns about Jonathan's developmental delays to his pediatrician. The doctor's response, probably because I compared Jonathan's development against Joshua's, "Oh, you had the perfect child first."The year Jonathan entered public school Kindergarten, the state mandated the school systems have full-day Kindergarten. In my heart I knew Jonathan wouldn't last all day in school without a year of half day school to transition. However, no preschool program would take him because he was not potty trained. I was in a Catch 22.Scott was still active duty military then, which meant the family was seen at the Naval Base clinic. Although there was a pediatrician on staff, the clinic was crowded. Both Jonathan and Joshua qualified to stay in the pediatric clinic because of chronic health issues. Faith, Scott and I were seen by the "family clinic." One day I was in the family clinic for Faith and had Jonathan with me. I mentioned to the family doctor my concern about Jonathan's delays in development.She immediately asked me a few questions, administered a few quick evaluations and disappeared. When she returned, she handed me a referral to the closest military hospital which had a Child Development Center. Jonathan was on the waiting list for four months before he was finally seen at Walter Reed Army Hospital. The child pyschologist gave us the diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome and referred us to "ChildFind" our state's early identification and intervention program under Individuals With Disabilities Educational Act (IDEA)Back then we didn't know what Asperger's Syndrome meant to Jonathan or our family. And everywhere we turned, we were pointed in a different direction. Finally someone at our church started listening to me. Turns out she was an Occupational Therapist for the local school board. It also turns out that she was assigned to Jonathan's home school. Jonathan did get an IEP but only because my OT friend found he qualified for her services. None of the other special education specialists found Jonathan eligible for their services.
About this time, I cried a lot. We didn't know what we were facing and we weren't getting a lot of support from anywhere. Friends had been telling me for years that Jonathan wasn't different from their kids. "All kids hate their nails cut." "All kids hate their hair washed." "All kids hate noise." True, but not when they are almost four. They tend to out-grow the blood curdling screaming during grooming by then. And I was frustrated with my friends for not giving me credit for having raised one child already and having, Faith, on the other side of Jonathan. She was developing on the same track as her oldest brother. And it was scary that she was looking like she'd develop beyond Jonathan soon.
During this period Jonathan began saying, "Just because my pickle talks doesn't make me an idiot." I don't know what it meant, but I was sure it was profound.
Scott and I went to dinner after one particularly difficult day. I think Jonathan screamed out of control because I put him in on the right side of the van instead of the left side. He only stopped after I drove all the back to the parking lot got him out of the car and put him in on the right side because that was how it was supposed to be done. (Apparently I didn't get the memo.) I was feeling a little low about Jonathan's issues. I dabbed my eyes from some slow falling sad tears, while we were waiting for dessert.
"Doesn't Jonathan's phrase 'just because my pickle talks doesn't make me an idiot' sound like the words to a country song?" I asked my husband.
Without even hesitating, he replied, "No. I think it sounds like the title of a book you're going to write one day about raising a child with Asperger's Syndrome."
How about a blog instead?
I'm curious. What do you think "Just Because My Pickle Talks Doesn't Make Me an Idiot" means? Let's make it a contest. You submit your ideas the rest of this week. Next week you'll vote and I'll announce the winner on Friday. How about a $50 Visa Gift Card? Should be nice around this time of the year. Enter as many times as you have suggestions. And feel free to invite others to participate.





Posted by
Corrie Howe


at
5:33 AM


12
comments
























Monday, December 14, 2009



A Fairy Myth?



I was going through Jonathan's papers the other day and found this: (I cleaned up the spelling for easier reading)Jack and Jill went on an escapade up the hill to get Levitating water. Jack let go of the pail and watched it go astray. Poseidon got mad and Jill became Jack's alibi. Jack was now notorious to Poseidon and Jill became an enigma. Then Poseidon said, "You, fool,you neglected my water." Jack went to court and Jill became a lawyer. 
* * * * * * * * *
Yesterday Jonathan commented on how he missed one of Joshua's goof (I meant "good" but "goof" is still appropriate) friends who went off to college. So I sent a "text" to Thomas stating such. At least that's what I thought. Instead I ended up "tweeting" it, and didn't realize until about four hours later. Don't I feel silly? And I wonder what my 13 Twitter Followers are thinking?
Today's post is unusually short, because I'm still in the process of catching up on reading blogs. It reminds me of the old saying, "One step forward, two steps back." In this case, one blog read, ten more post.
  
Continuing Jonathan and my Circle of Friends:


Holly L at 504 Main, Manic Mommy Meg at Just Another Manic Mommy, May at Currently on Tour, Melinda at Coming Clean: Confessions of an Imperfect Parent, Michele at Finding Trinity: A Mother and Daughter Journey, Missy at Are You There, God?, Nancy at If Evolution Really Worked, Mrs. Bibi at From Misery to Happiness is 365 Days, Nicki at Slow Down, Gym Shoe, ortin at Wizard of Ortin, Rheanna at The Bristol Project, Shawnda at Asperger Syndrome Awareness, Shell at Things I Can't Say, Shelly at The Story of My Life, Sherry at X-Spot Marks the Spot, T. Anne at White Platonic Dreams, Heather at Theta Mom, Traci at 38 and Growing , Travis at I like to Fish, Yaya at Yaya Stuff , Zeemaid at Mommy In the Trenches. 




Posted by
Corrie Howe


at
7:01 AM


29
comments




















Sunday, December 13, 2009



Guest Post: KSY from Stir-Fry Awesomeness




I apologize in advance for the formatting, promised hubby I'd come to bed before he falls asleep tonight. I'd like to welcome ksy to our home today, please make her feel at home.  I'm kys and I blog at Stir-Fry Awesomeness.
I took the liberty of  interviewing myself in order for Corrie's readers to get to know a little bit  about me. Why  Stir-Fry Awesomeness?  Honestly, it beats the heck out of me. It's my Rock Band name and my friend  picked it  instead of Hillbilly Stew or Snuggle Wasteland. Those were my other  choices. Honestly, I like Snuggle Wasteland the best.What is  SFA about? Not much really. I'm a married and I have 2 rambunctious  boys.  I complain, er, talk about my family a lot. Sometimes I tell about the  stupid things I did when I was younger. Some people might describe me as snarky  or sarcastic. What do you do when you aren't blogging?  When is that exactly?  I'm a speech language pathologist who works  primarily with preschoolers. My pre-blogging hobbies included sewing, reading,  Zumba and anything pop culture related. The  following is a post that I wrote in October. I added a  new snippet at the request of my BFF.

I Love My Job


Preschoolers are my favorite age  group to work with because I don’t have to worry about them copping a feel or  trying to knife me.  
I do have to dodge snot and use my superpowers  to anticipate bathroom accidents.
Anyachoo, these little kids are  high-larious. They don’t have any concept of privacy and will tell everything to  anyone. (Kind of like yours truly.)
Here are a few highlights from my  illustrious carreer:Jacob (4 years  old) and I were talking about computers.  Me: Do you play games on your computer?Jacob: No. We  don’t have no puter no more. Me: Oh, I’m sorry. Maybe you’ll get  another one sometime.Jacob: Well, my daddy was looking at pictures  of nekkid cheerleaders on it while mommy was at work. I told him, you better not  look at those. Mommy’s not gonna like that. And mommy caught him. And now we  don’t have no puter no more.Kayla,  4 yrs old:
My mommy and daddy dance nekkid in bed.  It nas-ee.Kayla,  again:K: We got a new dog.Me: Cool!  What’s his name?K: It real name Hero. But daddy call it bitch. We  tell him he’s Hero. But daddy keeps yelling “Bitch!  Bitch!”During kindergarten  screenings:Me: A mommy is a woman and a daddy is  …….?Jimmy: Son of a bitch. That’s what mommy  says.My BFF's daughter, Ashley, loves Toy Story. She  wants the Buzz and Woody characters for Christmas. But not the plush  characters.BFF: Ashley, what do you want for  Christmas?Ashley: A hard Buzz and a hard Woody.Thanks, kys! I gave her a day off around Thanksgiving, so she's giving me a day off today. Make sure you go check out her blog for more snark!I'm also taking a one day break in thanking my Circle of Friends. I'll start back up Monday. Go Navy beat Army! And Go Packers beat Bears! And last, but not least, Go Texas Tech! We're going to the Cotton Bowl!!! (So how many of my friends I'm I gonna lose besides Amber, from the Army Mom's Place?)  




Posted by
Corrie Howe


at
5:20 AM


25
comments




















Saturday, December 12, 2009



More Purple Man





I added captions in an attempt to help you read this. Don't you love how in frame three Jonathan has Purple Man walking out of the frame? And in frame six is pitch black to indicate what Perfeckto can see?

I would like to thank some of my very first blogging friends and all my new friends who have been loyal through the last month of technical difficulties. I couldn't find a nice easy way to do this, so I'm going to list about ten of my circle of friend each day until I get through them all. The order they are listed are simply the easiest way I can reach them, not my order of preference.


Jonathan and Corrie's Circle of Friends:



Today's group is still full of snarky with some special needs and a little bit of everything mixed in.

Deborah at Pipecleaner Dreams, 
Denise at Together We Save, Elizabeth at moon worn as if it had been a shell, 
foursons at Foursons, 
Gracie at GraciesBoys, 
Helene at I'm Living Proof That God Has a Sense of Humor, 
Jeneil at Autism in a Word,
Jenn at Rook no. 17,
JennyMac at Lets have a Cocktail,
Jess at Diary of a Mom, 
Jess at Frugal with a Flourish, Judith Ellis at The Being Brand, Kelly at My Voice, My View, 
Kim at The Roc Chronicles, KYS at StirFry Awesomeness, Laura at Enjoying the Simple Things, Linda at My Trendy Tykes,
Mama Edge at mama on the edge of autism, 
Nancy Campbell at Away We Go,
and Pattie at Listen to My Words with Your Heart




Posted by
Corrie Howe


at
5:33 AM


12
comments














Labels:
Purple Man






Thursday, December 10, 2009



Who's Responsible?




Recently Jonathan and I went to his weekly counseling visit. About every six weeks I go back and talk with the counselor and Jonathan plays. It was time for one of those visits, I wanted to talk about Jonathan's third fight.
So she started asking Jonathan about these fights.



Counselor: So why did you get in a fight?

Jonathan: He made me mad?

Counselor: Who made you mad?

Jonathan: He made me made.

Counselor: Who made you mad?

Jonathan: He made me mad!

Counselor: No one can make you mad.

Jonathan: Yes they can.

This went back and forth for awhile, then I interjected:

Me: No one can make you do anything.

Jonathan: You can make me do homework.

Counselor: No, you chose to do your homework.

Jonathan: No, mom makes me do it by yelling at me until I do it.

Counselor: No, you decide that you don't want to be yelled at anymore so you choose to do your homework instead of being yelled at.

Jonathan: No she makes me do it.

Counselor: She doesn't make you do it. She could yell all night long and you could still choose not to do it. 

Jonathan: Mom can make me do anything except eat chicken.

Counselor: Jonathan, when you let people make you mad, you are giving them power over you. No one can make you mad. You chose to be mad.

Jonathan: Anyone can make me mad. Faith can make me mad. "Nemesis" (the boy who pushes Jonathan's buttons) can make me mad. A random Canadian can make me mad.


I apologize to my Canadian friends. We asked Jonathan where this came from, he said, "Calvin and Hobbs." We asked, if Calvin and Hobbs said this. He said, "Not exactly, Calvin said a 'random Canadian' stole his homework." So you can blame Bill Watterson. But this does remind me of your post yesterday, Tanya. (Go to her site to see yet another example of  how those diagnosed with autism often "echo" or use "scripts" in their language.)

* * * * * * * * * 

I would like to thank some of my very first blogging friends and all my new friends who have been loyal through the last month of technical difficulties. I couldn't find a nice easy way to do this, so I'm going to list about ten of my circle of friend each day until I get through them all. The order they are listed are simply the easiest way I can reach them, not my order of preference.


Jonathan and Corrie's Circle of Friends:


Although I'm putting these up from my Google contacts account, I'm amazed at how diverse this group is. I have old, new and in between friends. And the blogs range from snarky to faith with a little bit of everything in between.


MODG at Martinis or Diaper Genies, Adrienzgirl at Think Tank Momma, Alexis at Running Away: I'll help you pack, Alisa at Faith Imagined, Amber at Army Mom's Place, Andi at Misadventures with Andi, Audrey at Divine Graffiti, Audrey at Audrey's Spot for Recipe Tips and Hints, Brian Miller at waystationone, Carrie at For the Record, Christi at Who Has The Thyme, Christina at Sanctified Together and Cinda at Cinda.Okay, friends, I had to list and link these four times because I kept getting an error message. I now know most of your URLs by heart! Hope you enjoy your status as my friends as it truly became a labor of love. :-) 






Posted by
Corrie Howe


at
9:44 PM


26
comments














Labels:
anger management,
Asperger,
counseling,
fighting











Dinner Conversation last night: 
Faith: I get to use Mama.Me: What?Faith: I get to read to you first for my homework.Me: Oh.Jonathan: I get to use a calculator.Me: Really?Jonathan: Yeah, dad. You called him a human calculator.Scott: Dad's the calculator. Mom is the typewriter.Me: I guess we don't really need to push for an assistive technology evaluation at the next IEP meeting then. (IEP=Individualized Educational Plan for special education under the federal law called Individuals with Disabilities Educational Act or IDEA. Jonathan doesn't like to write and makes a lot of mistakes when he does, so the IEP team is considering an evaluation for using "assistive technology"...computers, calculators, Digital Readers, Digital Recorders, etc.)* * * * * * * * *I'm whoa-fully behind on thanking my friends for their awards to me and for passing them on to others. So without further ado:Polly at 5th Sister and Betty at Cut and Dry each gave me the Lemonade award. If I remember correctly it is usually given to people to take life's lemons and making lemonade. I'm flattered. Polly had an incredibly creative and funny photo story about "Mr. Carrot" the other day. You have to drop by her blog to read it. Betty at CUT and DRY takes the most beautiful pictures from around the world. She's a great reader, follower and commenter of blogs.

 Daffy at BATCRAP CRAZY is in fact CRAZY. If you hang around her too long you will become crazy too. But I think you'll have a lot of fun while going crazy.  She is given so many awards that she got behind. So she did what any other genius would do, she made her own award. She is the model of not letting an attitude go to waste.



Charisse and Holly at Life Laugh Latte are two friends who are working on their own TV talk show. Right now they only talk to each other and only on the web. However, it is only a matter of time before some visionary network picks them up, because they are really funny. They are remarkable readers too.

Lynn at Middday Escapades started her blog as a way to escape during the lunch hour from her job. Her site is also full of everything you can imagine. She is a great supporter of other blogs and is willing to share her site and her knowledge with others. I love her blog too!
 

Trac at Welcome to Our World has a lot of fun with her blog. It has a little bit of everything. Photos, comics, seasonal decorations, recipes, etc. I'm so jealous that she got to see Chuck's Zachary Levi while taking pictures in New York, New York. She posted the picture on her website. I'm pleased to be counted in her Circle of Friends.

I would like to thank some of my very first blogging friends and all my new friends who have been loyal through the last month of technical difficulties. I couldn't find a nice easy way to do this, so I'm going to list about ten of my circle of friend each day until I get through them all. The order they are listed are simply the easiest way I can reach them, not my order of preference.
Jonathan and Corrie's Circle of Friends:Deb at Menopausal New Mom, Tami at Hearts Make Families, Tanya at TeenAutism, Kelly at My Voice, My View, Lee at Headaches, Hormones, Hotflashes, Polly at 5th Sister, Betty at Cut and Dry, Lynn at Midday Escapades, Daffy at BATCRAP Crazy, Trac at Welcome to my World, Charisse and Holly at Life, Laugh, Latte.* * * * * * * * *

Finally, I wrote something kind of different and fun over at Lynn's Midday Escapades. I hope you'll go check it out. You'll find out why my children decided to pay Courtroom recently.





Posted by
Corrie Howe


at
12:25 AM


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Wednesday, December 9, 2009



Do You Have To Take A Picture?











Posted by
Corrie Howe


at
9:14 AM


15
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Blog Archive





▼ 

2009
(128)


▼ 

December
(9)
Where Did the Name Come From?
A Fairy Myth?
Guest Post: KSY from Stir-Fry Awesomeness
More Purple Man
Who's Responsible?
Dinner Conversation last night: Faith: I get to us...
Do You Have To Take A Picture?
Football: Like Father Like Son
He finally began asking questions





          ► 
        


November
(24)
Happy Thanksgiving
Thanks for extended family and support
On the Outside Looking In
My Top Ten (for today)
Guest Post: Thin Places
Lot's of Love
Homework Battle #4
Post It Notes Tuesday - Short and Sassy
Sibling on Asperger's brother
How To Relieve Anxiety at a Party
Jonathan and Faith like Jonathan and David
Purple Man Amusement Park and Family Recap
Always a Day Late and $5 Short
More Table Conversations
Post It Notes - Stuff that needs to come out!
Enlightening Conversations
Proposed Change in Asperger's Syndrome Diagnosis -...
100th Post Celebration
Proposed Change in Asperger's Syndrome Diagnosis
Purple Man
The Great Paper Mystery
Tuesday Tidbits - 2
Someone is turning 50 today
Happy Halloween





          ► 
        


October
(32)
Desiging New Home and Pickle Awards
True Confession
ADHD and Soccer Don't Mix
Wordless Wednesday
Tuesday Tidbits
Jonathan says "Thank You, Thank You."
Bad Hair Day x 21
Starting Pickle Awards
Aspie Mind Meld
Court Is Now In Session
How Did I Get to This Point?
The Cost of Autism
What Do You Mean He Needs Support?
Day Three Busch Gardens
Day Two of Mini-Vacation
Join Us on Our Mini-Vacation
Homework Battle #3





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September
(33)





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August
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July
(3)





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June
(5)
















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