December 22, 2012
For the Love of “Larry”….
December 22, 2012
New things keep happening with Larry. Gilly is very attached to all things VeggieTales, especially Larry the Cucumber. She is loving the keychain sized Bob and Larry and takes them everywhere…even to school.
Last week she spontaneously spelled ‘Big Idea’ using her Bob and Larry keychains and plastic letters. This week she let her teacher know that she was very sad to not have Bob and Larry with her in the classroom. Each morning Bob and Larry are left with the school secretary in the office for safe keeping so that Gilly doesn’t get distracted during the day. There was a morning this week that she just was having the toughest time leaving them there. This is what she spontaneously typed on her DynaVox a few moments after the difficult parting in the office:
She also would not leave the office until she kissed Larry goodbye. Her teacher sent me a screenshot of her AAC message via text message. It made me cry! So cool for her to express herself in that way about her sadness. I had to share it with the hubby:
Earlier this fall, the class made little books to help others learn about their likes and dislikes called “In a nutshell–.” Larry / aka Mr. Pickle was front and center on the cover of her booklet:
Gilly loves Bob and Larry. She has them with her all the time. “Mom! no paparazzi please!”…
~KVS
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ~Jeremiah 29:11.
Permalink Comments off
December 12, 2012
What’s the ‘Big Idea?’….
December 12, 2012
In case you didn’t already know–our house is a ‘Bob and Larry’ house, or ‘Big Idea’ house. From silly songs to books and DVDs, we are big time connoisseurs of all things Veggie Tales.
Larry the cucumber has especially been a buddy of Gilly for a few years now. So much so, that she adopted a musical ‘hot pickle’ game as her favorite friend and comfort object. She would take “Mr. Pickle” (as we called him–because ‘he’s a pickle and not a cucumber’) everywhere she went.
“Carrying around stuff” has always been a Gilly trademark. Holding objects or fidgets can be a source of regulation and comfort for individuals living with autism. When fidgets are kind of over sized, like ‘Mr. Pickle’ (who is a good ten inches tall), finding something a little smaller may be more convenient.
I was able to find keychain-sized VeggieTales backpack clips for Gilly. I ordered them hoping they could become her ‘on the go’ fidget pals. They arrived just last week. After I showed them to Gilly she wanted to carry them around the house with her right away….a good sign.
Next, she put Larry and Bob side by side on the floor–just as they appear in the Big Idea logo. Gilly then grabbed a box of plastic letters off the shelf and dumped them on the floor. She grabbed the B…then the I….then the G….and placed them on the right side of Larry and Bob. What was going on here? Next came another I…and the D…and the E….and A. “B…I…G — I…D…E…A” she spelled on the floor–just like the logo.
She spelled this out spontaneously. Gilly had never done this before. She spelled out “BigIdea” because of watching VeggieTales since she was a toddler. Check out this opening video sequence:
So what’s the ‘big idea’? She’s a speller! Gillian is learning from observing her environment even when we are not ‘directly teaching’ her. Can I just say…..We love Veggie Tales.
~KVS
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ~Jeremiah 29:11.
Permalink Comments off
December 1, 2012
“Presuming Competence”….and “The Least Dangerous Assumption”….
December 1, 2012
This morning I was enjoying a post called “How do you know?” by Stephanie Ekis, MS, CCC-SLP on autism-community.com. Sometimes knowing when and how a user should be a candidate for communication technology can be a tough question to answer. Depending on who you ask– you may get a variety of answers. There are two concepts that can help along the journey of finding the answer: ‘presuming competence’ and the ‘least dangerous assumption.’
What is Presuming Competence? (excerpt from source: Douglas Biklen: “Begin by presuming competence”).
Can you explain the concept of “presuming competence” and how it relates to inclusive education?
When Anne Sullivan first worked with Helen Keller, she approached her with the presumption that she was competent, that Helen’s problem emanated from her not having an effective means of communication. Even before Anne began to work with Helen, there was evidence of her desire to communicate—she used pantomime to show her interest in making ice cream or wanting toast with butter. But it was Anne’s introduction of spelling and words that proved liberating for Helen.
The principle of “presuming competence,” is simply to act as Anne Sullivan did. Assume that a child has intellectual ability, provide opportunities to be exposed to learning, assume the child wants to learn and assert him or herself in the world. To not presume competence is to assume that some individuals cannot learn, develop, or participate in the world. Presuming competence is nothing less than a Hippocratic oath for educators. It is a framework that says, approach each child as wanting to be fully included, wanting acceptance and appreciation, wanting to learn, wanting to be heard, wanting to contribute. By presuming competence, educators place the burden on themselves to come up with ever more creative, innovative ways for individuals to learn. The question is no longer who can be included or who can learn, but how can we achieve inclusive education. We begin by presuming competence.
What is The Least Dangerous Assumption? (excerpt from source: Kate Ahern: Living the Least Dangerous Assumption).
We live in a land of prerequisites and accountability, which leaves little room for “The Least Dangerous Assumption” as pioneered by Anne Donnellan and clarified by Rossetti and Tashie (2002). The least dangerous assumption is, of course, the premise that (in the absence of evidence) we believe we not yet found a way to make it so a child or adult with a disability “can” instead of believing he or she “can’t”.
The issue, sadly, sometimes becomes that making the least dangerous assumption and thus presuming competence uses resources (time, money, energy). We must come to understand that refusing to presume competence is, in the long run, more costly than making that least dangerous assumption.
A New Paradigm (excerpt source from Stephanie Ekis: How do you know?)
In an article written by C. Jorgensen (2005), she proposes a new paradigm in the area of disability and competence. She found that often times if the child’s support team wasn’t sure what the child was capable of, it was presumed that the child could not (and never would be able to) learn to communicate. Jorgensen advocates that setting high expectations should be the basis for decision making regarding educational programming. In addition, Jorgensen believes that decisions made based on high expectations will lead to a higher quality of life in both school and beyond.
Check out this presentation entitled “The Least Dangerous Assumption”, Cheryl Jorgenson, Ph.D.:
Aim high with those expectations. Presume competence in those who are differently-abled. A paradigm shift can make all the difference in long term outcomes.
~KVS
“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” ~Jeremiah 29:11.
Permalink Comments off
Mags & Gilly 