WOW! Okay I listened to a bit of this today on Glenn Beck and I am soooo appaled abt this verdict. Where have I been??????????ACK!!!! Dh is alwasy saying I need to listen to the news more. Okay he was right! I totally had NO idea this was going on abt the Border Patrol. The part I got to listen to today was hearing how this has effected the lives of these two Border Patrols families. They are in solitary confinement too-ugh.....
I just cant believe this has happend-ugh makes me ILL-just ILL!!!
- if you have been living under a rock too you can read up on it here-LOLOL;)
http://www.glennbeck.com/content/articles/article/196/13098/?ck=1
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Just Another Ordinary Miracle Today...-song
Okay today is SONG time.....
I dont know what I would do without music in my life-I absolutely LOVE how a song can ring you out and make you feel SOOO refreshed and happy.
We just got done watching Charlottes web-way cute movie-anyway hers two songs I juts fell in love with tonight.......
This one is BEAUTIFUL-
Just Another Ordinary Miracle Today
Its not that unusual
everything is beautiful.
Its just another ordinary mircle today.
The sky knows when its time to snow
Dont need to teach a sea to go.
Its just another ordinary miracle today.
Life is like a gift they say
wrapped up for you every day.
Open up and find a way
give some of your own.....
Isnt it remarkeable
like every time a raindrop falls.
Its just another ordinary miracle today.
Birds of winter have their thing
always making it home by Spring.
Just another ordinary miracle today.
When you wake up every day
Please dont throw your dreams away.
Hold them close to your heart
because we are all apart of....
The ordinary miracle
Do you always see a miracle?
It seams so exceptional
things just work out after all.
Its just another ordinary miracle today.
The sun comes up and shines so bright
It dissapears again at night.
Its just another miracle today.
Its just another ordinary miracle today.........
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This one had me wanting to dance, dance dance -LOLOLOL :)
Theres a place in the sun
where theres hope for every one.
Where my poor restless hearts
gotta run.
Theres a place in the sun
and before my life is done
gotta find me a place
in the sun.
Like a lone lonely stream
I keep running toward a dream
moving on
moving on
Like a branch on a tree
I keep reaching to be free
moving on
moving on.
Thers a place in the sun
where there's hope for every one.
Where my poor restless hearts
gotta run.
Theres a place in the sun
and before my life is done
gotta find me a place
in the sun.
Like an old dusty road
I get weary from the load
moving on
moving on
Like this tired troubled earth
Ive been roaming since my bearth.
Moving on
moving on
Theres a place in the sun
where theres hope for everyone.
Where my poor restless hearts
gotta run.
Theres a place in the sun
and before my life is done
gotta find me a place
in the sun.
When times are down and feeling sad
Always remember that
theres a place in the sun
where theres hope for everyone.
Where my poor restless hearts
gotta run
Theres a place in the
sun and before my life is done
gotta find me a place in the sun.
Gunna find me a place in the sun...
I dont know what I would do without music in my life-I absolutely LOVE how a song can ring you out and make you feel SOOO refreshed and happy.
We just got done watching Charlottes web-way cute movie-anyway hers two songs I juts fell in love with tonight.......
This one is BEAUTIFUL-
Just Another Ordinary Miracle Today
Its not that unusual
everything is beautiful.
Its just another ordinary mircle today.
The sky knows when its time to snow
Dont need to teach a sea to go.
Its just another ordinary miracle today.
Life is like a gift they say
wrapped up for you every day.
Open up and find a way
give some of your own.....
Isnt it remarkeable
like every time a raindrop falls.
Its just another ordinary miracle today.
Birds of winter have their thing
always making it home by Spring.
Just another ordinary miracle today.
When you wake up every day
Please dont throw your dreams away.
Hold them close to your heart
because we are all apart of....
The ordinary miracle
Do you always see a miracle?
It seams so exceptional
things just work out after all.
Its just another ordinary miracle today.
The sun comes up and shines so bright
It dissapears again at night.
Its just another miracle today.
Its just another ordinary miracle today.........
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This one had me wanting to dance, dance dance -LOLOLOL :)
Theres a place in the sun
where theres hope for every one.
Where my poor restless hearts
gotta run.
Theres a place in the sun
and before my life is done
gotta find me a place
in the sun.
Like a lone lonely stream
I keep running toward a dream
moving on
moving on
Like a branch on a tree
I keep reaching to be free
moving on
moving on.
Thers a place in the sun
where there's hope for every one.
Where my poor restless hearts
gotta run.
Theres a place in the sun
and before my life is done
gotta find me a place
in the sun.
Like an old dusty road
I get weary from the load
moving on
moving on
Like this tired troubled earth
Ive been roaming since my bearth.
Moving on
moving on
Theres a place in the sun
where theres hope for everyone.
Where my poor restless hearts
gotta run.
Theres a place in the sun
and before my life is done
gotta find me a place
in the sun.
When times are down and feeling sad
Always remember that
theres a place in the sun
where theres hope for everyone.
Where my poor restless hearts
gotta run
Theres a place in the
sun and before my life is done
gotta find me a place in the sun.
Gunna find me a place in the sun...
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Bugs and Bugs and TUNZ of Bugs...LOLOLOL
Well tonight was interesting.
I turned on the porch lights at abt 10 tonight and oodles upon oodles of flying Silver Fish flew into my hair........It was incredible. I freaked out when they flew into my hair..but once inside looking out they were incredible-LOLOLOL
I was just putting the boys to bed and I yelled for them to quickly come upstairs to see this. They were in awe and immediately went outside to see and play with them. Ther were I swear millions of these flying things just everywhere.
While looking at them I noticed that so many were falling to the ground and then shortly dying.....it was really weird-we never figured out why they were doing this. They'd fly ard for a bit, then land and then die....We picked soem of them up and they were so funny-I guess thats why they are called Silver fish as they flop ard when they land on something. They have big black eyes and flop-so they do really look like tiny fish out of water-LOLOLOL-interesting.
Well the boys just LOVED it-especially Stinger who would scoop them all up and look at them and look at them, yell at Monkey Boy for squishing them, then look at them some more. He was fascinated and was all smiles. It was fun to watch them have so much interest and fun at the same time.
So we didnt get in till abt 11 tonight. The front porch was just as lively so after the back porch they went out front to investigate some more.
Tink was also VERY interested and insisted on gobbling up any one she could find. I managed to swallow one I think too and Ive been trying to hack it up all night-it still feels like its in my throat somewhere...LOLOLOL. How does Tink do it-LOLOL, but she LOVES them and moths-LOLOLOL
Mr B came over today and Stinger was up in a tree the whole time...sigh.....so it didnt go that well .....he wants to take Stinger to the Park to sail a boat they made...but Stinger will have none of it and so Monkey Boy said he would go instead. This got Stinger "pissed" ( this is his new word he is trying out-and bugging me to no end)So Stinger was mad and told Mr B to go home.....and then cried after he left and said he doesnt like MrB. anymore ...sigh...... wondering again abt this setup...wondering what its actually supposed to be doing for Stinger... I mean I know what its SUPPOSED to be doing-but I dont think its working all that well. Mr B is involved with a State run vocational setup and Im thinking maybee thats the way to go-just hold off on these socail experiances that he isnt wanting until he gets older and then do a vocational setup for him with this program.....I dunno....I mean Id still involve him and get him out of the house to do things and everything we are doing..just not a set deal where anyone is coming to the house. Stinger just doesnt like these people coming here and the idea of them taking him somewhere-well thats just not a good thing in his mind...so you can forget abt it.....
I just got an email from teh BoxElder Homeschool group and they are thinking bat starting up a co-op with only those in this city-so THAT would be AWESOME and we'd def be apart of that -itd be a smaller group and it sounds like fun...we shall see I guess......
Flamingo has been gone now for a week and three days-we have 4 more to go!!!!!!!!! WHOOT!!!!!!
The boys are getting along better-better than they were at first-so thats a good thing.....But gosh how I miss my Flamingo.........her room is right by our room-so its hard not to look in there as we pass-and shes never in there...:(
Our reunion is on Saturday so we will be going to pick her up then with Papa and Nana. They will be coming back from taking everyone camping in the Uintas. I hope Flamingo is pooped and I can just love on her ALLLLLLL weekend!LOLOLOL-THAT sounds like a perfect weekend!
I turned on the porch lights at abt 10 tonight and oodles upon oodles of flying Silver Fish flew into my hair........It was incredible. I freaked out when they flew into my hair..but once inside looking out they were incredible-LOLOLOL
I was just putting the boys to bed and I yelled for them to quickly come upstairs to see this. They were in awe and immediately went outside to see and play with them. Ther were I swear millions of these flying things just everywhere.
While looking at them I noticed that so many were falling to the ground and then shortly dying.....it was really weird-we never figured out why they were doing this. They'd fly ard for a bit, then land and then die....We picked soem of them up and they were so funny-I guess thats why they are called Silver fish as they flop ard when they land on something. They have big black eyes and flop-so they do really look like tiny fish out of water-LOLOLOL-interesting.
Well the boys just LOVED it-especially Stinger who would scoop them all up and look at them and look at them, yell at Monkey Boy for squishing them, then look at them some more. He was fascinated and was all smiles. It was fun to watch them have so much interest and fun at the same time.
So we didnt get in till abt 11 tonight. The front porch was just as lively so after the back porch they went out front to investigate some more.
Tink was also VERY interested and insisted on gobbling up any one she could find. I managed to swallow one I think too and Ive been trying to hack it up all night-it still feels like its in my throat somewhere...LOLOLOL. How does Tink do it-LOLOL, but she LOVES them and moths-LOLOLOL
Mr B came over today and Stinger was up in a tree the whole time...sigh.....so it didnt go that well .....he wants to take Stinger to the Park to sail a boat they made...but Stinger will have none of it and so Monkey Boy said he would go instead. This got Stinger "pissed" ( this is his new word he is trying out-and bugging me to no end)So Stinger was mad and told Mr B to go home.....and then cried after he left and said he doesnt like MrB. anymore ...sigh...... wondering again abt this setup...wondering what its actually supposed to be doing for Stinger... I mean I know what its SUPPOSED to be doing-but I dont think its working all that well. Mr B is involved with a State run vocational setup and Im thinking maybee thats the way to go-just hold off on these socail experiances that he isnt wanting until he gets older and then do a vocational setup for him with this program.....I dunno....I mean Id still involve him and get him out of the house to do things and everything we are doing..just not a set deal where anyone is coming to the house. Stinger just doesnt like these people coming here and the idea of them taking him somewhere-well thats just not a good thing in his mind...so you can forget abt it.....
I just got an email from teh BoxElder Homeschool group and they are thinking bat starting up a co-op with only those in this city-so THAT would be AWESOME and we'd def be apart of that -itd be a smaller group and it sounds like fun...we shall see I guess......
Flamingo has been gone now for a week and three days-we have 4 more to go!!!!!!!!! WHOOT!!!!!!
The boys are getting along better-better than they were at first-so thats a good thing.....But gosh how I miss my Flamingo.........her room is right by our room-so its hard not to look in there as we pass-and shes never in there...:(
Our reunion is on Saturday so we will be going to pick her up then with Papa and Nana. They will be coming back from taking everyone camping in the Uintas. I hope Flamingo is pooped and I can just love on her ALLLLLLL weekend!LOLOLOL-THAT sounds like a perfect weekend!
Video-Special Education Struggles in School
Well Hmmm...EVERYWHERE I look there are Autism law suits. Maybee someday they(the schools) will finally get their heads out of the clouds and realise we arent going to take this abuse on our kids any longer.....okay so its a long shot and Im talking to the wind.... I know...but one can always hope and dream of a better world for our kids-eh--right??
Personally Im lovin all these court cases-its showing all the schools out there that we arent going to stand for it ...which is a move in the right direction....
Be afraid Pro's....be very afraid! :)
http://www.wivb.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?ClipID1=2749617&h1=Special%20education%20struggles%20in%20school&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=157934&LaunchPageAdTag=News&activePane=info&rnd=1449961
Personally Im lovin all these court cases-its showing all the schools out there that we arent going to stand for it ...which is a move in the right direction....
Be afraid Pro's....be very afraid! :)
http://www.wivb.com/global/video/flash/popupplayer.asp?ClipID1=2749617&h1=Special%20education%20struggles%20in%20school&vt1=v&at1=News&d1=157934&LaunchPageAdTag=News&activePane=info&rnd=1449961
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Savage Cont......
WEll it looks like more sponsors are yanking the plug-Aflec was the first, now Sears, Budweisser, Office Depot, Home Depot. I wonder who will be next-I really cant blame anyone not wanting to get in the way of MANY angry protestors, oraganizations and MOMS-LOLOLOL
I liked this commentary though-walking in my shoes kinda talk....
Kim Stagliano
Dan Childs of ABC News has run a piece about Michael Savage and his diatribe against people with autism. Savage called those of us with autistic children "frauds" and suggested that we covet the autism label so that we can bilk the government for special services and money. You can read the ABC piece HERE. I'm kind of proud of the last line in the piece (thanks, Dan!) where I'm quoted giving the monster charity Autism Speaks a bit of advice. (They took Mr. Savage to task with a silk glove on their website, which angered many of their supporters, who expected Autism Speaks to have a stronger voice.)
Who declared open season on people with autism? Last week it was a dingbat radio host from Cincinnati (that bastion of liberalism) agreeing that our kids shouldn't be in restaurants as they are prone to tantrums. This week it's nationally known Michael Savage.
Autism ain't for wimps. Whether you're a pre-verbal toddler or a high functioning forty year old, autism has challenges most folks can not fathom. How about a little compassion? The autism parents I know work tirelessly to teach their children how to navigate the world appropriately. We don't have just to instill right from wrong in our kids, we have to break down the steps of almost everything they do, from morning until night. We teach in our sleep, for crying out loud.
My Lord, are there really so many people angry at our unruly, poorly raised, undisciplined children? The comment trail on the ABC article was disheartening.
Here's a gem from a reader who is likely busy touching up his "Dubya" sticker on the back of his Mercury Grand Marquis.
here, here for savage. if you don't like what he is saying, change the frigin' station!!!! he has his right to voice his opinion. and he is right to a certain degree. his percentages may be way off, but he is right. when parents lost the right to disciplining a child, they ran-a-muck. then parents concentrated on the careers. the kids were lost to do what they wanted. instead of a "time out" these kids need a good crack on the behind and told to sit down and read the book and explain it to me when you are done. instead, doctors would rather label them adhd or autistic and make it easier on the parents to deal with. just give them a pill and everything will be all right. bull crap!! discipline is the key word
Ah yes, more discipline is always the answer. Right now, I look like a heroin addict. My arms are covered in tiny dotted scabs. Why? I don't ride "the white horse" (although autism has driven more than a few of us to a not-quite-5 o'clock glass of Chardonnay) my youngest daughter has taken to pinching when she's stressed. I could take her out to the shed and tan her fanny until it was raw. She would still pinch me, until I figure out how to re-direct her behavior to a more acceptable and less painful tap on my shoulder. We're working on it. She pinches because she does not speak, not because she's a brat.
Here's an erudite comment from a person I suspect has a banjo and a tin of Skoal in the back of his F150:
Most of you people are morons. If you don't like what you hear, then change the radio station, or switch the television channel. NO one is forcing you to listen. It is such a shame that we live in a society where one statement that offends people is enough to cost a man his job... FREE SOCIETY anyone? FREEDOM OF SPEECH? Ever heard of it? Oh wait... sorry, I forgot we're turning into a society that is trying to govern everyone's actions.. Grow some thicker skin people and move on. You have WAY too much time on your hands if you let someone's opinion ruin your day.
So that's all I need to do? Grow some thicker skin so that Michael Savage's telling millions of Wyler's swilling (I liked Goofy Grape best, you?) followers that my kids are frauds won't have an impact on public perception of them? I'm trying! Just look at these scabs! Grow skin, grow! And I'm a moron with too much time on my hands? Three kids with autism, a writing career and two sparkling clean toilets in my house. I think I'm quite busy enough. But not too busy to fight tooth and nail against loudmouths who do not walk in my shoes, or the shoes of thousands of families trying to help a loved one with autism through the day.
Sure, Savage has the right to say what he wants on his program. Just don't expect me to sit on the sidelines and let him run over my kids (and yours.) I'm just not that disciplined...
Thanks again, Dan Childs for a good article. I hope you HuffPo readers will take a moment to read it yourself. And add your own comments. Thanks.
I liked this commentary though-walking in my shoes kinda talk....
Kim Stagliano
Dan Childs of ABC News has run a piece about Michael Savage and his diatribe against people with autism. Savage called those of us with autistic children "frauds" and suggested that we covet the autism label so that we can bilk the government for special services and money. You can read the ABC piece HERE. I'm kind of proud of the last line in the piece (thanks, Dan!) where I'm quoted giving the monster charity Autism Speaks a bit of advice. (They took Mr. Savage to task with a silk glove on their website, which angered many of their supporters, who expected Autism Speaks to have a stronger voice.)
Who declared open season on people with autism? Last week it was a dingbat radio host from Cincinnati (that bastion of liberalism) agreeing that our kids shouldn't be in restaurants as they are prone to tantrums. This week it's nationally known Michael Savage.
Autism ain't for wimps. Whether you're a pre-verbal toddler or a high functioning forty year old, autism has challenges most folks can not fathom. How about a little compassion? The autism parents I know work tirelessly to teach their children how to navigate the world appropriately. We don't have just to instill right from wrong in our kids, we have to break down the steps of almost everything they do, from morning until night. We teach in our sleep, for crying out loud.
My Lord, are there really so many people angry at our unruly, poorly raised, undisciplined children? The comment trail on the ABC article was disheartening.
Here's a gem from a reader who is likely busy touching up his "Dubya" sticker on the back of his Mercury Grand Marquis.
here, here for savage. if you don't like what he is saying, change the frigin' station!!!! he has his right to voice his opinion. and he is right to a certain degree. his percentages may be way off, but he is right. when parents lost the right to disciplining a child, they ran-a-muck. then parents concentrated on the careers. the kids were lost to do what they wanted. instead of a "time out" these kids need a good crack on the behind and told to sit down and read the book and explain it to me when you are done. instead, doctors would rather label them adhd or autistic and make it easier on the parents to deal with. just give them a pill and everything will be all right. bull crap!! discipline is the key word
Ah yes, more discipline is always the answer. Right now, I look like a heroin addict. My arms are covered in tiny dotted scabs. Why? I don't ride "the white horse" (although autism has driven more than a few of us to a not-quite-5 o'clock glass of Chardonnay) my youngest daughter has taken to pinching when she's stressed. I could take her out to the shed and tan her fanny until it was raw. She would still pinch me, until I figure out how to re-direct her behavior to a more acceptable and less painful tap on my shoulder. We're working on it. She pinches because she does not speak, not because she's a brat.
Here's an erudite comment from a person I suspect has a banjo and a tin of Skoal in the back of his F150:
Most of you people are morons. If you don't like what you hear, then change the radio station, or switch the television channel. NO one is forcing you to listen. It is such a shame that we live in a society where one statement that offends people is enough to cost a man his job... FREE SOCIETY anyone? FREEDOM OF SPEECH? Ever heard of it? Oh wait... sorry, I forgot we're turning into a society that is trying to govern everyone's actions.. Grow some thicker skin people and move on. You have WAY too much time on your hands if you let someone's opinion ruin your day.
So that's all I need to do? Grow some thicker skin so that Michael Savage's telling millions of Wyler's swilling (I liked Goofy Grape best, you?) followers that my kids are frauds won't have an impact on public perception of them? I'm trying! Just look at these scabs! Grow skin, grow! And I'm a moron with too much time on my hands? Three kids with autism, a writing career and two sparkling clean toilets in my house. I think I'm quite busy enough. But not too busy to fight tooth and nail against loudmouths who do not walk in my shoes, or the shoes of thousands of families trying to help a loved one with autism through the day.
Sure, Savage has the right to say what he wants on his program. Just don't expect me to sit on the sidelines and let him run over my kids (and yours.) I'm just not that disciplined...
Thanks again, Dan Childs for a good article. I hope you HuffPo readers will take a moment to read it yourself. And add your own comments. Thanks.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
More on Savage.....sigh....
Okay I admit it-
I tuned in today to hear how things were looking for this man. What I heard was ALOT of back peddling and so called "experts" coming on and agreeing with Savage. If everything WAS taken out of context which is what they are all claiming-then why doesnt he explain it himself-why does he feel he has to have all these experts on to explain what HE was trying to say....its an act-he got himself into hot water and now hes grabbing any float device to keep from sinking.
I got this email today from Wendy and her message says it all....Sorry Savage but I dont think this is one you can slid under.....
------A Statement from Wendy Fournier, National Autism Association- President
For the last week, our community has been completely enveloped in the Michael Savage controversy. It infuriates me that this one man has managed to take away so much of our already limited time and energy by forcing us to defend ourselves and our beloved children against his vile remarks.
When I first became aware of Savage’s comments, I immediately got in touch with Mark Masters, the CEO of Talk Radio Network and Savage’s boss. Mark was aware of the comments but had not yet listened to the show. We spoke for a long while and I quickly came to realize that I was speaking to a kind and compassionate husband and father. Mark said that while he hadn’t yet heard the tape, he suspected that Savage was talking about one of the issues that bothers him most, the over-diagnosing and drugging of children in America, and that it was possible that his remarks were being taken out of context. Having dealt with the media and having seen the ridiculous way members of our own community have been edited to look like crazy, desperate parents, I was open to the idea that Mark’s suggestion may have been a possibility. Mark promised to speak with Savage and to give us the opportunity to refute his comments on the air.
On Monday evening, Mark fulfilled his promise and I was able to speak with Savage on his show. Leaving the door open to the chance that he was indeed taken out of context, I pushed my anger toward him aside and discussed with him many of his views about healthcare in America and the sad reality that families affected by autism face. Savage has several problems with the medical community in general that I personally agree with, the most frustrating of which is the over-zealous desire to drug our children.
However, when it came to Savage’s views on Autism specifically, he was completely misinformed and off the mark.
He believes that autism is being over-diagnosed. There may be a relatively small number of children who are wrongly diagnosed with an ASD, but for the most part, an autism diagnosis is not something that is given lightly. Those of us whose children have been through the evaluation process know that it is extensive.
On the subject of diagnosis, our kids are diagnosed based on observation of skills and behaviors. All the while, the medical community completely fails to investigate what might be causing those behaviors. This needs to change. We need research to turn away from number-crunching epidemiological studies and the search for the elusive Autism gene, and start looking from a biological standpoint at the children who are currently affected. Your child may very well meet the current diagnostic criteria for Autism, but what if he or she is really suffering from heavy metal toxicity or auto-immune encephalopathy, for example? Those illnesses are known to cause symptoms of Autism. If your doctor kept digging to find the cause of your child’s neurological dysfunction, you would likely come out on the other side with a treatable illness and hope for the future, not to mention health insurance coverage for treatment. But instead, you are told that your child has autism, there is no treatment, hurry to get on a waiting list for behavioral therapies. Mainstream physicians need to start recognizing and treating the underlying medical issues that are causing the symptoms we collectively observe and diagnose as autism, only then will we start to make some real progress. My hope is that one day, no child will be diagnosed with “Autism”, that all sick children will be properly diagnosed and successfully treated for the illnesses that they truly suffer from.
Back to Savage and his misconceptions, this one is almost amusing. He actually thinks that having a child with autism opens the door to free medical treatment and services from the government, suggesting that parents might actually push for a diagnosis in an effort to screw the government and our fellow taxpayers. Those of us in the trenches know that the word “autism” is the last thing a parent wants to hear. Savage’s implied freebies are nowhere to be found. The minute your child is diagnosed, you need to fit yourself with a suit of armor, a shield and a big-ass sword, because you have just taken the first step into a never-ending fight to get the services and medical care that your child needs. Our kids are placed on waiting lists for services that can be years long, our health insurance companies turn their backs on us, and our overwhelmed and under-funded school districts force us to fight for even the most basic services to help our kids. The number of families facing bankruptcy and losing their homes to provide their children with the care they need is staggering.
Savage also thinks that greedy lawyers are somehow involved, looking for ways to milk the pharmaceutical companies for families who claim that vaccines caused their child’s regression. He is completely ignorant to the fact that manufacturers are protected from all liability on vaccine injury claims thanks to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. I tried to point this out to him, but he pushed on with this false assumption. What I didn’t realize until hearing the show later, was that my phone line was completely muted when Savage was speaking. There were several times when I tried to interject and disagree with him, and I was simply not heard. This is misleading and my silence could be interpreted by some of his listeners as agreement. I’m not happy about that.
Savage’s producer asked me to have several other guests from our community standing by to be interviewed during the show. I did that, and not one of them was included. The callers who were put on the air appeared to be hand-selected to participate in the show with the sole purpose of allowing Savage to backtrack and basically cover his own behind.
Savage claims to be an advocate for children’s health. One might think that instead of ranting about bad parenting, he would be questioning why we have so many sick children in this country. Coinciding with the increase in recommended vaccines, we’ve had an increase in chronic diseases including Asthma, ADD, ADHD, Juvenile Diabetes, and yes, Autism. Why do our government health agencies refuse to compare the overall health outcomes of vaccinated versus unvaccinated children? Why do they continue to inject our babies with substances that are known to be toxic to the developing brain and immune system? Why is our government being allowed to treat an entire generation of children like lab rats, by requiring an ever-increasing number of vaccines and conducting absolutely no safety studies on their cumulative effects?
Last night, I received an email with a link to a new website, savageonautism.com. He’s got a website for this now? On this site, there is a link to an audio clip of my discussion with Savage. It noted, “Savage speaks with Wendy Fournier, President of the National Autism Association who says that she has much common ground with Savage”. Again, misleading. I do not appreciate the implication that I am in any way on his side and I will not be used as a pawn in his attempt to backtrack on his comments. I contacted Talk Radio Network about this and the reference was promptly removed.
Mark Masters from TRN has offered to air public service announcements on their nationally syndicated shows in an effort to educate listeners on the reality of autism. For that I am very grateful. I hope that it will undo some of the damage that has been done.
That damage is very real, and it frightens me for our children. I just got a phone call from a 74-year-old lady from California who was literally screaming at me, saying that we are a bunch of hysterical mothers who refuse to discipline our kids. She could barely catch her breath, and she’s calling us hysterical? I ended up hanging up on her and she’s called back 6 times already - that’s how fired up and anxious she is to criticize us as parents and the children we love. This is the damage that Mike Savage has done, whether he meant to or not is completely irrelevant. There are people out there who are taking his words at face value and his message is one of hate.
To the fine people who are sending me hate mail about freedom of speech, you can stop. I’m all for it. You can say anything you want to in this country, but if you choose to attack our kids, be ready to defend your comments. We’re already suited up and are getting pretty good at wielding our big-ass swords.
In closing, I have listened with an open mind to Savage’s claim that he was taken out of context. My personal conclusion is that he was not, he’s lying to us. There are several reasons why I don’t believe him, but I keep coming back to one very significant quote. Savage claims he was talking about the “misdiagnosed”, not kids that truly have autism. But during his deplorable rant he said, “What do you mean they scream and they’re silent?” He was talking then about children who are silent, children who are non-verbal, children who are severely affected by autism, children like my beautiful little girl.
Michael Savage, take your father’s advice. Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Whether you actually meant to hurt suffering families or not, the simple fact is, you did hurt us. And for that alone, you should man up and apologize.
Wendy Fournier, President
National Autism Association
wendy@nationalautism.org
I tuned in today to hear how things were looking for this man. What I heard was ALOT of back peddling and so called "experts" coming on and agreeing with Savage. If everything WAS taken out of context which is what they are all claiming-then why doesnt he explain it himself-why does he feel he has to have all these experts on to explain what HE was trying to say....its an act-he got himself into hot water and now hes grabbing any float device to keep from sinking.
I got this email today from Wendy and her message says it all....Sorry Savage but I dont think this is one you can slid under.....
------A Statement from Wendy Fournier, National Autism Association- President
For the last week, our community has been completely enveloped in the Michael Savage controversy. It infuriates me that this one man has managed to take away so much of our already limited time and energy by forcing us to defend ourselves and our beloved children against his vile remarks.
When I first became aware of Savage’s comments, I immediately got in touch with Mark Masters, the CEO of Talk Radio Network and Savage’s boss. Mark was aware of the comments but had not yet listened to the show. We spoke for a long while and I quickly came to realize that I was speaking to a kind and compassionate husband and father. Mark said that while he hadn’t yet heard the tape, he suspected that Savage was talking about one of the issues that bothers him most, the over-diagnosing and drugging of children in America, and that it was possible that his remarks were being taken out of context. Having dealt with the media and having seen the ridiculous way members of our own community have been edited to look like crazy, desperate parents, I was open to the idea that Mark’s suggestion may have been a possibility. Mark promised to speak with Savage and to give us the opportunity to refute his comments on the air.
On Monday evening, Mark fulfilled his promise and I was able to speak with Savage on his show. Leaving the door open to the chance that he was indeed taken out of context, I pushed my anger toward him aside and discussed with him many of his views about healthcare in America and the sad reality that families affected by autism face. Savage has several problems with the medical community in general that I personally agree with, the most frustrating of which is the over-zealous desire to drug our children.
However, when it came to Savage’s views on Autism specifically, he was completely misinformed and off the mark.
He believes that autism is being over-diagnosed. There may be a relatively small number of children who are wrongly diagnosed with an ASD, but for the most part, an autism diagnosis is not something that is given lightly. Those of us whose children have been through the evaluation process know that it is extensive.
On the subject of diagnosis, our kids are diagnosed based on observation of skills and behaviors. All the while, the medical community completely fails to investigate what might be causing those behaviors. This needs to change. We need research to turn away from number-crunching epidemiological studies and the search for the elusive Autism gene, and start looking from a biological standpoint at the children who are currently affected. Your child may very well meet the current diagnostic criteria for Autism, but what if he or she is really suffering from heavy metal toxicity or auto-immune encephalopathy, for example? Those illnesses are known to cause symptoms of Autism. If your doctor kept digging to find the cause of your child’s neurological dysfunction, you would likely come out on the other side with a treatable illness and hope for the future, not to mention health insurance coverage for treatment. But instead, you are told that your child has autism, there is no treatment, hurry to get on a waiting list for behavioral therapies. Mainstream physicians need to start recognizing and treating the underlying medical issues that are causing the symptoms we collectively observe and diagnose as autism, only then will we start to make some real progress. My hope is that one day, no child will be diagnosed with “Autism”, that all sick children will be properly diagnosed and successfully treated for the illnesses that they truly suffer from.
Back to Savage and his misconceptions, this one is almost amusing. He actually thinks that having a child with autism opens the door to free medical treatment and services from the government, suggesting that parents might actually push for a diagnosis in an effort to screw the government and our fellow taxpayers. Those of us in the trenches know that the word “autism” is the last thing a parent wants to hear. Savage’s implied freebies are nowhere to be found. The minute your child is diagnosed, you need to fit yourself with a suit of armor, a shield and a big-ass sword, because you have just taken the first step into a never-ending fight to get the services and medical care that your child needs. Our kids are placed on waiting lists for services that can be years long, our health insurance companies turn their backs on us, and our overwhelmed and under-funded school districts force us to fight for even the most basic services to help our kids. The number of families facing bankruptcy and losing their homes to provide their children with the care they need is staggering.
Savage also thinks that greedy lawyers are somehow involved, looking for ways to milk the pharmaceutical companies for families who claim that vaccines caused their child’s regression. He is completely ignorant to the fact that manufacturers are protected from all liability on vaccine injury claims thanks to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. I tried to point this out to him, but he pushed on with this false assumption. What I didn’t realize until hearing the show later, was that my phone line was completely muted when Savage was speaking. There were several times when I tried to interject and disagree with him, and I was simply not heard. This is misleading and my silence could be interpreted by some of his listeners as agreement. I’m not happy about that.
Savage’s producer asked me to have several other guests from our community standing by to be interviewed during the show. I did that, and not one of them was included. The callers who were put on the air appeared to be hand-selected to participate in the show with the sole purpose of allowing Savage to backtrack and basically cover his own behind.
Savage claims to be an advocate for children’s health. One might think that instead of ranting about bad parenting, he would be questioning why we have so many sick children in this country. Coinciding with the increase in recommended vaccines, we’ve had an increase in chronic diseases including Asthma, ADD, ADHD, Juvenile Diabetes, and yes, Autism. Why do our government health agencies refuse to compare the overall health outcomes of vaccinated versus unvaccinated children? Why do they continue to inject our babies with substances that are known to be toxic to the developing brain and immune system? Why is our government being allowed to treat an entire generation of children like lab rats, by requiring an ever-increasing number of vaccines and conducting absolutely no safety studies on their cumulative effects?
Last night, I received an email with a link to a new website, savageonautism.com. He’s got a website for this now? On this site, there is a link to an audio clip of my discussion with Savage. It noted, “Savage speaks with Wendy Fournier, President of the National Autism Association who says that she has much common ground with Savage”. Again, misleading. I do not appreciate the implication that I am in any way on his side and I will not be used as a pawn in his attempt to backtrack on his comments. I contacted Talk Radio Network about this and the reference was promptly removed.
Mark Masters from TRN has offered to air public service announcements on their nationally syndicated shows in an effort to educate listeners on the reality of autism. For that I am very grateful. I hope that it will undo some of the damage that has been done.
That damage is very real, and it frightens me for our children. I just got a phone call from a 74-year-old lady from California who was literally screaming at me, saying that we are a bunch of hysterical mothers who refuse to discipline our kids. She could barely catch her breath, and she’s calling us hysterical? I ended up hanging up on her and she’s called back 6 times already - that’s how fired up and anxious she is to criticize us as parents and the children we love. This is the damage that Mike Savage has done, whether he meant to or not is completely irrelevant. There are people out there who are taking his words at face value and his message is one of hate.
To the fine people who are sending me hate mail about freedom of speech, you can stop. I’m all for it. You can say anything you want to in this country, but if you choose to attack our kids, be ready to defend your comments. We’re already suited up and are getting pretty good at wielding our big-ass swords.
In closing, I have listened with an open mind to Savage’s claim that he was taken out of context. My personal conclusion is that he was not, he’s lying to us. There are several reasons why I don’t believe him, but I keep coming back to one very significant quote. Savage claims he was talking about the “misdiagnosed”, not kids that truly have autism. But during his deplorable rant he said, “What do you mean they scream and they’re silent?” He was talking then about children who are silent, children who are non-verbal, children who are severely affected by autism, children like my beautiful little girl.
Michael Savage, take your father’s advice. Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Whether you actually meant to hurt suffering families or not, the simple fact is, you did hurt us. And for that alone, you should man up and apologize.
Wendy Fournier, President
National Autism Association
wendy@nationalautism.org
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
My Flamingo Has Flown....
Well Flamingo is at Papa and Nanas for abt 2 weeks. Can you say WAHHHHHhhhhhh! LOLOLOLOL Shes with her other cousins as well adn Im sure they are just having soo much fun playing girly things and having a ball.....
Man-but we are all missing her at home....
Stinger- doesnt know what to do with himself-just like he said-LOLOL
Monkey Boy-wanders ard all day saying Flamingos not eating breakfast? Flamingos not eating lunch...then at dinner its the same "Flamingos not eating dinner?"
Dh-hes missing her terribly as am I. Shes our love bug-always wanting and giving hugs and kisses. Every time we both go upstairs we always look and glance into her room-out of habit-and she not there:( Especially at night when we like to go in there on our way to bed and see her laying so funny with her mouth wide open-LOLOLOL
I keep forgetting shes not here and this morning at breakfast I got out her cup and then realized and put it back in the cupboard....:(
So there's definetely an empty feeling ard here......She puts the kick in our family, the warmth and happiness and cheerfulness that is still present-just its different-kwim? The morning giggles arent there. The holding hands all the time is not there. The hopping on my back for bedtime is not there. The for no reason at all hugs are not there. The goofy faces she pulls with her eyes when she is dissapointed isnt there. "play with me Mommy" isnt there:( Man-I MISS HER!!!
Im counting the days until she is back....but Im gratefull she is having such a good time with Papa and Nana and her cousins-she will have really fond memories with this vacation....I know I do when I remember my sleepovers with my cousins.....
Guess I never think its going to be as hard as it is-each and every time one of my angels is missing from my arms.
I LOVE YOU SWEET PEA! XOXOXOXOX
Man-but we are all missing her at home....
Stinger- doesnt know what to do with himself-just like he said-LOLOL
Monkey Boy-wanders ard all day saying Flamingos not eating breakfast? Flamingos not eating lunch...then at dinner its the same "Flamingos not eating dinner?"
Dh-hes missing her terribly as am I. Shes our love bug-always wanting and giving hugs and kisses. Every time we both go upstairs we always look and glance into her room-out of habit-and she not there:( Especially at night when we like to go in there on our way to bed and see her laying so funny with her mouth wide open-LOLOLOL
I keep forgetting shes not here and this morning at breakfast I got out her cup and then realized and put it back in the cupboard....:(
So there's definetely an empty feeling ard here......She puts the kick in our family, the warmth and happiness and cheerfulness that is still present-just its different-kwim? The morning giggles arent there. The holding hands all the time is not there. The hopping on my back for bedtime is not there. The for no reason at all hugs are not there. The goofy faces she pulls with her eyes when she is dissapointed isnt there. "play with me Mommy" isnt there:( Man-I MISS HER!!!
Im counting the days until she is back....but Im gratefull she is having such a good time with Papa and Nana and her cousins-she will have really fond memories with this vacation....I know I do when I remember my sleepovers with my cousins.....
Guess I never think its going to be as hard as it is-each and every time one of my angels is missing from my arms.
I LOVE YOU SWEET PEA! XOXOXOXOX
Michael Savage is at it--------again......
Well I started hearing about this a couple of days ago...Dh even read abt it and he explained how dissapointed and thoroughly discusted he is now with Savage...I wanted to get the facts straight before I posted anything, and well I heard it with my own ears tonight....
mediamatters.org/items/200807170005
Savage on autism: "A fraud, a racket. ... In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out"
Summary: On his nationally syndicated radio show, Michael Savage claimed that autism is "[a] fraud, a racket. ... I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is. What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, 'Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot.' "
And thats just a BRIEF summary. Why dont we leave the Drs in charge of diagnosing our kids, moron. Sheesh.....I mean dh and I have a bookcase loaded with this guys thoughts and commentaries....We really liked him-as Im sure alot of conservatives out there do....or did...we dont anymore.......By making blanket statements like he did and not wanting to apoligise for any of them he has totally lost our respect. He's now fallen into the class of "crazies" he often talks abt. Typical of someone who has no knowledge or insite into what he talks abt and what children with disabilities go through each and every day-make me sick. He obviously knows no one who has been touched and changed by anyone with ASD. And I say that we are all lucky in that fact really...I for one will no longer be plugging in to hear his ranting any more. Hes out of my bookshelf too-SEE YA SAVAGE.......
mediamatters.org/items/200807170005
Savage on autism: "A fraud, a racket. ... In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out"
Summary: On his nationally syndicated radio show, Michael Savage claimed that autism is "[a] fraud, a racket. ... I'll tell you what autism is. In 99 percent of the cases, it's a brat who hasn't been told to cut the act out. That's what autism is. What do you mean they scream and they're silent? They don't have a father around to tell them, 'Don't act like a moron. You'll get nowhere in life. Stop acting like a putz. Straighten up. Act like a man. Don't sit there crying and screaming, idiot.' "
And thats just a BRIEF summary. Why dont we leave the Drs in charge of diagnosing our kids, moron. Sheesh.....I mean dh and I have a bookcase loaded with this guys thoughts and commentaries....We really liked him-as Im sure alot of conservatives out there do....or did...we dont anymore.......By making blanket statements like he did and not wanting to apoligise for any of them he has totally lost our respect. He's now fallen into the class of "crazies" he often talks abt. Typical of someone who has no knowledge or insite into what he talks abt and what children with disabilities go through each and every day-make me sick. He obviously knows no one who has been touched and changed by anyone with ASD. And I say that we are all lucky in that fact really...I for one will no longer be plugging in to hear his ranting any more. Hes out of my bookshelf too-SEE YA SAVAGE.......
Friday, July 18, 2008
Mommas in the House!!!LOLOLOLOL-but wouldnt it be sooo cool!!!!LOLOLOL
Well I got an interesting call today from the Utah Parent Center.
You know how Im always saying how I need to be on some kind of policy board or something that can make a difference in the lives of kids who are still living the heckish nightmare that we went through....
Well.... Seams Ive been nominated for a position on U Seek-which is an advisory panel for the State of Utah under the Superintendant which deals with special education policies and issues. Basically they come up with solutions to problems and policies.
They meet in Salt Lake City-but will reimburse for miles etc. The meetings are abt 4-5 times a year with a training session in the Summer. Sounds doable-right?
Anyway-THIS would be a step in the door-ykwim? Into all the mess that I feel needs to be changed for teh safety and rights of our kids.
They can only pick 2 people for the spot. 6 people have already been nominated. They will be voting next Friday....Its a 3 year term-but can saty on at teh end of 3 years if I want etc. I woulndt get paid for it-but MAN-talk abt an opportunity-eh?
She did say that I did have some things in my favor as I am in the North, live in a rural area and this is representation they are lacking. :)
So if it is meant to be I will get it I guess.....but MAN-Im really hoping I do.
Cross them fingers and toes for me guys! :)
You know how Im always saying how I need to be on some kind of policy board or something that can make a difference in the lives of kids who are still living the heckish nightmare that we went through....
Well.... Seams Ive been nominated for a position on U Seek-which is an advisory panel for the State of Utah under the Superintendant which deals with special education policies and issues. Basically they come up with solutions to problems and policies.
They meet in Salt Lake City-but will reimburse for miles etc. The meetings are abt 4-5 times a year with a training session in the Summer. Sounds doable-right?
Anyway-THIS would be a step in the door-ykwim? Into all the mess that I feel needs to be changed for teh safety and rights of our kids.
They can only pick 2 people for the spot. 6 people have already been nominated. They will be voting next Friday....Its a 3 year term-but can saty on at teh end of 3 years if I want etc. I woulndt get paid for it-but MAN-talk abt an opportunity-eh?
She did say that I did have some things in my favor as I am in the North, live in a rural area and this is representation they are lacking. :)
So if it is meant to be I will get it I guess.....but MAN-Im really hoping I do.
Cross them fingers and toes for me guys! :)
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
I Messed Up.....
Well.......what now-eh? LOLOLOOL
We are going on a week now of Stinger not being able to go to sleep until abt 2 in the morning on this Melatonin. We have upped the dosage and its as if hes on nothing. He's not cranky during the day, though he does sleep in( If Flamingo will let him;))
Last night he told me he wanted to be back on the prescription we had him on originally-and "why did we stop Mom?"He was blaming the Doctor getting really upset with him-and I told him it was me. That the other meds werent all that good for his body to be on and that I had made the choice to take him off and switch. That I had chosen this other because I had heard it works for alot of kids and that its beter for his body. He told me that all kids are different Mom and wanted a hug........He didnt understand still why we had gone off the original meds.
Tonight he began saying the exact same things he said yesterday night, but he started to tear up and cry. "I can't take it Mom, Im so tired-I want to go to sleep." :(He told me he was going to try real hard to go to sleep tonight then said that he wanted it all to end if he couldnt. So thats it-I heard that last comment and Im done with the waiting-hes getting really agitated abt everything and its not turning better-its getting worse with his thoughts etc. Its starting to worry me.....
We've done enough of the waiting game-Im not going to wait ard for things and thoughts to get ANY worse. So Im calling the Dr tomorrow to start the process of switching back to our original meds. Man-I messed up. Stinger is misereable and the other pills were working fine.....sigh....man Im upset with myself. But hopefully I can fix this back to how it was again.......
Mr B came today. Stinger was up in a tree the whole time...LOLOLOL, but they were playing and interacting. Mr B actually climbed up there right with him-LOLOLOLOL Stinger absolutely enjoyed this-you should have seen his smile-as he was trying to wiggle away from him-just playing "cant get me etc" Mr B had brought over a boat to make. He wants to take Stinger to the lake and float it. We shall see.LOLOLOLOL Today Stinger wasnt wanting to participate in helping make the boat though-which is odd as he LOVES building projects like that and last week he helped Mr B with it.....could be the new meds-who knows......but he stayed up in that tree the whole time. But he had a smile on his face and kept looking over at us building the boat. It was kinda funny watching him-as he didnt want Mr B to see him interested.
But it was a good day. Tonight I imagine we will deal with what we have been all week. But it was a good day :)
We are going on a week now of Stinger not being able to go to sleep until abt 2 in the morning on this Melatonin. We have upped the dosage and its as if hes on nothing. He's not cranky during the day, though he does sleep in( If Flamingo will let him;))
Last night he told me he wanted to be back on the prescription we had him on originally-and "why did we stop Mom?"He was blaming the Doctor getting really upset with him-and I told him it was me. That the other meds werent all that good for his body to be on and that I had made the choice to take him off and switch. That I had chosen this other because I had heard it works for alot of kids and that its beter for his body. He told me that all kids are different Mom and wanted a hug........He didnt understand still why we had gone off the original meds.
Tonight he began saying the exact same things he said yesterday night, but he started to tear up and cry. "I can't take it Mom, Im so tired-I want to go to sleep." :(He told me he was going to try real hard to go to sleep tonight then said that he wanted it all to end if he couldnt. So thats it-I heard that last comment and Im done with the waiting-hes getting really agitated abt everything and its not turning better-its getting worse with his thoughts etc. Its starting to worry me.....
We've done enough of the waiting game-Im not going to wait ard for things and thoughts to get ANY worse. So Im calling the Dr tomorrow to start the process of switching back to our original meds. Man-I messed up. Stinger is misereable and the other pills were working fine.....sigh....man Im upset with myself. But hopefully I can fix this back to how it was again.......
Mr B came today. Stinger was up in a tree the whole time...LOLOLOL, but they were playing and interacting. Mr B actually climbed up there right with him-LOLOLOLOL Stinger absolutely enjoyed this-you should have seen his smile-as he was trying to wiggle away from him-just playing "cant get me etc" Mr B had brought over a boat to make. He wants to take Stinger to the lake and float it. We shall see.LOLOLOLOL Today Stinger wasnt wanting to participate in helping make the boat though-which is odd as he LOVES building projects like that and last week he helped Mr B with it.....could be the new meds-who knows......but he stayed up in that tree the whole time. But he had a smile on his face and kept looking over at us building the boat. It was kinda funny watching him-as he didnt want Mr B to see him interested.
But it was a good day. Tonight I imagine we will deal with what we have been all week. But it was a good day :)
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
NY Times article-Restraint
WOW- All to familiar to Stinger......our life as it WAS in a nut shell.....
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/health/15restraint.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1&ref=science&oref=slogin
Calm Down or Else
BENEDICT CAREY
Published: July 15, 2008
The children return from school confused, scared and sometimes with bruises on their wrists, arms or face.("WE HAD A HARD DAY"-QUOTE FROM STINGERS SCHOOL)Many won’t talk about what happened, or simply can’t, because they are unable to communicate easily, if at all.
Tim Miller was restrained by teachers at his middle school.
“What Tim eventually said,” said John Miller, a podiatrist in Allegany, N.Y., about his son, then 12, “was that he didn’t want to go to school because he thought the school was trying to kill him.”
Dr. Miller learned that Tim, who has Asperger’s syndrome, was being unusually confrontational in class, and that more than once teachers had held him down on the floor to “calm him down,” according to logs teachers kept to track his behavior; on at least one occasion, adults held Tim prone for 20 minutes until he stopped struggling.
The Millers are suing the district, in part for costs of therapy for their son as a result of the restraints.(SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS) The district did not dispute the logs but denied that teachers behaved improperly.
For more than a decade, parents of children with developmental and psychiatric problems have pushed to gain more access to mainstream schools and classrooms for their sons and daughters. One unfortunate result, some experts say, is schools’ increasing use of precisely the sort of practices families hoped to avoid by steering clear of institutionalized settings: takedowns, isolation rooms, restraining chairs with straps, and worse.(IS THIS AN EXCUSE TO ABUSE OR WHAT)
No one keeps careful track of how often school staff members use such maneuvers.(NO KIDDING) But last year the public system served 600,000 more special education students than it did a decade ago, many at least part time in regular classrooms. Many staff members are not adequately trained to handle severe behavior problems, researchers say.(REALLY??????)
In April, a 9-year-old Montreal boy with autism died of suffocation when a special education teacher wrapped him in a weighted blanket to calm him, according to the coroner’s report. Two Michigan public school students with autism have died while being held on the ground in so-called prone restraint.(AND THEY HAVE THE NERVE TO WONDER WHY WE QUESTION THIS PRACTISE)
Michigan, Pennsylvania and Tennessee have recently tightened regulations governing the use of restraints and seclusion in schools. California, Iowa and New York are among states considering stronger prohibitions, and reports have appeared on blogs and in newspapers across the country, from The Orange County Register to The Wall Street Journal.
“Behavior problems in school are way up, and there’s good reason to believe that the use of these procedures is up, too,” said Reece L. Peterson, a professor of special education at the University of Nebraska. “It’s an awful combination, because many parents expect restraints to be used — as long as it’s not their kid.”
Federal law leaves it to states and school districts to decide when physical restraints and seclusion are appropriate, and standards vary widely.( I SOO NEED TO BE ON SOME UTAH BOARD) Oversight is virtually nonexistent in most states, despite the potential for harm and scant evidence of benefit, Dr. Peterson said. Psychiatric facilities and nursing homes are generally far more accountable to report on such incidents than schools, experts say.
In dozens of interviews, parents, special education experts and lawyers who work to protect disabled people said they now regularly heard of cases of abuse in public schools — up to one or two a week surface on some parent e-mail lists — much more often than a decade ago. “In all the years I went to school, I never, ever saw or heard of anything like the horrific stories about restraint that we see just about every day now,” said Alison Tepper Singer, executive vice president of Autism Speaks, a charity dedicated to curing the disorder.
The issue is politically sensitive at a time when schools have done a lot to accommodate students with special needs, and some have questioned whether mainstreaming has gone too far. “Some parent organizations, they’re so grateful to the schools that their kids have been mainstreamed that they don’t want to risk really pushing for change,” said Dee Alpert, an advocate in New York who reports on the issue in the online journal specialeducationmuckraker.com.
For teachers, who have many other responsibilities — not least, to teach — managing even one child with a disability can add a wild card to the day. “In a class of 30 to 35 children, there’s a huge question of how much safety or teaching a teacher can provide if he or she is being called on to calm or contain a student on a regular basis,” said Patti Ralabate, a special education expert at the National Education Association. “The teacher is responsible for the safety of all the children in the classroom.”( K-WHAT ABT THE KIDS WHO ARE IN SPECIAL CLASSROOMS WITH ONLY 3-5 KIDS-WHATS THEIR EXCUSE THEN???
The line between skillful conflict resolution and abuse is slipperier than many assume. Federal law requires that schools develop a behavioral plan for every student with a disability, which may include techniques to defuse the child’s frustration: a break from the class, for instance, or time out to listen to an iPod.
(WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT BE USED ON CHILD)
But in a hectic classroom, children with diagnoses like attention deficit disorder, anxiety or autism can seemingly become defiant, edgy or aggressive on a dime — and the plan, if one exists, can go straight out the window, investigations have found. Even defying a teacher’s instructions — “noncompliance” — can invite a takedown or time alone in a locked room, they found.
In an extensive report published last year, investigators in California documented cases of abuse from districts in the San Francisco Bay Area, the suburbs of Los Angeles and in the rural northeastern part of the state. During the 2005-6 school year, an 8-year-old with a diagnosis of attention deficit disorder and mild mental retardation was repeatedly locked in a “seclusion room” alone, adjacent to the classroom — at least 31 times in a single year. His parents heard about it from another parent, who saw the boy trying in vain to escape. In another school, a teacher held a 12-year-old with a diagnosis of attention deficit disorder “face down on the floor, straddling him at his hips, and holding his hands behind his back,” according to the investigation,(THIS WAS WHAT I FOUND STINGER DOING TO HIS SISTER AT THE TIME I FOUND OUT ABT THE RESTRAINTS THEY WERE USING ON HIM) which was done by California’s office of protection and advocacy. Congress established such offices in each state in the 1970s to protect the rights of the disabled.
Leslie Morrison, director of investigations at the California office, said parents often complained about such episodes but were usually reluctant to cooperate with an investigation. “They’re afraid the school will retaliate,” she said. (WHICH THEY DID AND DO)
And the children, who have an array of psychiatric diagnoses, from attention deficit to autism, often do not understand what is happening or why. “They just think they did something wrong and are being punished,” Ms. Morrison said. “Many of them are not verbal at all and can’t even tell their parents.”
In Tim Miller’s case, school logs obtained by his father illustrate how quickly a situation can escalate, regardless of behavior plans. In one entry, dated March 18, 2005, a teacher wrote: “Tim was screaming down the hall. He ran past me and began to double his fist to punch the locker. At this point I scooped my arm underneath his and directed him into my room.”
After the boy continued to struggle, this teacher and another “laid him onto the mat, where he was held approximately 20 minutes,” the log said.
Tim, now 15, graduated from the school last year and in June completed his first year of high school, excelling in a variety of mainstream classes without incident. In a telephone interview, he said he no longer thought much about the takedowns. “I just think now that they were idiots to do that,” he said. “I remember telling my mom to pray to God that they wouldn’t keep doing it, and wishing the other kids would see what was happening.”
When a school has a so-called zero tolerance approach to bad behavior, it often does makes a public spectacle of controlling a child’s behavior, said several parents interviewed for this article.
Kathy Sexton, who lives near Dallas, had to pick up her 11-year-old son, Anthony, who has a diagnosis of attention deficit disorder, at the police station, after school staff members had the boy hauled away in handcuffs (YEP_BEEN THERE)for cursing at a teacher.
I didn’t hear about it for hours(AN 11 YR OLD!!!!!!-PURE IDIOTS)and had to go get him at jail,” Ms. Sexton said in a phone interview. “He was hysterical, obviously, and he’s had his ups and downs since then. It’s hard to know what a thing like that does to a child that age.”
Several companies offer programs to teach so-called de-escalation techniques to school staff, and a scattering of schools have developed model programs to pre-empt confrontations, and defuse them when they happen. But experts say that until policymakers and schools adopt standards, on exactly which techniques are allowed and when, children with behavior problems will in many districts run the risk of being forcibly brought into line.(EXACTLY WHY I AM HOMESCHOOLING AND PROBABLY WILL FOREVER)
Its discusting........makes me literally ill to my stomach......
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/15/health/15restraint.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1&ref=science&oref=slogin
Calm Down or Else
BENEDICT CAREY
Published: July 15, 2008
The children return from school confused, scared and sometimes with bruises on their wrists, arms or face.("WE HAD A HARD DAY"-QUOTE FROM STINGERS SCHOOL)Many won’t talk about what happened, or simply can’t, because they are unable to communicate easily, if at all.
Tim Miller was restrained by teachers at his middle school.
“What Tim eventually said,” said John Miller, a podiatrist in Allegany, N.Y., about his son, then 12, “was that he didn’t want to go to school because he thought the school was trying to kill him.”
Dr. Miller learned that Tim, who has Asperger’s syndrome, was being unusually confrontational in class, and that more than once teachers had held him down on the floor to “calm him down,” according to logs teachers kept to track his behavior; on at least one occasion, adults held Tim prone for 20 minutes until he stopped struggling.
The Millers are suing the district, in part for costs of therapy for their son as a result of the restraints.(SHOULD HAVE DONE THIS) The district did not dispute the logs but denied that teachers behaved improperly.
For more than a decade, parents of children with developmental and psychiatric problems have pushed to gain more access to mainstream schools and classrooms for their sons and daughters. One unfortunate result, some experts say, is schools’ increasing use of precisely the sort of practices families hoped to avoid by steering clear of institutionalized settings: takedowns, isolation rooms, restraining chairs with straps, and worse.(IS THIS AN EXCUSE TO ABUSE OR WHAT)
No one keeps careful track of how often school staff members use such maneuvers.(NO KIDDING) But last year the public system served 600,000 more special education students than it did a decade ago, many at least part time in regular classrooms. Many staff members are not adequately trained to handle severe behavior problems, researchers say.(REALLY??????)
In April, a 9-year-old Montreal boy with autism died of suffocation when a special education teacher wrapped him in a weighted blanket to calm him, according to the coroner’s report. Two Michigan public school students with autism have died while being held on the ground in so-called prone restraint.(AND THEY HAVE THE NERVE TO WONDER WHY WE QUESTION THIS PRACTISE)
Michigan, Pennsylvania and Tennessee have recently tightened regulations governing the use of restraints and seclusion in schools. California, Iowa and New York are among states considering stronger prohibitions, and reports have appeared on blogs and in newspapers across the country, from The Orange County Register to The Wall Street Journal.
“Behavior problems in school are way up, and there’s good reason to believe that the use of these procedures is up, too,” said Reece L. Peterson, a professor of special education at the University of Nebraska. “It’s an awful combination, because many parents expect restraints to be used — as long as it’s not their kid.”
Federal law leaves it to states and school districts to decide when physical restraints and seclusion are appropriate, and standards vary widely.( I SOO NEED TO BE ON SOME UTAH BOARD) Oversight is virtually nonexistent in most states, despite the potential for harm and scant evidence of benefit, Dr. Peterson said. Psychiatric facilities and nursing homes are generally far more accountable to report on such incidents than schools, experts say.
In dozens of interviews, parents, special education experts and lawyers who work to protect disabled people said they now regularly heard of cases of abuse in public schools — up to one or two a week surface on some parent e-mail lists — much more often than a decade ago. “In all the years I went to school, I never, ever saw or heard of anything like the horrific stories about restraint that we see just about every day now,” said Alison Tepper Singer, executive vice president of Autism Speaks, a charity dedicated to curing the disorder.
The issue is politically sensitive at a time when schools have done a lot to accommodate students with special needs, and some have questioned whether mainstreaming has gone too far. “Some parent organizations, they’re so grateful to the schools that their kids have been mainstreamed that they don’t want to risk really pushing for change,” said Dee Alpert, an advocate in New York who reports on the issue in the online journal specialeducationmuckraker.com.
For teachers, who have many other responsibilities — not least, to teach — managing even one child with a disability can add a wild card to the day. “In a class of 30 to 35 children, there’s a huge question of how much safety or teaching a teacher can provide if he or she is being called on to calm or contain a student on a regular basis,” said Patti Ralabate, a special education expert at the National Education Association. “The teacher is responsible for the safety of all the children in the classroom.”( K-WHAT ABT THE KIDS WHO ARE IN SPECIAL CLASSROOMS WITH ONLY 3-5 KIDS-WHATS THEIR EXCUSE THEN???
The line between skillful conflict resolution and abuse is slipperier than many assume. Federal law requires that schools develop a behavioral plan for every student with a disability, which may include techniques to defuse the child’s frustration: a break from the class, for instance, or time out to listen to an iPod.
(WHICH MAY OR MAY NOT BE USED ON CHILD)
But in a hectic classroom, children with diagnoses like attention deficit disorder, anxiety or autism can seemingly become defiant, edgy or aggressive on a dime — and the plan, if one exists, can go straight out the window, investigations have found. Even defying a teacher’s instructions — “noncompliance” — can invite a takedown or time alone in a locked room, they found.
In an extensive report published last year, investigators in California documented cases of abuse from districts in the San Francisco Bay Area, the suburbs of Los Angeles and in the rural northeastern part of the state. During the 2005-6 school year, an 8-year-old with a diagnosis of attention deficit disorder and mild mental retardation was repeatedly locked in a “seclusion room” alone, adjacent to the classroom — at least 31 times in a single year. His parents heard about it from another parent, who saw the boy trying in vain to escape. In another school, a teacher held a 12-year-old with a diagnosis of attention deficit disorder “face down on the floor, straddling him at his hips, and holding his hands behind his back,” according to the investigation,(THIS WAS WHAT I FOUND STINGER DOING TO HIS SISTER AT THE TIME I FOUND OUT ABT THE RESTRAINTS THEY WERE USING ON HIM) which was done by California’s office of protection and advocacy. Congress established such offices in each state in the 1970s to protect the rights of the disabled.
Leslie Morrison, director of investigations at the California office, said parents often complained about such episodes but were usually reluctant to cooperate with an investigation. “They’re afraid the school will retaliate,” she said. (WHICH THEY DID AND DO)
And the children, who have an array of psychiatric diagnoses, from attention deficit to autism, often do not understand what is happening or why. “They just think they did something wrong and are being punished,” Ms. Morrison said. “Many of them are not verbal at all and can’t even tell their parents.”
In Tim Miller’s case, school logs obtained by his father illustrate how quickly a situation can escalate, regardless of behavior plans. In one entry, dated March 18, 2005, a teacher wrote: “Tim was screaming down the hall. He ran past me and began to double his fist to punch the locker. At this point I scooped my arm underneath his and directed him into my room.”
After the boy continued to struggle, this teacher and another “laid him onto the mat, where he was held approximately 20 minutes,” the log said.
Tim, now 15, graduated from the school last year and in June completed his first year of high school, excelling in a variety of mainstream classes without incident. In a telephone interview, he said he no longer thought much about the takedowns. “I just think now that they were idiots to do that,” he said. “I remember telling my mom to pray to God that they wouldn’t keep doing it, and wishing the other kids would see what was happening.”
When a school has a so-called zero tolerance approach to bad behavior, it often does makes a public spectacle of controlling a child’s behavior, said several parents interviewed for this article.
Kathy Sexton, who lives near Dallas, had to pick up her 11-year-old son, Anthony, who has a diagnosis of attention deficit disorder, at the police station, after school staff members had the boy hauled away in handcuffs (YEP_BEEN THERE)for cursing at a teacher.
I didn’t hear about it for hours(AN 11 YR OLD!!!!!!-PURE IDIOTS)and had to go get him at jail,” Ms. Sexton said in a phone interview. “He was hysterical, obviously, and he’s had his ups and downs since then. It’s hard to know what a thing like that does to a child that age.”
Several companies offer programs to teach so-called de-escalation techniques to school staff, and a scattering of schools have developed model programs to pre-empt confrontations, and defuse them when they happen. But experts say that until policymakers and schools adopt standards, on exactly which techniques are allowed and when, children with behavior problems will in many districts run the risk of being forcibly brought into line.(EXACTLY WHY I AM HOMESCHOOLING AND PROBABLY WILL FOREVER)
Its discusting........makes me literally ill to my stomach......
Yellowstone Adventure...or not??????
Well I have been really busy researching and researching (you'd think Id be a pro by now-eh?) our planned trip to Yellowstone towards the end of August. Ive been getting recipes from Nana:), planning an itinerary etc, and looking at fun things to see and do. Its been so much fun-but sheesh-a BIT of a task-no?LOLOLOLOLOL...yikes there is sooo much to see and do there.....
But today when I went in to get our air conditioning hose replaced-a minor fix- the mechanic ran into a problem. He couldnt get the threads undone on some core or another since it is aluminum-it either breaks or you need a new one.....sigh...so what was going to cost us abt $100 has turned into a hefty $400..YIKES -eh? ...sigh......so can you say we WEREN"T expecting that one!...ugh...Ill say it again-I think the car manufacturers know all this and they have us pinned in such a bad way. I mean aluminum-who in the world makes a tight fitting thread on a HOSE out of aluminum......UGH......see the way Im thinking is they KNOW this-just another way to get our money...
So anyway-Im not thinking Yellowstone is looking too good as of right now. Ive done our finances and it would work...just NOT how we wanted it to be. We'd have to really juggle and be careful-NOT fun....
So if we cant go to Yellowstone this year, then we will go to Tony's Grove here in Utah. Its Papa and Nanas place and its got a lake and nice camping. I remember it well. Its a close heaven...ahhhhh......sounds good to me anyway.....
You know what is funny -I told the kids and heck they didnt mind in the slightest-LOLOLOLOL. Sure makes me rethink things. LOLOLOLOL
When I first said we might not be able to go camping to the kids the first thing that sprang into their heads was our mock camping outside in the backyard that I have planned with our tent this weekend. They all began to look sooo sad. I was like huh????LOLOLOL-Yellowstone didnt even cross their minds......hmmmm....;)LOLOLOLOL
So either way- Tony's or Yellowstone- we should have a good time-LOLOLOLOLOL. I just want to go CAMPING with my family period!!!!!So Im happy either way-and it looks like the kids are too :)
So we shall see.......
But today when I went in to get our air conditioning hose replaced-a minor fix- the mechanic ran into a problem. He couldnt get the threads undone on some core or another since it is aluminum-it either breaks or you need a new one.....sigh...so what was going to cost us abt $100 has turned into a hefty $400..YIKES -eh? ...sigh......so can you say we WEREN"T expecting that one!...ugh...Ill say it again-I think the car manufacturers know all this and they have us pinned in such a bad way. I mean aluminum-who in the world makes a tight fitting thread on a HOSE out of aluminum......UGH......see the way Im thinking is they KNOW this-just another way to get our money...
So anyway-Im not thinking Yellowstone is looking too good as of right now. Ive done our finances and it would work...just NOT how we wanted it to be. We'd have to really juggle and be careful-NOT fun....
So if we cant go to Yellowstone this year, then we will go to Tony's Grove here in Utah. Its Papa and Nanas place and its got a lake and nice camping. I remember it well. Its a close heaven...ahhhhh......sounds good to me anyway.....
You know what is funny -I told the kids and heck they didnt mind in the slightest-LOLOLOLOL. Sure makes me rethink things. LOLOLOLOL
When I first said we might not be able to go camping to the kids the first thing that sprang into their heads was our mock camping outside in the backyard that I have planned with our tent this weekend. They all began to look sooo sad. I was like huh????LOLOLOL-Yellowstone didnt even cross their minds......hmmmm....;)LOLOLOLOL
So either way- Tony's or Yellowstone- we should have a good time-LOLOLOLOLOL. I just want to go CAMPING with my family period!!!!!So Im happy either way-and it looks like the kids are too :)
So we shall see.......
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
The Declaration of Educational Independance
To celebrate our choices and freedoms!! WHOOT!!!!-Thi ssi SOOO good! :)
The Declaration of Educational Independence
By Linda Dobson, reprinted with permission
WHEN in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for Families to dissolve the Educational Bands which have connected them to a faltering Society, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.
WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of HappinessThat to secure these Rights, Education is instituted among Men, deriving its just Powers from the Consent of the Educated, that whenever any Form of Education becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Education, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that a Public Education System long established should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by Abolishing the Public Education System to
which they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Government Control, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Public Education System, and to provide new Guards for their future Security. Such has been the patient Sufferance of these Families; and such is now the Necessity which constrains them to alter their former Educational System. The History of the Government-Controlled, Public Education System is a History of repeated Injuries and
Usurpations, all having in direct Object the Establishment of an absolute Control over these Families. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid World.
THE GOVERNMENT has refused its Assent to Freedom in Education, the most wholesome and necessary for the public Good.
IT has forbidden its Children Freedom of immediate and pressing Importance...
IT has refused Freedom for the Accommodation of large Numbers of Families, unless those Families would register with the State, a violation of freedom and privacy to them, and formidable to Absolute Control only.
IT has called together the Nation's Children at Places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the warmth and nurturance of their Parents, for the sole Purpose of fatiguing them into Compliance with its Measures.
IT has dissolved Alternatives repeatedly with its unceasing bureaucratic requirements, for opposing with manly Firmness its Invasions on the Rights of the People.
IT has refused for a long Time, after such dissolutions, to cause other Alternatives to be carried out; whereby the Educational Powers, incapable of Improvement, have returned to the failing System at large for their exercise; the Family remaining in the mean time exposed to all the Dangers of Invasion from without, and Convulsions within.
IT has endeavored to prevent the True Education of the Population of these States; for that Purpose obstructing the Natural Process of Learning; refusing to pass others to encourage their Individual Efforts...
IT has obstructed the Administration of True Education, by refusing to recognize the Sovereignty of Family.
IT has made Public School Employees dependent on its Will alone, for the Tenure of their Offices, and the Amount and Payment of their Salaries.
IT has erected a Multitude of new Laws, and sent hither Swarms of Its Employees to harass our People, and eat out their Substance.
IT has kept among us, often against the People's Will, Standing Armies of Social Workers.
IT has affected to render the Education Establishment independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
IT has...subject us to a Jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws; giving its Assent to...Acts of...Legislation:
FOR quartering large Bodies of Compelling Troops among us:
FOR protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any usurpation of Family Sovereignty which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
FOR cutting off our Connection with True Education:
FOR imposing Taxes on us used to Oppress us:
FOR depriving us, in many Cases, of the Benefits of Family Time;
FOR transporting our Children for large blocks of their time;
FOR taking away our Family Autonomy, abolishing our most valuable Family Connections, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Families:
FOR suspending our Parental Authority, and declaring itself invested with Power to control for us in all cases whatsoever.
IT has abdicated Control here, by failing us its Protection and waging Educational War against us.
IT has plundered our Pocketbooks, ravaged our Family Lives, burnt our Trust, and destroyed the Lives of our People.
IT is, at this time, forging new Laws to compleat the Works of Despair, Desolation, and Tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and Perfidy, scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous Ages, and totally unworthy the Government School System of a civilized Nation.
IT has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive in our Nation's Classrooms, to become the Competitors of their Friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
IT has excited domestic Insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the Inhabitants of our Nation, the merciless Conditioning, whose known Rule of Warfare, is an undistinguished Destruction, of all Ages, Sexes and Conditions.
IN every stage of these Oppressions we have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble Terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated Injury. A Public Education System, whose Character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Educational Controller of a free People.
NOR have we been wanting in Attentions to our Legislators. We have warned them from time to time of Attempts by their very Government to extend an unwarrantable Educational Jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the Circumstances that brought us to this point. We have appealed to their native Justice and Magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the Ties of our common Kindred to disavow these Usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our Connections and Correspondence. They too have been deaf to the Voice of Justice and of Consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the Necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of Mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace, Friends.
WE, therefore, the Families of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in GENERAL AGREEMENT, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of Sound, Sane Parental Consciousness, solemnly Publish and Declare, That these United People are, and of Right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT FAMILIES, they have full Power to levy Choice in Family Education, consider the Family's Values and Time Needs to choose the extent of participation in and support of the Public Education System, contract Alliances, establish Family Priorities and Values, and to do all other Acts and Things which INDEPENDENT FAMILIES may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
The Declaration of Educational Independence
By Linda Dobson, reprinted with permission
WHEN in the Course of human Events, it becomes necessary for Families to dissolve the Educational Bands which have connected them to a faltering Society, and to assume among the Powers of the Earth, the separate and equal Station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent Respect to the Opinions of Mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the Separation.
WE hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of HappinessThat to secure these Rights, Education is instituted among Men, deriving its just Powers from the Consent of the Educated, that whenever any Form of Education becomes destructive of these Ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Education, laying its Foundation on such Principles, and organizing its Powers in such Form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that a Public Education System long established should not be changed for light and transient Causes; and accordingly all Experience hath shewn, that Mankind are more disposed to suffer, while Evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by Abolishing the Public Education System to
which they are accustomed. But when a long Train of Abuses and Usurpations, pursuing invariably the same Object, evinces a Design to reduce them under absolute Government Control, it is their Right, it is their Duty, to throw off such Public Education System, and to provide new Guards for their future Security. Such has been the patient Sufferance of these Families; and such is now the Necessity which constrains them to alter their former Educational System. The History of the Government-Controlled, Public Education System is a History of repeated Injuries and
Usurpations, all having in direct Object the Establishment of an absolute Control over these Families. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid World.
THE GOVERNMENT has refused its Assent to Freedom in Education, the most wholesome and necessary for the public Good.
IT has forbidden its Children Freedom of immediate and pressing Importance...
IT has refused Freedom for the Accommodation of large Numbers of Families, unless those Families would register with the State, a violation of freedom and privacy to them, and formidable to Absolute Control only.
IT has called together the Nation's Children at Places unusual, uncomfortable, and distant from the warmth and nurturance of their Parents, for the sole Purpose of fatiguing them into Compliance with its Measures.
IT has dissolved Alternatives repeatedly with its unceasing bureaucratic requirements, for opposing with manly Firmness its Invasions on the Rights of the People.
IT has refused for a long Time, after such dissolutions, to cause other Alternatives to be carried out; whereby the Educational Powers, incapable of Improvement, have returned to the failing System at large for their exercise; the Family remaining in the mean time exposed to all the Dangers of Invasion from without, and Convulsions within.
IT has endeavored to prevent the True Education of the Population of these States; for that Purpose obstructing the Natural Process of Learning; refusing to pass others to encourage their Individual Efforts...
IT has obstructed the Administration of True Education, by refusing to recognize the Sovereignty of Family.
IT has made Public School Employees dependent on its Will alone, for the Tenure of their Offices, and the Amount and Payment of their Salaries.
IT has erected a Multitude of new Laws, and sent hither Swarms of Its Employees to harass our People, and eat out their Substance.
IT has kept among us, often against the People's Will, Standing Armies of Social Workers.
IT has affected to render the Education Establishment independent of and superior to the Civil Power.
IT has...subject us to a Jurisdiction foreign to our Constitution, and unacknowledged by our Laws; giving its Assent to...Acts of...Legislation:
FOR quartering large Bodies of Compelling Troops among us:
FOR protecting them, by a mock Trial, from Punishment for any usurpation of Family Sovereignty which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States:
FOR cutting off our Connection with True Education:
FOR imposing Taxes on us used to Oppress us:
FOR depriving us, in many Cases, of the Benefits of Family Time;
FOR transporting our Children for large blocks of their time;
FOR taking away our Family Autonomy, abolishing our most valuable Family Connections, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Families:
FOR suspending our Parental Authority, and declaring itself invested with Power to control for us in all cases whatsoever.
IT has abdicated Control here, by failing us its Protection and waging Educational War against us.
IT has plundered our Pocketbooks, ravaged our Family Lives, burnt our Trust, and destroyed the Lives of our People.
IT is, at this time, forging new Laws to compleat the Works of Despair, Desolation, and Tyranny, already begun with circumstances of Cruelty and Perfidy, scarcely paralleled in the most barbarous Ages, and totally unworthy the Government School System of a civilized Nation.
IT has constrained our fellow Citizens taken Captive in our Nation's Classrooms, to become the Competitors of their Friends and Brethren, or to fall themselves by their Hands.
IT has excited domestic Insurrections amongst us, and has endeavored to bring on the Inhabitants of our Nation, the merciless Conditioning, whose known Rule of Warfare, is an undistinguished Destruction, of all Ages, Sexes and Conditions.
IN every stage of these Oppressions we have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble Terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated Injury. A Public Education System, whose Character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the Educational Controller of a free People.
NOR have we been wanting in Attentions to our Legislators. We have warned them from time to time of Attempts by their very Government to extend an unwarrantable Educational Jurisdiction over us. We have reminded them of the Circumstances that brought us to this point. We have appealed to their native Justice and Magnanimity, and we have conjured them by the Ties of our common Kindred to disavow these Usurpations, which, would inevitably interrupt our Connections and Correspondence. They too have been deaf to the Voice of Justice and of Consanguinity. We must, therefore, acquiesce in the Necessity, which denounces our Separation, and hold them, as we hold the rest of Mankind, Enemies in War, in Peace, Friends.
WE, therefore, the Families of the UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, in GENERAL AGREEMENT, Assembled, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the World for the Rectitude of our Intentions, do, in the Name, and by Authority of Sound, Sane Parental Consciousness, solemnly Publish and Declare, That these United People are, and of Right ought to be, FREE AND INDEPENDENT FAMILIES, they have full Power to levy Choice in Family Education, consider the Family's Values and Time Needs to choose the extent of participation in and support of the Public Education System, contract Alliances, establish Family Priorities and Values, and to do all other Acts and Things which INDEPENDENT FAMILIES may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm Reliance on the Protection of divine Providence, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor.
Tuesday, July 01, 2008
Mr B.-WHOOT!!!! Quick Update
Well Today was Tuesday and you know what that means-our dreaded Mr B. friend came.LOLOLOL
All the kidoes love him-he's alot of fun-except of course Stinger whom he is coming here to help socialize-LOLOLOL
But Stinger was incredible today. He took out his game of Battleship. And he sat down and played for a full hour with Mr B-laughing and talking and then being all serious-LOLOLOL-as he was trying so hard to win. I peeked at the two just sitting there and I bet I was all smiles....it was wonderful to see.....
WOW!!!!!!!! It was INCREDIBLE. Just incredible. So small you say-but HUGE for STINGER!!!!!!Mr B. was all smiles as well-LOLOLOL
Baby Steps-we are getting there........
We also stopped Stingers prescription for sleeping at night, well we are slowly tapering-and switching to Melatonin(over the counter sleep aide). Its working just as well-which is AWESOME!Sheesh-another something I wish I had done MUCH earlier* rolls eyes*-than putting him on that Dr. prescription which had everything and some more than what we wanted in a sleep aide-kwim? So EVERYTHING is going good* KNOCK on WOOD* LOLOLOLOL
GOOD DAY :)
All the kidoes love him-he's alot of fun-except of course Stinger whom he is coming here to help socialize-LOLOLOL
But Stinger was incredible today. He took out his game of Battleship. And he sat down and played for a full hour with Mr B-laughing and talking and then being all serious-LOLOLOL-as he was trying so hard to win. I peeked at the two just sitting there and I bet I was all smiles....it was wonderful to see.....
WOW!!!!!!!! It was INCREDIBLE. Just incredible. So small you say-but HUGE for STINGER!!!!!!Mr B. was all smiles as well-LOLOLOL
Baby Steps-we are getting there........
We also stopped Stingers prescription for sleeping at night, well we are slowly tapering-and switching to Melatonin(over the counter sleep aide). Its working just as well-which is AWESOME!Sheesh-another something I wish I had done MUCH earlier* rolls eyes*-than putting him on that Dr. prescription which had everything and some more than what we wanted in a sleep aide-kwim? So EVERYTHING is going good* KNOCK on WOOD* LOLOLOLOL
GOOD DAY :)
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