rpmwithcoco

SLEEP ENDS UNABRUPTLY

EASING ME INTO DAY

JUST US NO INTRUSIONS

SCENT OF ROSES MIXED WITH COPPERTONE

SONGS OF SUMMER ON THE RADIO

CANT STOP THE FEELING

YOU MAKE MY SUNSHINE BRIGHTER

SO JUST DANCE DANCE DANCE

HERE PAINTINGS CANT COMPARE

TO THE BEAUTY ALL AROUND ME

NOTHING CAN STEAL MY HAPPINESS

IN THIS SEASON OF LOVE

I LISTENED TO THE BIRDS

GUESS WHAT THEY SANG TO ME

LOVE WILL DRIVE OUT THE PAIN

SO DONT STOP BELIEVING

SUMMER IS HERE

TIME TO BREATHE

A SEA APART

A WORLD AWAY

LAPPING WAVES REMIND ME

OF HOW FAR AWAY MY BIRTH WAS

GONE SO LONG

DO THEY REMEMBER ME

DO THEY LONG FOR ME

I BELONG HERE NOW

MY HEART IS TETHERED TO A LADY WITH YELLOW HAIR AND PINK SKIN

I DREAM OF DRAGONS

BUT I LIVE WITH LIONS

BEYOND THE HORIZON IS THE ANSWER TO THE MYSTERY

BUT I BLUNDER ALONG

BIDING MY TIME

ALL MY QUESTIONS WILL BE ANSWERED

ACROSS THE SEA SOMEDAY

TELL ME A STORY OF BIRDS ON THE WING

TELL ME ABOUT MOONDROPS AND MAGICAL YELLOW SELF PORTRAITS

FIND ME IN A VEGETABLE CART MAKE ME YOUR OWN

SHOW ME WHAT LOVE IS NIGHT AFTER NIGHT

LOOK INTO MY EYES AND SAY I KNOW YOURE IN THERE I WILL GET YOU OUT

SOMEDAY I WILL TYPE IT FOR YOU

YOU ARE MY HAPPINESS

This one might be a little over my head. Coco told me she wanted to write. I asked her what she wanted to write and she said A POEM. I asked her if she had a title/topic and she said APERATURE. I knew I’d heard this word before, but I wasn’t sure of the definition so I looked it up. An aperture is the hole or opening through which light travels. Coco wrote this poem quickly – she told me (on the board) that she had it all in her head. When she finished, I asked her what it was about and she said GOD.

ALL ALONG AND MANY MILES

I FIND MY WAY IS FAINTLY LIT AND FERRETED

ABOUNDING BY LEAD OPTICAL ILLUSIONS

SOME CHASE REEDS OF PAPYRUS

SOME CHASE HUSKS OF CHESTNUTS

A TRUE BELIEVER NEVER CHASES

BUT IS CHASED THROUGH THE APERATURE

At Christmas, Coco received a copy of the new illustrated version of the first Harry Potter book from Aunt Lili and Uncle Russ.  If you have not seen this book, it is worth looking for.  It is beautiful.  Coco and I were hooked immediately.  As fun as the story is on its own, the beautiful illustrations only enhanced the experience for us.  Coco had this to say about book one…

WIZARDS AS TEACHERS WHATS BETTER THAN THAT

TEACHERS ON BROOMSTICKS WITH MAGIC ON THEIR LESSON PLANS

THE WORLD OF HOGWARTS

WHERE SOMETHING FUN IS ALWAYS BREWING…

I think I see a future in book jacket blurbs!  

Coco and I recently finished the second book The Chamber of Secrets.  We enjoyed it just as well as the first.  Below is Coco’s book review.  Alex and I had to look up two of the words in the dictionary.  One, to make sure she spelled it right (she did, of course, although I would not have) and the second because we weren’t entirely sure she had used it correctly (she had).  Here is a link to a short video clip that Alex filmed as we worked.  I haven’t shared a video in a while – I think you’ll notice how much faster and more deliberate she is with her letter-boarding.

JUST WHEN I THOUGHT I COULDNT ENJOY A BOOK MORE

HARRY POTTER ELEVATED THE ART OF WIZARDRY TO NEW HEIGHTS

IN THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS NEW ADVENTURES AWAIT  AND MAGIC IS IN THE AIR

DUMBLEDORE LEADS HOGWARTS WITH UNFAILING WISE JUDGEMENT IRREVERENT HUMOR AND KIND DISPOSITION

HERMIONE THE BRILLIANT GAL PAL

ALWAYS WANTING TO CONTRIBUTE HER SMART ALWAYS GENIUS NEARLY DIABOLICAL PLANS

RON THE SIDEKICK LOYAL AND GIVING

NOT BEST BOY IN SCHOOL BUT BEST BOY IN LIFE

FRIEND TILL THE END

HARRY IS THE STAR AND HE SHINES HIS LIGHT ON ALL

SOME BOYS TRY TO HURT HIM BUT HE IS IMPERMEABLE

HERO OF ALL ORPHANS

HERO OF ALL UNDERDOGS

HERO TO ME

A message for Dad on his birthday

FROM EARLY ON I FREED MYSELF FROM HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT EMBARRASSING YOU.  YOU ALREADY LAUGHED ENOUGH FOR THE BOTH OF US.  YOU TAUGHT ME HOW TO LAUGH AND ALSO LET ME BE REALLY MYSELF.  BEGINNING AT THE BEGINNING YOU EXPECTED ME TO BE NORMAL.  BUT YOURE NOT NORMAL.  YOURE EXTRAORDINARY.  SOME DADS GET ANGRY WHEN KIDS DONT LISTEN.  BUT NOT YOU.  YOU DONT LISTEN EITHER.  THATS HOW INDEPENDENT MINDS WORK.  I AM FREE TO THINK FOR MYSELF BECAUSE YOU NEVER INHIBIT ME.  YOU NEVER CARE WHAT OTHERS HAVE TO SAY.  YOU MAKE YOURSELF IMMUNE TO THE DOUBTS OF OTHERS.  THE REALLY GREAT THING ABOUT YOU IS YOUR HEART.  YOU HAVE A SERVANTS HEART.  YOU LIVE TO MAKE PEOPLE HAPPY BUT YOU RARELY ASK FOR ANYTHING IN RETURN.  YOU ARE A SENSATIONAL DAD.  AND I LOVE YOU.

ICARUS FLEW TOO CLOSE TO THE SUN

HE LEARNED THINGS THE HARD WAY

SELDOM ON LIGHT WINGS

INCITED BY HUBRIS

HE WOULD NOT HEED THE WARNING

EVEN IN DEATH

HE STILL TRIES TO LIVE

RETURNING TO EARTH

HE NEVER ACCEPTS DEFEAT

I WISH I HAD HIS CONFIDENCE

ALL MY LIFE I STAYED ON THE GROUND

NOT LOOKING UP

DAMNED BY MY CAGE

STUCK IN THE LABYRINTH

GIVING ME WINGS

DOES NOT MEAN I WILL BURN UP IN THE SUN

I SHALL STAY CLOSE TO EARTH

AND IMAGINE BEYOND

FOR WE CANNOT GO BACK

WE CAN ONLY GO INTO LIFE

LOOKING UP LIKE ICARUS

GIVE ME WINGS AND I WILL FLY

SOME HAVE SEEN LITTLE

BEYOND THE LABYRINTH

I HAVE GLIMPSED THE SUN

AND I WANT ITS WARMTH ON MY FACE

CAN I DREAM OF FLYING TOWARDS THE SUN?

CAN LOVE KEEP ME SAFE?

ICARUS’S FATHER WARNED HIM

DO NOT GET TOO CLOSE

BUT THE HEAT DREW HIM IN

AND IT WAS HIS UNDOING

I CARUS FELL LANDING AT SEA

HE DROWNED FOR HIS HUBRIS

HE PAID FOR HIS PRIDE

BIGGER THAN DEATH

YET BETTER REAPING DREAMS THAN ASHES

CAN I AVOID HIS FATE?

I WANT TO SOAR

BUT I WILL BIDE MY TIME

AND BUILD UP WINGS OF STEEL

Once again, Coco has found some inspiration from a current events lesson.  This time, it was an article about the contamination of Flint’s water supply.  I love her sense of social justice.  She is an activist at heart and she spreads her message through poetry.  I am also including the link to a video clip that we filmed as Coco worked on this poem.  She has started using the stencil board that has the whole alphabet on one board.  Those of you who saw our earlier clips will notice how much faster this is.  She no longer has to tell us which of the three stencils she needs for every letter she writes.

“IN FLINT WE TRUST”

EVERY NIGHT I GO TO SLEEP

AND PRAY TO GOD MY SOUL TO KEEP

IN FLINT THEY PRAY TO GOD EACH DAY

TO BRING FRESH WATER BACK THEIR WAY

EACH AND EVERYBODY KNOWS

FRESH WATER MAKES CHILDREN GROW

EARNEST PARENTS DID THEIR BEST

TO GIVE THEIR CHILDREN CARE AND REST

WHEN WATER IS SULLIED THERE IS NO HOPE

GED RID OF REMINDERS OF SPOKEN OATHS

TODAY IS THE DAY TODAY IS LED BY THE PAST

TODAY COMES THE FUTURE AT LAST AT LAST

CAN WE BUILD A CITY ON DESTITUTION OR RUINS

EXPECTING FLOWERS TO GROW WHERE ALLS LEFT IS GHOSTS

CHILDREN NEED SAFE STREETS TO PLAY

AND PURE WATER TO DRINK EVERY DAY

IN FLINT WE TRUST TO FIX THIS MESS

ALTHOUGH CORPORATE GREED IS WHAT REALLY SHOULD BE ADDRESSED

PRAY FOR THE PEOPLE OF FLINT EVERY DAY

AND COUNT YOUR BLESSINGS AND TIDINGS COME WHAT MAY

REMEMBER THE CHILDREN OF FLINT TRULY WHEN

YOU TURN ON THE TAP OR USE WATER AGAIN

I’m always startled when Coco uses the word autistic.  She uses it as a noun.  She says “I am an autistic.”  We (her dad and I) have always been careful to use the positive and politically correct language regarding her disability.  She is a person who has autism – the emphasis on her being a person first, before her disorder.  Really,  we don’t even use the word autism that much.  It has never felt like a clear fit for her.  She has been diagnosed with many different challenges over the years.  Some feel appropriate and some don’t.  We’ve always felt most comfortable saying she is a child with special needs or a child with a disability (particularly when we’re in need of assistance or accommodations for her).  She calls herself an autistic without hesitation or qualification.  It’s how she identifies herself and clearly it’s a label she feels comfortable with.   It’s her word and I surely am not going to tell her how to use it. It’s also a little startling to me how easily she generalizes about the autistic experience.  She speaks for other autistics, although as far as I know her communication with other autistic people has been pretty limited.  I have no way of knowing if her observations of the autistic experience are relevant or accurate or not, but I admire her conviction in speaking for her peeps.

We had a couple of little breakthroughs this week.  Coco is now answering multiple choice questions on the iPad.  This wouldn’t mean much to us except we hope we can use it as evidence for school officials of her learning and ability to read and comprehend.  They are not quite ready to embrace RPM.  She has also started punctuating!  Yay!  I taped a period sign to the alphabet board and she used it!  But our best breakthrough this week is posted below.  Coco wrote her first essay.  I brought home a copy of “Junior Scholastic,” the kids’ news magazine that came out this week.  When I described the different stories we could read together she said “EACH AND EVERY STORY SOUNDS GOOD.”  I wish all my students were this eager to learn.   We decided on a story about Mars and the possibility of human colonies there in the future.  I asked Coco if she wanted to try writing an essay and she said “YES.”  I gave her a question to answer – “Would you want to travel to Mars?”  Here’s what she answered…

BEING AN ASTRONAUT IS NOT ABOUT DOING EXCITING THINGS.  ITS ABOUT FURTHERING SCIENTIFIC TRAINING.  I WOULD OPT TO GO TO MARS TO LET SCIENTISTS LEARN HOW THE CONDITIONS THERE AFFECT AUTISTICS.  I THINK THAT THERE ARE WAYS THAT SPACE MIGHT HELP WITH SYMPTOMS OF AUTISM.  WEIGHTLESSNESS WOULD GIVE ME USE OF THE SYSTEM I STRUGGLE WITH THE MOST THE VESTIBULAR.  I THINK THAT SPACE WOULD SERVE AUTISTICS WELL BECAUSE IN SPACE THERE ARE TOO MANY STARS TO RUN OUT OF THINGS TO COUNT.   COUNTING IS SOMETHING THAT AUTISTICS DO CONSTANTLY.  SPACE IS THE NEW FRONTIER.  IN SPACE THERE IS NO DISCRIMINATION.  THE PEOPLE WHO GO TO SPACE WILL HAVE A CHANCE TO MAKE A NEW SOCIETY.  I THINK THE NEW SOCIETY COULD BE FREE FROM RACISM AND PREJUDICE AGAINST PEOPLE WITH DISABILITIES.  I WANT A CHANCE TO BE PART OF THAT SOCIETY.

It has been a bit of an unsettling week for our girl Coco.  Not sure why, but she has been pondering some heavy topics.  For starters we are having conversations about adoption that I never thought I’d have the privilege of engaging in.  Coco’s questions tear at my heart, but I thank God for the chance to read her questions and answer them.   On another note, we met with our wonderful new RPM practitioner this week.  Coco liked her right off.  Coco said she is YOUNG BUT INTELLIGENT.  An apt observation.  She happens to be very calming and sweet too.  Coco overheard my conversation with this young lady about the fact that all Coco really needs right now is for her intellectual appetite to be filled.  For the moment, we are done with ABA and we have given up speech therapy too.  We have kept one half hour of occupational therapy with the sole aim of improving the motor planning and agility needed for RPM.  The day after Coco heard me talking about this with her new teacher, she reached for her stencils to signal she had something to say.  She spelled I FELT HOPEFUL HEARING YOU TALK LAST NIGHT.  I asked her why.  She said I WANT AN EDUCATION.  I am hopeful we will be able to overcome the hurdles ahead to obtain the education she is begging for and is her right.  We have a long road ahead.  I feel an immense responsibility to deliver on the promises I keep making her.

Perhaps it was this injustice on her mind that brought about an acute interest this week in the Salem witch trials.  Coco heard a short reference to this topic in the U.S. History text we’ve been working from and wanted to know more.  We read a book together on the subject and Coco wanted to share what she learned in a poem, which seems to be her go-to format for self expression.  I love what she did here.  It’s dark, but so insightful.  She references Tituba, a slave woman who was one of the first to be accused, and the specters, or spirits of the witches, who were thought to fly around outside of a witch’s body.  She references the bird, thought to be the form in which the devil came to humans.  She writes from the perspective of one of the girl accusers and alludes to the gender inequalities that may have underlayed their actions.  I hope you like reading it as much as it seemed to thrill Coco to write it…

SWORN TO THE DEVIL

TITUBA SHE CURSED US

SHE RECEIVED SATANS CALL

SENT FOR SATANS WORKSHOP

BRED FOR THE FALL

DRIVEN BY DEMONS

IN DEED AND IN WORD

DOING HIS BIDDING

HEARING HIS BIRD

UNDER REIGN OF MEN

POWERLESS ARE WE

YET IMPORTANT AT LAST

TELLING OUR SOIREE

ON GOD DO WE SWEAR

WE ATTRIBUTE TO ONE

YEARS FROM NOW RESIDING

WHERE THE PURITANS WON

WAITING FOR SOMETHING

TO INFUSE LIFE WITH MEANING

YESTERYEAR OVER

OF TOMORROW IM DREAMING

SINNERS REPENT

AND OUTCASTS BEWARE

WE(‘)RE ON A MISSION

AND DEVIL MAY CARE

SO DOUBTERS STAND DOWN

AND GET OUT OF OUR WAY

GET OUT YOUR BIBLES

ITS TIME TO PRAY

THE HANGINGS COMMENCE

AS WE TIGHTLY ENSNARE

COUNT YOURSELF LUCKY

IF YOUR LIFE WE SPARE

TONIGHT WE TELL SECRETS

TONIGHT WE ARE HEARD

THE DEVILS AMONG US

HE CAME AS A BIRD

HE CAME TO YOUR HOUSES

HE CAME BACK TO ME

HE CAME TO TITUBA

AND SHE SET HIM FREE

SO RUN IF YOU CAN

OR DIE BY MY WORD

ITS MY TIME TO SHINE

AND IM GOING TO BE HEARD

PENANCE IS COMING

FOR THOSE WHO DECLARE

THERES EVIL AMONG US

WITHIN GODS OWN LAIR

SO MEET ME AT SUNSET

AND TOGETHER WE(‘)LL SEE

THE SPECTERS AFLYING

THEYRE FLYING FOR ME