I'm glad that the surgery went well, and I hope his doc is pleased with the results on Monday! Have a great weekend!

Yes, familiarity, comfort, and success! I think we could manage with the next levels of Saxon, and just assume that we may need to rely more on the DIVE cd's and/or help in the evening from dad. I've just got to make a decision about math ...then I'll have more time to worry about foreign language!

My son has used Saxon all the way through 8/7 but I'm not sure whether to stick with it. First, my biggest concern is the way Geometry is integrated into the Algebra courses. If we stop homeschooling at some point during his high school years I'm assuming he'd have to take Geometry as a separate course even if he had already covered some of it in Saxon. If we continue to homeschool, I also worry about whether I'll be able to help him with the higher levels. I know that Saxon has a solutions guide, not just an answer key, but would that be enough for me? To be perfectly honest, the plan that appeals to me the most is sitting with my son in the family room and watching dvd lessons from a real math teacher who is actually enthusiastic about math! I liked the demos of the Chalkdust teacher...I think he could be my math messiah/savior. But so far I haven't been able to stop choking over the price and place my order.

Yes, it's the on-line version of Power Glide that I'm looking at. I was wondering if anyone had used their for-credit option successfully. Your ds's experience with Power Glide worries me a bit. The website has a few demos, but not enough for me to really get a feel for it. I seem to remember comments from others over the years that it's boring. Boring we can handle, but if it's confusing as well then maybe I need to keep searching!

Then I ordered The American Medical Association Boy's Guide to Becoming a Teen.

I'm looking for a high school French course that is accredited/will provide the necessary *documentation* to satisfy university admission requirements. "French I and II" alone on a homeschooler's high school transcript won't be enough without further proof of study like a test score, credits from an accredited institution, etc. I know that community college courses would fulfill this requirement, but I'm looking for at-home options. I'm trying to find an on-line/correspondence course for credit to do at home without the "class participation" that some programs require. (I'm still not sure HOW group projects are completed in an on-line setting, but some of the language courses that I've seen also require group projects.) Power Glide offers both a credit option (with no class participation) and a teacher-support option. FWIW, I've studied French so I'll be able to help. My current plan is to go with French I and II through Power Glide in 9th and 10th grade to get that documented proof and then continue with French in Action. Any thoughts/advice from Power Glide users? Did anyone have trouble using the credit option to satisfy college admissions requirements? Any other French programs that might work for us? Merci!

Thank you for this reminder about graciousness. I would just like to add that there's nothing wrong with asking questions, but perhaps there's a kind way to do it. For example...saying that eating with someone else's child is like eating with dogs is hardly the most gracious way to go about it. Estne?

I'm basically a shy person who prefers to blend in rather than stand out. Sometimes I like to imagine that I could wear or dress my dc in some of the "T's with 'tude" for parents and children that I've seen on websites. Some of the sayings: "Unless you have a child with autism keep your parenting advice to yourself." "I have autism but I only suffer from the intolerance of others." "It's okay. I think you're weird, too." I've even seen little cards for parents to hand out to "spectators" at a meltdown with a brief explanation of autism. But like I said, this strategy is outside my comfort level. I really wish that I could just not WANT to explain autism to people in public places. I've offered books to family members/friends but only one has taken me up on the offer. (My brother finally borrowed a book on Asperger Syndrome when he had a student in his class with AS...not because he wanted to understand his own nephew better...) We also share the diagnosis with swimming teachers, dentist and assistants, etc. and they have all been so kind, caring, and helpful.

It was actually a relief to have my children labeled with a diagnostic term rather than a label like "brat", "spoiled", etc. And I'm so thankful to be living now rather than at the time when doctors thought autism was caused by emotionally cold ("refrigerator") mothers! I won't argue that labels can sometimes be more hurtful than helpful. No one can argue that there's any benefit in being called "retard" by other kids when clearly this is meant to be an insult. How the label is used matters! After the Oscars, I heard a radio talk show host complain about two brothers who had won awards. (I didn't watch the Oscars, so I only heard the host's comments .) He apparently thought they didn't show enough emotion during their acceptance speeches and went on to say," What are they, autistic or something?!" Judging by the tone of his voice, the remark came across as a slur , not a concerned, caring, or just curious question. (And I responded to him with an email asking him, "Well, so what if they are? Are you prejudiced against people with autism?") We've come a long way in terms of accepting diversity in terms of race, religion, etc., but we know there's still room for improvement! I like the way some autistic people use the term "neurodiversity" to explain their differences and gain acceptance. (But if you visit some of the autism forums you find out that this has also caused some heated fights and hurt feelings between parents who are trying to find ways to help their children and adults with autism who are very offended by attempts at "curing" them.) Anyway, I like labels when they're helpful and not hurtful. And I agree that these conditions existed long before the labels...and I'm terrified at the thought of how my children would've been treated had they been born in another place and time or even today to different parents.

In addition to the CNN coverage, you can find more information about awareness events at http://www.autismspeaks.org.

April 2 is "World Autism Awareness Day" and CNN will be covering this. You can read more about this at http://www.autismspeaks.org. Some good websites specifically about Asperger Syndrome are http://www.aspergersyndrome.org and http://www.tonyattwood.com.au/ Thanks for asking!

I still hurt when I think about the person who compared eating with a child (not hers) to eating with dogs, and then wondered if this was "an autistic thing". I still hurt when I think of the person who was complaining about just wanting to enjoy their own pool without the neighbor and "his autistic half sister" coming over and bothering them. Maybe I'm way off base, but sometimes it feels like people are using the labels autism/asperger's as a way of describing to others the degree to which they've been disgusted/inconvenienced/annoyed. I still struggle to find the middle ground about how much/when to talk about autism. If my children were in wheelchairs or used white canes there wouldn't really be a need to explain the condition to others. But because a neurological impairment isn't as evident sometimes I feel like I have to explain our situation, or wish that I could. My husband and I have never let our children terrorize other people's children, pets, plants, furniture, etc. We've never let them be on-going disruptions at worship services, restaurants, movies, etc....we're very good at quick get-aways! We keep trying to do the things that "normal" families do, but sometimes life can still feel pretty isolating. I wish I could develop a thicker skin and not care about the stares, remarks, gossiping etc. but it's hard when you love your children and wish that others could see/say something good about them once in awhile. It's bad enough when other kids make fun of them or just plain reject them, but it's worse when adults can't show some compassion/consideration. And it ends up being just one more thing to worry about... who's going to love them someday when you're gone.

I order the workbooks from Rainbow Resource. You can take a look at the website (http://www.hwtears.com) for more information. My dd has dysgraphia and HWT has been wonderful for her. She's doing the cursive book now and I'm thrilled with her progress!

My daughter has had digestive issues since she was a baby, and she was tested for celiac disease but doesn't have it. Since the two girls both deal with celiac, they may have "delicate" digestive systems like my daughter does. She likes most foods, but there are some foods that definitely do not agree with her (as in terrible bouts of diarrhea). And beans are one of those foods! Maybe this is the reason the girls don't eat a lot of beans (and didn't finish the chili that you made). Maybe spicy food bothers them just like it bothers my daughter? Some fruits also bother my daughter, and maybe this explains why the girls only ate certain fruits in the mix? Maybe it's more a case of what they CAN eat than what they WANT to eat? Given what I've experienced with my daughter, I just wish people wouldn't be so pushy and/or judgmental about food! It would be nice to not have to explain private things to the whole world, but I've found that it's better to be pushy right back and insist that, "No, she really CAN'T have that popcorn" when someone was being pushy rather than risk her having an acute attack of explosive diarrhea all over someone's fancy oriental carpet. (which is why I brought a snack that was safe for her in the first place...) Anyway, I'm tired of the food fights, but here's my .02 anyway.

[ Another really nice option, though (and the one our son used) is dual enrollment cc classes because you'll end up with college credits too (duh). I'm so glad that I read your post about the "documentation" requirement for homeschooled students! How many quarters of foreign language did your son take at the community college? From what I've just read at the UW website, each quarter of college-level foreign language study is considered to be equal to one year of high school study. If I'm understanding this correctly, a high school student who takes foreign language classes through the community college would only need 2 quarters of study, not two calendar years?

My husband had to do this earlier in the month. His doctor gave him a prescription for nausea just in case, and he did take one of the tablets because the amount of liquid was difficult to get down. The tablets he got were called metoclopramide (10mg). I don't know how you'd get these tonight, though, but if he has to reschedule maybe this would help for the next time. Poor guy!!!

I have a cookbook stand to hold up my ds's textbook (which happens to be Saxon) because I think it's easier to have the book upright when copying the problems. *You know, I remember hearing about a Saxon workbook for kids with challenges so I just checked the Saxon website. If you're interested, you could call them and find out about the "Adaptations Student Workbook" for 54. I haven't seen it, but I'm assuming it's the same practice and problem sets?

My dh used to take prescription meds for this, but now that it's available over-the-counter he buys Prilosec at Costco. My dd has a prescription for dissolving Prevacid because she can't swallow pills. (Taking Prevacid has also helped to control her chronic diarrhea problem as well.) There are some foods and drinks that will aggravate GERD...things like peppermint (bad because it relaxes the sphincter muscle at the base of the esophagus), chocolate/alcohol/coffee/anything with caffeine, etc. You could check out the website http://www.gerd.com for more things to do or avoid. The pediatrician also tested my dd for h.pylori since this can lead to stomach ulcers. If she had tested positive the doctor would've given her antibiotic treatment.

You can do a search on "Tanner Stages" for the sequence and approx. ages of the signs of puberty.

There's a family nutrition section at http://www.askdrsears.com that includes information on teen and sport nutrition. I'm afraid I'm no help with symptoms, but I hope your ds starts feeling better soon!

I've been using "Natural Calm" magnesium powder for occasional insomnia and it works great for me. The Whole Foods where I shop sells single-serve packets so that you can try it before buying the big container. The packet contains 1.5 tsp., but I've only been using 1/4tsp. at a time and that works for me. (Too much magnesium=laxative effect, so you have to be careful about taking too much!) You add the powder to warm water, and it's a soothing drink before bed. (I like the Raspberry-Lemon flavor.)

Thanks, Janet!

I'm trying to find out if the student workbooks will lay flat when opened...are they spiral-bound? I'm specifically looking at Math 5 and with so many pages in the student workbook I'm concerned about my dd's ability to deal with such a thick book if it won't stay open easily.

Have you seen the introduction and table of contents at the bravewriter website? I would say that the book has a good blend of her writing philosophy as well as practical steps to implement this. The developmental stages of writing are described, as well as examples of appropriate writing projects for these stages. It's not a writing workbook for the student like Writing Strands (although there are some detailed writing experiences for students) and it's not a daily lesson plan kind of book for the teacher. If that's more in line with what you're looking for, this book probably isn't for you. But if you've spent time at the bravewriter website and blog and like what you've seen then you'll probably like the book, too. I don't know what to say about the price aspect...it is what it is.

I bought the 25th anniversary edition of Where the Sidewalk Ends. Maybe you and your ds would have fun listening to the poet himself!