Sunday lesson...Advent begins...

...now the waiting, waiting, waiting for the birth of Jesus on Christmas!

Advent is getting ready for Jesus to come. There are 4 weeks in advent. mary is jesus' mother.

We are being watched...

...this morning we had a visitor.  He is observing our family interactions as part of his  URLEND training.  URLEND stands for Utah Regional Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities....yes, that is a mouthful...I have put more about this project down below.  Also, you can click on the link above and go to their website.  IF you want more information, let me know...I would be happy to share.

Mark did well despite being "watched".  We got started a little late because I was busy talking with URLEND trainee.  I did not ask to use their name so I am going to leave it out for now...

am 
I am happy. 
three went did pleases
Shells are at the beach. A refrigerator i...

Welcome to the URLEND Program

The Utah Regional LEND, or URLEND, is a LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and related Disabilities) training program that covers five states: Utah, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming and North Dakota. Our program uses state-of-the-art technology to connect groups of trainees across our partner states. Professionals are trained to move beyond discipline boundaries to provide optimal services to child and adolescents with special health care needs. Because families are essential to well-being, this program emphasizes the role of family-centered care in all we do.

Their is a LEND program in most states.  When I went to Washington DC last spring, I spoke to my Congressmen about the importance of supporting the LEND program.  If I remember correctly, funding for the LEND program is linked to the Combating Autism Act (which I think has been re-named...)  

The name of the program that we are participating is the Family Mentorship Project:

The Family Mentorship Project is designed to provide URLEND trainees with a better understanding of the impact of a child with special health care needs on his or her family’s life.

Through completion of the Family Mentorship Project, URLEND trainees will:

v  Experience the day-to-day life of a family who has a child with special health care needs

v  Gain a better understanding of how children with special health care needs and their families function at home and in the community

v  Understand the impact a child with special healthcare needs may have on the entire family

v  Recognize similarities between families with and without special health care needs

v  Hear about a family’s successes and challenges in accessing community resources, partnering with professionals, and advocating for their child within educational, health, and other service and support systems

v  Acknowledge the importance of cultural and linguistic competence

v  Gain increased knowledge of the principles of interdisciplinary, family-centered, and culturally-competent care

v  Reflect on how he or she can be a better professional based on experiences gleaned from observations and perspectives shared by families

Mark leads Pledge of Allegiance at school

The moon is in the sky. A cow lives on a farm. Two is a number. An airplane flies in the air.

Today was a crazy day...we started our session a little early because I had to go to the school and meet with Mark's teacher about his IEP at 8:15.  So, we tried to start a little early so we could get some work completed before we went to school.  I was planning on working until 8:15 and then heading over to the school.  However, the phone rang and it was his teacher.  She said that Mark was to lead the Pledge of Allegiance at 8:15.  She called at 8:08!  So, we threw our coats on and ran over to the school and got their just in time!  I tried to record Mark but he talks so softly that I am not sure you can hear all of it...enjoy!

Happy 42nd Anniversary to my parents!
Dennis and Terry Klenda

Answering "Which" questions

A bee is an insect. A square is a shape.a tiger is an animals. A flower is a plant. 
zero who
Who is here?
help
Mark asked for help. 
here
Here we are.
jump


Mark did a great job answering "Which" questions today...also, did good with spelling words and writing sentences about the spelling words.

Sunday lesson: Jesus shows us how to love...

jesus shows us how to love. Jesus wants us to feed the hungry. jesus wants us to give drink to the thirsty. jesus wants us to give clothes to the naked. jesus wants us to visit the sick.

Talked about the Corporal Works of Mercy today...did good once we got focused.

Mark received his First Communion this past summer.  We are so happy!  He is now saying "Amen" independently when offered "The body of Christ" and when I ask him "who do we receive at communion?", he answers "Jesus"...

Pope to meet with autistic kids to end stigma

Click on picture to learn more

Typed an independent sentence...

...with lots of prodding!  Mark and I were both feeling sluggish for some reason today.  I started by asking Mark what he wanted to talk about...he said "gummy bears".  So, I asked him to type it and he typed out "i like gummy bears"  It took lots of prompting to get him to complete the sentence but I am happy to say that this was definitely his own first, free thought that he had and communicated to me though typing!!!

i like gummy bears.
three went  our out please 
A doctor helps me i am sick. 

Then, when we were going through the spelling words...I was thinking that we would start to write simple words with the spelling words..to give them more context...I will try and remember to incorporate this next week.

Silly day...

orange two new well what 
A dentist ceans your teeth. A bus driver drives a bus. a policeman keeps us safe.

Mark worked well today.  I am starting to cover some words so he has to think about how to spell the words more...it is just WAY too easy for him to rote copy and I am not sure that is really making him "think" enough...did great on spelling words today!

Week 15

Don't have a lot to say...very busy and Mark has an IEP meeting coming up at school soon...

Words Mark knows:

Dolch Site Words Pre-Primer, Primer and Extras:

a

all

an

and

are

at

ate

be

big
black

blue

brown

but

came

can

come

dad

do

down

eat

funny

go

good

gray

green

he

jump

I

Idaho

if

in

into

is

it

look

like

live

make

me

mom

my

name

not

now

old

on

one

orange

pink

play

red

run

sad

say

see

she

so

soon

the

there

to

today

up

want

was

we

white

yellow

you

95 Most Frequent Nouns Dolch Site words

apple

back

Other:

had

milk

school

Slow going Sunday

Everyone has talents. I volunteer at the hope center. 
Hail Mary, full of grace,
the Lord is with you!
Blessed are you among women,
and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, mother of God,
pray for us sinners,
now and at the hour our death. Amen

Another slow day for Mark...kept running away and would not sit down and focus while the "camera" was running...

Finally, got him to sit and we typing out the Hail Mary which is a good amount of typing.

Slow day...

pretty ran ride saw four 
a mail carrier brings mail. A firefighter puts out fires. a vet helps animals. My birthday is january 11'

Slow going this morning but got through some things...still struggling with the community helpers...

Mark did not have an ear ache...

three went our out please a dentist cleans your teeth. a bus driver drives a bus

...probably just growing pains.  Sometimes, he also gets really antsy when the season's change...we have been in the 50s lately and now it is in the teens!  So, it got cold really quickly.  He seemed fine this morning and we worked well.  The video is a little short because I was using my phone again and I ran out of room...

Typing with left hand...

orange two. new well apple 
a pilot flies an airplane. A hairstylist cuts hair. Mom likes hugs.
I go to moscow middle school. I  live at  408 n Grant street. 
My birthday is january 11.


Had a great session with Mark today!  Got through lots of work and he even started to type some with his left hand...great practice crossing the mid-line.  Still stuck on "Who" questions...working through that...so much to teach!!!

Had to pick up Mark from school at 1:00PM...they think he has an ear ache...have doctor's appointment at 3:00PM to check it out...

New approach to "Who" questions

My teacher is. Ms. bledasoe. A doctor helps me when i am sick. mom loves me. 
zero brown was like must

I realize that I have been forgetting to put the words that Mark knows up...I will do that today.  The list continue to grow and I have started to take words off of the Dolch most common nouns list.

Still playing around with the new Camp Discovery app...just don't have lots of time for both.  I may try to do the Camp Discovery app more in the evenings since we do not have to be seated at a table to do that.

Words Mark knows:

Dolch Site Words Pre-Primer, Primer and Extras:

a

all

an

and

are

at

ate

be

big
black

blue

brown

but

came

can

come

dad

do

down

eat

funny

go

good

gray

green

had

he

jump

I

Idaho

if

in

into

is

it

look

live

make

me

milk

mom

my

name

not

now

old

on

one

orange

pink

play

red

run

sad

say

see

she

so

soon

the

there

to

today

up

want

we

white

yellow

you

Sunday Lesson...God's temple/church

Not sure what happened but I could not get Mark's typing to come to my email today so I don't have it...

Mark had a lot of energy this morning but we got through the Sunday Lesson...

Talking to Boy Scouts tonight!

i walk to school each day. a teacher uses books. mom drives the van. Mom buys the groceries. 
orange two new no now

So excited that I have been asked to speak with a local Boy Scout Troop about communication.  Specifically, using typing for communication.  (Okay...I am not sure what I did but my typing just got small...)

Anyway, I had put together a powerpoint presentation about the information I learned while at the conference in Syracuse last summer.  I am also going to be presenting this on December 1st for the community at the local hospital conference room.  

I went through my powerpoint presentation last night and added some small clips of me working with Mark.  I had so much fun looking back through our old videos and seeing the progress we have made in just 3 months!  I picked some great clips to share and I am looking forward to discussing alternative and augmentative methods of communication with the Scouts.

Trying out more Camp Discovery

three on our out please 
a pilot flies  an airplane.

I know I have not written much the past couple of days.  Things have been moving along...slowly but surely.  Today, we did not get much typing done this morning because I was trying to get Mark to do a new program in the Camp Discovery app.  I clicked on the one that said "Community Helpers."  I thought this would be good because we are doing "who" questions this week.

I can tell we have a lot of work to do in this area...I am going to have to help him a little more.

He was stimming a lot on his hand and it would make him miss the questions because it goes so fast...I could have easily worked longer with Mark this morning but I had to get him to school....

dad likes to eat mealoaf. I like to eat donuts. Cows give us milk. gradma lives kansas and pennsylvania. police officer can help in the commuity. 
pretty ran ride saw four.

Starting "who/whose" questions...a little harder...

A pilot flies an airplane. a farmer grows Food. A chicken lays eggs. a hairsty list cuts my Hair. Dad  washes my  clothes 
five Soon that  they this


Mark seemed really laid back today and not very focused but we got the work done...

Religion lesson

Saints are friends of Jesus. My Ipad makes me happy. jesus is God's son. Jesus, mother is Mary. jesus' Father is god in heaven.