Uh oh (again)...

Picked up Mark from school on Thursday so we could head to Libery Lake, WA for pre-operation appointment.  First word he said was "McDonalds."  So, I said, "Yes, we can go to McDonalds when we get to Coeur d'Alene".  Then, he proceeded to say, "Uh oh, uh oh, uh oh..."  So, I guess he knows that the only reason we go to Coeur d'Alene is to see the doctor....later he started saying "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry..."  I tried to explain that he had done nothing wrong but sometimes, we have to do things even though we don't want to...filled some cavities and put on some sealants...

Since we had to go up the day before for a pre-operation appointment, we had some extra time, we went to an indoor water park...we were the only ones there!  Lots of fun...rode the tube slides until I was getting dizzy...

We got up at 5:30AM on Friday morning so we could get to the hospital to check in and my car would not start!  Dead battery...we were staying with a friend because it is a 2 hour trip to drive from our home.  Well, she has a newer car and her battery is locked under a cover...so, she gave us a trip to the hospital and was able come pick us up on her lunch hour....a big THANK YOU to her!  Got my car jumped and made it home but it was quite a long and stressful day.  The dentist recommended a special toothbrush call the Surround Toothbrush so I promptly ordered some for both Mark and Joshua.

Okay, back to typing...thinking I will start to keep Mark home until 8:30 and do typing with him...need to discuss this with his teacher but I also have 2 trips planned for October so I keep thinking that maybe it would be easier to start that after these trips...

We hadn't worked for a while but Mark did great!  My camera shut off a little early...probably it is full...keep trying to erase things on my phone so I have more room for videos...

Words Mark knows:

a

an

are

be

big

blue

came

can

dad

do

go

I

Idaho

if

in

is

live

me

mom

my

name

old

orange

red

sad

she

the

today

up

we

Working consistently is important...got a complete sentence answer today!

The last 2 days, it has been difficult to engage Mark with the typing.  He kept getting stuck on asking for gummy bears today...what should have taken 20 minutes took twice as long.  I am seriously thinking more about keeping him home to work each morning before he goes to school.  I need to look at his schedule and see what class he has first thing in the morning...

On a positive note, I asked Mark, "How old are you?" and he answered with a complete sentence, "I am 13 years old!"  This is the first time he has responded back with a full sentence and not the usual one word answer. 

I am using more flashcards to help Mark with understanding categories...

Words Mark knows:

a

an

big

blue

came

can

dad

do

go

I

Idaho

if

is

live

me

mom

my

name

old

orange

red

sad

she

today

Assistive Technology Assessment

This past week, Mark was assessed by the Idaho Assistive Technology Project.  They came into the school to perform the assessment.  I am very excited to get the results.

We haven't had much time to practice...I am thinking about maybe keeping Mark home from school for 45 minutes to practice each day before he goes to school.  Hmmmm......

Idaho, Idaho, Idaho

It cracks me up that Mark loves to type the word "Idaho"...he will type it over and over again if you let him...I guess he loves Idaho!

The picture for this video is not coming up...I don't know if it is working...so I have included the direct link that you can watch on YouTube by clicking HERE.

Happy Birthday

Well, it's Denise's birthday!  Mark and I worked on typing and especially on "categories".  I tried to show him pictures and work on "animals"...Mark did not seem to focused on this task.  I think he just does not understand what I want him to do...so, this is going to take a bit of work to teach him these categories....if anyone wants to send flashcards...let me know...we especially like the Baby Einstein ones :)

Words Mark knows:

a

an

big

can

dad

do

go

I

Idaho

if

is

live

mom

my

name

old

sad

she

today

Ending Week 5 of Typing and end of first week of school

This past week was the first week of school.  So, we are still trying to figure out how to manage this with school all day and then typing practice at home.  I was able to work with Mark one evening this week and we will be typing on Saturday and Sundays...I am hoping to do some more in the evenings. This week we have been trying to find our new groove and settle in to our new schedule.

I changed the position of the camera so that you could see what Mark was typing today...he definitely knows the word "Idaho" and I added it to our list of words Mark knows:

a

an

can

dad

do

go

I

Idaho

if

is

live

mom

my

name

old

sad

she

I am trying to concentrate our "conversation" time at the end of our time to working on categories.  I am trying to ask Mark questions and have him give me an example and he cannot do this...so I figure it would be easiest to start with simple categories and we will be focusing on this...

Finding time to practice

School started on Monday (today is Wednesday).  Mark was very happy about school starting.  I think he was a little bored of hanging around the house with mom and Joshua...

 So, I knew it would be challenging to get our practice in each day.  We worked this evening and Mark did great.  It is probably going to be more difficult for me because I am definitely a morning person and just get tired in the evening...Mark is definitely a typical teenager and seems to like staying up late at night...much to my disapproval...