HomeSchool Resources and TidBits (SpecNeeds)

  When I learned our son had autism it was two weeks after my mother passed away, so not only was I grieving about my mother's passing I was also grieving about what could have been with our son. Fast forward to now. So much has happened since that moment in time and it has not been easy. It has been  hard as hell! But I keep on persisting and advocating and DOING because our children are our life's work poured into them, so that they can live a most productive life. Even more so, if they are a son or daughter with special needs, it gets a little bit more challenging. I don't think about when I will no longer be here on this earth because this is too scary to comprehend, so I only think about the now, the present. Every day is a gift so I celebrate the triumphs, mourn the low points and then pick myself up so I can do it again the next day.  Good Morning:-). By Mom Advocate

  How are you doing at saving your money during this pandemic? Have prices stayed the same where you are or slowly rising? Teaching your children about saving money is always a great thing and as they get older this concept is much more important since he or she will be utilizing this necessary daily living skill. There’s nothing more we want than to be able to efficiently manage our money. After all, the money that we want to manage is money that is oftentimes, hard earned. This is where a budget comes in. A budget should help you see where your money is going, get more utility out of every buck, and help you save some extra for future use.  The first smart secret to a budget is to set a goal. What do you want to achieve? Do you want to correctly appropriate your income into bills payments? Do you want to put an amount aside for a big purchase or a huge investment? By having a goal, you will be able to shape your budget to best serve your interests.  Secondly, you would want to take

  The best time to purchase cheap Halloween Candy is after Halloween, right? Who wants to pay full price for candy, especially at this time of year and during a pandemic. Go Online and shop to your heart's content on your seat, so you can avoid the crowds.  We personally like to shop at Amazon and Walmart : If you are an Amazon Prime Member , load up on the deals from your retailers just make sure it is not a third party seller, because the quality may not be as high as the actual retailers themselves. So shop from the source directly.  Amazon Skittles and Starburst Original Candy Bag of 65 Fun Sized Pieces Airheads 60 count variety pack Hi-Chew Variety Pack of 6 Snickers, Twix, 3 Musketeers, Milky Way 240 piece minis Walmart 2lb Candy Corn Bulk KitKat 60 Piece Party Bag Twizzlers 105 ct. Strawberry  Laffy Taffy 145 count variety pack tub Enjoy! Stay Safe out there this Halloween and make sure you are practicing social distancing practice as well.  ~M. 

  My thoughts on this quote... It says it all really. This remote learning for us has been an up and down transition. There have been many days of struggle and tears, arguments, and more is coming but loving you is definitely the easy part.  Be Safe out there.....This pandemic is really trying us, as a family on all fronts but we are taking it one day at a time.  ~M.

  Visual Recipes Good Morning(Or Afternoon/Evening, depends on where you are)! I hope this finds you well, practicing safe distancing and trying new things to create more beautiful moments and inspirations with your family. I thought that this would be a great way to show what may come in handy during the early days of back to school or anytime. As well as a learning moment for your autistic child/teen/adult or someone that likes to visualize what each step looks like in a recipe( I do!). I like to see what the end game will look like after I complete a recipe. Sure it may not look exactly the same but worth it to at least try something different.  I hope you enjoy these recipes by Tasty! Recipes and more visual recipes from other food vloggers as well. They are so fun to watch from start to finish, but it is also a game changer when you can pause, rewind, slow down and really visualize what each step will look like.  If anything, this will be a great life skill for your autistic son o

Cook I am sure that most of you out here are out of their mind right now, due to the COVID-19 Pandemic and don't know what to do, especially when it comes to your kids. If you are a parent that has a special needs child, the anxiety is through the roof. But there is hope at the end of the tunnel and things to do. My son has an interest in cooking and I am starting to take baby steps to show him the ropes. So if you haven't done so already, there is a visual recipe book that we have that is fantastic for people on the spectrum and/or anyone that needs more visual directions to know how and what to do in the kitchen. You should check it out and see if this would be a good fit or not for you and your family.  So for today we will do a recipe that I found here . I chose lunch because this is the easiest to navigate and doesn't take a lot of directions. So the amount of steps have to be easy to follow and able to access with the least amount of help.  Quesadillas

If you are a parent of a special needs teen, you are probably wondering what the next steps are as the last year of middle school is in session. We are still trying to figure out what is happening behind the scenes in regards to special needs curriculum and how our son is being taught. Most  parents take this in stride and just let the teachers...teach. But what if you have a special needs autistic son whom learns things at his own pace and not in the way that is expected of him because of of his age, NOT his disability.    Thankfully we have an IEP meeting scheduled soon to discuss all of these aspects of his curriculum. As we are one month in already and still have a vague idea of how our son is being academically assessed or if at all. Sometimes we don't have an idea until the end of the school year or mid year because quite frankly we believe that is how public school districts want it. I can also be a devil's advocate and say maybe they don't have a choice in the m