Wednesday, May 17, 2006

Autism

Today was my work day at Irongate co-op pre-school. I am wearing my blue wrist band in support of individuals with Autism and research to cure it. A few of the kids asked me about my bracelets.
"What is that one for?" they said pointing to the blue one.
I responded, "That is to remind us to be kind to people who have autism. Do you remember our friend's name who has autism?".
"God," sweet little Dannie responded.
Perhaps she is not so far off...

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Sometimes feeling forgotten

That's my Ki. If I say to the 2 kids in the car, "You (meaning plural) can have ice cream for dessert!" Ki often says, "Can I, too?"
Now this is not a lanuge problem but a kind of Eeyore trait whereby she thinks she has been forgetten, gotten the short end of the stick etc. This and her frequent reports of injury and illness I believe prompted out recent exchange.
(As you may know A broke his arm and was casted and 2 weeks later Pops was in a sling for 6 weeks following a shoulder injury.)

Driving over to the coast one weekend day.
Ki, "Mommie, my eyebrow hurts."
me, "I'm sorry, when we get there I'll give it a kiss."
Ki, "I think it's broken."
me, "Oh dear."
Ki, "I think I need to go to the hospital."
me, "Oh my."
Ki, "Well, maybe not now. We could go after the beach."
me, "Okay."

Sometimes feeling forgotten

That's my Ki. If I say to the 2 kids in the car, "You (meaning plural) can have ice cream for dessert!" Ki often says, "Can I, too?"
Now this is not a lanuge problem but a kind of Eeyore trait whereby she thinks she has been forgetten, gotten the short end of the stick etc. This and her frequent reports of injury and illness I believe prompted out recent exchange.
(As you may know A broke his arm and was casted and 2 weeks later Pops was in a sling for 6 weeks following a shoulder injury.)

Driving over to the coast one weekend day.
Ki, "Mommie, my eyebrow hurts."
me, "I'm sorry, when we get there I'll give it a kiss."
Ki, "I think it's broken."
me, "Oh dear."
Ki, "I think I need to go to the hospital."
me, "Oh my."
Ki, "Well, maybe not now. We could go after the beach."
me, "Okay."

Teaching and Dreaming Update

I am nearing the end of teaching Advanced Neurological Diagnostics Seminar to graduate speech students at San Franciso State U (SFSU). I just finished grading some of the projects turned in last week. I continue to be amazed by so many of these women (there are only 2 men and 1 of them is struggling). Some of them have exceptional grasp of the material as well as creative and intuitive minds. The fact that I have helped some of them cultivate this knowledge and intrigue warms my heart. Teaching is such a joy for me. I love sharing stories and imparting info. I also probably like to listen to myself!
A handful of these fabulous students I hope to keep my eye on that they may come and work for me in my clinic of the future.
dreaming, dreaming, dreaming
I feel confident that I am becoming somewhat known in the community professionally and that that will continue to increase. As well, there is a great demand for speech services with long waiting lists. This coupled with a GGRC contract puts me in a good position to create a clinic that would be busy. The tricky part is that there is a shortage of SLP's - so getting staff to staff a clinic can be tricky. I am hoping my connecions of new and recent grads at SFSU and knowing other SLPs would give me some options.
The other hard part about considering opening a clinic is-how much do I want to work? How much should I work in terms of taking too much time away from my family and myself, more specifically the kids. mmmmmmmm. Hard to know.
My vision of my clinic currently includes:
-a separate free standing building, ideally house downtown, that has a welcoming and fun feel. Not a stark, white walls and bad carpet feel.
-adequate parking in a safe area.
-a play structure
-focus on early intervention (my part)
-0-3 grps thru GGRC
-parent seminars
-parent support groups
-lending library of books and articles for families
-the ability to barter services and flex fee schedules to meet various families needs
-Double trouble and hubby to work w/me to pull in bilingual families for above services and education
-offer CFY's (and student internships as possible)
-have SLP students work in the office
-a staff of intelligent, loving, flexible, intuitive and good humored individuals
Thoughts from anyone out there??? Can also email me