Our Obsession with Paul Bunyan

Good morning everyone,

It's a gorgeous day outside, now if the sun would peek out we'd be set!

Ryan had a wonderful time at Teen Group yesterday. Paul Bunyan logging camp is one of his favorite places to be. We visit frequently, sometimes just to have lunch while he sits in the car and admires the statues of Paul and Babe. We've been doing that since he was tiny.

One day, when we were lunching our picnic and viewing the dynamic duo from our car, a mother and child of about nine years old got out of a van. The boy looked and looked while the mother smiled indulgently. Immediately I knew that he was someone with special needs as taken with Paul and Babe as Ryan is, and has been since he was younger than the boy at the park. It was pretty obvious they'd been there before. 

I wanted to get out of the car and talk to the mother but I can be shy. What was I going to say? "Hi, I see your kid is as obsessed with these two as mine?" That'd go over well. Plus the kid would probably bolt and then she'd have a larger problem.So I stayed sat and marveled that someone else was on the same byzantine path that I was. I smiled that some other mother took the time to visit Paul repeatedly. (like we have a choice, right?)

At any rate, Ry purchased a small silver bell with Paul and Babe at the top, one of those souvenir bells, had ice cream at the attached museum and in general had fun. Unfortunately, there weren't a ton of kids. Do think about registering your young adult. 

Have a great day! Much love and joy,

Karen 

Ryan's Hearing Aids and Stuttering

It's going to be a fabulous day to get out and do something outside. Warm, sunny and August-y! I have to work so I may quick run some errands then shift my hours to be in during the heat of the day. One great thing about working for yourself is setting your own hours. Besides, with my vitamin D shortage I need to get some sun.

I knocked my laptop onto the floor this morning. The flash drive for the mouse was twisted and hanging out in components like the Terminator's arm in miniature. I may not be able to use that port again. Oh well, as long as the computer works I'll happily shell out another $20 for a cordless mouse, right? Just be aware that this post may have random edits. I'm not real talented with the mouse pad.

You may have remembered me talking about Ryan's new hearing aids that convert high frequency sound into a frequency he can hear? Well, a side effect of that conversion is that the air flow when he listens to his own voice is disrupted and he's started blocking and stuttering horribly again. (It's always been tied to ill fitting hearing aids in the past). So ... what to do?

I love that he can hear more sounds but at what expense? The new aids are blue tooth ready too so when he wears the boot around his neck he can just tap it to answer the phone or turn on the FM. It's really a wonderful set of hearing aids. However, self esteem is just as important. The blocking and stuttering bother him and erode what little confidence he has. I'm thinking of switching back to the old aids for a while, just to make sure he understands it is the aids that are affecting his speech because of weirdness in hearing himself. It seems like it's always something.

Ryan is with G'ma today. They're doing some fun stuff together and then he has UCP Teen Group at the Paul Bunyan museum. He was hoping for pottery at Destiny Artworks or other stuff rather than the "school stuff" they have planned this year. THey had a middle school teacher in for art, another in for music and now the museum. Ryan was hoping for pottery, Action City , swimming and a few other items that are more active. Enrollment has dropped for teen group which is too bad. It's a fantastic program. They go bowling, which he loves, and fishing next. THis year they're having a family picnic which is too bad. Our kids spend so much time with us anyway. I wish it was just for the kids. How can Ryan come home and tell me about his day if I'm there too? I think the thought is so sweet, just maybe a little clueless.

Have you noticed how there is always this "get the family involved" mission with all groups? As though we're not involved FULL TIME? I get a kick out of the mentality that family time is precious like it is for a normal family. People who have children with disabilities have family time ALL the time. Our kids crave getting away ... although I digress! I'm rambling here, right?

Have a great day! And I'm sure that UCP would welcome a few more bodies at teen group. Give them a call and ask for Barb or Warren.

Much love and joy,

Karen