"Special Needs"

Blech! Yet another word or phrase that makes me retch. "Special Needs" ranks right up there with "politically correct," "we pimpin'," "bling" and "awesome." These words and phrases simply grate on my nerves whenever I hear them, partly because they are overused, but also because they are meaningless. Take bling for example. Why say bling when, in most instances, it is more accurate to say hideous, gaudy jewelry worn in poor taste? Why say "we pimpin'" when it would be more accurate to say "I've painted and accessorized my truck to the point of technicolor tackiness."



Let us examine "special needs" as it relates to Suzanne. Her needs are not really so special. She only needs what every other kid needs. She needs love, nurturing, protection, friendship, patience, kindness, purpose, health, family, security, play, laughter, a brother to hold her hand, cinnamon toast, bandaids and a dry fanny. This is a pretty ordinary list when you really look at it. There is nothing too special about it, except for Grandma Della's special cinnamon toast spread, which has certain restorative powers when used during a crying jag.



The really special thing that Suzanne needs, which may not come to her automatically, is inclusion. She needs to be a part of the group, she needs to be where the action is, she needs to be accepted like every other kid on the block. The more that Suzanne is viewed by everyone as just another kid, the better she will do in life and the more she will be able to achieve. Inclusion is a vital key in helping kids with developmental delays to succeed.



It is interesting to note that in classrooms where there is a child with Down Syndrome, the test scores are higher than in other classes. Hmmmm...wonder why that is??



Anyway, don't look at people with delays as "special." Just remember, that they need exactly the same things that you do and the rest of it is just details.

Carpet Watch - Day 2

Well....

My new favorite cleaning product is Bio-Ox! My Suzanne-decimated carpet is really clean and the stains are gone! Greg and I spent several hours vacuming and shampooing yesterday, and her carpet came out really nice. And it has a rather pleasing citrus aroma now. I know it won't last, but now at least I have a product to use as soon as I encounter another "gift."

Next...the windows and sliding glass doors that she loves to press her nose against!

Get your Bio-Ox here...

Carpet Watch 2008

7:55 a.m. and Suzanne is still asleep. This is quite remarkable in that she is normally up between 6:30 and 7 and it is sunny today. I guess we really tired her out the last few days with our many and varied activities.


Let's start with Wednesday--on second thought, let's totally forget Wednesday and move immediately to Thursday. Kirk had his spring musical program Thursday evening and he was given a speaking part to perform. This isn't the first time Kirk has been in the spotlight. When he was 4 he played the peddler in the Pelican Gathering Preschool play, "Caps for Sale." He was also an extra in a soon-to-be-released movie called "Multiple." You can check him out on the Internet Movie Database website... Kirk Brown - Child in Park. He had a speaking part in the 2nd grade production of "The Frog Prince" back in February, and now he snagged a role as one of the narrators in the musical "Glow." It's about fireflies. Kirk has occasional moments of shyness, but overall he's pretty outgoing and likes to be in front of the crowd.


Suzanne sat there during the entire program trying to imitate the hand motions that were a part of the songs. She really got into the music and clapped enthusiastically after each song. Her teacher tells me that she loves circle time in school, especially when they sing. In fact, there is a little boy who refuses to sit with his legs crossed and his hands in his lap. Suzanne got so annoyed with his flopping around that she got up, walked across the circle to him, and firmly helped him cross his legs and put his hands in his lap. Then she marched back to her own spot and sat down. Woe to the kid who disrupts Suzanne's circle time!


Friday was baseball, of course, and for once it wasn't rainy. Kirk had a bit of a meltdown when he didn't get to play the position he wanted, but Suzanne was happy. She likes to sit on the end of the bench with the boys, and many of them have had a couple of years to get to know her, so they don't mind.


Yesterday we went to the Home & Garden Show at the Clark County Fairgrounds. We like to go to events there because it is


1. Easy access from I-5
2. Plenty of parking
3. The Clark County Dairy Women make wonderful milkshakes


We go to the fair every year and we occasionally go to concerts in the Amphitheater. Last year we saw ZZ Top and Chrissie Hynde. The ZZ boys are darned old and apparently quite deaf, but Chrissie Hynde (who is pushing 60) sounded great and was wearing these killer boots that I would love to have. Not being a rocker chick, however, I would probably look quite silly.


But back to the H&G Show. I have a system for choosing which booths to stop at. They have to talk to me first. If I make eye contact and they don't at least say hello, I don't stop. C'mon, if you are in sales and you can't at least squeak out a howdy, you should probably find another career.

I found a fun guy to talk to at the Bio-Ox booth. No, this is not compost created by oxen, it is a cleaning product that is supposed to take out odors and all manner of organic stains from virtually every surface in your house. As I told the guy, I don't care if it removes stains from my toilet, all I want to know is will it take out poop stains from the carpet in my daughter's room. That's it--if the poop comes out, I will buy some. He showed me how it works on red wine, soy sauce and tea, and how it cleaned the carpet pad as well as the carpet, and its ingredients are water, hydrogen peroxide and orange oil, and a bunch of other stuff that I don't remember. Now, perhaps I'm grasping at straws, but I bought a bunch of it in the hopes that my carpet could be saved. After we got home, I mixed a sprayer full and tried it out on some kitty barf, poopy spots, and a stain of indeterminate origin. I have to say that I'm rather amazed because everything came out. I had to scrub on a couple of stains, but overall I was pleased with my test. We are going to put some in the carpet shampooer today and really give it a test drive.

I'll keep you posted on the Bio-Ox situation. Gotta go now, though--it's pancake day at church and Kirk hates to be late...