Introductions

Let me introduce you to my students.

Fun Times- The oldest kid I have, whose hormones are starting, and his autism has nothing to do with his being a brat these days and hitting and kicking. It is willful and a huge pain. Literally. But he has the cutest little high voice, and is great at memorizing. He likes to draw logos like WB and Looney Tunes.

Space Cadet- The kindergartner who I really shouldn't have (I have 2-4th grade) and I have him just because he has more language than the little kid class and my principal hates the other teacher and loves me. There must have been some alcohol or drug use during pregnancy. His mind is on a loop. Every 10 minutes it's like a new day. And he pulls out random answers for things and thinks they're right. I asked him what a pumpkin was and he said title page. Then he tried author. And gave me this big grin. I know I need to be loving and understanding. He's just sort of annoying. I have tried to pull up love for him, and nothing. No warm fuzzies for Space Cadet. Doesn't help that when he first came to my room, he spat on my face twice, and bit me. And was generally being a little snot. And still, he calls kids names behind everyone's back and makes people outside our room think he's a big teddy bear. Psh.

Cousin- She's a distant twice removed cousin maybe to me. She's ADORABLE and sweet and quiet. I'd like her to talk more spontaneously but she can repeat things if I ask her to. Every day she comes in from gym and comes up to my desk and takes my hand for a moment, then prances off. She has long hair that's always braided, and loves princesses.

Bubbles- A very bouncy third grader who has autism. She is very affectionate and touchy feely, as well as having quite a temper. When something doesn't go her way, she has a very loud cry. Sometimes it's an autism thing, and sometimes she's just pissed off at me because I don't let her do certain things. I am getting good at telling which is which. And sometimes, I just think she's in pain or something, because it's a pain cry. I believe she's starting puberty early so maybe mood swings too. Being nonverbal and having mixed results with communication makes for a frustrating situation for Bubbles. What melts my heart every day is when she goes to a picture I have taped to the wall of me with a former student, and she points to me in the picture
and walks right to me and looks deep into my eyes and grins.

Clouds- She's got her head in the clouds a lot. She's a sweet girl. She, like Space Cadet, seems to have a loop. It's there, it's there, and oh look. Now it's gone. But she is affectionate and kind and likes to take care of others.

Sassy- She's a tiny little thing who pretty much refuses to walk anywhere without holding an adult's hand. She can talk, but is very shy and hardly ever does. She isn't in school much. She's sick a lot and has seizures.

Pigtails- Pigtails is the cutest little thing. Unfortunately she takes so much seizure medication (one of which affects cognition and ambulation) that she is in a haze all day. She sleeps a lot and isn't always aware of what's going on. She uses a wheelchair but is capable of walking holding one hand unless she's had a recent seizure. But it makes me so happy when she smiles, and gives eye contact.

X- I couldn't figure out a name for him. He has Fragile X Syndrome so I went the easy route and stuck with X. He is half day in my room, and half day in my friend's autism resource room. He doesn't have autism but Fragile X has some similarities and he does well in there in her reading program.

Parrot- It's not just that he is echolalic. That would make this a sort of borderline rude nickname. But he DOES repeat a lot, and one day we had a parrot on his puzzle and we said, just like you, right? And he repeated parrot over and over and giggled. He giggles a lot. It gets chaotic sometimes, because when we laugh, he imitates us laughing which only makes us laugh more. This goes on and on. I love him and his little voice. He uses a walker and likes to get a running start and lift his legs up so he just coasts along.