11.22.2013

Babymouse: The App!!

App-loving Babymouse fans, your wait is over: Everyone's favorite slightly neurotic rodent is now available to play, via both iTunes and Google Play. Let iDevices and Android tablets alike rejoice. Even better, the app is free!

And really good, according to my own wee Babymouse fan. The app uses excerpts from the Babymouse graphic novels as the basis for some seriously  fun word matching, guessing, and spelling. Or, according to the app summary:
Playing the Android version on our Xoom
"Pop the Pic World Puzzle Game based on the popular Babymouse kids comic book series. Reveal the comic book pictures piece by piece and try to guess the word."
And did I mention the Free part? This is not an introductory dealie, the app will stay free. So if you know someone who has read all the Babymouse books and craves more, consider this an Expanded Universe option, and an opportunity to make that fan's day. But the app is a kick even for those who have somehow never crossed over into the wonderful world of Babymouse.

But don't take my word (heh) for it. Here what a dedicated fan (my daughter, who has played both the iPad and Android versions) has to say:

11.18.2013

This Is Autism, on Leo's Terms

Hiking!
With somewhat reluctant sister in background
Today is the This Is Autism Flashblog event, a positivity reframing response to Autism Speak's Suzanne Wright's attempt to frame autism as a national catastrophe.

If you know or read me,  you know I have Big Thoughts on many aspects of autism & autism parenting.  But when it comes to defining autism? That's a highly individualized experience -- which is one reason so many people were outraged by Suzanne Wright's attempt to hijack it.

It's also not my experience. I do not have an autism diagnosis. My son does. So I'll let him show you it's like to be him, to be an intrinsically happy Autistic person. It's not always easy, especially the communication. But he's working on communicating, we're working on that with him, and for the most part he's got a whole lot of joy going on.

For my part, I'm in love with my son, and grateful to be his mother.

 

Video description: Seven mostly very peaceful minutes of Leo hiking in the woods and grasslands. He has occasional Autistic tics and stims. About five minutes in he uses scripted language "We're not going to go back to the car" to let me know that he's not happy about the trail going uphill. I reassure him that he's great, and he uses echolalia "you're great" to acknowledge what I said. At the end he needs me to give him my full attention, and I turn off the camera.

11.08.2013

This Dude Will Be Thirteen Tomorrow

This cute little dude will be thirteen tomorrow. To quote Yul Brynner: "How how how?" Those of you who have been reading along over the years -- please tell me you share at least some of my feeling of being hit over the head by time?

We are celebrating with the usual jumpy birthday party with friends, because that is what Leo likes. There will be cupcakes and pizza for the same reason.

We will also give him a few presents. But mostly we are using this milestone to acknowledge that our boy is become a teenage dude, and no longer a little kid. So while one of his presents is a Monsters University DVD, another is a room makeover -- working with him, asking him about taking down the stamper paint 1-2-3 posters he made years ago (he said yes) and putting up a Star Tours poster instead. Removing the colored, preschool-style toy bins and replacing them with clean white shelves for relocating some of those toys. Replacing cutesy puppy sheets with cozy red fleece ones.

Nothing is going away permanently, not at first. We'll store most of his kiddie stuff in the garage for a while, in case he asks for it. Because he does that, sometimes, and knowing things are retrievable is reassuring way for him to manage transitions. Pluse these changes are hard for all of us, especially sentimental mothers who wish their kids could stay kids just a little longer.

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If you'd like to honor Leo's 13th birthday, his school would be most grateful for a donation of any size. Just click through to the school site and click the Donate button. Thank you.