Mali: Powerpuff Girls Vs. Angry Clouds

Mali created her own PowerPuff girls battle after seeing two episodes and deciding that they are her new heroes. She says she created these villains, the Angry Clouds. I'm loving the detail and variety, especially the different clouds (click to enlarge). Also love having a self-directed kid who is perfectly happy spending hours with a pen and a piece of paper and her imagination.

Iz: Twelve Years of OMG RAINBOWS

Our Iz is going to be twelve tomorrow. I'm not sure how we're even supposed to conceptualize that.

This is what she looked like the month before I started this blog. She was four and couldn't have been more scrumptious. 

Here is what she looks like now, and if you can identify the mushroom she's holding, I'll send you its spore print:

More than anything, more than a hair straightener or new Astonishing X-Men comic, she wanted her birthday to feature Maria's edible rainbow cupcakes. But I am lazy awful mom and didn't want to deal with a straightforward yet logistically complicated recipe, so I did something slightly evil. I suggested she ask her Godfather Michael, who has publicly expressed his disdain for cupcakes, if he would bake them with her. Her indulgent godfather said Yes! I cackled, and scheduled the party for today.

See how much fun she's having? Much more fun than if I had been in charge, grumpily barking out orders in reluctant Kitchen Commander mode.

The girls and Michael did all sorts of batter layering and patterning experiments.

Michael may not like cupcakes, but once he gave his word, he was committed to excellence. Note look of professional concern.

They were awesome! Michael, Iz, Mali, and Iz's friend Clarice made cream cheese frosting, because we're always looking for an excuse. If you ever hesitates on a frosting decision within earshot, you will get strong-armed into a cream cheese option. Consider yourself warned.

The final onsite party event was a collaborative mosaic. The kids were given individual panels to decorate however they liked -- panels that looked quite random individually. It wasn't until we put them together that everyone recognized the picture of Iz (the 'shroom pic from above). Iz and her friends got a real kick out of the whole process, which was a relief as I am all about the cheap homespun fun. I don't think they noticed they were having cheap homespun fun.

And then Jennyalice, Ep's husband Clyde, and I took Iz and ten friends to see the Green Hornet which was as witty and amusing as io9 promised but also remorselessly, thoughtlessly violent thought I might not be the best judge as shepherding those kids -- who are good, obedient kids but also top-volume human ping-pong balls -- brought me as close to a panic attack as I've been in years. But I would still do it all over again. Because Iz said it was a fantastic day. And that was the goal.

Happy birthday, amazing girl.

(And because I am her mom I have to crow that she won the middle school spelling bee and no she is not in the oldest grade in her school. And that her prize was a language course and she chose Latin. And that I think she's just great. Really great. Proud to be her mom on so many levels.)

We Worship the Familiar

Here is one way Leo survived our holiday road trip: By clinging to the familiar. Through his increasing awareness that, no matter where we go, there will always be things he likes to do (*cough* iPad *cough*), food he likes to eat, and people he likes to see. It helps that we drove the family truckster, which meant that his favorite seat, family, music, books, and other nesting materials came along, too. Other examples of the emerging familiar:

We drove through traffic-stopping rain- and hailstorms on I-15 south of Las Vegas. As we approached Primm, Nevada (formerly Stateline, and a fine town with an interesting history), the flooded desert floor reflected lights from the casinos, malls, and hotels and evoked the bath house from Spirited Away. You'd better believe Leo and our whole family liked that. Quite comforting.

We stopped in Primm and had our very first full-family mall experience at Las Vegas Outlets (we usually avoid malls: I loathe them, Seymour's not a huge fan, Leo and Mali are indifferent, though Iz is desperate). We secured some last minute and quite reasonable holiday gifts, then hit the food court -- where Leelo nommed an entire spinach stromboli! The not-insubstantial serving of greens was encased in pizza dough, and were transformed into the familiar. We just might balance our boy's diet through food on hand rather than with supplements and smoothies!

Nothing beats a swimming an opportunity for our boy (getting his goggles on, with his dad). Can you see The Strip in the background? We are so grateful to Seymour's parents for choosing a house with a pool.

Our stay in Las Vegas was brief but, again, a success. Leo has gotten used to the idea that his beloved grandparents' "new" (as of 2007) house is where they live, and now that welcoming, wonderful home has become the familiar as well. And whenever he became dissatisfied with our arrangements in Phoenix, it was "Grammie and Vavo's house?" that he would request, not our own "New house?"

I am looking forward to our next road trip -- and hope that we can eventually take these children to Yellowstone. That is my ultimate family road trip destination.

------

Updates from the past week:

Of course I wrote about Andrew Wakefield's fraud, at BlogHer. He is a deluded and dangerous man, and my heart goes out to the families who still can't find solutions to their children's health crises, and so have latched onto the man's lies. Liz Ditz compiled her standard excellent roundup of articles and responses, but if you want to get to the meat of the matter quickly, I'd read Wakefield's Wake, Part 1: Media should help undo damage from vaccine-autism hoax, the BMJ's essential How the Vaccine Crisis Was Meant to Make Money,  and, to round out your understanding of how irrelevant the autism/vaccine argument has become, Why the increase? (No, It's Not the Vaccines) from Stanford Magazine's excellent recent autism series.

I wrote another recent piece for BlogHer, titled Get Over Yourself (this post was supposed to be my 2011 year-opener, but Wakefield's latest public shaming took precedence):

I'm not greeting the new year with resolutions; I'm greeting it with a wish: I want you to get over yourself. Scratch that: I want you to give yourself permission to get over yourself. To put your defensiveness, anxiety, and hesitation aside, so you can engage more honestly and productively with the world around you, and we can all be happier.

Our engagements may not always succeed, our minds may not always meet; but we should always try.

On Tuesday I was interviewed about Blogging! along with NerdyAppleBottom, on Kansas City's NPR station, KCUR.org, as part of the news magazine Central Standard. NerdyAppleBottom's entertaining interview regarding her unexpectedly viral post My Son Is Gay is the first part, I come in at the :40 mark to discuss how blogging has affected my life -- specifically, how all you wonderful positive role models have taught me to stop taking the negative approach of "fighting autism," and the positive approach of supporting my son. Thank you.

One of my paid jobs is reviewing blogs. I have a large weekly rotation of sites, and while I don't identify with the interests of all of the writers (euphemism alert), some of the blogs are a distinct pleasure to read every week. I was shocked to read that one of my favorite bloggers, Ashleigh Burroughs, was shot alongside Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. I adore Ashleigh's humorous, no-nonsense, empathetic approach to life, politics, and her own history. If you have a moment, please leave a supportive comment.

And finally, breaking news: It took the hot social media trends of 2008 almost two years to wear me down but: I now have a public Facebook page. Check it out, baby.

iPads: An SLP's Perspective, Including More Apps

Two of the most beloved elements of Leo's life collided this weekend: I was asked to give a public talk for Via Services, the organization that runs Leo's camp Via West -- all about iPads. Turns out that the camp director had read the SF Weekly article about our boy and his iPad, and was inspired not only to try to integrate the devices into the camping programs, but to educate our community on just what iPads can do for kids and adults with special needs. And that is how I ended up standing in front of 150 people, telling them which apps Leo likes and why, what a life-quality change the iPad has brought about for our boy, and also about alternative iPad funding options.

Danielle Samson, a superbly talented local SLP and iPad enthusiast who was interviewed with me on Comcast Upside a few months ago, actually gave the bulk of the talk, and joked ahead of time that she's going to start printing tour t-shirts as her iPad and AAC expertise has been in such demand. I believe it; she was intelligent, encyclopedically informed, and entertaining. The audience remained attentive and engaged for almost three hours, with questions interspersed. Here are some of the points we talked about, both in the moment and with parents/professionals afterward:

• IPads aren't for everyone. It's important to do an AAC evaluation to see if the device is compatible with your child's needs and abilities. Danielle discussed the SETT framework.
• It's important to try out an iPad before buying one. If you don't know someone who has one, call an Apple store and ask when their slow times are, and bring your child by then. And it doesn't hurt to ask if the store will let you come in 15 minutes early, before other customers arrive.
• Anecdotal information about the wonders of iPads is great, but until we have research and evidence backing up iPads for education and as AAC devices, school districts are unlikely to fund them.
• Buying a 3G iPad doesn't commit you to the network -- it gives you the option to buy the subscription by month, which is a nice backup if you intend to do any traveling. The wifi still works, of course.
• Safety/Monitoring: Make sure you're familiar with the Restrictions options in your iPad's Settings, so you can hide YouTube and Safari if need be, and turn off the Delete Apps function -- I know Leo has certainly accidentally deleted an app or two (thankfully, I had them backed up on my computer).

We also discussed apps, of course. I told them about my two current recommendation lists:

• Leo's iPad Apps for Kids With Autism Starter Kit (the apps that are good for Leo)
• Ten Fantastic Apps for Kids With Autism (the apps Leo chooses)

Danielle also discussed the differences between the AAC apps ProloQuo2Go and Tap2Talk. Both have their own customizable features, but the first is a one-time $189 fee, whereas Tap2Talk is free, but then requires a $99/year subscription for any but the most basic functionality. Both are highly customizable, but in different ways.

We also both wished that there were more Language (as opposed to Communication apps), as well as more options in the Visual Schedule category.

After the talk, I was inspired by Danielle's apps recommendations and also did some digging of my own, and discovered some new apps that Leo likes:


US Puzzle Map ($2.99) Lets my puzzle-loving boy indulge in his love of puzzles while his Geography-loving mom looks on and beams. It also says the name of each state out loud when you touch it to drag it into place, so Leo can learn the states' names independently without having to read them. Play with state outlines in place, or without.

NeoPaul and NeoKate (Free) Natural sounding text-to-speech. You can save your efforts in a list, which I suspect Leo will like -- he's still working on reading, but he can associate a unique visual element with its content. We'll be able to come up with a stock list of phrases for him to use.

Speech With Milo: Verbs* ($2.99) Hurrah! A language app! Milo the cute animated mouse physically demonstrates the verbs in question when you tap on him, then you tap on him again, a sentence appears with the verb in context. All verbs and sentences are also read aloud. This will be very helpful for our boy.

SoundTouch ($2.99, Lite Version) Touch cartoons of animals, vehicles, instruments, etc. and see different real-life photos and sounds. Leo went nuts over this app, to the point where I couldn't get him to go to bed, and he carried it around the house with him, trying to play it as he walked (he's never done that before).

Arithmaroo ($1.99) Very excited to find Arithmaroo! It is the only app I've found that focuses on making the user associate numbers with amounts, which is where Leo needs help.


Dot to Dot Number Whiz ($1.99, Lite Version) Leo loves dot-to-dots. This one also guides him through by flashing the next dot, and reciting the numbers along the way to reinforce his counting skills.

Here's Leo playing Dot to Dot Number Whiz. Notice how he switches hands between turns! Ambidextrousness is not necessarily a great thing in kids with special needs, so I'll also be sending this video to his OT:



The Monster at the End of This Book ($4.99, though currently on sale for .99) Our entire family already loved this book -- now Leo can not only "read" it independently, and the animation is fantastic. The best interactive book I've seen on the iPad, so far.

----

If you're a Bay Area local and were sorry to miss our iPad talk, Danielle and I will be presenting a shorter version at UCSF on March 10, at the two-day conference Developmental Disabilities: An Update for Health Professionals. The cost is $100 for parents and caregivers.


*I was given a free promo code for Speech With Milo, but that has no bearing on my opinion. It's a good app, and there aren't enough like it, not yet.

Leo Loves His Grandma

He also loves his rough-housing uncles, his big cousin Nicole, his Grammie and Vavo, his big sister, his dad, and his aunties. That is one thing our extended family holiday trip proved -- whatever social challenges Leo may face, he has no problem expressing affection and delight towards the important big people in his life. OK, so he still wants to squash the littler kids -- but they are loud and unpredictable. I'm sure he'll like them when they're wrestling-size, too.

Don't you just love this picture of Leo with my mom? 

Leo the Champion Roadtripper

We just returned from a near-two-week road trip through Hanford CA, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Joshua Tree NP, and Palm Springs -- arriving home last night at 2 AM. I was worried worried worried about this trip and how it would affect our boy, as documented thoroughly at BlogHer.

Turns out Leo is a world-champion roadtripper. The best possible sport, much better than his Bickerson sisters. If you follow me on Twitter you already know that our holiday peregrinations weren't all sandstone and roses -- but the roadtrip segments were such a delight that we're thinking this might be an ideal vacation mode for our family.

Meanwhile the kids finally opened the presents under their own Christmas tree this morning, the lucky little bandits. And even though they received some teeth-gritting gifts, I am also secretly pleased that Jennyalice and my sister-in-law Bree love my children more than they fear my wrath.

Happy 2011, all. Hope your holidays were merry and bright and reasonably successful as well.

Mali Likes Apps, Too. Here's Her Top Ten.

You've heard a lot from us about Leo, his iPad, and apps. In fact my latest BlogHer post is on which apps Leo thinks are fun, as opposed to which apps support his communication and learning.

But you know what? Leo has a little sister. And Mali likes iPods, iPads, and apps too -- with a fiery passion that is both a great motivator for chores, and a problem should anything require doing while she is mid-game or book.

Here are ten of Mali's favorite apps, if you're looking for some Christmas Eve instant gift recommendations, apps for loading up that new iPad or iPod, or kindling for burning through those holiday iTunes gift cards.

Stack the States ($.99) Mali will play this indefinitely, and is completely sucked in by its combination of state trivia and shape-matching with a stacking game. Earned points unlock new game levels. And it's fun -- our family played it together during yesterday's San Francisco to Las Vegas road trip. Only hitch: it doesn't pronounce the states' names in voiceover, so while Mali can now instantly name almost all 50 states' capitals, we still get an occasional "Ju-wah-know" for Juneau, Alaska. I hope the content gets even richer (State birds! flowers! Flags!), and that a Stack the Countries app is forthcoming (former Geography software producer being wishlist-y here).

Doodle Hangman (Free) Animated hangman word game. You can upgrade to a full paid version, but so far we've been quite happy with the categories, which include elements, countries, human body, and Kings & Pirates. She and Iz like to play this one together.

Wurdle ($1.99) A timed word search app that lets you chain letters into words in any connected pattern you like. I am a bit bummed by how close her and Iz's top scores are to mine.

Square Off (Free) Field of dots, close off square vs. the computer, different difficulty levels, strategy required. If I sound less than enthused it's because I hear this game's sounds effects in my sleep -- a testament to just how much Mali likes it.

BrainPop (Free) Mali is all about iPad novelty, and BrainPop lets her watch a new educational movie every day (I actually downloaded BrainPop for her big sister Iz, but hey). Today's episode was about snowflakes, the science of how they form, and are they really all different. Nifty animation, built in quizzes, and bonus "Where did you learn THAT?" factor for parents.

Cut the Rope ($1.99), Angry Birds ($.99), Finger Physics ($.99) I'm grouping these as they all combine physics with strategy. And they're all really popular;  you may own all three already. There's a reason -- they're clever, crisply designed, fun, and fluidly animated. Seymour is amazed by her mastery of all three apps; she's much better than him.

Stray Sheep: Poe's Christmas* ($6.99) An beautifully (truly) illustrated interactive book about a sleepwalking sheep's adventures. Mali's favorite part is when Poe meets the "man in red" (guess who?). She also likes the slider puzzles, and the Spot the Difference games (at which she is much better than me).

Little Miss Spider* ($7.99) Even though this expanded interactive book is about spiders -- they would normally give Mali the willies -- she loves Little Miss Spider's video-quality animation and interactivity, as well as the matching game (though Leo is better at it), paint program, and the adjustable-level jigsaw puzzles. This is a high-quality production.

All About Dragons (Free right now) Our girl is dragon- and fiery-creature-in-general obsessed. She used to play with/read this book every day when she got home from school; the only reason she doesn't refer to it as often is, I suspect, that she has it committed to memory -- she loves it that much.

Thumbelina for the iPad* ($4.99) A very cool interactive book that not only comes in several different languages but lets the reader record her own voiceover. I showed this app to Mali's Spanish teacher and she thought it was fantastic for reinforcing bilingualism & biliteracy in combination. But don't take my word for it; watch Mali give a demo:



Other apps Mali likes: Snow Wonder* ($1.99) for building snowmen "with girl hair and girl faces," Zombie Farm, Plants vs. Zombies, Edge, Cupcakes, Pocket Frogs, Jelly Doodle, Doodle Jump.

What apps do your kids like? If (ahem) Santa was to leave Mali a $10 iTunes gift card in her stocking, which apps should she download next?

*Disclosure: gifted by the developer, but so were lots of apps that didn't make her favorites list. These are the apps she likes.

Both Our Brothers Have Autism!

Actually, the direct quote, as Jake's & Leelo's little sisters made gingko "leaf showers" and waited for their brothers' bus, was "We're sort of twins because we both have both have brown hair and we both like the color pink and we both like candy and both our brothers have autism."

Last-Minute Holiday Gifting: 5 Fantastic Kids' Books

Do you have a sassy, spirited, clever, imaginative, creative, unpredictable, emotional, intense, amazing, capricious, occasionally obstreperous, mostly wonderful, never boring child in your life? Do you want to get that kid an awesome book for the holidays? Do you want books that deal with emotions and/or girls as main characters but appeal to boys too? Are you freaking because you have no idea which books to choose and the holiday clock is ticking?

Here are five recommendations for young readers, all favorite family favorites, all ones that newly-six-year-old Miss Mali and I both agree are not just keepers but worth daily go-overs:


The Day Leo Said I Hate You tells of a loving but fiery little boy named Leo (the best name in the world, though this Leo is conversational). Leo gets angry and -- having overheard his mother use the word "hate" about broccoli -- decides to test out the phrase "I hate you" on her when her thoroughly reasonable but firm parenting choices make him angry. He is instantly horrified over having said something so hurtful, but his mother skillfully uses silliness and honesty to talk him through and past his penitence. It's a sweet, lovely, useful book, with lively illustrations.

The illustrator, Molly Bang, also created our family's beloved When Sophie Gets Angry--Really, Really Angry... -- a gorgeously colorful, empathetic take on a small girl working through an angry outburst on her own by leaving the scene until she cools down and feels reasonable again.  When Sophie Gets Angry and The Day Leo Said I Hate You are similar to one of my own Leo's perennial favorite books, The Chocolate-Covered-Cookie Tantrum, in that they legitimatize the full explosive glory of the children's emotions before showing rather than preaching about how the kids found their ways back to calmer places.

We also love love love love My Name is Not Isabella by Jennifer Fosberry, in which a small and also intense, capricious, and clever girl spends a day declaring herself alternately named "Annie" (Oakley), "Sally" (Ride), "Rosa" (Parks), and "Marie" (Curie), and telling of the historically accurate things she will be doing as she channels each notable woman's persona. Fosberry's light, deft take makes each scene a romp rather than a lesson, and she includes biographies at the back for the kids (and parents) who get hooked and want to know more. Note to the author: A starting point for the sequel could be the Rosalind Franklin episode from the My Favourite Scientist website -- brought to you by the wonderful Periodic Videos folks from the University of Nottingham. Note to parents of inspired children: budding scientists can get find the coolest gear at Educational Innovations or American Science & Surplus.


Are you all done with happy pink &/or good fairy crap like Disney Fairies and Pinkalicious? (The latter seems awfully inspired by A Bad Case of Stripes, to my mind.) The tales of pint-sized mad scientist Franny K. Stein might just be the series for your family, especially if you have no intention of raising your children as delicate flowers -- these books show that it's OK for a girl to be socially awkward, occasionally antisocial, and interested in things that are gross plus in science and in geekery. We need more characters like Franny!




Babymouse is also quite awesome -- as a character and as a series. My girls are completely hooked on Babymouse's slightly neurotic but always exciting daydreaming and waking life adventures, whether our hero is a Rock Star, a Dragonslayer, or a Cupcake Tycoon. In fact, my eldest left a precious Babymouse behind when we two flew back from Cambodia -- and that loss rather than our trip was almost all she could talk about for several days. Babymouse is the goods.




Tell Me a Dragon is possibly the most beautifully illustrated children's book we own, and features various children's imaginings (so we're told) of their dragons' appearance and personalities -- and shows the dragons in forms you may have not considered, all hail dragon diversity! If, like Mali, your child champions The Lord of the Rings' fiery Balrog demon and enjoys listening to older kids' fantasy books like Tamora Pierce's Wild Magic -- or just likes dragons (or should like dragons, damn it), this book is an excellent choice.

For those looking for even last minute-ier gifts, I'll be publishing reviews of both Mali's and Leo's favorite iPad apps next Monday and Tuesday.

Disclosure: I was sent review copies of The Day Leo Said I Hate You and My Name Is Isabella, but was not otherwise compensated in any way. This review is entirely my own opining, and features not one scrap of promotional copy. Jennifer Holm, who writes Babymouse, sent us a copy of Cupcake Tycoon (Babymouse #13) but did so well after and in fact because we were established fans.

Lenses and Teeth for My Little Changeling

I'm not just talking about mercurial Miss Mali's personality. Look who got glasses yesterday:

They are surprisingly thick glasses, due to a complicated prescription. Our girl has 20/30 vision, an astigmatism and farsightedness. Her eye exams up to this point have always been inconclusive due to, shall we say, compliance complications. But now folks can really tell just how green green green her eyes are.

But that's not the only thing that happened yesterday:

Who is this girl? Seeing as she got those glasses and lost that tooth on a Friday afternoon, we're considering lopping her locks before she returns to school Monday, so her transformation will be complete.

Side note: the Tooth Fairy brought her a Zachary Taylor gold dollar. She thought it was a penny, Seymour had never heard of such a coin. What is it going to take for the US to have successful beyond-quarter coins like Canada's Loonies & Toonies?

We're In: Wear & Share Star Wars Day

Are you participating in Wear & Share Star Wars Day? It's to support Katie, a first grade girl who got teased for liking Star Wars because "Star Wars Is for Boys" AS IF! Info from the FB campaign page on FB:

 Katie is a first grade girl who has been teased for bringing her Star Wars water bottle into school because the boys in her class say Star Wars is only for boys. Since her mother posted the story on the web, people of all ages have read and commented to show support for the girl to like whatever she darn well pleases.

The hell! I lined up with all the other kids when I was seven to see the first Star Wars movie. All the other equally excited-out-of-their-minds kids -- not just the boys. And I have always been a fan, though like many I gritted my teeth through the second wave of movies.

And my kids? They're fans too (although poor Mali, being a third child, hasn't had much exposure). But the two big kids have always been geared up. Here's Iz with the Darth Vader lunch box that was her pride and joy in 1st grade -- and which, like Katie, she stopped using in 2nd grade due to teasing. I talked to her this morning and she's still skittish about sporting Star Wars wear & lunch boxes because the other girls would tease her (stupid middle school social dynamics), though she says she wouldn't mind an Ewok shirt (which got Seymour musing about the wonders of the Ewok Christmas Special, and whether copies might exist anywhere ... anyone?).

Leo's got quite a bit of Star Wars wear as well -- clothes and jammies. He doesn't pick them, but I think he likes them. And I remember an interview with author Nick Hornby, who has a teen son with autism, talking about how he tried to be mindful about getting age-appropriate cool clothes, posters, etc. for his son, thing he thought his son might like.  So it might be time to put some of Leo's Teletubbies toys away, and see if he notices -- though I'm torn, as I feel as though our boy should get to play with whatever makes him happy in the sanctuary of his own room. Happy is primary!

• Best post I've seen so far on Wear & Share Star War day, by Jen from Cake Wrecks: http://www.epbot.com/2010/12/star-wars-smiles.html 
• And I adore James Hance's super-cute cartoon Star Wars mashups: http://jameshance.com/cartoons.html

May the Force be with our kids!