Scrutiny by the Masses

Raised By Wolves

What a riot this book was.

Written by Christie Mellor, author of The Three Martini Playdate, the subtitle of this book gives a more clear meaning to it's purpose.  Clues to the Mysteries of Modern Living. 

Yes, indeedy, this is a good book. 

I loved this book, and won't be giving away my copy, as per my usual MO on this site.  Instead, I plan to keep it and force all of my children to read it before they move out.  I may even test them on the contents. 

With information on varied topics ranging from how to make hospital corners to the many uses of baking soda, dealing with office politics, being humble and proud, how to use mayonnaise to remove water marks, directions on how to wash dishes and manage a buffet line gracefully - this book is an exhaustive how to for the modern young adult. Many of these topics are things I struggled with and only recently mastered - and some not at all. 

Most interesting would be the section on topics for conversation, the explanation of the Bill of Rights, and things I wish I'd known.  I really agreed with a lot of them, at the ripe old age of 38. 

I'd recommend that each and every person reading this buy a copy of this book for anyone in your life in the age range of 12-25.  Seriously - it could be the best thing you've ever bought them.

Many, may thanks to the lovely ladies over at The Parent Bloggers for hooking me up with this book. 

Skill building Buddies

This is part two of The Parent Bloggers Autism Spectrum DVDs.

My daughter thoroughly enjoyed this dvd, and I think I have pinned the reason why.

She loses her cool most, most often. 

She tantrums, she cries, she screams and throws her shoes.  Interestingly enough, she only does it with me - not my husband, my mother or her teachers.  It makes me feel, well, special - but I'm certain, by her reactions, that it makes her feel worse.

This dvd, Skill Building Buddies is a DVD by Mazzarella Media aimed at kids ages 5-12 with language or autistic spectrum disorders.  There are two action segments, where different scenarios are acted out, interspersed with song. The strategy of "Look, Listen and Stay Calm" is repeated numerous times, and I found myself telling my daughter those same words during one memorable, shoe throwing drive home.

My daughter loved watching the children who reenacted a difficult time - for example, when a child wanted a specific type of fruit and had to settle for another.  I really didn't find this to be realistic - a child not on the Spectrum wouldn't handle this type of disappointment nearly as well as the kids on the show did.  I did like how the concept of "Look at the person, Stay calm, and try to work it out" was repeated over and over.

I really recommend this dvd if you have a child on the spectrum. It wasn't too long, the songs were pleasant and memorable, and my daughter still enjoys singing them, and I think that they made a lasting impression on her. 

You can win a copy of the DVDs by commenting over at PBN.

Kibbles Rockin' Clubhouse

My youngest daughter has a form of Autism known as Sensory Integration Disorder, or Sensory Processing Disorder.  If you've read me for ANY length of time, you'll know all about it - it's a frequent discussion topic for me.  She's graduated out of therapy, but we still work on therapeutic activities on a daily basis. 

When the lovely ladies over at The Parent Bloggers Network put out a call for bloggers who fit the parameters for this dvd, I quickly emailed my interest.  And then I forgot about it.  When it arrived, I was, ahh, somewhat skeptical as to if it was even effective.  The opening song made me crazy - but my daughter loved it.  A scene involving different ways to say "hello!" - it felt juvenile and contrived, and yet, she loved it.  The main character , Handy Sam, was kind and friendly, with enough enthusiasm to be real and not so much that I wanted to drop kick him.

Ahem.  Not that I'd ever do that.

We've had trouble with eye contact.  It's probably the hardest thing that my daughter struggles with, and I really appreciated that the appropriate method of using eye contact and addressing people was stressed. I've noticed a big difference in the odds of her actually doing these things, and I can lay that directly to this dvd and to the refrain of one of the songs, "When you see someone for the first time, smile at them and say, "Hi!"  She sang along with the movie, she sang it in the van, she sang it in the bathtub and on the playground.  When she struggles with this, I repeat the refrain, and it triggers her to respond correctly.  In my book, I had to go no further to call this dvd successful and effective. 

I liked the fact that they use an activity schedule - a kind of chart on the wall.  My daughter loves to know what's going on and thrives on a schedule, and it was gratifying to see that others find that important.

The section on reading body cues and faces was a bit over her head.  She really didn't understand what an angry face was - although she could correctly show me one, she had difficulty picking one out.  She's four, so this might be a section more suited to an older child. 

Probably the most useful part for us was the section on controlling your temper and not acting out.  Although the children in the movie were too calm - "I can't have the chocolate cookie? Ok, I don't mind having a fruit cup!" - that would never go over in my house.  But it's a goal worth striving for. We repeated the song for that section as well - "I can use my mouth" - over and over.

The interview with the speech pathologist gave me a good background as to the reason that the video was created in a certain way.  Using visuals, such as an activity schedule, typical peer modeling, and repetition were all used to create a movie that is both pleasing, stimulating and calming to a child with an ASD.  I really liked the reassurances that a typical ASD kid can't always reason and sometimes can have an adverse reaction; for example, fit throwing.  I know those things in my head, but in my heart, sometimes it's difficult to remember.

Kibbles Rockin' Clubhouse is available on Amazon.  The DVD is from Noteabilities (http://www.noteabilities.com/) which has more information about the company and the other videos it produces.  The Parent Bloggers Network is also giving away a set of the two ASD dvds - the second review will be up here on Wed - to one lucky reader! Entrants may leave a comment on either the launch post or the round-up post (on 4/28.)

Highly, highly recommended.