A few weeks ago, Skye commented that things might be lining up in Austin's life for the perfect storm.
1. Aidan had just been promoted to the next level in swimming, so he's now in the same level, and the same class, as Austin. Austin has been making excuses about why this could happen, we assured him that it's not unusual for siblings to be at the same swimming level, and it takes a long time to complete the level - it will be difficult for Aidan at first.
2. Austin's occupational therapist, who has built up a beautiful rapport with Austin, and has had such success with him in the sessions, is leaving the practice to operate his own occupational therapy practice in Surrey. Austin has been assigned a new therapist, a gentle and well-attuned woman, who is favourably impressed by Austin so far.
3. Austin is turning 11 in less than 2 weeks. We haven't booked a party space yet. We haven't sent out any invitations. Austin's not sure he has any friends to invite. Well, he has a few friends, but this does seem to be a metric he uses to determine his value...many friends = popular, likeable, valuable person. I'm not keen to spend about $200 on a party, when Austin has hardly socialized this year, and I feel uncomfortable inviting kids we haven't seen most of the year, having them feel obliged to bring a gift. Is this just my own hang-up, or is there some validity to it?
4. Melissa, our dear Korean student, will be moving out of our home on April 10th. We will miss having her around, and Austin will miss her the most. I hazard a guess that he's missing her already, even though she's still here.
Friday, March 26, 2010
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Where the Wild Things Are
We watched Where the Wild Things Are, a couple nights ago.
I was interested to notice how uncomfortable I was with the boy and his behaviour. He seemed out of control sometimes, and I even went so far as to tell A1 & A2 that they are great kids, compared to the boy in the movie. There were many scenes in the movie that made me uncomfortable.
At the end of the movie, we asked Austin what he thought about it. Skye asked Austin what he thought the boy may have learned.
Austin said that the boy's family needed to treat him better. He was being bullied by everyone, especially the people he needs to be able to trust the most. In one scene, Austin said that the bigger kids could have really hurt Max, maybe even killed him. Skye pointed out that one older boy checked with Max, asking him if he was okay. Austin felt the gesture wasn't enough.
Austin said that Max learned that his family does love him, but they sometimes make mistakes. Skye felt that Max learned that people aren't perfect. The people we love aren't perfect. Sometimes, our family does or says things that hurt us, but they do love us.
...
I liked the soundtrack.
I was interested to notice how uncomfortable I was with the boy and his behaviour. He seemed out of control sometimes, and I even went so far as to tell A1 & A2 that they are great kids, compared to the boy in the movie. There were many scenes in the movie that made me uncomfortable.
At the end of the movie, we asked Austin what he thought about it. Skye asked Austin what he thought the boy may have learned.
Austin said that the boy's family needed to treat him better. He was being bullied by everyone, especially the people he needs to be able to trust the most. In one scene, Austin said that the bigger kids could have really hurt Max, maybe even killed him. Skye pointed out that one older boy checked with Max, asking him if he was okay. Austin felt the gesture wasn't enough.
Austin said that Max learned that his family does love him, but they sometimes make mistakes. Skye felt that Max learned that people aren't perfect. The people we love aren't perfect. Sometimes, our family does or says things that hurt us, but they do love us.
...
I liked the soundtrack.
Time for fitness
Skye and I have been trying to find ways to get the family more active.
Yesterday, I packed up all the boys and Melissa, and we drove to Cates Park to chase each other around. We left with a mandate to be running fast, and playing the whole time. Skye joined us after about an hour, by walking there to meet us.
A1, A2 and A3 were experiencing a myriad of emotions at the playground. They could go from laughing hysterically to crying, to growling, within minutes. We all played tag, and that was really fun. I was happy for opportunities to run and increase my heart rate. Even though I'm pathetically slow, I laughed anyway.
A1 and A2 both had issues with not winning, or being "it." A2 would first volunteer to be "it," but when A1 was "it," and tagged A2, A2 cried and said it wasn't fair - he had slipped, or he didn't get a 10-second head start ... When we played soccer, A1 had really strong kicks that were painful to block. He was scolded a couple times, for kicking too hard around A3, so he felt badly and didn't want to play anymore.
I had to resort to cajoling both A1 and A2 into letting the other get their way. A2 earned a penalty kick, and when A1 moved in to protect the "net," I indicated with "sign language" that we should set things up for Aidan to score. So, A1 agreed, Aidan scored on an empty net, and everyone was happy, for a few seconds. A2 said the score was 2-1, and A1 corrected him, "No, it's 1-all." I nudged A2 and said, "It's okay. Austin thinks one of our goals didn't go in, because it "hit the post," but we know we scored." So Aidan agreed to let the official score be a tie.
Whatever it takes to keep these guys in the game. We're not burning any calories sitting on our butts and whining about how unfair life is ;)
We got out again tonight, for a walk as a family. We spent a few minutes in Parkgate Park, where Austin and Aidan taught Melissa how to play grounders. It was cute watching Aaron try to copy the big kids. He even tried to navigate the playground with his eyes closed ;)
Earlier today, Austin and Melissa walked to Cates Park and Little Cates. They played tag there, together. Austin probably exercised for about 3 hours today, in total. Good work!!
Yesterday, I packed up all the boys and Melissa, and we drove to Cates Park to chase each other around. We left with a mandate to be running fast, and playing the whole time. Skye joined us after about an hour, by walking there to meet us.
A1, A2 and A3 were experiencing a myriad of emotions at the playground. They could go from laughing hysterically to crying, to growling, within minutes. We all played tag, and that was really fun. I was happy for opportunities to run and increase my heart rate. Even though I'm pathetically slow, I laughed anyway.
A1 and A2 both had issues with not winning, or being "it." A2 would first volunteer to be "it," but when A1 was "it," and tagged A2, A2 cried and said it wasn't fair - he had slipped, or he didn't get a 10-second head start ... When we played soccer, A1 had really strong kicks that were painful to block. He was scolded a couple times, for kicking too hard around A3, so he felt badly and didn't want to play anymore.
I had to resort to cajoling both A1 and A2 into letting the other get their way. A2 earned a penalty kick, and when A1 moved in to protect the "net," I indicated with "sign language" that we should set things up for Aidan to score. So, A1 agreed, Aidan scored on an empty net, and everyone was happy, for a few seconds. A2 said the score was 2-1, and A1 corrected him, "No, it's 1-all." I nudged A2 and said, "It's okay. Austin thinks one of our goals didn't go in, because it "hit the post," but we know we scored." So Aidan agreed to let the official score be a tie.
Whatever it takes to keep these guys in the game. We're not burning any calories sitting on our butts and whining about how unfair life is ;)
We got out again tonight, for a walk as a family. We spent a few minutes in Parkgate Park, where Austin and Aidan taught Melissa how to play grounders. It was cute watching Aaron try to copy the big kids. He even tried to navigate the playground with his eyes closed ;)
Earlier today, Austin and Melissa walked to Cates Park and Little Cates. They played tag there, together. Austin probably exercised for about 3 hours today, in total. Good work!!
Monday, March 15, 2010
Developing Empathy
While A1 and I were driving to OT this morning, there was a news report on Joannie Rochette. It had been announced that she will not compete in the World Figure Skating Championships in Turin.
Austin said, "Poor Joannie. It's so hard for her now. Can you imagine what it would be like to lose your mother just 2 days before you have to perform in front of the world?"
"She really deserved her bronze medal. When I saw the American come out, I was holding my breath, because if she placed anywhere on the podium, Joannie would have been out."
"The Americans have always been on the podium in Olympic Women's Figure Skating."
Austin clearly remembered some points raised by commentators during the Olympic Games, because these points were not stated in the news announcement we heard this morning. I'm not sure about the accuracy of "always" in reference to the USA being on the podium for this sport in every Winter Olympics, but I do remember it was significant that they didn't have a podium spot in the 2010 Games for Women's Figure Skating.
I am really impressed with Austin's increased ability to empathize. Jen (Austin's LC) wondered if his OT sessions have had anything to do with the increased empathy. I inquired with Sumanta this morning, and he answered emphatically, "Yes!" He will find some articles to explain this phenomenon to me. Basically, he explained that, when A1 is getting his physical movement, pressure and muscle development needs met, this frees him up, emotionally, to be able to put himself into someone else's shoes. Also, there are connections forming in his brain that will encourage this development. Cool!Austin said, "Poor Joannie. It's so hard for her now. Can you imagine what it would be like to lose your mother just 2 days before you have to perform in front of the world?"
"She really deserved her bronze medal. When I saw the American come out, I was holding my breath, because if she placed anywhere on the podium, Joannie would have been out."
"The Americans have always been on the podium in Olympic Women's Figure Skating."
Austin clearly remembered some points raised by commentators during the Olympic Games, because these points were not stated in the news announcement we heard this morning. I'm not sure about the accuracy of "always" in reference to the USA being on the podium for this sport in every Winter Olympics, but I do remember it was significant that they didn't have a podium spot in the 2010 Games for Women's Figure Skating.
While I'm sure the OT sessions can't be given full credit for Austin's growing ability to empathize with others, it is fascinating how the work can translate into so many areas of Austin's and our life.
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Austin installing new snowboard bindings
After a couple years of good fun Austin had outgrown his snowboard bindings and one of the straps snapped off. It turns out that after more than 20 years of snowboarding I have several pairs of extra bindings kicking around for him to use. His job was to remove a larger and working pair of bindings from one adult sized snowboard and install them on his child-sized snowboard.
Each binding has four bolts that screw into lock nuts embedded in the snowboard. Each binding has a disk in the centre that rotates allowing you to set the binding angle which controls the direction your feet point on the board. Austin's job was to unscrew all 8 bolts from his snowboard and the donor snowboard, position the new bindings on his board and tighten them all down. The positioning of the bindings were to be +5 degrees on the front and -5 degrees on the back (this is called a "duck" stance in snowboarding lingo as it makes your feet point away from each other like a duck). The centre disks have angle markings at 10-degree increments.
Once he had adjusted the bindings and mounted them by hand-tightening the bolts he strapped himself into the board to test the angle and fit. He said the angle fit comfortably and there wasn't any heel or toe drag so the bindings were properly centered. However, he did discover that the upper binding straps weren't as tight as they needed to be (he could fit a finger between the binding and his boot).
After examining the strap on one binding he discovered that the strap has 5 adjustment holes and it was on the second largest. We estimated that he should probably try putting it on the second smallest instead. The estimation was based on the fact that the bindings were last used by an adult with approx. size 10 boots (Austin's are size 5) and that by using the smallest setting, the strap would be sticking out too far to the back and would drag in the snow when turning on his heel edge. We could have cut the strap to avoid that but then the bindings would be useless for anyone with large feet in the future.
The next thing he noticed was that these straps were held on by a bolt and hex nut that turned every time he turned the screwdriver. He was going to need something to hold the nut in place while tightening the bolt. He also noticed that the screwdriver didn't fit in the slots properly due to the funny angle of the nut in the bindings. To solve this I showed him how we could remove the screwdriver bit from the handle making it shorter, then clamping a locking wrench on the driver bit. He could use this to keep the bolt from turning and then use a crescent wrench to turn the nut on the outside. With these tools in hand, I left him to it.
It took about 1/2 an hour to complete this last step as he had to re-do each binding strap a second time as each time he forgot to check which adjustment hole he was using and got it wrong each time. The first time he simply forgot what we had decided. When he made the mistake a second time, I showed him how, before tightening everything up, he could have checked his work against the other (correct) binding to see if they were the same. We then talked about the measure twice, cut once rule to avoid costly mistakes. Thankfully, the cost in this case was simply time and him getting tired and frustrated.
He concluded that when he gets tired he just wants to get the job done and ends up rushing it. I suggested that when he notices this mood that he should slow down and make extra checks. He could see that by rushing and making mistakes the job actually took longer to complete and that he was getting even more frustrated and was making even more mistakes. A good lesson to learn. :)
Each binding has four bolts that screw into lock nuts embedded in the snowboard. Each binding has a disk in the centre that rotates allowing you to set the binding angle which controls the direction your feet point on the board. Austin's job was to unscrew all 8 bolts from his snowboard and the donor snowboard, position the new bindings on his board and tighten them all down. The positioning of the bindings were to be +5 degrees on the front and -5 degrees on the back (this is called a "duck" stance in snowboarding lingo as it makes your feet point away from each other like a duck). The centre disks have angle markings at 10-degree increments.
Once he had adjusted the bindings and mounted them by hand-tightening the bolts he strapped himself into the board to test the angle and fit. He said the angle fit comfortably and there wasn't any heel or toe drag so the bindings were properly centered. However, he did discover that the upper binding straps weren't as tight as they needed to be (he could fit a finger between the binding and his boot).
After examining the strap on one binding he discovered that the strap has 5 adjustment holes and it was on the second largest. We estimated that he should probably try putting it on the second smallest instead. The estimation was based on the fact that the bindings were last used by an adult with approx. size 10 boots (Austin's are size 5) and that by using the smallest setting, the strap would be sticking out too far to the back and would drag in the snow when turning on his heel edge. We could have cut the strap to avoid that but then the bindings would be useless for anyone with large feet in the future.
The next thing he noticed was that these straps were held on by a bolt and hex nut that turned every time he turned the screwdriver. He was going to need something to hold the nut in place while tightening the bolt. He also noticed that the screwdriver didn't fit in the slots properly due to the funny angle of the nut in the bindings. To solve this I showed him how we could remove the screwdriver bit from the handle making it shorter, then clamping a locking wrench on the driver bit. He could use this to keep the bolt from turning and then use a crescent wrench to turn the nut on the outside. With these tools in hand, I left him to it.
It took about 1/2 an hour to complete this last step as he had to re-do each binding strap a second time as each time he forgot to check which adjustment hole he was using and got it wrong each time. The first time he simply forgot what we had decided. When he made the mistake a second time, I showed him how, before tightening everything up, he could have checked his work against the other (correct) binding to see if they were the same. We then talked about the measure twice, cut once rule to avoid costly mistakes. Thankfully, the cost in this case was simply time and him getting tired and frustrated.
He concluded that when he gets tired he just wants to get the job done and ends up rushing it. I suggested that when he notices this mood that he should slow down and make extra checks. He could see that by rushing and making mistakes the job actually took longer to complete and that he was getting even more frustrated and was making even more mistakes. A good lesson to learn. :)
Friday, March 12, 2010
Lost on a cold, wet night
Austin and Melissa went to see Avatar last night, at Park & Tilford cinemas. Skye and I dropped them off with $40 cash and two bus tickets to get home. We showed them the bus stop at Brooksbank and Cotton, and told them they could catch bus #232 or #239 to Phibbs Exchange, then transfer to the 211, 212 or C15 from there.
The movie finished at 9:20, they went to the bus stop and waited for 10 minutes, then started walking to Phibbs. They didn't get far, when their bus arrived and drove past them. So, they continued to walk to Phibbs (about 700m). Austin said that when they arrived at Phibbs, the bus loop was "deserted," so Austin suggested that they just keep on walking. They walked a total of about 3km in the direction of home, in the dark and in the rain. Then, they called us.
We were visiting with Neil & Jen in Kitsilano when the phone rang. Skye answered and I could hear Austin's voice saying, cheerfully, "Dad, I think we're lost." Fortunately, the two of them were in good spirits while they waited for us to pick them up.
We explained to Austin that it's better to wait at the bus stop for longer, than to try walking home in the dark. He insisted that the walk was good for them, he got in his daily exercise, and he could have walked all the way home, because he knows the way. Even though we told him it was a 7km walk, he still felt confident he could have walked home.
It was so nice that both Austin and Melissa were in good spirits after their ordeal. Austin really seems to be experiencing a boost in confidence recently. We just have to help guide him with using good judgment along the way.
The movie finished at 9:20, they went to the bus stop and waited for 10 minutes, then started walking to Phibbs. They didn't get far, when their bus arrived and drove past them. So, they continued to walk to Phibbs (about 700m). Austin said that when they arrived at Phibbs, the bus loop was "deserted," so Austin suggested that they just keep on walking. They walked a total of about 3km in the direction of home, in the dark and in the rain. Then, they called us.
We were visiting with Neil & Jen in Kitsilano when the phone rang. Skye answered and I could hear Austin's voice saying, cheerfully, "Dad, I think we're lost." Fortunately, the two of them were in good spirits while they waited for us to pick them up.
We explained to Austin that it's better to wait at the bus stop for longer, than to try walking home in the dark. He insisted that the walk was good for them, he got in his daily exercise, and he could have walked all the way home, because he knows the way. Even though we told him it was a 7km walk, he still felt confident he could have walked home.
It was so nice that both Austin and Melissa were in good spirits after their ordeal. Austin really seems to be experiencing a boost in confidence recently. We just have to help guide him with using good judgment along the way.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Sacred Headwaters
Yesterday, Austin and I watched a couple short clips about the Sacred Headwaters region in Mount Klappan, northern BC. Royal Dutch Shell is hoping to extract oil from this region, using the same extraction practices (coal bed methane gas proposal) they are using in the Niger Delta of Africa.
British Columbia: Nigeria North?
The Niger Delta is one of the world's largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions on earth due to Shell's practice of "flaring," or burning off gas, daily. Today, roughly half of Shell's Nigerian operations are shut down for "crimes against humanity" and "torture."
I asked Austin if he thinks Shell should be allowed to extract oil in the Sacred Headwaters. Austin said, "No. They should go further north, to a region where there isn't such an abundance of life. Somewhere more barren."
On June 6, 2007, Royal Dutch Shell took over complete control of it's Canadian subsidiary, Shell Canada.
Here are a couple other links, related to this: Voices of the Sacred Headwaters and Sacred Headwaters: Skeena, Nass, Stikine
British Columbia: Nigeria North?
The Niger Delta is one of the world's largest sources of greenhouse gas emissions on earth due to Shell's practice of "flaring," or burning off gas, daily. Today, roughly half of Shell's Nigerian operations are shut down for "crimes against humanity" and "torture."
I asked Austin if he thinks Shell should be allowed to extract oil in the Sacred Headwaters. Austin said, "No. They should go further north, to a region where there isn't such an abundance of life. Somewhere more barren."
On June 6, 2007, Royal Dutch Shell took over complete control of it's Canadian subsidiary, Shell Canada.
Here are a couple other links, related to this: Voices of the Sacred Headwaters and Sacred Headwaters: Skeena, Nass, Stikine
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