Hello!  

I hope that everyone had a wonderful holiday season!  

I just wanted to write a post to let everyone know about a few happenings:  

Champions Gymnastics is willing to organize a special needs gymnastics class. They need at least three children registered to run a class, my children attended last term, and it was a wonderful experience for them.  Please leave a comment below or email us with dates and times that would work for your family, or call Champions Gymnastics to register.

We are planning a Family Game Night for the end of February or early March, we are looking forward to getting together with everyone! It will be a video game night, and will be geared toward older children this time (ages 9 or 10 and up). 

We are also planning another parent Starbucks coffee evening.  These are pleasant evenings, where we have a chance to visit with one another, and also discuss ideas and plans for Aspire Parent Group. We'll post a date soon!

Something else that I wanted to mention, is that I took my daughter to see the Joyful Noise movie with Dolly Parton and Queen Latifah on the weekend, and I was surprised that there is a character with Asperger's Syndrome in the movie.  I think that they treated the topic respectfully and positively, and I was happy to see the subject openly discussed and viewed as a normal part of everyday life in a Hollywood movie.  The movie was not about Asperger's, it was just a subplot, but I think it is refreshing to see Asperger's receive positive media exposure.  While it's not receiving very good reviews from critics, I thought it was a nice little movie, and would recommend it.


Take Care and Keep Warm!


Please feel free to join in the discussion in the comment section below, or send us an email at aspireparents@gmail.com, we'd love to hear from you!

Aspire Update and Request for Feedback

Greetings!

As many of you likely know, the Aspire program that was scheduled to happen at Argyll Home Education Centre has not materialized. Unfortunately, there was no support from Edmonton Public Schools at this time to start a program for kids with HFA/Aspergers.  Argyll did propose a program at their site, but this has not happened.

So....we are wondering:

·         Is there any interest in pursuing other school options for children with HFA/Aspergers? 


We have thought about the private school route, parent cooperative (hiring a teacher under a homeschool model) or looking into a charter school.

·         What about advocacy?

§  Are parents interested in trying to address some of the issues we all face, such as ability to access to programs in different schools or school divisions?

§  Encouraging the development of specialized “Asperger” classrooms to help our kids manage in a regular school setting and develop to their full potential?

§  Ensuring social skills and strategies to cope with anxiety and executive functioning deficits are addressed in schools?

§   Advocating for the proper environment for our kids to succeed?

We really need some feedback on what parents would like to see, what school issues they struggle with and how we, as parents, can create solutions. Please email us at aspireparents@gmail.com, or leave a comment below, and let us know your thoughts.

If there is sufficient interest and support to look at education alternatives, we plan to hold a meeting in January. Date will to be announced in early January on the blog and website.

Link to a Great Post

Hello Everyone!  I just wanted to post a quick note to share a link to a blog that I love.  Bulldogma, wrote a fantastic post about labelling children.  Her blog, Adasperdown, is super. She has even written a book! Her book is called Disaster Flambe, and is available on Kindle (you can find more information on her blog).

Here is the link to the labelling post:

http://adasperdown.blogspot.com/2011/09/labeling-children.html

I hope you enjoy this post as much as I did!

Fun at the Muttart Conservatory

We had a fabulous time at the Muttart Conservatory this afternoon!

Thank you very much to Debbie for organizing this fieldtrip!

What a wonderful group photo, I just love seeing all the smiling faces!

Homeschool Activity Group Survey

Hello,

How are you?

The Homeschool Activity Group is busy planning activities for the fall, and we would really like your input to help develop opportunities that would be of interest to you. As a parent cooperative, our aim is to work together to provide engaging programming for our children. We are curious to know whether you would prefer purely recreational/social activities, or if you would like to implement classes to cover curriculum. Anything is possible if we work together!

Please take a moment to fill out the survey by clicking on the link below:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/FGNW99S

Thank you very much!

PS. Also, please join our Yahoo Discussion Group. Google Yahoo Groups, search for aspireparentgroup - (it may be a couple of rows down - aspire is a popular name), and click join group. We'd love to chat with you!

Aspire Academy Update

Hurray!

Argyll Centre is offering an exciting programming opportunity for students with Asperger's and High Functioning Autism for the 2011-2012 school year!

Please see our Aspire Parent Group website (link posted below) for information and documents regarding programming and registration information from Argyll Centre.

https://sites.google.com/site/aspireparentgroup/news-and-information

Thank You to Argyll Centre for moving forward with this innovative approach to programming for students with Asperger's and High-functioning Autism.

Reading Corner: Autism Related Books

I want to share some really good books that I have read recently, and thought that some of you may be interested in as well.

I am a huge Temple Grandin fan, I have read most of her books and really loved them (especially, Animals in Translation), watched the HBO Biopic, and saw her speak in Calgary. I was really excited to read her new one, and was not disappointed. It is called, The Way I See It: A Personal Look at Autism and Asperger's. It is a compilation of her published essays and articles on various topics. It is a light read, and full of practical advice. I really recommend it.

I really enjoyed reading, The Horse Boy: A Father's Quest to Heal His Son, which is also a documentary. I saw the documentary awhile ago, and was happy when my husband surprised me with the book. It reads like a novel, and is very interesting, engaging, and inspiring.

I had chills of excitement when I found An Accidental Advocate by Katherine Burke at Greenwoods Bookstore (have you been there? I love it!). I finished it in a weekend. Cathy has read it as well, and we both agree that it is a really great book. I had tears running down my cheeks during several parts, as the author describes some of the scenarios that her family had been through when trying to navigate the school system, and find an appropriate placement and supports for their son, who has learning disabilities. I think that a lot of us can really relate to that situation. The neat thing is that she lives in Edmonton, so the material is very relevant.

There are so many books that I have read and loved, but I thought that I would limit this post to ones that I have read over the last couple of months.

What have you read recently? Is there a book that you would like to recommend to other parents? Do you have a favourite autism related book? Please leave comments, and add to the discussion below.

Sincerely,

Kelly