Thirty Million Words

Thirty Million Words is a book I just bought about a month ago. I read a Facebook post about it and it looked interesting. It is written by cochlear implant surgeon. It is an amazing book! I have only ready the first few chapters and can't wait to read more. It is not about cochlear implants, but more about how very young children learn language. It does discuss cochlear implants and I am telling many parents about this book. These are parents of not just deaf children, but also hearing children.

I look back at all of the hard work that went in to making sure that Elijah would speak and have language. His articulation is still iffy on a few sounds, but overall he is an oral communicator with a huge vocabulary. Just yesterday, while helping his brother take out the trash he used the word PHOBIA. He freaked out when he saw a dead bug in the garage. His brother told him to get over it and just bring out the trash bag. I then hear Elijah yell, "I have a PHOBIA!!!" I later asked him what a phobia was and he said it was when a person is scared of something. He got most of the definition correct. He then told me he has a phobia of bugs. He then told me that arachnophobia is when you are scared of spiders. WOW! You would think I would stop being amazed by him, but he still amazes me on a daily basis. All of the hard work that we put in at the beginning of this journey has paid off. It has not been an easy journey, and it still isn't over yet, but we are definitely on the right path.

Thirty Million Words is being sold on Amazon and it is less than $20. Parents should be giving their children the gift of language....hearing or deaf, please talk to your kids. I learned to narrate my life when Elijah was in auditory-verbal therapy and I still do it to this day. It doesn't cost anything to talk to your kids!

TV Show--Parenthood IEPs

I watched last nights Parenthood episode tonight on my DVR. The subject of IEP (Individualized Education Plan) meetings was the story line for the family with Max, who has Aspergers. The writers did a decent job of portraying an IEP meeting and how overwhelming it can be for a family. I really wanted to jump in there and advocate for the two families involved. Max's mom went to an IEP meeting to assist another mom, and felt that she could have done more to help. Max's mom then finds out that Max is being sent to the library to do independent work because his teacher can't teach when Max is in the room. Max's parents are frustrated and don't know what to do or how to advocate for him. I think this part was something the writer's got correct.

Parents do have to educate themselves on the law and what the school needs to provide under IDEA (Individual's with Disabilities Education Act). I am a deaf education teacher I was used to being in an IEP meetings(ARD meeting here in Texas) in that role. As a parent, I find it difficult to know how to handle all of the situations I find myself in with him. I have learned to use the acronym FAPE(Free and Appropriate Education) as well as LRE (Least Restrictive Environment) to my advantage. I have also learned to say things like, "You are making my son fit into a program instead of making the program fit him." This phrase been a good one.

Elijah's next ARD meeting is in April! He is being re-evaluated this year and we will discuss those scores as well as the plan for next year. He has had a good year so far, but has just recently been having some issues. Of course, we just went to the doctor on Monday and NOW he is having problems with touching others. ARGH....I know this is probably a tic, but how to handle it. I am going to email his teacher again and ask for the behavior specialist to come in and see what is going on.

I am glad to see a TV program take on real life issues of families of children with special needs.

Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. I got up this morning and made the Schwan's apple pie that we bought a few weeks ago. We will go off to my mother's house later to eat. I am thankful for my family this morning! Jacob has to work today at the grocery store, but he doesn't seem to mind. He gets Holiday pay and we will bring him home some food.

I am especially thankful for all the doctor's who have helped Elijah through the years. Since birth he has seen his pediatrician, developmental pediatrician, pulmonologist, audiologist, endocrinologist, neurologist and psychiatrist. He still all of them except the developmental pediatrician and endocrinologist. I am also thankful for his cochlear implants, his Auditory Verbal Therapist, audiologist, and the medication he takes. All of these things have helped him to be a productive student and citizen. I am also thankful to all of his teachers through the years. He has had some great deaf education teachers, special ed. teachers, regular ed. teachers, principals, and behavior teachers.

We still take it day by day, but overall we have more good days over bad. I am also thankful for Jacob! He has grown into such a fine young man. I am also thankful for my honey, who supports me and helps me be a better mom.

I hope everyone has a great day today!

Grammar Graphics!

I very rarely write about work, but I wanted to write today about a workshop I attended. It was about Grammar Graphics! This is a short explanation from their website:

Grammar Graphics is a sequential language program which bridges the gap between identifying the parts of speech and writing. It was developed to make language fun and skills easy to remember. Learners are verbally, visually, and physically engaged in a non-threatening, active language experience.

I have to say, it was one of the best workshops that I had been to in a LONG time! It was a very intensive workshop, but the two presenters were awesome. They kept the discussion moving, and I was eager to learn! I have been using some aspects of Grammar Graphics with my students, but I learned so much more today. I may even start using it with Elijah! I think it would really help him with his writing. Of course, he will see it as work, but I think I can make it fun! That is what is really neat about this, it can be FUN. Believe me, I am not into diagramming sentences, but this is so much more than that. The workshop explained so much about the program and how to implement it. I have a week off work, and I wish I could get back sooner to try some of this out. I will spend some of the next week preparing to go back to work to implement this program!

Here is a link to their website: Grammar Graphics

Big Day Tomorrow

Tomorrow is almost upon us! Jacob starts his Senior year and Elijah starts his first year in junior high school. I return to work, after a week of inservice last week, AND start graduate school. I won't even be able to sign in until after I get home from work tomorrow to check out my classes. 

I am driving Elijah to school and my honey is driving Jacob. She is using his car because her car is in the shop. After school, he and I will go and pick up his car that she will leave at the mechanics after picking up her car. She has to work tomorrow afternoon and can't go with us to get her car! I know it sounds confusing, but we have it all worked out.

Hopefully at some point, I can check on my classes! I will hopefully get to update you all soon on how it all went!

Baking!

I am not the best cook in the world. In fact, I don't really like to cook much. I will cook dinner and I enjoy green bean casserole, but I get just what I would call, average excitement about cooking. However, when it comes to baking, I love this time of year!

In the last few years, my mom has taught me how to bake snowball cookies. These are pretty simple to make and are VERY good. I have learned my lessons on a few things, like the margarine REALLY needs to be soft when you make these! I baked two batches today and am taking them out to her house tomorrow. I also make a lot of these right before Christmas and give them in cute containers for Christmas presents for family, the boys' teachers, bus drivers,  friends and staff. Many people tell me they look forward to my cookies each year, and that makes me feel good!

I also enjoy making homemade pralines. My mother has been making them since I was a baby and my brother told his wife, "someone better learn to make these before mom dies." Now this was a few years ago and we all got a good laugh, because my mom really isn't that old and was no where close to dying. My sister, sister-in-law and I all decided we should learn how to make them, after my mom said they were a real challenge! Well, she was right! First we had to find the right POT for use to use to make them in. She has a pot that is probably as old as I am that she uses. It has to be a very heavy duty thick pot that can withstand the heat of the stove and boiling sugar. My mom gave me a tutorial at the house about four years ago and the hardest part, is each time you make them, it is a little different. It is all about the feel of the pralines in the pot and getting them the right temperature. There is no real way to tell when you are ready to add pecans and then plop them on wax paper. I have to say, that I LOVE the challenge of making them and I have gotten decent at it. I usually have several good batches, and sometimes a batch that takes forever to harden.  Hopefully, I will get it down in the next 10-20 years! I also give these to family as part of their Christmas present. My dad just LOVES these as do everyone else


The other thing I enjoy baking are sugar cookies. My sister got the recipe from her mother-in-law. They are pretty easy to make and the recipe makes a LOT of cookies. I would say between five and six dozen! We usually use cookie cutters to cut out cool Christmas shapes and then icing them. We add sprinkles at the very end! Elijah just loves helping cut out the cookies and later icing them. He really loves the SPRINKLES! I usually make a huge batch of these and take them to school to use with my students. I bring all of the things we need to icing with and I use it as a language activity. The kids learn and they get to eat! They also keep very well if you keep them sealed up in a tin and so you can eat on them for a good week or so. The cookie itself is not very sweet, but the icing adds just enough "sweet" to the flavor of the cookie!



I use my cooking stone to make all of the cookies and I think that also makes for a better cookie! I get a lot of satisfaction from making the cookies and then from seeing people enjoy them! I feel like it something that I am good at and that makes me happy.

October is almost over!

October has been a very long month, both at work and at home. Elijah has been doing OK since we I last posted, but just OK. He has had some very good days and some other days that have not been so great. Overall, it is still better than last year, but we have seen a bit of aggression. I called the doctor this past week and we increased one of his medications by 0.5 mg. I am hoping that helps him a bit. I know a lot of this is his OCD and not being able to "let things go" once the thought is in his head. I have the same thing, but as and adult can deal with it a lot better!

Jacob is doing awesome right now. He is very aware of his grades and keeping them up. He earned money being a referee for soccer. He is participating in ROTC and enjoying that. He is taking more responsibility for his chores around the house and his manners have improved a great deal! Yesterday he earned $30 refereeing and after we picked him up we headed to Target. He usually puts all of the money he earns in his savings account, but today he asked if he could spend it. I told him he could and so he went off to look for what he wanted and we went and shopped. We met up at the front after we had all checked out. I asked him what he got and he said a belt. I was surprised he had not asked me to buy him a belt. He then said, "I also bought a small Lego kit for Elijah." He amazes me daily and he is growing into such a fine young man.

All of us are looking forward to having the week of Thanksgiving off. We do have a few doctor's appointments that week, but it shouldn't be too bad. We will most likely go to my mom's house for the day. We will then be on the count down to Christmas. I have already started with some shopping for the boys!

Well No Wonder....

Elijah has had a pretty good start to school this year. He has had some issues when there are substitute teachers at school, but nothing too bad. The principal mentioned in an email that Elijah's schedule changes each day and that may be part of the issues. This was due to all of the services he receives. She said she would work on his schedule and send it out to me and his teachers.

Well, NO WONDER he has is all over the place, because EACH day his schedule is different. He has sever periods, but he also has Speech and services by a deaf ed teacher as well as social skills. Each day he has his core classes--English/Reading, Math, Social Studies and Science. He also has PE, Art and that Social Skills time. Well during all of this he has Speech one day at one of those elective times, then for three more days he has deaf ed. time during an elective and then social skills is thrown in there. He has a different schedule each day and that is not good for him.

The principal typed up a schedule for each day and I printed it at home. I put it in a clear protective sleeve so he can pull it out and keep it from getting all torn up. If it does get torn up, then we print another one. He really has done well, even with all of this craziness with his schedule, so hopefully things will just improve from here!

Choosing Oralism For My Son

When Elijah was born 12 years ago, I had been teaching deaf children for  nine years. I knew what a cochlear implant was and I was a proficient SEE signer. Elijah was diagnosed at the age of five weeks as having a hearing loss and at nine weeks with auditory neuropathy. Once I started doing the research about cochlear implants and auditory neuropathy(AN) I realized that I wanted Elijah to have every chance to speak. I started signing with him right away. He was a premature baby who was developmentally behind in all aspects. He did start using some of his first signs around the age of twelve months. He was implanted at 17 months with one CI and turned on at 18 months. We haven't looked back since. I continue to sign with Elijah when his "ears" are off.

You may wonder why I chose to write about this today. I think sign language is a beautiful language, but not everyone in the world speaks it. You may be limited in how you communicate and it may also limit your reading skills. Notice I say, IT MAY LIMIT a person, I didn't say IT HAD TOO! I have many deaf adult friends who are doing well and communicate just fine! However, I have many former students who struggle at times and even some of those deaf adult friends do too. I chose the CI so that Elijah would have choices when he grew up. I want him to know sign, but I want him to have that choice and not be solely dependent on it. There are HEARING people out in the world who think lipreading is just as good as signing. They think an interpreter isn't needed and that the deaf person can understand just fine. There are deaf adults who have to advocate for themselves daily and I am sure Elijah will have to learn to do that too to some extent, but I wanted him to be able to communicate daily with his peers and others in his life.

Today I ran up against this struggle, trying to help a friend get an interpreter set up. I can't get into the details, but I was flabbergasted at how so many people don't understand the Americans with Disabilities Act and how it applies to access to communication for people who are deaf/hard of hearing. I will have to teach Elijah how to advocate for himself, I am sure, but at least he will have the language to do it.

Would I Change Anything?

If there was anything I could change for either Jacob or Elijah would I? I can surely say for Jacob, that the answer is a NO! He is such a typical kid and now young man. Now for Elijah.... I wonder? Would I change anything for him if I could? How would this change affect him or me?

Elijah has had such a hard journey. He was born premature and struggled to breathe. He was on oxygen for nine months. He is deaf, but does wonderfully with his CI processors. He has asthma, Tourette Syndrome, OCD and ADHD. He is who he is because of his journey. Would I like the Elijah he would be if I took one of these away. I cannot imagine him as a different person.

Elijah has made me a better person, mother and teacher. When I speak to other parents of deaf children we relate in a way that other teachers can't. When I speak to parents of children who are deaf with other special needs, we make that connection. I have walked a similar path as they have. Our journey's may not be exactly the same, but we share a common thread. I hope this connection to other families helps these families with the choices they are faced with. I hope the stories I share with them help them with their choices.

Would I change who Elijah is? No, I don't think I would. He is who he is and I love him for who he is. He has a heavy burden to carry sometimes, but I will be there to help him along the way.

Thanksgiving Break!

The boys were off for the entire week of Thanksgiving. I had to work Monday and Tuesday. They actually survived being home alone together for those two days! I spent Wednesday running some errands and then we had a pulmanologist appointment at 3:30 that afternoon that went to 6:30. Not my idea of fun, but it was the only time that day they had available and I was trying to avoid taking a day off from work. Jacob grew over an inch and gained a few pounds. Elijah grew 1 cm and lost two pounds! Elijah sounded great and had a great breathing test. Jacob has a sinus infection and his breathing test indicated he hasn't been taking his advair like he should, so I am going to have to step in and monitor that more closely.

We drove out to my mom's for Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday. My sister and her son were there as was my brother and his family. He has one girl and one boy, who is now about 15 months old and of course was the star of the day. He entertained us quite a bit. We ate way too much, as you should on Thanksgiving and enjoyed some great desserts. The boys and I drove back that evening.

A friend and I went shopping on Friday morning, but it was late that morning before we got out. We still managed to find some great deals though. I got our Christmas decorations up on that day too, including the Christmas tree! My sister and mom drove in yesterday and we had dinner last night. Elijah got to spend more time with his cousins and they enjoyed playing on the Wii. We are recuperating today and gearing up for the three weeks of school prior to Christmas break. I am hoping Elijah will stay on track with his behavior. He was doing well the few days before Thanksgiving break! Jacob needs to buckle down and get his work turned in!

I will be busy with work over the next three weeks and with baking. I like to give cookies as gifts and they aren't hard to back but do take some work. I am almost done with my shopping, but still have some things left to get! Christmas will be here before you know it!

IEP Meeting and Update

We had Elijah's annual IEP(we call it an ARD meeting here in Texas) and it went fairly well. We are going to change his schedule around and have him in a resource Science and Social Studies class. He needs the smaller class size due to his behavior and due to his academics. He is reading at a 3.5 grade level and is progressing with his deaf ed. teacher. She has been with him for several years.

There are concerns about behavior. He has been yelling a lot lately and that is something everyone is working on. He and I even talked about it today. We are hoping that by changing his schedule that his frustration level will lower and that will lead to better choices in behavior. He starts his new schedule on Monday and we shall see how it goes.

Jacob is doing well in school. He still loves ROTC. He has learned to shave with a regular razor. His grandpa helped him with that! He is so handsome! He can be quite nice at times, and other times a grumpy teenager, but sometimes I am grumpy so I guess we all have those times.

We are gearing up for the holidays. Each of the boys has a short list of things they want. I am looking forward to Thanksgiving break! School is going well for me, but I am so busy!

Keeping my fingers crossed that we see improvement with Elijah and I'll keep y'all posted.

September 11, 2001

It has been a day of remembrance for me. I was a teacher at the high school in the district I work in, when a teacher in the hallway told me about the World Trade Center. I then heard a bit later that another plane hit the other tower. One of the interpreters had a radio and she pulled it out so we could listen to it. I called my husband who was just as afraid as I was. I knew my mother was traveling that day from somewhere in the north east, but wasn't sure where. I finally got a hold of someone at her company who called her so she could call me. Someone finally brought in a video from home and everyone int he school watched in horror.

It was very difficult for all of us and I remember trying to explain it to my students using sign language. I videoed the news coverage at home for the next week or so bringing it in for my students to watch. They would work and then ask me to explain what was happening in the video. Much of the coverage was not captioned so they had no idea what was going on.

There was one shining moment on that day. I got a call from the caseworker handling Elijah's cochlear implant surgery. It had been approved and the doctor's office should be calling to set up his surgery. He was 17 months old at the time and we had been awaiting this moment for several weeks. He had his surgery on Sept. 26, 2001.

It was a day of mixed emotions for me. I was elated about Elijah's surgery but devastated by the events of the day. I also remember how patriotic my deaf young men were in my class. They were determined to join the military and help. They knew they couldn't be on the front line, but they could drive a truck or be a mechanic. It broke my heart to tell them that they would not be allowed to join, but that I was so proud of them for wanting too.

Elijah's Hearing

It has been nine years since Elijah got his first cochlear implant and I am still amazed at the technology. He got his second cochlear implant about six years ago. He only had 18 months of his life without at least one cochlear implant.

What amazes me is how well he does with them! He can hear a whisper across a room. Last night, he was on the computer with his back to the TV. He was very focused on his computer game, but I noticed him sort of dancing to the music from the TV commercial. He was just a grinning and turned around to see what was on the TV. He is able to HEAR background sounds and react to them. He can pull that background sound OUT of the sound he is focused on. Some may not get how COOL that is, but it is cool.

I have also noticed that he has the ability to over hear conversations. He can be focused on something and then hear part of a conversation. He will then say something like, "what are you talking about" or just join the conversation. He hears very well in the car with background noise. He is also to the point where he incidentally learning new vocabulary as well as idioms.

As a teacher of the deaf, I know how far Elijah has come. I work daily with students who are on this same journey. Some are ahead of Elijah and others behind, but they are on their own personal journey. All of the hard work I put forth so many years ago has paid off. There is still much work to be done and there always will be, but it is so much easier now.

I am amazed that I can still be amazed. You would think that the thrill of his hearing would wear off with the passage of time, but it hasn't. I still marvel at it daily!

What are the chances?

Elijah and I went to the grocery store this afternoon to get the weekly shopping done. We have a Tourette Support Group meeting tomorrow morning and I wanted to get the shopping done so we wouldn't have to do it tomorrow afternoon.

Well, we got everything done and we chose a line to wait in. It wasn't too busy, but each lane had at least two people waiting. Elijah wanted to change lanes, but I decided to stick it out. I completed a phone call from a parent and the woman in front of us struck up a conversation with us. She walked up to Elijah and said, "those sure are some cutting edge cochlear implants you have." I responded with, "Thank you." I then mentioned that there was even a newer processor out(Elijah has two Freedoms) that had a remote. She asked if he signed and we spoke a bit about Elijah getting his CIs and how we had started with sign.

She then said that she had been a sign interpreter when she had lived in Louisiana,
but since moving to Texas she had not worked as an interpreter. I then told her about being a teacher of the deaf prior to Elijah being born. I asked her if she had thought of getting her certification in Texas and that there was a high need for certified interpreters. She had considered it, but it is a long process. I told her she should think about subbing and that I was the head of my department now and we are always looking for subs who can sign. She gave me her phone number and we parted ways.

What are the chances of me running into this person? She doesn't even live in Wylie, but in a neighboring town that doesn't have a Walmart. What are the chances we would end up in the same check out lane? Sometimes Elijah is not with me and then she would never have struck up this conversation with me.

Isn't it funny how we meet people in this world? Was there some kind of force that brought us together today? I don't know, but I am glad we met.

Two Weeks into the School Year

We are two weeks into the school year, and I am happy to report things are going well. Jacob is loving the high school. He will wear his ROTC uniform to school this Wednesday and every Wednesday of the school year. I can't wait to get a picture of him! I took him to get his haircut today so he could wear his hat properly.

Elijah continues to do well at school. He has had all good days since he has been back. Everyone says he is a different kid! I am pleased and hoping it continues.

My year is going pretty well. I am staying VERY busy!! I am thankful for the three day weekend we are having! I have a busy week ahead of me, but I enjoy it! I can't wait to start seeing my students each week. My days are fast and furious though, but I would rather be busy..... I think. Right now I am almost TOO busy!

I hope the time doesn't fly by too quickly though. I am not ready for the holidays quite yet!

First Day of School 2010

Well we made it today! Elijah did well on his first day in fourth grade. I walked him in to make sure he knew where to go. I had a heck of a time getting out of the parking lot though! It took me at least 20 min. to get out of the parking lot.

Today was Jacob's first day in high school. I got him up around 6:45 right as we left, but his bus wasn't due to pick him up until 8:25. He called me around 8:30 wondering where his bus was, and after a few phone calls, the bus finally arrived a little late.

It was a good day for me and I have lots to do tomorrow. I came home and picked up Elijah who was quite excited to tell me he had a great day. No note stating otherwise so I went with what he told me. I got home around 4:30 and Jacob arrived home soon after(9:00-4:15 school day) around 4:45. Jacob had a GREAT day and wanted to tell me all about it. We also had to make another trip to Wal-Mart for MORE supplies. We went and did that, boy that place was crazy and then went to grab dinner and come home! I did treat myself to a Margarita!

Jacob loved all of his classes and said he liked his teachers! He is taking ROTC and also a video class as well as the usual core classes!

Jacob fell asleep some time after we came home, but not sure what time. Before falling asleep, he got all of his materials ready for tomorrow. Elijah went to bed around 8:45 and hopefully I won't be too far behind them!

On The Road Again

This week was my first week back at work. Katie, my little sister(age 19) has been watching the boys for me. Elijah has really enjoyed having her here and she has taken Jacob to ROTC for me! She is headed to Texas A&M in Galvestion next week!

I have been at inservice this week but have already been in two different cities for either a meeting or to pick up equipment! Part of going back to work is getting back on the road. I drive and see student's in their home districts! I love it and I do enjoy being "on the road" but the heat this week has been awful. Over the next two weeks I'll slowly ease back into driving. I'll be delivering equipment, checking on students and meeting with teachers. By the third week, I'll have nine students I'll being seeing each week and doing a multitude of other duties!

I spoil myself with an XM radio, an ipod in my iphone which plugs into the car and cruise control! I love my XM radio, especially the comedy channels. I don't have to worry about losing my signal with that XM radio.

Jacob spent three days at an ROTC boot camp this week. Nothing too strenuous and he enjoyed it. Both boys start school next week!!!

Glad to be Home!

Well after a nice vacation from my kids(Is that a bad thing for me to say??), I am now home. I met my mom at La Madeline in Rockwall to get the boys. When I walked in and Elijah saw me, he ran straight to me with the biggest grin and hug. He had really missed me over the last three days. Jacob gave me a kiss, but no hug, typical teen!

I had a great time at the conference. Two of my teachers went with me and it was nice getting to know them better. Two of us went out to eat at a nice Mexican restaurant and I had two VERY STRONG margaritas and some fajitas. Well after we ate my stomach told me that they didn't like the drinks. I at least made it to the bathroom before I puked. At least I didn't puke on the other teacher. When we got back to the room we told the other person about it and I was teased the rest of the night about not being able to hold my liquor.

I also found out that I AM OLD! Not really. We were discussing our years of teaching and I said next year would be my 20th year of teaching. My newest teacher then said, "I was 5 years old when you started teaching" and the other one said, "I was 7!" I promptly told them they were still YOUNGINS! They then teased me about holding my liquor again! It was all in fun and again, it was nice to really get to know them. We stay so busy during the school year that we never really get to share and have down time!

The conference was great. I went to several good workshops and met some great people. Right now though I am too tired to even remember what I learned. I will have to pull out all of my notes to refresh my memory!

I even went to family night and had dinner with several other families who have deaf children. I saw some of Elijah's teachers from Plano and we got to chat and share stories. It is nice to be around other parents and people who understand deaf children and the dynamics of raising a deaf child!

OH and the exhibits were great. All three of us saw things that we really liked and after I get to look at the budget we may be ordering some new materials for the classroom!

I am really glad to be home and to sleep in my own bed tonight. Our three cats were very happy to see us. Tomorrow we will have a family birthday party for Jacob here at the house. Thankfully my house is pretty clean and I just have to do a quick once over tomorrow morning. The party is not until 3:00 so I will have plenty of time.

At least my batteries are a little more recharged when it comes to my boys. I love them to death and cannot imagine them every growing up and moving out, but a three day "vacation" from them was nice for me! Even if I can't hold my liquor!

Statewide Conference of the Education of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing

I will be attending the Statewide Conference for the Educaiton of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing in Fort Worth Texas this Thursday through Saturday. It has been four years since I have been to this conference. It is held every two years! The last time we went, I was able to take both boys with me and we stayed in the dorms at the Texas School for the Deaf. I went to workshops and the kids stayed in "daycare" at the school. This time it is just me going with two of my fellow teachers. I really enjoy this conference and meet a lot of really neat people.

There are several workshops offered during each session and you get to pick and choose what workshops you want to attend. I am hoping there are some on behavior(for students at school) and on language development. There are also a lot of vendors who come and I hope I get to see some neat things. I am hoping to reconnect with many people that I have met in the past!

On Thursday night there is a family picnic and I plan on attending. It will be put on by Texas Hands and Voices.

I also hate to admit it, but I need a mini-vacation from my kids. I'll let you all know what all I learn!!