The blog Autism Bulletin is taking requests for favorite parent blogs. If you have a favorite blog written by a parent, especially if your favorite is AspieMama, please visit http://autismbulletin.blogspot.com/2008/01/which-autism-parent-blogs-do-you-like.html
Thanks!
P.S. I have no interest in running for president! Still not sure who to vote for either.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Friday, January 25, 2008
Celebrities Love It, Will You? ~ Childbirth Class DVD Review
I recently blogged about purchasing "Laugh and Learn About Childbirth," a childbirth class on DVD. First of all, let me say that it was great to be able to watch this class in the privacy of my own home, to talk candidly with my husband about my reactions to things that were said on the DVD, and to not have to listen to the material presented with a room full of strangers! This is a plus to the DVD.
The classes cover a variety of topics including signs of labor, a breathing technique, comfort measures, and medications used during labor (including pros and cons of different medication options).
In the first class, the instructor displays a picture of an unborn baby that, to me at least, looks more like a Rorschach ink blot test than a baby, but I eventually see the picture correctly. She defines some anatomy terms that you will probably hear about during doctor visits or "the big" hospital visit, and then delves into the topics outlined in the paragraphs above.
Overall, I found the DVD classes to be very informative and helpful. They are reasonably easy to watch and the instructor is often humorous. I did find that I needed to watch some of the classes again to understand and remember some of the information presented. However, this is one of the benefits to having it on DVD: that I could watch parts of it as often as I needed. The only drawback is that you are unable to ask questions to the instructor, but it was well worth it to loose this opportunity because of the other benefits mentioned.
The instructor has a website, http://www.laughandlearn.com/, where the DVD can be purchased, but I got mine from Amazon.com. I first found the DVD by searching Amazon.com, and I am glad that I saw it there first. The main page of the instructor's website primarily just has photos of celebrities who are said to be "fans" of the Laugh and Learn DVD series. There is not much actual information on the main page, which was a little off-putting to me. First of all, I don't really care what celebrities think of the DVD :) , and I have no way of verifying if that is actually true or not. If you click on the link at the bottom of the page that says, "click here if you want to enter the e-store," it will take you to more information about the DVDs and other products. Or, you can search for it on Amazon.com, and read reviews of the DVD there.
Overall, I found the DVD to be very professionally made, and it seemed to be very honest and accurate. I would certainly recommended it to others who are unable or uninterested in taking an "in-person" class.
The classes cover a variety of topics including signs of labor, a breathing technique, comfort measures, and medications used during labor (including pros and cons of different medication options).
In the first class, the instructor displays a picture of an unborn baby that, to me at least, looks more like a Rorschach ink blot test than a baby, but I eventually see the picture correctly. She defines some anatomy terms that you will probably hear about during doctor visits or "the big" hospital visit, and then delves into the topics outlined in the paragraphs above.
Overall, I found the DVD classes to be very informative and helpful. They are reasonably easy to watch and the instructor is often humorous. I did find that I needed to watch some of the classes again to understand and remember some of the information presented. However, this is one of the benefits to having it on DVD: that I could watch parts of it as often as I needed. The only drawback is that you are unable to ask questions to the instructor, but it was well worth it to loose this opportunity because of the other benefits mentioned.
The instructor has a website, http://www.laughandlearn.com/, where the DVD can be purchased, but I got mine from Amazon.com. I first found the DVD by searching Amazon.com, and I am glad that I saw it there first. The main page of the instructor's website primarily just has photos of celebrities who are said to be "fans" of the Laugh and Learn DVD series. There is not much actual information on the main page, which was a little off-putting to me. First of all, I don't really care what celebrities think of the DVD :) , and I have no way of verifying if that is actually true or not. If you click on the link at the bottom of the page that says, "click here if you want to enter the e-store," it will take you to more information about the DVDs and other products. Or, you can search for it on Amazon.com, and read reviews of the DVD there.
Overall, I found the DVD to be very professionally made, and it seemed to be very honest and accurate. I would certainly recommended it to others who are unable or uninterested in taking an "in-person" class.
Friday, January 18, 2008
Disturbing Case in the UK – Mom w/Asperger’s Has Baby Taken Away
Typically, I want this blog to be a positive place, but I recently heard about a case in the UK from this summer that deserves attention. I will admit that, after just reading the newspaper article, I don’t have all the facts of the case, but it certainly appears to be unfair and discriminatory. I have not been able to find an update on the case, but I certainly hope that this mother was able to get her child back!
Here is some of what the newspaper had to say:
*The 21-year-old mother’s baby was taken away immediately after birth,
*Two weeks before the baby was born, a county council added the unborn child to their ‘at risk’ register due to the fact that, because the mother has Asperger’s Syndrome, she would be at risk for developing post-natal depression and neglecting her baby.
*The baby was placed in foster care, even though the mother’s parents and family members had offered to care for the child during the “investigation.”
Here is the link if you would like to read the article: http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com/showthread.php?tid=9650
Fortunately, I have not heard of other such extreme cases. I sincerely hope that there is more to this story than has been released, and this is not a simple case of discrimination.
Here is some of what the newspaper had to say:
*The 21-year-old mother’s baby was taken away immediately after birth,
*Two weeks before the baby was born, a county council added the unborn child to their ‘at risk’ register due to the fact that, because the mother has Asperger’s Syndrome, she would be at risk for developing post-natal depression and neglecting her baby.
*The baby was placed in foster care, even though the mother’s parents and family members had offered to care for the child during the “investigation.”
Here is the link if you would like to read the article: http://www.aspiesforfreedom.com/showthread.php?tid=9650
Fortunately, I have not heard of other such extreme cases. I sincerely hope that there is more to this story than has been released, and this is not a simple case of discrimination.
Friday, January 11, 2008
New: AspieMama's Links!
I've added a links section at the bottom of the main blog page. It has two sections: one for Asperger's Syndrome links, and one for parenting links. If I ever find any websites for parents with Asperger's, I'll add those too!
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Childbirth Classes – No Socialization Required!
I’ve been putting off taking a childbirth class, maybe because I’m busy, maybe because I’m too nervous, I’m not sure. But, I think I’ve found the perfect solution! I just ordered a DVD from Amazon.com of a complete childbirth/Lamaze class. I’m really happy to be able to get this information without leaving my home to take the class with a bunch of strangers! It’s called “Laugh and Learn About Childbirth” with Sheri Bayles. It should arrive in a few days, and I’ll let you know how it works out! Please feel free to comment about any other similar DVDs that you’ve found helpful or how in-person childbirth classes worked out for you.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
Cat's Cradle and the Inspiration for AspieMama
The inspiration for the AspieMama blog came while I was visiting family over the holidays. My sister was reading the novel “Cat’s Cradle” by Kurt Vonnegut. As she began to describe some of the characters and events to me, I recognized that one of the characters showed some signs of having Asperger’s Syndrome - although she accuses me of diagnosing almost any quirky person. :) I haven’t read the book yet, so please forgive me if some of my descriptions are a little bit inaccurate.
In the novel, one of the characters describes his experiences with his father, who worked on designing and constructing the atomic bomb. He states that his father became distracted from his work due to an obsessive interest in turtles. The people who want him to continue to work on the bomb end up stealing his turtles as a last resort so that he can continue the work. This character also describes how his father never played with him throughout his childhood until he once noticed his father playing with some string (he often played with “fidgety” items). His father made a cat’s cradle (a string game) and tried to show it to his son. However, the son was rather frightened by this, since his father had not played with him before, and he ran away from him.
I began to think about how I will play with my own child. I have always been a little bit nervous around other people’s children (mainly because I don’t want to do or say something to offend the parents), but I also feel somewhat clueless about how to “play” with a child. I knew that I would not want my child to end up in a similar situation as in “Cat’s Cradle,” and that I will, of course, play with my child. I wondered if other Aspie parents felt the same way, and if we could share what has worked for us about this, and other aspects of parenting. And so, AspieMama was begun! I hope this will become a place where we can share tips and advice, and support each other as parents in a unique situation.
Thanks for visiting, and Happy New Year!
In the novel, one of the characters describes his experiences with his father, who worked on designing and constructing the atomic bomb. He states that his father became distracted from his work due to an obsessive interest in turtles. The people who want him to continue to work on the bomb end up stealing his turtles as a last resort so that he can continue the work. This character also describes how his father never played with him throughout his childhood until he once noticed his father playing with some string (he often played with “fidgety” items). His father made a cat’s cradle (a string game) and tried to show it to his son. However, the son was rather frightened by this, since his father had not played with him before, and he ran away from him.
I began to think about how I will play with my own child. I have always been a little bit nervous around other people’s children (mainly because I don’t want to do or say something to offend the parents), but I also feel somewhat clueless about how to “play” with a child. I knew that I would not want my child to end up in a similar situation as in “Cat’s Cradle,” and that I will, of course, play with my child. I wondered if other Aspie parents felt the same way, and if we could share what has worked for us about this, and other aspects of parenting. And so, AspieMama was begun! I hope this will become a place where we can share tips and advice, and support each other as parents in a unique situation.
Thanks for visiting, and Happy New Year!
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