The Swamp

Shirley wrote: ↑Mon Dec 04, 2023 10:48 am Damn, Dave. I'm a mess now! Great story.

bfj wrote: ↑Mon Dec 04, 2023 4:42 pm So I haven't given a Max update in a while. As you would remember, the school system and the Family BFJ haven't exactly seen eye-to-eye through the years about Max's education and how it should be handled. Last year we reached a boiling point with them and told them in no uncertain terms that Max wasn't returning to their buildings and that between his parents and the behavioral team that we put together, we would start to figure out how to spend the next two years in the school system getting him ready to transition out of the school system and into the real world. They weren't teaching him job skills or social skills or life skills anyway, so why bother sending him to a building that has nothing but negative energy and frustration for my son?

So we threatened to sue for due process, again. But this time the county didn't want to fight. They came to the table and after a long back and forth we signed an agreement today that lets Team Max plan his transition out of the school system at 21. I never have to sit in another IEP meeting and that is HUGE, as long as they hold up their end of the legal agreement.

So we found him jobs. He is working at a local pizza shop we love (volunteer) and at the Cheesecake Factory (getting minimum wage) a few hours a week, just to start learning what working is like. It lets him interact with the public in a real world setting that can't really be replicated anywhere else. He has a job coach, who is from the behavior team and all they do is sit back, help him focus and reward him with his breaks. He has two other opportunities lined up with a restaurant that we frequent (they love him) and a cookie manufacturer (the owner is related to someone on the behavior team).They will hopefully get started by the start of 2024.

He is happy. A lot less stressed every day. He still has his struggles. As he always will. But this is a good post, which don't happen often enough in this thread.

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Fri Mar 29, 2024 9:27 am Slimming Down Chosen-friend, if you can check your PMs I sent you a message.

govmentchedda wrote: ↑Fri Apr 26, 2024 6:39 am That's so cool, bfj.

bfj wrote: ↑Fri Apr 26, 2024 1:46 am Love this kid. He and Max were classmates for a while. I asked him to throw out a first pitch at a class A game our org attended a few years back. He called when when he got the first pitch call from the O’s and told me he was getting “called up”!

THEATRE MODIFICATIONS

• ASL available for this performance
• Lower sound level
• Lights remain on at a low level in the theatre during the performance
• A reduction of strobe lighting or lighting focused on the audience
• Patrons are free to talk and leave their seats during the performance
• Designated quiet and activity areas within the theatre
• Space throughout the theatre for standing and movement
• Guidance and sensory supports (fidgets, earplugs, noise cancelling ear-muffs) available in the lobby before the show
• Audience members are welcome to bring their own manipulatives, seat cushions, comfort objects, and extra support items to the show
• Use of tablets, smart phones, and other electronic devices can be used with headphones during the performance
• Extra staff and volunteer support
• STG staff trained to be inviting and accommodating to families' needs
• Specialized therapists will be assigned to every floor to support families in need

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Fri Apr 26, 2024 10:35 am That is super cool!

We are taking Caity's daughter Kelsey to a "Sensory-Friendly" performance of "Aladdin" tomorrow afternoon.

What makes it "sensory friendly":

THEATRE MODIFICATIONS

• ASL available for this performance
• Lower sound level
• Lights remain on at a low level in the theatre during the performance
• A reduction of strobe lighting or lighting focused on the audience
• Patrons are free to talk and leave their seats during the performance
• Designated quiet and activity areas within the theatre
• Space throughout the theatre for standing and movement
• Guidance and sensory supports (fidgets, earplugs, noise cancelling ear-muffs) available in the lobby before the show
• Audience members are welcome to bring their own manipulatives, seat cushions, comfort objects, and extra support items to the show
• Use of tablets, smart phones, and other electronic devices can be used with headphones during the performance
• Extra staff and volunteer support
• STG staff trained to be inviting and accommodating to families' needs
• Specialized therapists will be assigned to every floor to support families in need

Hopefully Kelsey enjoys it...we are fully prepared to leave at any time if it proves to be too much for her.

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Fri Apr 26, 2024 1:27 pm Kind of a threadjack, but I want to see the play consisting solely of autistic actors in New York. Really cool story and the few numbers I heard were catchy AH.