Sign Up For My Newsletter
NOW AVAILABLE
Want One of My Books? Shop Cynthia’s Bookstore!
Let’s Be Friends!
What I Write About:
50th Birthday Acceptance Across An Aqueous Moon: Travels in Autism Adoption Advocacy Anger Anxiety Art Authenticity Autism Behavioral Issues Change Creativity Dating Divorce Expectations Family Fear Finishing Line Press Gratitude Holidays IEPs Letting Go Memoir Milestones Open Mind School Parenting Poet Laureate Poetry Rapid Prompting Method RPM Sensory Integration Shame Single Parent Social skills Soma RPM Special Education Special Needs Speech Delay Story The Blank Canvas Blog Hop Transitions Truth Unplanned Life Writing Life
Category Archives: Autism
Welcome to Summer School, Part 2
Victoria never did call back. Nor did anyone from the Pleasanton School District, although a district staff person recognized Katie and brought her to her classroom. “Immediately,” the teacher would emphasize later. “They brought her to me immediately.” Yeah, but … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, My Life
Tagged Acceptance, Autism, Behavioral Issues, Fear, Letting Go, Special Needs, Speech Delay, Transitions, Unplanned Life
Leave a comment
Welcome to Summer School, Part 1
Back in April 2014, when Autism A to Z was making its public launch, I produced a special Storied Nights: An Evening of Spoken Word that focused on autism spectrum disorder. The year before I’d been published in Chicken Soup … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, My Life, Other Writers
Tagged Autism, Behavioral Issues, Bus, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Raising Kids on the Spectrum, Connie Post, Fear, Jennifer Bush, Katherine Briccetti, Laura Shumaker, Michele Bissonnette Robbins, School bus, Special Needs, Storied Nights, Transitions, Unplanned Life
Leave a comment
It’s IEP Season, Part 7
For two months I waited for Ms Nav to schedule another IEP meeting. Despite numerous notes and emails, she never did. Finally in late April I put my foot down and insisted on a meeting. Ms Nav replied that Pleasanton … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, My Life
Tagged Advocacy, Appropriate Goals, Autism, Goals, IEPs, Non-compliance, Placement, Special Education, Special Needs, Transitions, Unplanned Life
Leave a comment
A Poem for Summer Break
My daughter Katie has only one week of vacation before beginning summer school. We are taking advantage of this break by hanging out on the Sonoma Coast, in a community called The Sea Ranch. For several years, Katie resisted staying … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, My Life
Tagged Autism, Change, Poetry, Sea Ranch, Sonoma Coast, Transitions, Unplanned Life, Vacation, Writing Life, You Used to Hate the Ocean
Leave a comment
Goodbye Grade School
Tomorrow is Katie’s last day of 5th grade. Technically it’s not because she has five weeks of summer school with the same teacher and the same classmates. But tomorrow is the last day of regular classes. The general ed fifth … Continue reading
It’s IEP Season, Part 6
For several days I pondered how I could observe in the un-offered classroom placement. I checked the district website and learned Mitchell was now a K-8 school. Back in 2009, Mitchell was still an elementary school. It’s where Katie had … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, My Life
Tagged Advocacy, Appropriate Goals, Autism, Goals, IEPs, Non-compliance, Placement, Special Education, Special Needs, Transitions, Unplanned Life
Leave a comment
It’s IEP Season, Part 5
When I was observing potential classroom placements in my home school district, both teachers mentioned a moderate special day class at another school. I had no idea where this class was or who taught it, but I wanted to know … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, My Life
Tagged Advocacy, Appropriate Goals, Autism, Goals, IEPs, Non-compliance, Placement, Special Education, Special Needs, Transitions, Unplanned Life
Leave a comment
It’s IEP Season, Part 4
A week later, my friend Barb (Katie’s reading tutor) and I met Mary, the Program Specialist, in front of a middle school in our home district. I liked the feel of the place. This classroom had fewer students and the … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, My Life
Tagged Advocacy, Appropriate Goals, Autism, Goals, IEPs, Non-compliance, Placement, Special Education, Special Needs, Transitions, Unplanned Life
Leave a comment
It’s IEP Season, Part 3
I wasn’t sure what to expect when I met Mary, the Program Specialist, outside the Pleasanton middle school. We signed in and headed to the classroom, making small talk as we wandered the unfamiliar corridors. Eventually we found the classroom … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, My Life
Tagged Advocacy, Appropriate Goals, Autism, Boredom, Goals, IEPs, Non-compliance, Placement, Special Education, Special Needs, Transitions, Unplanned Life
Leave a comment
It’s IEP Season, Part 2
After our first IEP meeting in January 2015, Ms Nav never sent the consolidated goals. Two days before our next meeting, she sent an updated draft IEP but it only contained her proposed goals. When I questioned this, she said … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, My Life
Tagged Advocacy, Appropriate Goals, Autism, Goals, IEPs, Non-compliance, Placement, Special Education, Special Needs, Transitions, Unplanned Life
1 Comment
