Waiting
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Posted on September 8, 2016 by

We are in limbo. Everything is on hold as we wait to see what happens with my daughter’s placement. School started in our district on Monday, August 22nd, and the following week, on August 29th, at Open Mind School (OMS). … Continue reading →

A Life of Quiet Desperation
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Posted on September 1, 2016 by

For years, my brother Tom lived a life of quiet desperation. I saw it and recognized it in myself, recognized what I had seen years earlier in my father’s father. I think Mom saw it too, must have at least … Continue reading →

Playing Chicken
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Posted on August 25, 2016 by

The school district and I are playing a high stakes (at least for my daughter) game of chicken. They want me to sign an Individualized Education Plan (IEP)—read annual contract—committing my daughter Katie to the generic, for-profit, non-public school (NPS) … Continue reading →

Running Out of Time and Options
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Posted on August 18, 2016 by

I am now in a place that I’d hoped at all cost to avoid. There is no available space in any of the five non-public schools (NPS) focused on autism spectrum disorder that I visited. Nothing. We have been waiting … Continue reading →

What Happens at Camp Arroyo, Stays at Camp Arroyo, Year 2
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Posted on August 11, 2016 by

This year, my daughter didn’t just survive, but truly thrived at summer camp. Once again, Katie attended Camp Arroyo, which is where the Exceptional Needs Network (ENN) holds its summer camp for special needs children in conjunction with the Taylor … Continue reading →

Katie’s at Camp Arroyo!
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Posted on August 4, 2016 by

Yesterday I dropped Katie off at Camp Arroyo. This is her second time at the Exceptional Needs Network’s summer camp for children with special needs. To say she was excited would be an understatement. I was pretty excited too. (Still … Continue reading →

Summer School Surprise
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Posted on July 28, 2016 by

Summer school. What can I say about summer school? In a word: amazing. I’m serious. After three agonizing months of what can only be described as a horrible in-home “school” experience, summer school has blown my mind. Quite possibly, it … Continue reading →

Essay Selected For Modern Dating Anthology
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Posted on July 24, 2016 by

My essay, “Pick Ups at the Dog Park,” was selected last summer for publication in an anthology entitled, Rendezvous in the Rough: Essays from the 21st Century Dating Trenches. Six weeks later, my poetry manuscript was accepted for publication, and to … Continue reading →