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Welcome
Aug 23, 2014 13:27:57 GMT -5
Post by TriciaF on Aug 23, 2014 13:27:57 GMT -5
Welcome to unomas. There are many topics and wisdom in the archives here. Please use the bulletin board and invite your friends with Ds to do the same. Glad you're here!
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Post by TriciaF on Aug 22, 2014 7:15:25 GMT -5
Oh Michelle, I am so sorry to hear all that has been happening with Casey. Thank you for trusting us enough to share. I can't imagine the worry and stress of what you have been dealing with. What was causing the blood clots? My boyfriend has a hereditary issue and will have to remain on blood thinner due to the condition. I will always be so thankful to you for unomas even if you ever choose to cut it loose. It made such a HUGE difference in my life and all the others who came here for support when we often felt no one understood. It was the best therapy ever. You will never know just how many lives you touched by your creation. I remember when we were all trying to write into Oprah to get you and unomas recognized as a difference maker. She doesn't know what she missed! I too, drifted away when life got the better of me....taking care of parents sick for a number of years and both passing away the same year and going through my divorce. I feel so priviledged to have gotten to meet you in Las Vegas, that was such a great trip! Susan just added me to uno chat this week and it was like a family reunion. But nothing beats your message board for long winded discussions that no one but us would be interested in! LOL So, maybe facebook will lead people back to unomas rather than away. I sure hope so.
Quick update on Patrick who is now 14 and in 7th grade. He is doing really well and I am so thankful. But, of course, I am currently fighting with the school district over one of his placements this year...some things never change and boy does that get old.
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Post by TriciaF on Oct 10, 2013 6:33:47 GMT -5
Patricia Davis Fernald on facebook, TriciaF here.
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Post by TriciaF on Oct 10, 2013 6:30:53 GMT -5
I'm so happy for them. It is frustrating about the transportation, what a pain. I think about it often for Patrick. Just yesterday, I walked out of a meeting of a consumer council I participate in and saw a father outside, waiting on his son. The son is an adult with Ds that sits on the same board as a self advocate. I thought to myself....will that be me in 10 years, because Patrick has so few transportation options? But...love will find a way I suppose. My boyfriend lives an hours drive away...which limits us seeing one another to twice a week. You do what you do.
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Post by TriciaF on Jan 28, 2013 19:39:04 GMT -5
Hello Unomasers! Has anyone had an issue with a school district refusing to allow parents to visit classrooms for observation and to ask the special ed teacher about her classroom, curriculum, etc.? Basically, we (parents in the elementary school EMD class with rising middle schoolers) are being told that we cannot visit the three schools that all have the similar class in the middle schools. This is really frustrating as our district offers a choice application to all students to apply to go to a school other than the home school.....IF there is space available and IF you apply by the January 31st deadline. I was told we can visit the school and be given a general tour....the same as parents of typical choice students, but cannot visit the classroom or speak with the teacher....although the justification seems to be confidentiality issues. We suggested letting us visit with the teacher in the classroom when the students were not present and again were refused. I was told that I would only be allowed to visit if the IEP team decided that class was the appropriate placement and I reminded them that I WAS part of the IEP team and I doubted I would decide appropriate placement without visiting the classroom, learning about the methods, curriculum, etc... There are magnet programs in the school district that can be choiced into and those programs put on an open house and invite parents to attend, meet the teachers, get information and apply. I would consider the "special ed" programs to be more in line with these types of programs. I just don't see anything in the law to support their stance and am frustrated that they are making such a big deal out of what I see as a routine request. If this is how middle school will be....I feel a major headache coming on!!! lol I saw this online at Wrightslaw: www.wrightslaw.com/info/priv.confid.observe.htm and I also called and left a message with our State Dept. of Education, Office of Exceptional Children ( I am in SC ). I just wondered if anyone else has faced this issue?
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Post by TriciaF on Aug 22, 2012 12:37:20 GMT -5
Hi all! Have been MIA a long time, good to be back. I have read the other threads on this...but many are older now and thought maybe someone would have a t-mobile plan. Patrick is 12 and I want to start looking for a cell phone for him. Am thinking the slide out keyboard would be best....but with everything going to smart phones....don't know how long these will/are still available. I can add a line cheaply onto my t-mobile plan. Best case, it would also have GPS locator function. I haven't gone by the phone store...but last time I went, if you didn't have an internet package, there were only two phones with keyboards to choose from (and that was a couple of years ago). Anyone on t-mobile? I'm going to try to have learning to use the phone added to his school goals this year and then try to apply for an exception with the school district to allow a phone for "safety" purposes when he hits middle school next year. He also needs to learn to use one because his brother left for college last week and its just Patrick and I at home now. If I walk across to the neighbors....we have been using long distance walkie talkies...but need to step it up just in case.
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Post by TriciaF on Aug 22, 2012 12:04:47 GMT -5
woohoo, I'm actually here today, too. But if it weren't for Jackie message... no one might know. So good to see so many familiar names. Hope everyone is well. Patrick is doing great...starting school tomorrow. He's very excited. Got his older brother off to college last week....so time's they are a changing. Still love my unomas family.
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Post by TriciaF on Sept 19, 2009 14:32:08 GMT -5
Here's the picture I sent with my email. Attachments:
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Post by TriciaF on Sept 19, 2009 14:13:26 GMT -5
Well, I am pleasantly surprised....I am actually liking Tom Papa. He did read and respond to my last email. Of course, he still has many misconceptions.....like so much of the public.....but I am not going to demonize him.....he is probably just like alot of our friends, families, co-workers, etc.... He reminds me of the response I sometimes get when I try to calmly tell someone close to me that we don't say "retard" or "retarded" about something ...we say dumb or stupid (not good either). They are often truly baffled and when I go on to explain that because it is offensive to people like Patrick (and those who love him) who have mental retardation, they say....."well Patrick is not retarded"! So then I have to get all educational on them and explain that yes, by educational standards, medical diagnosis, etc..... he does have that designation. yada yada yada..
Anyway, here is Tom's email. I will respond to him....just want to give a little thought as to what to say. Before I wrote the last email, I watched his bit again (less emotionally) and it crossed my mind while watching it....oh boy, bet he's gonna hear from the pit bull people.
Here is the email from Tom:
The funniest part is that I'm responding again. But you're area is more important to me. I won't be going on to respond the angry pitbull people, anti-pitbull people, people who complained about how I depicted old people, or for that matter my mother or wife. (Pitbull group by far the most annoyed)
But to you I will say this.
Our family has it's fair share of handicapped, mentally and physically challenged and those who call themselves normal and are anything but. And from my grandmother on down, laughing at ourselves is our way, and always has been. It takes all the power away from anyone who thinks they are laughing at us.
You are correct that words matter and that is why I I say 'special ed'. Because I am not talking about mentally challenged children. I am talking about the rowdy special ed kids that I grew up with and my father teaches. None of which have downs or anything worse than ADD. And that is why I perform for charities and fund raisers for a long list of groups including your own.
That being said, I understand your sensitivity. Have fun, enjoy and he looks like a laugher!
Tom
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Post by TriciaF on Sept 19, 2009 11:19:30 GMT -5
Thank you, thank you, thank you for posting this link. I had not heard of the show and just had the best time watching. I can't wait to share it with others.
Boy is Sam a star or what? lol I loved his face when the Lady Boy transformed into a man...priceless!
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Post by TriciaF on Sept 19, 2009 9:59:47 GMT -5
Steff!!! Hey girl....so glad to hear about Olivia...7th grade! OMG! So glad she is having a great school experience.
Also glad you brought this up....you guys are still teaching us things!!
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Post by TriciaF on Sept 19, 2009 9:50:32 GMT -5
Hey Barb, Great picture! That had to be frustrating about the bus. Patrick's special needs bus never has its act together on day one...or for most of first week really...so I give up now and just take him for the first several days....not worth the fight. But Allison looks so pretty in pink! What I wouldn't have given to have also had a girl to go with my two boys! It looks like Allison's glasses are from the same company as Patrick's....Spec4us. Is that right? Looked like the bridge comes in lower and the arm pieces hit at a lower angle.
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Post by TriciaF on Sept 19, 2009 9:42:37 GMT -5
Oh A, so glad you & Russell made it through. Will keep you all in my prayers. I have been MIA for so long, I had no idea about the time you've had. I will have to go back and search. I have always wondered how do you do laser eye surgery on someone who would "rather not, thank you". I think about Patrick's perscription and wondered if he would ever be able to have laser surgery as an adult and just couldn't picture it. Of course, I've never yet been able to picture it for MYSELF! lol You hang in there! ~T
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Post by TriciaF on Sept 19, 2009 1:11:50 GMT -5
Well, I am calmer tonight. I got a short response from Tom Papa and responded to him as follows. I added a picture of Patrick. Don't know if it will have any impact...but I guess you never know?
From: Tom Papa To: Patricia Sent: Friday, September 18, 2009 10:14 PM Subject: Re: jay leno show
Sense of humor is a wonderful thing. No offense.
Here was my response:
Thank you for responding. I wholeheartedly agree that a sense of humor is a wonderful thing and there's not much I enjoy more than comedy....my favorite show is The Colbert Report. But whether you intend offense or not, the point is you are appearing on national television and communicating to a huge audience that making fun of the mentally disabled is not only okay....but really funny. You make an impact and the fact is that we, the families of the mentally disabled and the self advocates, have to fight that much harder to overcome these stereotypes that you perpetuate. And that affects all areas of their lives, from attending class with typical peers to finding a job. Its a constant uphill battle to convince people to view the strengths of these kids rather than the deficits. My son Patrick has Down syndrome and is nine years old. He reads, does math, wants to join the boy scouts and would like to be an astronaut and a fireman and a policeman....he loves Spongebob, plays soccer, and thinks homework is "lame" and "boring". He is more like typical children than he is different and is a pleasure to be around. By the way, I've been on many field trips with Patrick and his class....and I can promise you, his behavior is often much better than some of his "typical" peers. And while there are definitely challenges involved in raising a child with Ds, the largest challenge of all, the most frustrating, is changing the attitudes of other people and institutions like schools and businesses. And that is directly related to my son's future...whether he will have an opportunity to continue his education, get a job, get married. That's why your remarks are so incendiary to our community. It's not that we are the PC police...we are fighting to open minds and acts like yours set us back. We don't have many national platforms to counteract the damage. I don't know you personally, but we are both parents. Perhaps from that perspective you can relate. Surely you have hopes and dreams for your children, as I do for Patrick. Please don't help to limit his. Your words do have power. I wish you success in your career...and have been looking forward to seeing The Informant. Sincerely,
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Post by TriciaF on Sept 18, 2009 21:08:33 GMT -5
Ok, I am further depressed. The guy's name is Tom Papa and it says he co-stars in The Informant. I have been looking forward to seeing the movie for a month now....opened tonight....hope I can still enjoy it. I emailed him...wonder if he will see the email?
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