Child 120 by Brandi Cooper https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9 Weekly Journals en-us 2021-02-10 02:47:29 UTC 2023-04-16 12:45:35 UTC hello@padlet.com Backstory: My name is Brandi and my partners name is Brenden. I was raised by my biological family while he was adopted 2 weeks after birth. He has no contact with his biological family nor does he know where to even find them. We are trying to start a family but there are a few things that concern me about the life our child may have without the knowledge of his genetic background. This is a picture of us. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1185422116 2021-02-10 02:50:17 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1185422116 My first concern with hereditary diseases is Alzheimer's disease. My family is carriers of the brain disease so not knowing if my husband also carries that is very worrisome to me. The photo linked below on the left is the healthy brain, and on the right is the brain of someone who suffers with Alzheimer's. Also below is an article linked that explains how a persons background and ancestors can affect their chances of developing Alzheimer's. At some point before we have our first child we will get him tested to see if he carries it. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1185427202 2021-02-10 02:53:55 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1185427202 bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1185445577 2021-02-10 03:07:02 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1185445577 My second concern is genetic high blood pressure. Most times while getting a routine check up my husbands blood pressure is through the roof. He claims it is because of nervousness from going to the doctor but it worries me because what if it is genetic and we just don't know that. He isn't obese or unhealthy so it concerns me because it is normally very high. Below I linked an article about genes that can cause high blood pressure and how doctors are helping their patients. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1185447710 2021-02-10 03:08:44 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1185447710 My last big concern is cancer. We have had a few scares with finding some lumps on him that were tested and turned out to be nothing and were not to be worried about but what if it leads to something more and our baby could develop some types of cancers. I would feel more at ease to have some tests done on not only him but me as well to see if we are carriers for some cancer genes. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1185459652 2021-02-10 03:18:13 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1185459652 Our decision: We have both decided to take DNA testing to give a glimpse of what our DNA might have in it. You can order them online and send in your DNA and they can send you back what they find out. No matter what we will love our baby and do whatever we can for him/her. We know we cannot prevent or know every little thing that could go wrong with bringing in a child so finding out the basics is a good start. Here are some examples of what we used. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1185466157 2021-02-10 03:23:19 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1185466157 bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1185472419 2021-02-10 03:28:04 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1185472419 So for our birthing plan there was a couple of options we had to choose from and they were, using a doula at home before going to a hospital, water birth at home with a midwife, a natural birth in the hospital, and a C-section. In this post I will share which one I chose and the reasons why I chose it, and also why I decided against the others. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1195140413 2021-02-12 01:43:28 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1195140413 Using a doula at home before going to the hospital: This was a close one with the one I was going to choose but I decided against it because my husband was not fond of the idea of someone being the big supporter of me before the hospital birth. Also if something went wrong before the doulas aren't as trained as doctors or nurses that could help. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1195150361 2021-02-12 01:52:09 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1195150361 Waterbirth at home with a midwife: We decided against this option because if there was something wrong during the pregnancy that carried on throughout it there would be a big possibility of the hospital turning us down for the waterbirth. There are also just a lot of negatives about being in the water while giving birth, for example, like the umbilical snapping, and a higher risk for infection. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1195165104 2021-02-12 02:05:32 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1195165104 C-Section: Of course if something happens and it is an emergency that the baby must come out then this is the option we would choose but it is not one I want to plan for. The recovery is longer after birth, it is more risky for the mother and the child because it is major surgery. Also the more you have them the more dangerous they are and the longer it takes to bounce back and be able to have another baby. They also are performed a lot less than the other birth options. Overall it is just not something that I want to go through so we decided not to choose this option. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1195184507 2021-02-12 02:24:25 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1195184507 A natural birth in the hospital: We chose to pick this one because in this most of the options you get to decide, whether you want medications, epidurals, hospital choice and other things like that. Also with natural births you get to have more of them with less complications because it is what the woman's body was made to do. We decided on this because it has a faster rate of recovery, and we are also surrounded by medical professionals who do what they are doing all the time. It makes us feel more comfortable in the birthing process this way. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1195220707 2021-02-12 03:00:27 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1195220707 We had our baby! We have a beautiful boy named Lane Matthew Cain. He is now two years old and has been the light of our lives. We have learned over these past two years that his brain is doing amazing things and he is learning so much it is incredible! bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1261502704 2021-03-03 01:26:15 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1261502704 Something that we have found really important for his little brain development is how much sleep he gets. In the beginning when he was just born we let him sleep whenever he wanted because we knew that newborns sleep a lot which is very true. Especially because his sleep was never taking place all at one time we tried our best to keep track of when he was sleeping but overall he just kind of slept when he wanted to help grow his little brain. We learned that a good nights rest as he grew older was super important because it helps him dream and fall into the REM sleep which is a good reset for his body overall. Charts like the one linked below really helped us out. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1261630634 2021-03-03 02:06:43 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1261630634 Our parenting choices- We aren't introducing any screen time yet because we want him to grow his brain using experiences instead of watching everything through a screen. We try to do something that will really stimulate his brain at least a couple times a week (bike rides, parks, colorful places, etc.) to keep him mind constantly fired up from what he is seeing. We also read to him and have a ton of books that he can view and touch to help prepare his mind for later on. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1261677073 2021-03-03 02:22:57 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1261677073 Lastly something we wanted to help stimulate his brain is to have little to no battery operated toys, instead have toys where he is responsible for making the sounds that they produce. It really helps with his motor skills because he physically has to make the toy make the sound and he doesn't rely on a button to push. It makes him be able to figure more things out and problem solve a little better to get what he wants. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1261695789 2021-03-03 02:29:08 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1261695789 Overall we are super excited about his development throughout this time we love seeing how he is growing from the beginning of his life from everyone making silly faces at him to get a response, to now seeing him be able to play music and like what he is doing. We are constantly trying to stimulate his brain with games or songs with motions he can learn to keep him going. We are so excited to see what else he can do as he gets older!. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1261710197 2021-03-03 02:33:25 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1261710197 Little Lane has adapted so much in the way he speaks. It started off when he was about two months old with his normal baby cooing and it only went up from there. We learned early on when they start doing that they like to try and repeat what they hear so we would play sounds in hopes he would try or come close to what he was hearing. The article linked is something we researched and studied as soon as Lane started making sounds. It made it so much easier for us to understand what he was doing, and why he was doing it. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1266753995 2021-03-04 01:28:26 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1266753995 As Lane got a little older and started to pronounce sounds and letters (at around 8 months) we started working on his babbling and trying to have him make more sounds or even words out of it. It really helps to do this early on so that their speech becomes more developed. We really try to talk with our mouths as well so that when he sees our mouths moving he will do the same thing, and hopefully the right sound will come out. Linked are some examples of games that we played with him and learned to do. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1266777111 2021-03-04 01:35:56 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1266777111 We started baby sign language very early on in his life, at like 5 months old when he started to use his hands for stuff. This help us as the parent understand what he needs or wants, and it also helps him communicate to us. We really love it, and now that he has gotten the hang of it it's made it a lot easier on all of us. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1266798824 2021-03-04 01:43:28 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1266798824 One of the challenges we faced was, early on Lane didn't really react as well as we thought he would to certain sounds that we made, or to the things around him. We thought that maybe he couldn't hear as well so we took him to get his hearing looked at by the doctor. The doctor told us that he was fine with his hearing, he just might be a little delayed in that area. As we worked on it more he got better and better until it was no longer an issue. We are so glad that it got better and we didn't have to go through any developmental tests with him. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1266830642 2021-03-04 01:54:35 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1266830642 A little after Lane was born I was diagnosed with postpartum depression. It was very hard at first but it was more baby blues, but as time went on it turned into postpartum depression. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1271600915 2021-03-04 22:46:32 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1271600915 Asynchronous is something that became all too familiar to us at the beginning of Lane's life. It started to affect Lane because he wasn't getting the attachment from me that he needed from me, it was mainly coming from his dad. I just couldn't bring myself to do almost anything that means spending quality time with my new baby. I mainly just did the things that he absolutly needed and then didn't do much else for him. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1271636595 2021-03-04 23:04:35 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1271636595 Getting to the place of synchrony was pretty easy after a while. I slowly started to get over the post partum depression on my own. I talked to a lot of people about my thoughts and feelings and it really helped with it. Me and Lane slowly got back into interacting and me being his number one care giver again, and always being in his life. After a few weeks of having no depression symptoms we were back to full synchrony, and he was developing normally. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1271708820 2021-03-04 23:43:51 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1271708820 We personally feel like because of the asynchrony that we had early on he was delayed a little like we talked about with his hearing but luckily things worked out in the end and they weren't that bad overall. I feel like if it had lasted any longer there could have been lifetime effects on it. Since we got to such a good place so fast after we were able to connect and build the relationship between son and mom. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1271740482 2021-03-04 23:59:51 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1271740482 Over the years watching Lanes physical capabilities over the years has made me so proud of him. He has grown, and now is able to do so much from when he was just a little baby to one year old. I will be describing each year mark he's had, and how his capabilities have grown with him. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1350609699 2021-03-25 00:30:36 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1350609699 Age 2-3: This was one of Lane's most "interesting" stages. Terrible two's are a very real thing. Lane started running all throughout the house, he must have just found his marathon legs, and once and starts going there is no stopping him. In the book it says that their frontal cortex is really starting to develop and it will only continue to grow for many more years. The brain is "present and functioning" according to the book by the age of 2. Specifically, when they are this age their memory, and learning skills are kicking in so they remember a lot of things, good and bad. He mimics us walking up and down the steps or saying certain words. We really had to start baby proofing the house because he gets into everything. Their brains are maturing and they are taking everything in, they are very curious about the world around them at this age. By the age of 3 we learned that most of the time the brain is at about 80% of the adult weight it will be. He is picking up everything in the world around him. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1350632795 2021-03-25 00:38:36 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1350632795 Age 3-4: At this age Lane is trying to be as independent as he can. He wakes up every morning and wants to dress himself, "Mama I do" is his favorite phrase, and he even if he does it wrong he still wants to do it. He wants to make his own breakfast and he has really gotten good at eating by himself and using his silverware instead of his hands. At this age their brain is starting to recognize their environment around them. Places that they go to often are familiar, they can say the names of people that the see on a regular basis. The neuro processing of the brain at this time is working harder than someone who is in their 20's. 77% of the neurons are in the cerebral cortex at this time. The cerebral cortex controls language, memory, and attention so those are still developing in a child this age. So many things, and a lot of new information is flooding the Childs brain which can cause an overload leading to meltdowns, tears, anger, and all the yelling. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1350662600 2021-03-25 00:48:58 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1350662600 Age 4-5: Lane went from being able to barely brush his teeth by himself to now bathing all by himself with little to no help. He traces shapes and writes letters, he loves to read words on cards and little books as well. During this time in his life the brain is reaching close to 90% of the weight his adult brain will be. He is retaining things well and using big words that he picks up on. Just because he has all of the brain cells he will need when he is born doesn't mean he has all the connections. That is why his brain is learning things everyday because his connections are forming to the brain cells, and developing every single day. The sooner these are made the better, because once they get out of the early stages of life it is a lot harder to form new connections. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1350708593 2021-03-25 01:05:39 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1350708593 Age 5-6: Now Lane is as independent as he can be. He gets up, gets dressed, brushes his teeth, and ties his own shoes. His favorite thing now is baseball he loves playing catch, and running around. He wants to be like the ones he sees on T.V. so bad. His brain is now making social skills with the kids from school and his leaders, and he is also emotionally developing too. He is learning how to control when he gets angry or upset, or when he gets too excited and jumps around the room. He is learning to contain it all now. The fine motor skills in the brain are taking off and most of the things they couldn't do before like brushing teeth, tie shoes, and using scissors are all things that the childing is doing really well. This is the end of the significant maturity in the prefrontal cortex and things will start to slow down but for the next few years will still be developing at a high rate. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1350708970 2021-03-25 01:05:49 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1350708970 To monitor Lanes social and language development we chose to go with a Montessori styled school. This type of schooling focuses on the child as an individual and specializes on language development, which is something Lane was not getting in his other programs. This helps ensure that Lane should be on track for his age with a more personal teacher to student relationship. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1376887580 2021-04-01 22:09:35 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1376887580 2-3: With the help of teachers and peers children this age should know about 500 words. At this age they use short sentences with words missing out of them, like a, but, did, too, etc. They are trying to get their point across using only what they know. Lane has developed his language by now being able to speak sentences that most of the time make sense but missing out things like adjectives and and adverbs. He and the other children his age are learning up to six words that they haven't learned before per day and the are beginning to recognize what the words mean and sort through them. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1376893407 2021-04-01 22:14:39 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1376893407 4-5: By this age the knowledge of words they know has expanded so much. They speak fluent sentences and are mastering their language. They are asking a lot of "why" and "how" and "where". They are becoming very curious and starting to want to be a lot more independent. They are learning match words with what they mean even more. When they were just two it was simple words like mom and dad are associated with caregiver, but now they are using big words like red is associated with fire truck, or fly is a type of bug. They are starting to understand how to make words plural with adding the "S" sound at the end, even when it is not always correct. Even though it is not correct they are still understanding that making something multiple the sound at the end is sometimes "S". bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1376903083 2021-04-01 22:23:17 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1376903083 5-6: By this age the child's vocabulary has expanded almost 3x as much as the previous year. They are starting to use complex grammar, and they are picking up on every language they have heard and seen. They are using word association to understand what words mean, and why they belong when describing certain things. By the age of 6 it is said that it can be time to start learning a new language, and they will pick it up most easily at this age. Everything that the child has learned before this age shapes them into where the continue to develop from this age. If they missed the critical period then learning things after this age may be a lot harder for them than another child who did develop at the right speed. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1376911988 2021-04-01 22:31:35 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1376911988 2-3:At this age children can't regulate their emotions as well as children that are older. They have frequent outbursts of different emotions from happiness to anger. To help with this if the tantrum was deemed irrational for example not having a cookie or not getting what they want the tantrum was ignored or they were to be distracted with something else they could have. One thing I read was that to a child that young something tiny that causes an outburst could be one of the worst things that has happened in their young life. To deal with this they were distracted or were given more attention to stop the outburst. This is why they call this age the terrible two's. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1376923641 2021-04-01 22:41:53 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1376923641 3-4: At this age their language has begun to develop even more and the child can start to ask for what they want or need. The prefrontal cortex is starting to regulate more emotions and they are getting the help of their caregivers to help regulate them even more. They start to control their hitting, fighting, yelling, screaming, and tantrums. This is when things they like such as toys become a privilege and not something that is given to them. If they throw a fight over a toy or game then it gets put away until they calm down and realize that it is not okay to do that. They clean up after themselves and learn that they have responsibilities to do if they want fun things. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1376923746 2021-04-01 22:42:00 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1376923746 4-5: Children are playing with their friends and becoming more social at this age. They like to play imaginary games with each other and live in a make believe world with each other. They live for praise and to be told that they are good at things, which makes them believe in themselves. It is important to instill confidence in them from an early age so that they don't grow up doubting themselves. Without playing socially children are not happy to be learning or sitting by themselves, they don't want to be left alone or left out of the group. Common things that happen at this age is the idea of sharing and being kind. If these are not being followed then the play time can be taken from the child until the realize they needed to share or the apologize for not being nice. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1376923845 2021-04-01 22:42:05 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1376923845 5-6: At this age it is important to put a balance of boys and girls to play together. Boys can be rowdy and aggressive, while girls can be caring and calm. Helping them find the balance is important to show them that they have the opportunity to play both ways as long as it is safe. With the help of the teachers and parents children are learning to share and let other students borrow their things and increase their emotional maturity by helping the child understand why they need to share and take turns. Reactive aggression is also happening at this age, when a child gets hurt they can turn and hit or kick another kid just because they are upset. As they keep getting older and the prefrontal cortex keeps regulating these emotions the outbursts happen a lot less. It is the same thing as bullying or not being nice to the other kids. The best way to get this to stop is to get to it before it gets to the other kids. Explaining why we shouldn't talk like that or be that way to other people just because they might not like them is important for their development because their brains are still working on it. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1376923927 2021-04-01 22:42:10 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1376923927 Over the years it is more common to be diagnosed with ASD. In our case Lane was diagnosed with mild ASD the least severe type. 1 in every 68 children are diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There is a lot of help out there for him and treatment plans that he can go through to receive help with learning and speech. It means to me that he may experience more trouble learning and keeping up with the rest of his class but there are so many kids just like him that are able to do it. Now that it's not looked down upon and is a lot more accepted it is easier to find the help he needs. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1444766848 2021-04-21 22:27:19 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1444766848 Treatment for 6-8: For treatments we want to figure out exactly what his diagnoses was. Many kids are over medicated to keep them quiet according to some psychologists mentioned in the book. Even thought there is no cure for it there are learning treatment plans to help minimize some of the symptoms, as well as having him improve his learning and functional ability. It is important to get him help this early so that he can have a better chance for a more normal development by starting as early as possible. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1444784125 2021-04-21 22:37:03 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1444784125 Treatment for 9-11: We are continuing to do regular checkups to track his growth since being diagnosed. Lane is also working with a specialist who directly treats autism spectrum disorder. This is helping to improve his behavior, communication, learning, and also therapies for our family to ensure we are doing all we can for him. It is said that there could be a range of medical problems that go hand and hand with the autism so we keep an eye out for those as well such as sleep issues, bad eating habits, and social problems. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1450131561 2021-04-23 02:08:31 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1450131561 Language and academic progress 6-8: For age 6 to 7 they are ready to learn how to count to 100, they understand that one number is bigger than the other, and one number is smaller, and they are learning to add and subtract numbers with only one digit. From 7 to 8 they are learning to add and subtract numbers with two digits, as well as developing the skills to do simple multiplication and division along with some word problems that go with them. For reading they are learning sounds and consonants and vowels, using the sounds in the letters to figure out what the words are, and are reading short and simple words that they can sound out. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1450147154 2021-04-23 02:14:47 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1450147154 Language and academic progress 9-11: For academic progress at this age they are adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing more than one digit numbers. They are getting a better understanding of simple fractions and percentages, area and perimeters of shapes and objects. They are also using more than one variable word problems and learning how to solve that. For reading at this age they are starting to read paragraphs and chapters and actually understanding what they read and also the punctuation used in them. They are able to answer questions about the reading that aren't specifically written out for them in the reading. And they are reading more than one syllable words and knowing the meaning of them. They are also starting to read more fluently while still understanding what they are reading. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1450164335 2021-04-23 02:21:36 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1450164335 Directed instruction learning: This can alleviate challenges by having very controlled environment and a lot of structure that comes along with that. This could be very good for a child that has mild ASD so that they aren't overstimulated too much and they always know the plan and what is going on. This can aggravate challenges by the students becoming bored or there isn't as much one on one time with teacher and student. If that isn't helping then the student can become stressed and unmotivated and not want to do what they are told. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1450180011 2021-04-23 02:27:44 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1450180011 Guided participation learning: This is good for the child because it is a good way for the child to experience things hands on in was that directly involves the child. Boredom is less common and they are very interested in what they are learning. The negative side to this is for someone with mild ASD some sensory overloads can go off with their different senses. That can cause a meltdown of tears of anxiety for the child. But there is also a lot of one on one time with the teacher to help them through it when needed. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1450228149 2021-04-23 02:45:49 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1450228149 Ages 6-8: At this age children are resilient and often bounce back from things like parental fighting and strains in relationships from life. This is the age when the start realizing things and comparing their looks to others and how smart they are to others as well as a lot of other things. At this age how they view themselves is starting to match up with how mature emotionally they are. Having trouble making friends as a child at this age can make them feel less than everyone else that can carry on into adulthood if it starts early enough bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1450246024 2021-04-23 02:52:44 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1450246024 Ages 9-11: There are so many things that can influence a way that the child sees themselves, for example how they are treated at school and by peers, the relationship between them and their parents, their parents relationship, etc. Bullying in harsher way is more common at this age with teasing and physical violence. Hitting name calling, escalated arguments can make the child feel worse about themselves. All that on top of family stress with moving jobs causing the parents to focus more on fighting and financial situations than they are the kids. This can make the self doubt and the stress levels in the children rise astronomically. Kids during this age may have to be the "parent" to their siblings when the actual parents are too busy arguing and not being happy with each other. The older a child is especially at this age where they can remember more will cause them to be less resilient and not able to bounce back as fast. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1450320934 2021-04-23 03:27:14 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1450320934 What have you learned about influences on a child's development: I have learned how important it is that the child has a caring, strong, and knowledgeable parents or guardians surrounding them. Children learn a lot of things and develop specific habits, good or bad, that come directly from who is parenting them. I learned this throughout the chapter but is especially set in when doing my own and watching others presentations. Children do what their parents do, and they want to be exactly like their parents, that means it is so important that the influence of the child be good and caring. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1526416203 2021-05-14 23:31:29 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1526416203 What have you learned about parenting; I have learned that even though children of the same age are similar in their developments, no two kids are exactly the same. There will always be differences and there will always be things other kids are doing at a certain age that yours is not and vise versa. Parent with a strategy but not a schedule is something my grandma used to tell my mom and us. Have an idea of what you may want or what you may see in the future but don't always stick to it and never go off course. Children need to see their parents make mistakes and they can't be forced into a routine or do things that aren't for them. All of the graphs and charts and pictures in the book were not ever 100% of kids developed like this or learn from that. There was always variances of things for different kids. There were different types of schools, teachers. settings. sleep arrangements, way of birth etc, that showed me no child is or ever will be the same. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1526422812 2021-05-14 23:37:16 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1526422812 What did you do well: The past 11 years of raising Lane I feel like we really payed attention to what he needed, and what direction he was headed. We saw a problem with his learning abilities, brought it up as a concern, looked into it a lot more, and eventually came up with a diagnosis and a treatment plan. We were there for him whenever he needed, and we pushed him in the right direction to be his own person. And now he is a happy, healthy, and smart kid. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1526430543 2021-05-14 23:43:30 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1526430543 What could you have done differently: I'm sure almost all parents think of what they could have done better. We could have been there more, put him in more programs. caught his mild ASD sooner. Maybe the school he was going to was too advanced for him at that age but overall he turned out great. bc509a https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1526433510 2021-05-14 23:46:09 UTC https://padlet.com/bc509a/8p4xnks31qtc0gc9/wish/1526433510