They Ruined the Awards Ceremony

    With the end of school upon of our schedules start to fill up with concerts, play-offs and ceremonies.  Here in our school district end of year award ceremonies are a big thing.  That is until the parents ruined it.
     In elementary school we would have award ceremonies after the end of every quarter.  Included in the report cards would be an invitation announcing that your child would be receiving an award and you were encouraged to attend.  The Kindergarten and First Grade teachers were very generous and made sure that at some point during the year each child received an award.  When Second Grade arrived additional awards started being handed out based on grades.
      I really didn't notice anything the first year and was the proud mom running up to take pictures when my daughter's name was called.  Then it happened.  In third grade she received an award entitled "Most Improved".  What seemed like a move from synchronized swimming, a group of Moms turned towards me with their "Aw glad she's doing better but not as good as my child" smile.  You know the one, where they're smiling but their heads crooked to the side.  I truly didn't know how to react.  Then as the program continued her name was called along with others for Honor Roll.  This time I was given a thumbs up from a couple of the moms. A few of them even commented to my daughter how proud they were of her hard work.  Here's the reality:  The teacher had given her the "Most Improved" award for her neatness in cursive, and unlike what those Moms thought had nothing to do with grades.
    Our children along with 800 others were sent to a brand new school the following year.  With a new school comes new traditions and it seems some of the parents had a few they wanted to start.  The first year was pretty mild however I noticed that instead of just a parent showing up for these awards entire families were now attending. Siblings were being pulled out of their classes to see their brother or sister receive their award.  Now I am all for celebrating a child's achievement.  In fact my kids know that great report cards equal a family night out.  My husband has never taken off work to watch any of our kids receive a quarterly award.  We were in the minority.  It got to where there were cheering sections when a child's name was called.  Now if you haven't been to one of these ceremonies very often multiple children receive the same award and the list of names are read off with each child walking to the stage.  So while Johnny's family is woo-hooing his perfect attendance Sue's family can barely hear their child's name being called.
     At the start of the second year it was announced that siblings could no longer be pulled from classes. The awards ceremonies were also switched from the end of the day to the middle of the morning which greatly reduced the number of attendees.  It was also announced at the beginning of the ceremony that ALL APPLAUSE would be held until the end of each award.  Of course it took a few stern looks from the principal to enforce this rule but it worked.  I guess a couple families felt that this was not the right way to celebrate their students as the next ceremony would prove.
     I thought I had missed a party or something when I arrived at the next award ceremony.  There were a couple of moms sitting together who had balloons under their chairs.  Was a teacher engaged?  Was someone retiring?  Being a pretty active volunteer at school I was usually on top of those things so I was truly perplexed.  Imagine my surprise when these Moms walked to the stage and presented their child a balloon when they received an award!  These were the kids who were always on Honor Roll, receiving perfect attendance and such.  It wasn't as if they were being nominated for a Junior Version of the Nobel Peace Prize.  Not only did it interrupt the ceremony but you know it made the other kids on stage at the same time feel bad. Of course my daughter was after one of these balloon kids.  Due to the amount of time it took for the Mom to hand her daughter the balloon I was unable to get a picture of my child getting her award.
     The craziness grew from there.  From balloons it went to flowers for the girls, candy grams for the guys.  Then one Mom finally pushed it too far.  I don't know why she did it, all I can imagine is that the balloons, flowers and candy were no longer enough.  When her daughter was called for her Honor Roll Award this Mom walked up to the stage and presented her child with a teddy bear.  To be sure you have the right image think huge carnival size, the one guys win to impress their girls.  The teacher presenting the award even stopped to comment on sweet that was. SWEET~ are you kidding me??? And yes once again my daughter's name was called after Bear Girl, the teacher truly barely acknowledged her she was so taken by this bear.  That was the last Award Ceremony the principal allowed at that school.

  Tomorrow night will be the last Award Ceremony for my son.  It is Senior Award Night and just like in elementary they all want to hear their name called.  I just hope that there won't be any balloons, flowers or bears

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Many Faces of Stroke

When you hear about someone having a stroke a certain image comes to mind.  That of an older person. For many Americans for the past few years on December 31 counting down to midnight we saw stroke survivor Dick Clark.  His slurred speech and drooped mouth were consistent with what we tend to think a massive stroke survivor looks like.  His battle back from a massive stroke in 2004 was a source of Hope to many who battle the same struggles of speech and mobility.

Meet Isiah, born last September he seemed to be a perfectly healthy baby.  Within 24 hours that all changed.  Less than one day old Isaiah had a stroke.   

This cutie is Brody, he had a stroke before he was even born.  He is the survivor of an in-utero stroke.  His twin sister was born healthy. While his family celebrated his sister's reaching milestones they  watched as Brody struggled due to his lack of muscle tone, balance and coordination.  

Meet Evie.  At six months she was diagnosed with right-side hemiplegia due to in-utero stroke.  She doesn't like to be told she can't do something, according to her mom she might do it differently than others but she always gets it done.

Did you know children could have strokes?  How about developing babies having stroke in-uetro did you know that?  Stroke occurs in 1 out of every 2,800 births.  To put that in perspective that would mean that here in Clay County we are graduating 2,537 Seniors from High School in 2 weeks. Assuming they will follow the current county statistics of having three children The reality is that three children born to these seniors will suffer a stroke either in-utero or at birth.  You can read more about Isaiah, Brody, Evie and other pediatric stroke survivors on CHASA  

CHASA stands for Children's Hemiplegic and Stroke Association.  This organization helps children who have suffered an early brain injury as well as their families.  Founded in 1996 by parents of children effected with brain injury the organization has grown to become an international authority on the needs and care of children living with hemiplegic(paralysis effecting one side of the body) cerebral palsy.  Not only a support group they have sponsored international symposiums to bring together distinguished pediatric stroke researchers and neurologists to share findings and developments occurring in the field.  CHASA has three different websites where families can find support and information.  They also sponsor an annual retreat for families.  They hold various fund-raising events as well like this one:

You have gotta love the name of this one :) Very simply it is people like me raising awareness of Pediatric Stroke by blogging and having a direct donation box on their page. So if you are able please click on the donate button located at the top left of this page.

Stroke Awareness 5 Faces Pledge

Help Save Lives

Today's post is short and sweet:
Take the Five Faces Pledge today and join National Stroke Association's Faces of Stroke campaign in giving lifesaving information about stroke to five people you care about.

The Teaching of Talking

 Today I am excited to have my first Guest Blogger, Mark Ittleman speech pathologist.  His book in entitled The Teaching of Talking.  As many of you know there a times when I still struggle with Aphasia issues so this is dear to my heart.

Mark Ittleman, M.S., CCC/SLP,  Guest Blogger

A stroke or brain injury can turn a family’s world upside down in seconds.  You find yourself in the battle of your life, being guided by whomever you met at the hospital, hoping they have the answers.  As time goes on and speech does not return, you begin to wonder:  “What now?” “Will I (or my loved one) ever be able to speak again?”

Are you tired of gimmicks, worksheets, software, or boring one-hour sessions reciting lists of words? In my clinical practice as an expert speech-language pathologist for the past 40 years, I have seen hundreds of frustrated patients and family members who have said those very words to me. 

I, too, was tired of programs that didn’t bring success to my patients.  I knew there had to be a better way, so I began treating my patients differently.  I put the gimmicks and worksheets and software away, and I began talking with my clients about things they were interested in.  Imagine that!  I learned that people learn much faster when they talk with another human instead of a computer!

The Teaching of Talking our book which is in the process of being published, is a totally new concept in speech therapy.  Within its pages you will find a refreshing, revolutionary speech therapy method that will rock the world of someone you love.   You see, we believe that speech therapy is best done in the home, by family and caregivers, under the supervision of a licensed speech-language pathologist familiar with the methods in The Teaching of Talking. 

If you have ever taught a toddler to speak, you will quickly see why our method works when others fail.  We begin slowly, with simple “yes” and “no” questions and one-word answers, and we talk with the person who is learning to speak again all day long, through all of the activities of daily living. Sound familiar? If you offer a toddler some milk, you ask him to “say ‘milk.’”  Well, our method is very similar.  As one-word answers begin to come easily, we expand to two-word phrases, and so on. 

The fact is that in today’s system, most people with moderate to severe speaking difficulties will be discharged by an insurance company long before the need for therapy has ended. You no longer have to be bound to a speech-language pathologist or insurance company or management system that is going to discharge you soon anyway. 

Take a proactive role in the speech and language stimulation of your loved one. Become a pivotal, active participant in your loved one’s recovery, not a passive observer, wondering if they will ever get better. So when the day comes that your loved one’s therapy is terminated or if they have been discharged, for whatever reason, you feel confident in going forward with speech-language stimulation at home for as long as it takes to hear them speaking with clarity once again!

If you would like to know more about this revolutionary new method, please visit my website, http://www.teachingoftalking.com/.  My name is Mark Ittleman, M.S., CCC/SLP, The speech pathologist who can make rocks talk!   

What's your Stroke Score?

Before I go any further take a moment and fill out this scorecard:

     Done? Good, we'll get to what your results mean in a bit.  

Too often we are quick to dismiss the possibility of a medical event affecting us because we “scored" really well on a test like this.  No one absolutely NO ONE can be guaranteed that they are not going to have a stroke.  Anyone no matter your age, race or sex can have a stroke.  There are risk factors, some are listed above, that you can control and reduce your chances of suffering a stroke.  The reality is that  80% of strokes are preventable.  You can make lifestyle changes or many and others can be treated medically.   

     There are uncontrollable factors that you need to be aware of.  These include being over the age of 55, being male, being African American, Hispanic or Asian/Pacific Islander, or having a family history of stroke or TIA (transient ischemic attack) just to name a few. The National Stroke Association has an Interactive Risk Factor Tool that explains 26 of the more common risk factors.  Please go through all the slides as I guarantee you'll find something you didn't know as I did. 

 OK back to your score.  

You should have 3 numbers, one for the red column, one for the yellow column and one for the green column.  Compare those numbers to the Risk Scorecard Results:

Had I taken this test pre-stroke my numbers would have been:  2   0   6     So what do my scores mean?  According to the chart I was at a low risk for having a stroke.  It simply proves that anyone anywhere at any time can suffer a stroke.  

BUT you CAN control the odds of it happening.    

So please the next time you visit your doctor have a Stroke Conversation.  Take with you not only the score from this Risk Assessment but also anything that caught your attention from the Risk Factor Tool.