Janet's Blog

Over the years, I have had the privilege of working with hundreds of children with a wide array of abilities and disabilities.  Teachers tend to take shortcuts with our descriptions of children.  We often lump kids together into categories, such as high ability or gifted learners, so-called "normal" children, those with learning disabilities, some whose extreme behavior affects their learning, and the SPED kids.  SPED stands for special education, meaning those children with significant disabilities that impact their learning. I've taught kids who are blind, hearing impaired, speech impaired, and with physical limitations that require assistive technology of various kinds.  Every year, it seems that we have at least one child in our program who uses a walker or wheelchair to get around.  I've worked with a few amazing children who have labored to overcome the impact of traumatic brain injuries.  And lately, it seems that every class has more t...

I can only imagine what it was like.  I know how heart-wrenching it can be when good friends move away or when loved ones die.  But the disciples knew that Jesus was different.  They expected him to be with them forever.  After all, he was the son of God, wasn't he?  They didn't expect him to die, even though he had warned them that he would. For three amazing years, Jesus' disciples had followed him everywhere he went.  They learned at his feet, reclined with him for meals, walked miles with him, and witnessed mind-boggling miracles.  They knew who he was.  But then, suddenly, horribly, he was gone, crucified like a common criminal. They didn't expect Jesus to die like that.  They couldn't comprehend what had happened, not then.  They mourned the loss of the most amazing person they had ever known.  They agonized over his death.  No one could replace him.  They couldn't imagine a future without him.  They didn...

As I was driving down the street a couple of days ago, I noticed the merest haze of green on some of the trees, and there it was--deja vu or, perhaps I should say, deja view.  All of a sudden, I was transported way back to Fairbury, to an April morning in our apartment on the fourth floor of the Hotel Mary-Etta.  There I was, gazing out an east window, looking down over the softly greening treetops.  What a view it was; I could see clear across town! In the nine years we lived there, I didn't think to take a picture of that magnificent view.  I doubt if my little Kodak Instamatic would have done it justice, anyway.  So, I am thankful for the built-in photo album in my memory, enhanced with the sound effects of chirping birds ushering in the new spring morning. Here in the Nebraska panhandle, I can plan on seeing the first budding trees any time between mid-March and the middle of May.  My daffodils might start to bloom by March 1st--or May 1st.  Sp...

Levi has been having a hard time lately.  And, when Levi has a hard time, so do I.  So does Bill.  So does nearly every authority figure Levi meets.  Reactive Attachment Disorder is the culprit. I'm ready for this current phase to be gone. Children with Reactive Attachment Disorder have a hard time trusting adults because, at some point in their infancy or early childhood, the adults in their lives failed to give them the essential care they needed.   Because they failed to form and maintain strong attachments to their earliest caregivers, children with Reactive Attachment Disorder have a hard time maintaining strong relationships with any adults.  RAD is quite common among children who have been in foster care, or who have been adopted any time past early infancy.  So, children with RAD tend to take charge of every situation.  They are bossy.  They take food without permission and hide it in strange places, just in case the adults...