It's too hot to think

When we visited cousins in central California last month, we thought it was very hot.

The kids played in the hose for hours, while the adults sipped iced tea in a lovely air conditioned home.



Today in our NW town with perfect 80 degree summers, it is supposed to be 108 degrees.

We have no cute wading pools to play in. More importantly, we have no air conditioned home. Our inside thermometer read 91 last night at 9pm. No one is sleeping. Our electronics have started over-heating and breaking.

Heaven help me while I try to plan our escape.

Vroom, vroom

Every Super Hero family has its thorn(s) in the side.

For us, it is my husband's chronic pain, in multiple body areas. The pain affects his ability to think, sleep, remember, and walk. The former are okay when you are on vacation. The latter... not so much.

A staff member at His Mansion gracefully lent Professor X his all-terrain power wheel chair for a campus tour.



Professor X said it was amazing the freedom that assistive technology provided for him.

Any one have a super-powered, weather-resistant power chair for us?
C'mon, help make us into a real Super family.

Look out Michael Phelps

Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Sometime between March and June, The Flash transformed from a guppy (no offense guppies!) to a sea otter.

5 years of swimming lessons didn't do it. Summers in grandma's pool didn't do it. Something just internally clicked at last.

And a champion was born...

His Mansion

One of the amazing experiences we encountered on our recent vacation was a trip to His Mansion in rural New Hampshire.



His Mansion is a Christian counseling and residential care community for people recovering from addictions, eating disorders, depression, etc. It is a year-long program that includes counseling, biblical teaching, hard labor (they grow most of their own food, chop their own wood, clean their own facilities, etc.), and discipleship training.



15-25 young men and 10-15 young women go through three phases of training to help them recover physically, emotionally, and spiritually from the issues in their lives. By taking a time to heal and learn about Christ-like relationships within a community, the long-term recovery rate for graduates is supposed to be quite high. Unfortunately, as in most recovery centers, most residents who enter the program do not graduate, as these are extremely hard issues to overcome.

One of the most amazing things about this program is that it is free to residents. Free. Some addition recovery centers cost $30,000 per DAY, and this program is free. All staff is volunteer. Clothing, extra food, and materials are donated. So of course, volunteers (long term and short term) are much needed as well as donations.



Would you or someone you know be interested in spending time mentoring others, helping with labor, and learning to live in community?

You may just see a bit of God's glory in the process.

Marvelous Children's Book Monday: George and the Dragon

Twas the book that launched a six year old's birthday party...

Until checking this book out of the library, The Flash was going to have a "robot" themed party. Afterward... it had to be a DRAGON theme (pictures to follow in the next few weeks).

George and the Dragon


"Far, far away in the high, high mountains in a deep, deep valley in a dark, dark cave..." lived a dragon who was so fierce and powerful that all feared him. And he feared none...except for mice. Unfortunately, a mouse named George moves in next door to him. With one small appearance, George petrifies the dragon, saves the princess, and becomes the new owner of a protective mouse hole in the castle.

What I love about this book is that because there is only small amount of text, I can easily get through this story in half of a therapy session, leaving the rest of the session to discuss the rich vocabulary and illustrations.

Speech Therapy Ideas:
1. Discuss vocabulary words: mighty, blast, fiery, flick, monstrous, fierce, pity, drafty, previous, fixtures, inconvenient, miserable, loan, lumps, fled, groaned, cozy.

2. Practice comparing. The dragon can fly higher than the clouds. What else can fly higher than clouds? The dragon can fly faster than the birds. What else can fly faster than birds?

3. Talk about the dragon's new neighbor, George. Why doesn't he like his new home? Is he brave or powerful? How does George save the princess?

4. Why did George get a feast and a new home?

5. What does the sign, "Beware of the Mouse" mean? Who is cowering in the back of this picture? Why?

6. Practice /r/ sounds. This book has a lot of difficult /r/ blends in "George" and "dragon".

7. Learn more about dragons with these activities:
ABC Teach Dragon Theme Unit
Activity Village Dragon Theme
Print activities Dragon printables

Therapy Thursday: The Diving Bell and The Butterfly

As you may have noted from my extended blogging absence, I have been on holiday. But never fear, Super Woman is here! Did you figure I was captured by my evil nemesis, or off saving the world?


After ignoring my library book for 12 consecutive weeks (no joke), I finally completed reading The Diving Bell and The Butterfly as discussed in this post about Augmentative Communication using one's eyes. The language, imagery, and vocabulary used in the book are breathtaking. It soars between the author's former life, his current situation, his family, his dreams. Revealing the terror of Locked-In syndrome, while still fondly dreaming of feasts he can never eat and sites he can never see.

And his ode to my profession cannot be ignored (of course!). If these lines from the book do not re-inspire me, then nothing will:

The identity badge pinned to Sadrine's white tunic says "Speech Therapist," but it should read "Guardian Angel." She is the one who set up the communication code without which I would be cut off from the world.

and

Speech Therapy is an art that deserves to be more widely known. You cannot imagine the acrobatics your tongue mechanically performs in order to produce all the sounds of a language.

The amazing way that this book was written and transcribed, however, cannot be fully appreciated without also seeing the french film with the same title. Amazing, dream-like, and very french (therefore not for kids!), it is no wonder this film was awarded "Best Foreign Language Film of the Year" at the Golden Globes.


The absolute power of communication is revealed when you imagine life without it. What would you do, and who would you be, if you could not express yourself?