Glasses specifically designed for people with Down Syndrome: Specs 4 Us

I had known for a while that Jessie had grown a lot since we'd last gotten new frames, and was soon going to need new glasses. Then, she broke a part on the nose piece that couldn't be repaired.  I'd been dreading this day.  We'd been wearing the same style flexible glasses for a LONG time and they had worked well for us. They had the temple that wrapped around the back of the ear;  Jessie was wearing the largest size they came in :(  The people at DenneyVision here have always been awesome to us.  They ALL (several ladies in the frame section and several men that do repairs and adjustments) know Jessie by name.  We've been getting glasses with them since Jessie was 7 months old and she's 8 1/2 now.  When she was really young, we had to FREQUENTLY have adjustments, that's when they really got to know us.

When we went in to look for new glasses this time, I asked them if they carried, or could order Specs 4 Us.  I'd heard about them on a Homeschooling and Down Syndrome yahoo group.  Specs 4  Us has frames that are specifically designed to fit the facial features that are typical of a person with Down syndrome.  I didn't feel comfortable ordering them without being able to see them on her, and the nearest place that sold them was a couple of hours away.  I didn't mind driving to the beach to check them out :), but I was worried about being able to get adjustments and repairs if I didn't purchase them locally.  The first person I asked at Denneyvision if they carried them or could order them said, "Nope, we don't have an account with them".

Jessie had decided that she wanted purple glasses....she would have been happy with pink also, but she knew she wanted glasses this time that were a cute color. This is the first time she's been old enough to express an opinion in the glasses shopping.  We tried on every pair of children's glasses that looked like something we would consider.  They all were not wide enough to fit her face.  We branched out to the teen and adult sections and looked around in the entire store (they have a ton of frames) and found 2 pair of "teen" glasses that were the closest possibilities. The two cute, purple pair of glasses seemed to fit the width of her face but the temples (arms/legs) were a couple of inches too long.  We were unsure whether the guys in the back could bend them into shape enough to work. Narrowing it down to those two took a long time so we had to leave and planned to come back the next day. 

This day when I came in, I had a different helper from the frame department.  When I mentioned that I wished they carried the Specs 4 Us, she immediately began researching whether they could order them or not.  She was willing and helpful but couldn't find out all she needed to know at that moment.  We left AGAIN, her distributor (?) was coming the next day and she was going to talk to them about whether they could order them.  She went to a couple of the doctors there, talking to them about our dilemma, she really went way out of her way trying to accomodate us.  She told me that we are not the only ones that have had a hard time, but that sometimes they order and have to send back and reorder (sometimes several times)  trying to find glasses that will work.  She said it would benefit them as well, to have some glasses that work for people with DS.  They have a pretty good amount of customers with DS so they found it worth their while to order some glasses rather than trying to make modifications to the ones they already have, and it not working perfectly.  She ordered 3 styles for us to check out and got them in just 2 days.  Today, Jessie is the proud owner of new, PURPLE glasses.   You can't tell anything about the color by this picture, but imagine they are purple :) You can see the actual glasses better by going to the link below.

They do fit differently.  The bridge across the nose is wider.  The temples are shorter, a good bit shorter, than the other ones we tried on.  They were able to warm them and mold them to still come behind her ear a little bit so they would "hold on" a little better.  It is hard getting used to her new look.  Her other glasses had gotten too small and I was used to looking at them.  These seem so much bigger. Although they are supposed to be fitted to not slide down on the nose, Jessie's are doing that, I am hoping this can be resolved with a little adjustment. After we've had them a bit, I will give an update to let everyone know how they are working out for us.

You can look at these glasses on line specs4us.com .  If, like me, you prefer to be able to get them locally, request that your eyeglasses place check them out. I'm not terribly assertive, and if Sally had not been so willing to help us, I would probably have ended up with other glasses that might not fit as well.  They have a great selection of colors that kids like.  They have sizes from toddler to adult.  Sally said that dealing with Specs 4 Us was very easy.  She said they were very helpful in determining which ones for her to order based on Jessie's measurements and style we were looking for AND didn't require that they set up an account that might have caused a delay.  Sally thanked me for bringing this to their attention, saying that otherwise they would never have known about them. 

I hope this info helps someone else that is having difficulty finding well fitting glasses for the person they love that has Down syndrome.

Spelling Puzzles

I found this Spelling puzzle at Ross for just $4.99. I was tempted to buy more, but I have a habit of buying a bunch of stuff that I sometimes don't end up using, so I restrained myself.  Jessie is not terribly good with puzzles, although it's something that we started doing on a very simple level with her (knob puzzles first) when she was very young.  Today was the first time we used the Spelling puzzles, she saw it in the cabinet and asked for it.  This set contains 20 puzzles with only 3 and 4 letter words.  I liked that only one letter was on each piece, and because puzzles aren't her strength, the fewer pieces work for us. I know that since she will do several (10 today) words in a sitting she won't remember the spelling after one or two times, but her visual memory is so good that this is a lower effort/fun way for her to learn how to spell some new words.  Yay! I love when we find a new way to approach things we are already working on. I wouldn't necessarily have chosen every one of these words as her first spelling words, but, I think it will make spelling these words more fun for her.  There were a couple of other choices of spelling puzzles available.  Truly, I can't remember what made me choose this one over the others, they may not have all been 1 letter per puzzle piece.

I know, all this time without a new post from me and today, two in one day!  Things have been crazy busy around here.  Crazy busy....older kids play rehearsals, finishing coop, Miracle League games, dance, gymnastics. Jessie had her dance recital (which deserves its own post), so dance is done...coop is done....there is light at the end of the tunnel...summer is coming....floating in the pool...slower schedule....floating in the pool (!)...I am eagerly looking forward to the more relaxed pace of summer. 

Jessie read a blend!! Our phonics experience thus far...

I was completely taken by surprise. She just did it. I didn't at all expect it. We were working in our Bob Jones Phonics workbook*. I bought this workbook as recommended to go along with the adapted Kindergarten Bob Jones curriculum. We had used the adapted K-4 successfully, so I had started the beginning of the school year with the adapted K-5. We didn't stick with it very long as she just wasn't ready for the reading with phonics.  She loved the colorful readers and the first few she really enjoyed, until we reached the part where she was expected to begin reading "word families". For example, taking the word it, that she can already read, then adding a letter to the beginning to read hit and sit. She has known all of her letter sounds since she was 3. She just hasn't been ready to progress to blending the sounds together. She seemed to understand the concept, but it required something of her that she just wasn't ready to give.  Even with sight reading, which she does very well, sometimes she is easily frustrated and just doesn't want to give it that much mental effort. Although I discontinued, temporarily at least, the rest of the curriculum, I continued to use (sporadically) the phonics workbook just to "keep" what we already learned and modified it if it required something she wasn't ready for. We don't work out of this workbook every day that we have school, so she hasn't gotten bored with it and we haven't progressed in the book beyond her current skill level. Other than letter sounds, the other benefit to this workbook has been vocabulary. There are pictures on the pages where we identify the beginning letter. She knows most of the pictures, but some are more detailed than she might identify them. A cactus she might call a plant, a wig she'd never had reason to know (!) and well (water well) same thing. You get the idea.

Today, we were using the phonics page to review the letter sounds and determine which pictures began with an H. At the end of this assignment the words it, hit, and sit were in a box at the bottom. I knew she could read the word " it".  I pointed and asked her what the word was. She responded appropriately. So, I asked, "Do you know the next word?"  I didn't expect her to say it. She looked at it. She said, "h....hit."  I got SO crazy excited that my son in another room thought something was wrong or someone was hurt!  I was shouting, "Hallelujah!" and we were giving double high fives and going nuts. Just to see, I said, "Can you read the next one?" Again, she just did it, "s....sit". Hallelujah! I feel we have turned a corner that I've longed to look around for a long time.

*Phonics Practice for K-5. This workbook can be purchased separately, directly from Bob Jones University Press.

Children with Down syndrome are so loving....??

When we meet new people and they say things like how loving all people with Down syndrome are, it seems a stereotype that isn't at all how I see Jessie.  She is very loving but those would not be the first words that come to mind in describing her.  I wonder, "Have YOU met my Jessie?"  She is such a spunky, stubborn (she fits that stereotype!), fun, funny, girl with her own personality.  Jessie has such a *"Hall" sense of humor. One of the things I've always loved about my husband is his ability to make me laugh.  He is truly a funny guy. Sometimes goofy, but mostly funny.  After all these years, his sense of humor has rubbed off on me....and then the kids.  We don't play truly mean pranks, but we love to play jokes on one another.  Our humor often is sarcastic but without meanness.  We love to be silly and take each other off guard by doing something unexpected....just for fun.  I think it's a sign of her intelligence that Jessie, too, is funny this way without copying exact things that we've done in the past.  She comes up with her own humor that mimics our style.  If I had to use just one word to describe Jessie, I think it would be fun. Of course, everything about her isn't fun, but if only allowed one word, fun would have to be it.

 I've started trying to write down some of the funny things Jessie says and does. Here are a few of Jessie's most recent times of entertaining us:

I KNOW that Jessie greatly prefers fried chicken, not baked chicken. I had already told her that our supper was going to be baked chicken, not fried. It had been a while since I had made baked chicken so I wasn't really sure if she would remember what the difference was. 

Me:  Do you want some chicken?
Jessie: Yeah!
Me:  It's baked chicken.
Jessie: uugggghh, gross. Disgust dripping from her voice.
I do not know where she picked up this phrase to use so appropriately, but she's been using it a fair amount lately when I'm serving anything that isn't fried or contains vegetables or fruit.  Maybe this one was a "you had to be there" for it to be funny. 

Jessie has a fascination with money.  She doesn't understand the concept of "how much" where money is concerned, but she does know that dollars are better than change.  She will take change when it is all she can get, but she prefers "dollars". She has been known to take money from our wallets, Jordan's bedside table, etc.  She is a very cheerful giver at church with OUR STOLEN MONEY.  One Sunday, her Sunday School teacher was commenting on all the change Jessie had brought with her....I had known nothing about it.  We later decided the money had come from Jordan's nightstand.  She also loves to "pay".  She wants us to give her "dollars" so that she can pay with her own money from her wallet when she wants a snack/drink at gymnastics or a "shwushwee" (slushee) at Target. There are many funny, and many not so funny, discussions about money at our house.

Jessie:  Hey Mommy. Smiling so sweetly.
Jessie:  I love you. I know she wants something....
Jessie:   Give me a dollar.   I'm a sweetheart.......She really meant, "I'm your sweetheart" or "I'll be your sweetheart". She clearly understands that money is desirable and her affection is a tool for negotiation!

Jessie sleeps with her older sister, Jordan, in Jordan's room. Usually Jordan sleeps nearest the door and Jessie sleeps on the side next to the wall. Recently, Jessie usually lays on the couch to go to sleep, then later wakes up and goes to Jordan's bed during the night.  Some of the time Jordan has started just moving over and Jessie climbs up on the outside edge. One night that they laid down to go to bed together rather than her falling asleep on the couch Jessie started this conversation:

Jessie:  Please, Jordan, can we switch sides tonight?
Jordan:  No, I wanna read so I need this side (by the lamp).
Jessie:  Come on, you.....me...together....best friends. She smiles, angelicly, irresistably (Jordan's words:)
Jordan:  No, sorry Jessie, maybe another night. Jordan moves Jessie over.
Jessie:  Then you pay me my dollar!!
Jordan thought this was all so cute and wanted to be sure to be able to tell it to me so she rolled over and typed this into Notepad on her phone.

Jessie has gone through a phase of calling Evan "boy".  This is NOT just that she knows he is a boy.  She meant it to be funny.  For several days, every time she referred to Evan she would just say boy.  We were in the restroom at coop. 

Jessie:  Where's Jordan?
Me:  She's in her class.
Jessie:  Boy?
Me:  Evan's in his class too.  We don't know how or why this started but it was downright hilarious.  Then, as suddlenly as it began, it was over.  Moved on to something new.

Hope my funny girl has made you smile :)


*For those of you that know us online and not in person, our last name is Hall.

Learning With Stickers

 I apologize that I don't know how to rotate the picture! We have had this sticker book for quite a while, but was reminded to try it again when my friend Heather recently showed me hers.  The last time we'd used it Jessie was more quickly frustrated with it.  She has really been enjoying it again this time around. We bought this sticker book at Sam's Club.

Typically, in a sitting, we will do a 2 page spread (sounds like we're talking about scrapbooking, doesn't it?). This day all the pictures were things you would either find in a tool shed or at school.  The part that gets a bit tricky is that not all the pictures that belong on one page are found on the same page of stickers.  I find the stickers we'll need for the day and only give her those so the task doesn't seem too difficult.  Some of the other categories of pages are :  Our Bodies, Things we do, Clothes we wear, In the home, Toys and games, Food, Fruits and vegetables, Town and city, Things that go, Farm babies, Pets, Birds,Wild Animals, Little Critters, Sea Animals, At the beach, Time, Sticker Alphabet, Counting Stickers, Opposites, Shapes, Colors. 

Jessie has enjoyed this activity.  It has given us some variety in our school day.  This has been an excellent fine motor exercise, she still has a hard time lining the stickers up perfectly on their outline.  It has also been very helpful for categorizing.  I don't think she "gets" that in just reading books, but this way she "sees" what goes together.  It has been excellent for vocabulary as well. Many of the pictures aren't things we would normally talk about.  Although she won't remember all of them, it has given her exposure to new things that aren't in our day otherwise. 

Jessie is always happy these days to pose for a picture for my "bwog".  When I take pictures of her school work she knows that's where it's going. As a record of what we've been working on I write the date at the top of the page.

Really Proud of My Kids

The first part of this week we've taken a light week of school, so that we could volunteer at a local ministry.  It is Spring Break for the city schools, and this ministry, Mama Tina's, was doing a feeding program and play time with the kids in their neighborhood.  I had never been to Mama Tina's before and Jordan had learned about what they were planning for this week when she volunteered the week before with  FLOW (a volunteer program with our homeschool group). 

Jordan has been to Mama Tina's three times.  Each time she went, the founder would tell the teens about the programs they have for the people they serve there.  Jordan has been coming home and telling me about it each time.  This place tugged at her heart, and she felt God might be trying to tell her something.  She's just 15, but for at least a couple of years she has truly cried out to God (and cried at times) wanting to hear a word from Him.  She has heard from a couple of her friends that they feel called to be missionaries at some point, and even felt called to specific countries. Jordan has felt envious of their certainty about what God said to them.  Truly, and this isn't mama bragging, I don't know any young person who seeks the heart of God more sincerely than she does.  I have hurt for her at times, as she has so desperately wanted to know that God was speaking to HER.  After visiting Mama Tina's those 3 times (and she's been volunteering at other very different places as well) she wanted us as a family to volunteer and find a way to be involved at Mama Tina's.  She felt drawn to Mama Tina's in a different way than the other places.  She said she felt God  might be telling her something........Woohoo!

The ministry of Mama Tina's is very varied.  They have a soup kitchen, a clothes closet, they offer GED classes and childcare for those parents taking the classes, they partner with another ministry to help children who have an incarcerated parent. They have addiction recovery programs.  They were sure to point out that they wanted to help those willing to help themselves, that wanted something better for their life, not enabling addicted persons to keep doing what it is they do.

 Listening to the founder talk about the programs they offer, and the people they serve, it struck Jordan what a really good life she's had.  Things aren't perfect for her as they aren't for anyone, but she's had no major drama in her life.  She's never been hungry.  Her parents have never divorced.  We don't have any addiction problems (in our immediate household).  We've always taken her to church, and more importantly, at home, we've always taught her about the Lord.  Our home life isn't perfect. She's been yelled at (by me), unfortunately, she's heard her parent's argue. Even so, she's had a very stable, secure life. She knows with no doubts how very loved and truly cherished she is by both her parents. She knows, yelling at each other or not, we are committed to each other and our family for the long haul.  Don't misunderstand: She knows ABOUT a lot of painful or  negative life experiences, they just thankfully, haven't happened to her.  She knows about my upbringing which was nothing like hers.  She has recently been made aware how blessed she is to have had a good life, specifically a good family life.  Jordan and I talk all the time, about everything. I love that we have become friends as well as mother and daughter in her teenage years.   So, while I have been thinking about and praying for orphans....she has felt burdened for them as well.  Having started out thinking about children who have no family, she is now thinking about children who haven't had a family life like hers...stable, loving, knowing she can count on her parent's always being there for her.  No matter what. 

We showed up at Mama Tina's Monday, not too sure what to expect.  Monday and Tuesday, we helped prepare and serve food and played and talked with the children that came.  We had to take turns a bit keeping up with Jessie, but most of the time she was happy to just be around the other children there.  I was so proud of the way my children served and behaved. Although it was initially Jordan that caused us to be there, Evan served with the same love that Jordan did. Tuesday, when Evan offered to help with the grilling hamburgers he was quickly put in charge of that and cooked burgers for about three hours. Never once, did they say they were tired of being there, tired of working or wanted to go home.  I know that some people serve to make themselves look good, or serve because they've been taught that it's a good thing to do.  My children seem to really get that in order to serve Him, you have to serve others.  I think they really understand that before people will be interested in hearing about Jesus, sometimes you have to minister to physical and emotional needs, they need to see Jesus before they know they want and need Him. 

I am very proud of my kids.  Not a puffed up kind of proud.  But a humble, thankful, tearful, thankful, tearful, thankful proud that the years we've invested in teaching them about the Lord....they seem to have heard some of it. That isn't a typo, I realize I repeated myself.

I don't know in what ways we will be involved in Mama Tina's but I feel we will continue to be. There are a few people there that already have a piece of our hearts.  I don't know exactly what God is saying to Jordan.  But I am thankful that she has a relationship with Him, that she has sought Him, and that He IS showing himself to her.  He is faithful and true.

"Nice Try!"

Today I took both my girls shopping at Target.  We were crossing the parking lot, and a car (reluctantly), stopped for us to cross.  Jessie looked back and said, "Nice Try!".  Jordan and I looked at each other, not believing what she'd said.  I can't know for sure, she wouldn't elaborate, but we both thought she meant because she thought they were trying to hit us and missed.  My funny girl.