Overheard in the Wolfe House #106

By Peggy | June 11, 2011 |

Sam: What was that all about?
Peggy: Susan was helping me re-arrange the furniture so that it looks a little better when the real estate people come around
Sam: When does that start?
Peggy: Maybe as soon as next weekend.
Sam: We’re doomed.

Posted in What Sam says

Just a bit more at NCTC

By Peggy | May 27, 2011 |

The vice president for student services bent Sam’s ear at a graduation reception for NCTC’s TRIO students earlier this month, and convinced him that an associate’s degree was within his grasp.

Sam had given up a few years ago and started pursuing the certificate, rather than a full degree, after he took American Government (more on that in a minute).

We learned that he no longer needs American Government to get the associate’s degree. NCTC has since changed its core class requirements and the history class he took fulfills that humanities requirement.

Just a few more computer classes, probably all online, and he can file for the associate’s degree. In Texas, that degree is some serious higher education currency. With it, he can transfer all 30 hours to any public, 4-year institution and be halfway to a bachelor’s degree.

And that might mean something some day.

I was devastated when he made that run at American Government two summers ago, because it was the last non-computer class — the last real hurdle — to an associate’s degree. Similar to college algebra and one of his other core classes, I thought he would take it all the way through to the last possible day to drop, drop the class, and try again.

It’s not the best way to go at a class, I suppose, but it worked for Sam.

When he got to the last day and dropped, I asked him when he would take another swing at American Government.

Came his answer: “I don’t care how many times I take American Government, Mom, I’ll never understand it.”

Amen to that, Sam. Amen to that.

Posted in adults with autism, hope, self-advocacy, What Sam says

Overheard in the Wolfe House #102

By Peggy | May 24, 2011 |

Peggy: Oh, I think they stopped, finally. I can’t smell the burn anymore. How about you?
Sam: I can’t smell anything. I’m taking Claritin.
Peggy: You’re saying that taking allergy medicine takes away your sense of smell?
Sam: Really, Mom, that’s what it does. It’s for your safety

Posted in What Sam says

Making Pesto

By Peggy | May 5, 2011 |

We picked our first batch of basil from the garden tonight. My mother says the more you harvest, the more you get.

Thai basil (the purple-stalked type) volunteers in my garden now. That makes a nice, sharp pesto. But we picked the genovese basil tonight.

I asked Sam if he wanted to help make the pesto, since it’s about his favorite way to dress pasta. I said first, you have to pick all these leaves off the stems. I told him, “it’s kind of a job.”

He shot back, “I think that’s an easy job.”

And I remembered why the man can build computers over and over, and build sound sets for his old-school midi on Sibelius, and why other young adults like him can do the same exacting job over and over again

Daniel Shackleford, who’s about Sam’s age and moved from Krum to live at Marbridge in Austin, works at a hospital sterilizing medical equipment and packing it in bags. You can’t get bored and make mistakes at that kind of job. People would get sick. Daniel loves the exacting, repetitive nature of the work. The same kind of thing that would put me to sleep.

About 30 minutes later, Sam was ready to pulse the leaves with the rest of the ingredients: pine nuts, garlic, salt, olive oil. When I added the parmesean cheese and the butter, he complained about having to push the pulse button on the blender over and over.

“I thought this had an automatic pulse cycle,” he said.

Well, maybe not all the repetitive tasks ….

Posted in adults with autism, What Sam says