Category Archives television

The Other Reality Television

Autism-Ribbon_thumbWe all know about reality television, but for many of us there is another kind. Sometimes, you watch an otherwise fictional show and it hits home so hard it feels like someone is kicking you in the stomach. I am a big fan of the show Parenthood on NBC. The show has a phenomenal group of actors and most of the story lines over the years have been wonderful and extremely powerful. I started watching the show when it began back in 2010. The storyline of Kristina and Adam and their son Max really hit home. Their son was struggling in school with behaviors that nobody understood. During the pilot episode the audience watched as Max was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome. Their immediate and extended family had a lot to learn, need to adjust, and  make changes for their new reality. Suddenly this television show was attempting to thrust autism awareness into the public eye.

I sat with tissues each and every week seeing bits and pieces of Max in my son. Even more painful, I saw the frustrations of Adam and Kristina and their battles with the educational world, including IEPs. I understood their pain when their extremely smart son was being held back academically because others did not understand him, his behavior, and the struggles he had just doing things that we take for granted each and every day.

Then, in June of 2012, we finally got the diagnosis I had assumed for many years and professionals kept going back and forth on. My son is also an Aspie. I am the proud autism advocate who suddenly was watching Parenthood differently when the 2012-2013 season began. As we went into meetings where I was now the parent and not the teacher, I saw things very differently. The Mama Bear that you often see in Kristina Braverman was alive, kicking, and fighting in me. Like this fictional family, so many special needs parents have to battle each and every step of the way to get things for their children. Too many times, behaviors are not understood and the kids are not helped with coping strategies, social skills, and just punished for what is perceived as bad behavior. I wish I could say it has been different for us, but it has not.

Last night, Parenthood was a hard one for me to watch. It seemed like my day was taking place on the television screen. With tears in my eyes, I understood the feelings from both of the mothers that were fighting for their autistic children and their rights. It reminded me that I have to keep pushing, moving, and fighting for my son. If TechyDad and I don’t do it for him, nobody will and he has the right to be who he is, be better understood, and get a proper education. While I may often seem and feel like THAT parent, I am an advocate standing up for my child and I will not stop.

Are you a fan of Parenthood? I would love to know your feelings about the show, especially if you can relate to a specific storyline. To those autism advocates out there, keep pushing and know that you are not alone.

It's Me

Some of my other posts about autism:

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Tuesday Tales – Doctor Who: The Visual Dictionary

It wasn’t long ago that TechyDad was the only Doctor Who fan in our house. Then, one day, I decided to try watching the new series with The Ninth Doctor. Before I knew it, I was hooked and quickly catching up with the series. By the time Father’s Day rolled around, I was practically caught up and I knew that TechyDad really wanted to get the boys involved in the show, but they had little or no interest. That is when I bought them a special gift to give to him for Father’s Day. Yes, my purchase of When’s The Doctor slowly hooked the boys into interest in all things related Doctor Who. Once the summer started, the kids finally began to watch the series. I think it is safe to say that we now have two younger Whovians in the family. Not only did JSL want his own sonic screwdriver, but NHL would beg to know more about everything as he waited to watch the next episode. When I stared to get a few things for NHL’s tenth birthday, I knew there had to be something related to Doctor Who.

Doctor Who - The Visual Dictionary

NHL was in Doctor Who heaven. He kept racing through the book looking for people, places, and things that he has seen. Just days before he received the book, the boys had gotten a few episodes into the David Tennant years. Thanks to this, NHL knew what happened to the Ninth Doctor and how the Tenth Doctor came onto the show. Of course, if you look at the table of contents from this DK book you will see there is a lot within this dictionary.

Contents of Doctor Who - The Visual Dictionary

My somewhat reluctant reader has already spent a lot of time diving into this book. The visual dictionary is nearly 150 pages long and filled with beautiful photos of some of the most memorable parts of Doctor Who. In addition to this, there are fantastic facts about the history of the show, characters, places they have traveled, and times they have visited. You can quickly read about the eleven Doctors that have already been a part of the history and see exactly what a sonic screwdriver is for.

Doctor Who with Sonic Screwdrivers

Then my favorite part was looking at a character that was near and dear to me. For Doctor Who geeks, you will get my message below about Donna Noble and the shirt I purchased from TeeFury.Donna Noble has been saved - Doctor Who

If I can get the book away from NHL long enough, I will take some time to read more. No doubt there were items that I missed while watching the show. Now, TechyDad and I are trying to stop him from reading spoilers.

Have you ever watched Doctor Who or read books about the show? As always, Tuesday Tales is all about sharing our love of books. Please let me know what you have read recently. Be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.

It's Me

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Future Sonic Screwdriver Geek

This weekend was a rough one for my little guy. You see he just finished his week at camp and was upset about not going back. In addition to this, he was focused on his desire to purchase something. What is that you ask? Well, JSL has been a bit obsessed with sonic screwdrivers since TechyDad’s birthday. Real tears were shed when we told him he had to wait and it was not something that he had to have right now.

Doctor Who Geek in Training

Of course, in an attempt to focus JSL into a calm state I decided to record a video of him talking about the sonic screwdriver. Rather than run to get the video camera, I figured it was the perfect chance to test out the video on the Nokia Lumia 928 that I just received as a member of the Verizon Wireless Lifestyle Bloggers. To keep him involved, I let him use TechyDad’s Eleventh Doctor’s sonic screwdriver for the video. JSL is a new Whovian in the making. He is still watching the first season of the revamped series and is excited to learn more about the new Doctors to come. Here is my little guy sharing why he wants his own sonic screwdriver.

Oh and for the record, JSL is already quite upset that he only has a few more episodes to watch with the Ninth Doctor. No doubt he will quickly learn to love the Tenth and eventually the Eleventh Doctor down the road. Ah, I love my little geek.

It's Me

Disclosure: As a member of the Verizon Lifestyle Bloggers, I receive different devices to check out in my life. There is no other compensation. I am a long time Verizon customer, and all opinions are my own. I used the Nokia Lumia 928 that was recently sent to me for all of the photos and the video within this blog post. In addition to this, I used SkyDrive to magically transport the items to my computer for use.

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Doctor Who Birthday Wishes for TechyDad

While I do not typically post anything new on Saturday these days, today I had to make an exception to the rule. You see, today is TechyDad’s birthday. While our plans are still not entirely set, I do know that the boys and I are going to make sure we have fun celebrating his special day. We will begin by officially giving him his present.

Doctor Who Birthday Wishes

The present is not a surprise. For quite some time, TechyDad has said that he really wanted a sonic screwdriver. In the time before I started Doctor Who with him, I really had no clue why this meant so much to my geeky husband. Then, as I started and quickly finished watching the new Doctor Who seasons with him, I started to get it. While the little toys that he had were fun, a true Doctor Who fan must really have their own sonic screwdriver. Simply knitting one for him was just not going to cut it. I can make those for the boys.

I finally figured I would surprise him buy purchasing a sonic screwdriver. Then, as I was talking to a friend, she asked me which Doctor was his favorite. While I was pretty sure he was a big fan of David Tennant as the Tenth Doctor, I wanted to make sure with such an important geeky purchase.  So I casually asked TechyDad which was his favorite doctor. His exact comment back to me: “Well, I like the Tenth Doctor the most, BUT I like Matt Smith’s sonic screwdriver more.”  Ooops, so I needed the sonic screwdriver for the Eleventh Doctor! Guess it was pretty obvious, but I had no real choice since I waited too close to his birthday.

We all went out the other night and picked up the sonic screwdriver above. In addition to this, TechyDad asked to get the light-up TARDIS for his desk, and I had to get the Dalek bookmark. Daleks are special in our house because they are what intrigued that boys with the show enough to finally start watching it.

So to TechyDad, I hope you have a wonderful birthday and we make many family memories celebrating your special day. I am sure your Doctor Who collection will continue to grow once we find a few more of the items that the boys and I wanted to get you. Thank you for being patient and letting me slowly become a Whovian who now loves to crack jokes all about Doctor Who and the crazy stories within the show.

Love,

Your Angel Forever

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Tuesday Tales – When’s the Doctor?

I have a confession. I used to laugh at TechyDad when he would watch Doctor Who. While he would head off to watch that, I would concentrate on knitting/crocheting and catching up on something like Downton Abbey. Then something happened one day. I realized I was intrigued with Doctor Who. While the music annoyed me from a distance, the geek fest made me curious when other friends were into the show. Plus, it was a way to share something with TechyDad and still be able to avoid Hobbits and the like.

Doctor Who items

While TechyDad was able to convince me to watch the show, the boys were not interested. They would protest and resist. For Father’s Day I wanted to get something Doctor Who for the boys to give to TechyDad. While searching online, I found the When’s the Doctor book (illustrations by Jorge Santillan).

When's the Doctor book

Yes, the book is basically a Where’s Waldo-esque seach-and-find book with Doctor Who references. While it was a juvenile book for TechyDad, I had an ulterior motive. In the back of my mind, I was wondering if this book could connect with our boys and get them interested enough to become Whovian. At first, the boys were oblivious and did not really care. Then, as we made less of the book they were more attracted to it. When the book went with us for the ride to the lake over the holiday weekend, NHL kept asking TechyDad about items within it.

Inside When's the Doctor Book

NHL and JSL were curious why we always say “Don’t Blink” when we see statues. They liked to pretend to talk like a Dalek, but they had never seen them in an episode. Well, my experiment may have paid off. While JSL (6) has said for a while that he was interested in watching Doctor Who, NHL (almost 10) was holding out.  That was until the other morning when he told me he wants us all to sit down and watch the first episode of Doctor Who together.

Yes, we will go back to visiting the Ninth Doctor with Christopher Eccleston from 2005. The kids will get to meet Rose, Casandra, The Face of Boe, Daleks, and many more Doctor Who staples. Of course, if we are lucky they will work their way slowly to meet the Tenth and Eleventh Doctors. Not only will they see David Tennant and Matt Smith as The Doctor, they will get to experience other companions like Martha, Donna, Amy, Rory, and Clara.

Have you ever used books get your children interested in something that you enjoy? As always, Tuesday Tales is all about sharing our love of books. Please let me know what you have read recently. Be sure to link up to your book posts in the comments below. Include something you read on your own, with a child, or someone else.

It's Me

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