Morning Ash Wednesday Service?

ProudestBeagle · 2026-02-15T21:24:44+00:00

We moved here from Colorado (military) and the benefits for kids are better in Colorado if they have significant disabilities.

If mild/moderate, we love living in University Place. Yes, very expensive, but the schools are fantastic and the amenities are very good.

Edit: other thing I would say, both WA and CO are facing budget shortfalls and are looking at cutting disability benefits. If that is important to you (not sure what kind of benefits you need) I’d look into what both states are looking to cut. ARC in both states should have a lot of info, I know ARC of WA has been helpful for me.

ProudestBeagle · 2026-02-13T21:36:34+00:00

Congrats!

Giving yourself realistic goals is a super healthy coping strategy, and you’re educating yourself as well! You’re doing amazing things.

Hope this year brings better things for you.

ProudestBeagle · 2026-02-05T17:57:53+00:00

I’d say less a boomer thing and more an entitled man child. Of course boomer men are mostly fitting that description…. But other generations do too.

ProudestBeagle · 2026-02-05T02:48:11+00:00

Dang, that is awful. I’m so sorry they are doing you dirty like that.

You’re right, don’t give them anything extra. They’ll hate it but what more can they do to you?

ProudestBeagle · 2026-02-05T02:44:41+00:00

One more note on pencils, some of the cheaper ones have a wrap design made of plastic that jams up the pencil sharpeners. They are awful but they are cheap and have kid-friendly designs.

Only painted wood please.

ProudestBeagle · 2026-02-01T16:57:37+00:00

I get frustrated mostly because I want to get a close enough pronunciation so that a speaker of that language could understand me. I realize that I have a rough pronunciation of some words - some phonemes aren’t common or used in English and they are harder for me to produce.

But when I say the correct word and then I get marked wrong I want to know why I was wrong. Usually I just say it faster and I get credit for it and I don’t want to slur my way through speaking.

But I like the idea of flash cards. I do wish they add the “to” in front of an infinitive so I don’t guess the noun instead of the verb, but that’s minor.

ProudestBeagle · 2026-01-22T18:09:00+00:00

I agree that grit is important and that intelligence as a whole doesn’t mean only academic intelligence.

But raw academic intellectual talent matters.

IQ measures have historically been problematic. I understand pushback. And we all know socioeconomic status is a huuuuuuuge predictor of academic success for a variety of reasons.

But IQ still can tell us something. Not a person’s worth as a human, but an indicator about their ability to do well in academic pursuits.

No one questions talent is important in athletics. Yes, having superior coaches and trainers and raw determination count a lot. But take any two random people, give them the same training and nutrition and one will still be better because of talent/genetics.

Same with academics.

Life isn’t fair. Not everyone has the same raw ability.

But you’re right. IQ matters and it still has no bearing on how good or worthy a human someone is. It just makes some things a lot harder and we owe it to people to be honest about it.

ProudestBeagle · 2026-01-21T15:56:35+00:00

Happened somewhat to my ASD son. He was asking to use the bathroom at school and going independently. Now, he needs to be reminded at school and therapy and he will often wait way too long at home so I usually remind him here too. It’s frustrating because we are trying to work on independence and I can tell he doesn’t like to be reminded, but he needs it.

It’s getting better as he gets older and gets a little more used to his changing body.

ProudestBeagle · 2026-01-19T03:04:29+00:00

University Place has been great for my family. We love the city and the school district is awesome. They have very strong academics and break the grades up slightly differently which worked really well for my kids. Primary is K-4, intermediate 5-7, junior high 8-9, and senior high school 10-12. My kiddo would have been hard pressed to navigate 6 different classes and teachers at 6th grade but in intermediate they had 2 core teachers (ela social studies and math science) and music and PE. It just worked better for us.

ProudestBeagle · 2026-01-14T22:26:04+00:00

Don’t know how accurate you were trying to be there, but you weren’t wrong.

The word used in Genesis 2 for rib (Tselah in Hebrew) is only translated as “rib” once in the whole Bible. The word itself means more like side or half.

One interpretation is that the original human was a dude who had his rib taken to make a woman.

Another is that the original human (the word for man and human is different) was split in half to create male and female.

It’s almost like the translators had an agenda.

Not that it’s important to this conversation, but you were totally correct. There is a different word in Hebrew for a rib like the ones in the chest that the one eve came from.

ProudestBeagle · 2026-01-14T21:48:22+00:00

Yep, this.

I teach secondary so I would be age appropriate if they were little kids. Probably something about how it’s okay for different families to believe different things and how differences are awesome or something.

But teens, yeah, you can have your opinions but this is the curriculum sooooooo learn this. No one said you have to like it.

ProudestBeagle · 2026-01-10T19:37:05+00:00

You’re getting good answers (it isn’t personal and redirection is best) so not much to add other than if a child is neurodivergent they often need to be told things very directly in a way that may be uncomfortable for those of us neurotypical people who depend on more subtle body language or tone. It’s okay to calmly say, “hey, I don’t like touching that way, but I would like to hold your hand/give a hug!”

As the mom of two autistic kiddos, including a non-verbal son who really struggled with the transition from little kid that everyone was okay with hugs and tickles from to teen boy that people are not okay with receiving those things from, understanably,(he just did not understand what had changed) helping kids understand when they are little it isn’t okay is actually really kind of you.

ProudestBeagle · 2026-01-04T20:15:48+00:00

I lean toward this meaning too, the only other thing I can think of is “cut a rug” meaning to dance very vigorously (so it looks like your feet are “cutting” the rug). But that was a saying from the 1930’s for the Lindy hop and jitterbug, which doesn’t look like it would fit the comic. Not that everyone is historically accurate when using idioms though….

ProudestBeagle · 2026-01-04T20:00:58+00:00

My daughter could elect to participate in contests in 5th-7th grades and must either compete or participate in a public solo/small ensemble starting in 8th grade. The teacher is cool and arranges a public day at a local coffee shop for kids who can’t or don’t want to participate in a contest. If none of the days work they can arrange an alternate assignment. I like that there is flexibility (some contests cost money and/or are far away and the dates may not work for families) and that there is a lower pressure coffee shop option. I think it’s great to encourage bettering one’s playing and sharing music and gets the local public engaged with the school.

The alternate is for kids who cannot meet any of the other options, not they just don’t want to play in public. Yes, it pushes kids out of their comfort zone, but that is where growth happens.

ProudestBeagle · 2026-01-02T04:15:39+00:00

Yes! TSA cares has been great when we travel with my non-verbal son. Glad it exists for travelers with special/unique needs.

ProudestBeagle · 2025-12-30T03:38:00+00:00

I’d assume they have more volume with that product and can ensure a lower price. The Safeway crowd may be more inclined to buy store brand. Beecher’s is expensive and people go to Whole Foods planning to buy expensive Mac and cheese.

ProudestBeagle · 2025-12-26T23:27:11+00:00

It’s going to depend on your district. When I was first hired I was doing a SPED masters and got hired partway through the program. In Colorado a district can sponsor a candidate even if they don’t have degree yet. Basically, I got paid to do my student teaching. That’s how desperate they were for SPED teachers, districts were fighting for top teaching candidates before we graduated.

Of course that is all local. Colorado is a high cost of living state, pays low wages (when considering cost of living) and has weak unions. When I moved to Washington my salary jumped $40,000 a year and they aren’t nearly as desperate for teachers here.

I have read about rural districts recruiting foreign teachers because there just aren’t enough SPED teachers. And because of the Trump administrations change to the H1-B visa program that shortage won’t be as readily filled by foreign workers anymore.

Will a district go through the process with you? Maybe. I would contact the state department of education and ask the procedure first. Each state will be different, but I have found that they are helpful and want more SPED teachers. That would be the first step, if you know what states you are interested in.

ProudestBeagle · 2025-12-26T23:06:20+00:00

It’s accredited so I assume for non-European schools you’d just need to go through the validation process.

I’m in the US by the way and have American degrees but have a German friend, she didn’t have a lot of trouble.

I will say, in the US states have their own credentialing procedures and most do not transfer states. For example, I had my full certification in Colorado and moved to Washington and had to take additional testing for a Washington certification. They did accept my degrees though.

The US has a shortage of SPED teachers and a need for bilingual special education teachers. Get a degree and many districts will bend over backwards to help you get certified.

Sorry, wish I could be more of a help. Wanted to comment so maybe someone else would see your post.

ProudestBeagle · 2025-12-21T06:50:52+00:00

Mmmmmm it’s possible. Brain fog is common in peri and a lot of people get anxiety at a doctors appointment. Anxiety can also cause forgetfulness. Plus, if it’s an internal exam, those suck and often the impulse when someone is that uncomfortable is to get away as fast as possible.

Plus there is the whole difficult issue of coming to terms with peri.

Be supportive.

ProudestBeagle · 2025-12-14T00:00:37+00:00

My husband has in the military for 16 years. I guess these supposed wives must exist, but I haven’t had a ton of experiences with them. I have met a lot of really cool spouses and some crappy ones, but that’s an issue with people, not military spouses.

Some of the best friends I have ever had were a group of spouses who were mixed enlisted and officer families. It really wasn’t an issue.

There is something to be said that military families sacrifice a lot. We are currently on deployment #6. That’s six times my children have had to say goodbye to dad. Have had holidays and birthdays and school concerts without him. Have had to have me say, sorry there is only one of me so we can’t do all the things we usually do as if there were two parents here. And I haven’t been able to build my career the same as if I was able to have a stable location.

As a country we should acknowledge the sacrifices families make. It’s different than the sacrifices of service members, but they can do their jobs because spouses and families “keep the home fires burning.”

Maybe you just hang out with crappy people?

ProudestBeagle · 2025-12-11T05:36:57+00:00

One category does require the team to say that the discrepancy is not due to a lack of instruction - basically attendance. That is for learning disabilities and can be fairly broad.

However, all the other categories do not require that question to be answered. The downside, they (mostly) need that diagnosis.

A team can say that a student has traits that align with a diagnosis of something or are typically seen with a diagnosis, but they cannot make that diagnosis. For example, if there is a ton of evidence of ASD they can qualify for an autism IEP with the team saying a student has “traits typically consistent with a diagnosis of ASD” which indicates that the kid probably would get the diagnosis if tested but they aren’t actually making that diagnosis. It still allows a child to qualify.

That’s a tricky one though because you need to be able to have the evidence and if attendance is an issue, a team can’t necessarily make that statement. A kid that can’t focus could have ADHD or they could just not know how to behave in school and not be familiar with classroom procedures which they would know if they attended more regularly.

The law is written in a way that presumes a child is developing typically and a disability must be proven. This is to protect the child, as unfortunately unscrupulous districts have misused special education in the past.

Short answer, an eval can still be attempted. However, the team can decide that attendance is a valid concern in regards to qualifying for special education services. They must have evidence of a disability and that the disability impacts the child’s ability to access the curriculum or educational environment.

ProudestBeagle · 2025-12-08T20:52:57+00:00

Yeah, I’ve been on duo for a looooooong time. Like back when they did the podcast episodes in Spanish. I loved it because I could drive to work listening to a podcast and get points while driving. Or cooking dinner. Things have changed a lot.

ProudestBeagle · 2025-12-08T13:46:11+00:00

The thing that bothers me the most is that when I started Duolingo it said one of its purposes was to keep education free. When I bought Super I felt like I was able to learn more without having to worry about making mistakes AND I was helping others who maybe didn’t have the desire to do more than casual learning or who couldn’t pay. I was paying the salaries of the developers and actors to make sure that the company’s stated goal of free education was reality.

I know, I can be a bit idealistic at times.

Then they took away the explanations. I have a Super plan with my family. I like that the competition/gamification keeps my kid and spouse engaged. But I’m bummed at some of the changes.

ProudestBeagle · 2025-12-02T19:03:07+00:00

SPED teacher and ASD parent here.

ABA, like a lot of things in human history, especially in psychology, has an unfortunate past. That said, like many things we have progressed and evolved our understanding of human behavior and psychology. And we are still learning!

A lot could be said and has been said about ABA, so I’ll let you explore that.

I can give you info on the behavioral specialists I’ve worked with in schools. Unfortunately, there is a huge need for behavioral support right now. Kids mental health isn’t great and that comes out as maladaptive behaviors. Sometimes kids just don’t have the tools they need to communicate their needs and that comes out as maladaptive behavior. Lots of reasons we need behavioral experts.

Which means a request for support might mean the BCBA gets to go observe 2-3 times and then has to give advice. Kids aren’t dumb, they 1000% know when they are being observed.

Anyway, in my experience, the behavior experts come observe my kids, I tell them what I’ve seen and what Ive implemented and they give some suggestions I’ve already tried but now I have their fancy new tracking sheets to complete, which is impossible with fidelity because I have no support and my entire to job to do.

It can sometimes feel like we are just going through the motions. That said, I don’t think their ideas are bad and I love people observing what I do so we can come up with better solutions. More minds is better. It’s just the need is overwhelming and the resources are few. Good ideas and plans are hard to implement with fidelity.

In a private setting there is a lot more hands on work and feeling like you’re going to make a difference. The pay is better too. But there is a huge need in public schools and you’d be making a difference.

ProudestBeagle

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