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“People are different. And it is the best way.” It’s summer – time to take a break from my usual indignant rants and inject a little humor into the Soapbox. As published in The Sunday Oregonian, June 15, 2008. Writer’s craft most ripe for a la carte capitalism “Bundling” is one of those annoying buzz words pervading business these days. If it wasn’t so annoying, it would be comical how some companies – cable television and telephone companies, notoriously – are rushing to bundle services in hopes of persuading (forcing) you to buy services you may or may not want. Meanwhile, other companies are rushing just as urgently in the opposite direction, “unbundling” services, the marketing equivalent of upending their customers by the ankles in order to shake the last possible penny out of their pockets. They spin this money-extraction tactic as “choice” or “ala carte offerings.” The 800-pound gorilla on this squeeze-play bandwagon is the airline industry. They actually began unbundling long ago, cutting costs by eliminating meal service, an unlamented change since “airplane food” is my favorite oxymoron. Now the “unbundling” is accelerating at warp speed. Some will “unbundle” their product by charging for “extras” such as a phone number through which you can actually reach a reservation agent when your flight is delayed or cancelled. American Airlines will now charge you extra for checking a suitcase. It’s not hard to guess what’s coming next – a surcharge if you want to debark using a jetway instead of leaping to the tarmac. Why not go all the way – bring back steerage class and charge extra for the actual seat on the cattle car? This all got me to thinking about the products and services I offer. I’m an author, and my fuel costs (some folks still quaintly call it “food”) have gone up too. I have teenage boys in the house; need I say more? I’m just not marketing-savvy enough. I need to unbundle my services in order to cut costs and pocket more money. I will start by offering just the words on the pages. If you want the punctuation that makes it easier to read the book, that will be alacarte, for an extra charge. My granddad actually employed this idea many years ago. When he wrote letters to my mother, he would claim that he couldn’t be bothered with punctuation, and he would string a line of commas, periods and question marks along the bottom of the page, with instructions that she put them in wherever she liked. Wow, this tactic would save me a lot of time writing and editing and save my publisher money on printing. It is not only economical, but green! Think of the paper – the trees! – saved by streamlining all those pesky spaces between the words. Win-win! So the pages of my books would look like this: unbundlingisgoodforeveryonebusinesseswillmakemoremoney .....,,,,,?????!!!!!:::::;;;;; """"" """""’ I will further unbundle my service by charging extra for all those superfluous vowels. They are not really needed anyway. Most people can figure out a sentence without the vowels; really they can! (Ask any teen who texts.) Vwls r nt ncssry t rdng njymnt. n fct thy r wst f tm, dnt y gr? Did you notice I included the y’s as a special bonus? Don’t get too excited. They are perks thrown in only for frequent buyers of my books. I will yet further unbundle my service by offering the consumer the ultimate economy: book binding and a cover will cost you extra. That’s right. The basic cost of the book gets you the words on the pages – loose pages. Why should consumers pay for binding and fancy cover art if they don’t want it? When sales of my books drop, I will blame Amazon for their faulty accounting system or sneer at the ignorance of the public for not embracing my sensible cost-cutting measures. But hey, look at how much less space my books take up in my carry-on suitcase as I fly the frugal skies. I’d love to chat more about this but I gotta run – must buy a new car before dealers figure out they can unbundle stuff like windows and tires. It was good enough for The Flintstones, right? Betcha it’ll still cost a bundle.
Ten Things: from the mouths of babes My beloved grandfather came to this country from Russia in 1908 at the age of eleven, so I was very smitten by an article I came across in the Kansas City Times, February 1919. It was written by a nine-year-old Russian immigrant, an early 20th-century English Language Learner. I could only smile and wish that his universal wisdom could permeate time and instill itself in his 21st-century contemporaries. Ten Rules for Good Health The following “rules” for good health are advocated by a young Russian, nine years old and a fourth grade pupil, under the stimulus of the lesson in personal hygiene. The rules, unrevised, are: 1. Weare kleen klothes 2. When you eat eat slow and grush the food before you swolo it. 3. One should take baths and change inerwair often. 4. Sleep with your windows open and not your mouth, it gives you bad breath. 5. Dont eat untill you feel stuffed. 6. Take a bath evry so ofn. 7. Wash your teeth befor and after breakfus. 8. When you go to sleep aways take of your stockings. 9. Kleend you finger nailes good. 10. Look at your food before you ear it. Daily life: the I-can’t time capsule Your child or student’s challenges are many. If “I can’t do this” is a common refrain, it’s time to stage a burial for an “I can’t” time capsule, to be unearthed at a later date. This can be a solo activity or a whole-family or whole-class activity. Participants write or dictate on slips of paper things they can’t do that cause them frustration. The slips go into a jar that gets buried or stashed for a length of time you decide upon. By the time the jar is unburied a year (or whatever length of time you decide) later, much of the can’t-do will have turned into can-do, a potentially powerful chart of your child’s progress. Note: we suggest you keep copies of the can’ts that go into the jar so you can judge whether they are being sufficiently met and whether you might need to extend the time on the burial. Unearthing too many unachieved goals defeats the purpose. And speaking of can’t – just say no. Respond to “I can’t” with “Yes, you can. I am here to help. I have lots of ideas. We will try different ways until we find the one that works.”
Quick stuff, updates, tidbits: Bryce wins film scholarship! Congratulations to Bryce, winner of a David King Scholarship to the NW Film Center, where he has is completing his second summer session of the Media Arts Academy for Teens. Part of the application asked him to describe any “special attributes or circumstances you would like us to consider.” I loved his response: “In Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, Grandpa Joe says Charlie has a greater chance of finding a golden ticket because he wants it more than anyone else. That’s how I feel about filmmaking. I realize that’s not enough reason for a scholarship! I’m an A student at Thomas Edison High School for different learners. I’ve been successful there because the instructors understand how I learn, that I learn differently, and they are willing to work with me. I’ve found the same thing at the Film Center. It’s the reason I’ve been comfortable coming back here every year.” My latest interview is available at Autism Inspires A collection of my Ancestry articles is now available on one page on my website. Please visit Every life matters on my website.
Howdy from Perryvale, Alberta, 121 km north of Edmonton
Autisme in de prajtijk:
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Right on the Money Excerpt: Having been involuntarily conscripted into the world of autism well over a decade ago, I’ve had the opportunity to observe many things that have changed monumentally and many things that need to change but have remained stubbornly static... Among parents, teachers and other grassroots groups with whom I interact, two subjects are becoming increasingly prevalent. The first concerns groups wanting to do fundraisers for autism awareness, research, education or services. They ask which organizations might be worthy recipients of their contributions. Where will their dollars do the most good? The second group is often a subset of the first group. They are the deeply frustrated and sometimes desperate parents whose child has been flagged as an autism “possible,” but doctors and services in their area are so scarce that the wait for a diagnostic appointment can be six months or more. And they may still be the lucky ones... These two subjects are as one in my mind. That is why groups who venture to ask me how their dollars might be best spent get a grassroots answer: reach out to your own community... Autism Asperger’s Digest
The Social Side of Autism: the importance of teaching social and emotional skills Excerpt: It’s all but a certainty that before a child receives services related to his autism through the public school system, he will subject to a barrage of evaluations that will include a test of his IQ (intelligence quotient). Or more accurately put: a test of cognitive and verbal intelligence quotient that will not be standardized to the type of language deficits common to autism. Therefore, many parents will find the results to be a wildly inaccurate reflection of the actual abilities their child demonstrates in “real life.” It’s only the beginning; throughout a child’s education, he will be tested to gnat’s eye on reading, writing, math ... But it’s likely that much less emphasis will be placed on his social and emotional intelligence. And social and emotional intelligence is very possibly a bigger determinant in your child’s long term success in life than cognitive intelligence. Think about the skills embodied in what is called Theory of Mind: executive function (time management, planning, ability to focus and attend, memory management), critical thinking (sorting, comparing/contrasting, applying concepts, information and ideas) and social pragmatics (ability to take the perspective of another person, initiate and sustain interactions, problem-solve interpersonal disagreements). Lack of these skills is more likely to get you fired from a job or evicted from an apartment than is an average IQ...
Three Little Words Excerpt: “I was wrong.” So many people find it terribly difficult to say these three little words, and yet nothing is more loving than giving your children the gift of being content with their own humanity. By freely admitting when you are wrong, you are you are modeling strength, grace and humility... that, not only will the world not come to an end with such an admission, but that trying again and/or making amends can feel great. “Just be yourself.” As children grow older, they mingle with more and different kinds of families, and they begin to be able to place themselves in the context of the larger world. My kids heard “just be yourself” enough to ultimately learn that, whatever their doubts about themselves and their various limitations, they have the power to decide whether to be their own best friend or their own worst enemy. That’s a power no super-hero can touch... You can now download the entire issue here as a PDF.
Ten Things Every Child with Autism Wishes You Knew Ten Things Your Student with Autism Wishes You Knew 1001 Great Ideas for Teaching and Raising Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders The Autism Trail Guide: Postcards from the Road Less Traveled Read the Preface, here. If you’ve read my books and feel inclined to share your thoughts with others, please consider posting a review on my book pages at www.amazon.com. It’s easy to do and you don’t have to post your real name. Please forward this newsletter to anyone you feel might share an interest in our kids with autism. New subscribers can sign up at my website. If your spam-blocking software is particularly aggressive , you may want to add our email address <emailme@ellennotbohm.com> to your “white list” of senders. We take your privacy very seriously, and do not share our mailing list addresses or information with any other entity or business. ©2008 Ellen Notbohm | Third Variation Strategies, LLC |
Newsletter for July 2008
Dutch translation of 1001 Great Ideas for Teaching and Raising Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders isnow available.
Autism Asperger’s Digest
Sydney’s Child, Melbourne’s Child, Brisbane’s Child,
Healing