How to build child modules independently from parent in Maven?

Are you a parent of a special needs child? If so, may I interview you?

• Thanks in advance to those who will answer, just so you know, all information collected will be used anonymously in a term paper I am writing. Thank you so very much! 1. How would you describe your child’s special needs? 2. How did you feel when you learned of your child’s special needs? 3. What adjustments did your family make to meet the needs of your child? 4. What support groups or agencies do you use? 5. What are the goals you hold for your child with special needs? 6. What are some of the challenges you have met in meeting your child’s needs? 7. How do you work with the schools in educating your child with special needs? 8. What has helped the most in dealing with your child’s special needs? 9. How do the siblings (if any) respond to your child with special needs? 10. What are some areas of improvement would you like to see in servicing your child’s special needs? 11. How does your child see himself/herself with the family unit? 12. What are the special joys you experience with your child? 13. What special arrangements (if any) are needed for your child? 14. Does having a child with special needs pose additional financial responsibilities for the family? 15. How do you deal with the stress and additional responsibilities of raising a child with special needs? 16. Is there anything else you would like to express during this interview?

• Answer:

  1. My son was diagnosed PDD-NOS. He also took tests with our school system and scored "Highly Probable" when it came to autism. 2. I didn't let it bother me too much when I found out. Everybody has their own problems, and this one is his. My mother and my inlaws took it much harder than I did. 3. We knew we had to be very patient and understanding. Right now we can't take him certain places, like restaurants and shopping malls, and we can't travel with him very far away from home because he will only go to the bathroom at our house, school, and one of his grandmothers' house. We have to always think of his needs and abilities before we can do anything. 4. I've tried going to an autism support group, but so far I don't like it because they aren't talking about the things I need to know. I'm also putting him on a waiting list with The Bureau of Developmental Disabilities Services, so that when he gets to high school they can work with him to decide about college or vocational schools, and they can help him find a job. 5. I'd like to see him go to college, get a good career, and get married, just like everybody else. My goal for him is to function in society and out on his own. 6. When he started kindergarten this year, he was still in diapers and didn't use the toilet at all. At his school, there were four teachers, over 100 students, and no aides. There was no one to change him or take him to the bathroom. For the first month of school, until they got some aides, I had to pick him up after only 2 1/2 hours because they couldn't take care of him. It was so frustrating, because he loved school, and he is academically the smartest kid in his class. 7. I talk to his teacher frequently, and she keeps me informed about what he's doing. He works well with computers, so she has lots of special things for him to do on the computer while the others are doing things he has trouble with, like coloring or sitting down for storytime. 8. His former preschool teacher has been a wealth of information to me. He had an aide that worked with him the first semester who really made an impact. I also learn a lot from the Autism Speaks website.\ 9. No siblings. 10. I would like to see him have more one on one time with a teacher who specializes in autism. 11. He knows he is an important part of this family. Not sure how to answer this one... 12. I feel so fortunate that he is so happy and full of love. I think my joys are like any mother's joys. I love it when he is so proud of himself when he masters a skill or learns something new. 13. He has aides work with him one on one throughout the day. Not just anyone can babysit him--only people who I know understand him better than most. 14. I think the only extra financial responsibilities we've had is that we had to buy diapers for years longer than most people do. 15. I get away from him on a regular basis. I either leave him with his dad and spend time with friends or do civic theater projects, or we leave him with his grandparents and make it a habit to get out together (hubby and I) on a regular basis. I really need time to be myself, not just Mom. 16. I couldn't love him any more than I do, even if he would have been born perfectly normal. But what is normal, anyway? Everybody has their problems. I have a chronic illness I have to deal with every day for the rest of my life, just like he has to deal with seeing things differently than the rest of the world, every day of his life. He talks, dances, sings, makes jokes, plays with the dog, loves trains, plays at the playground, and has little girls fighting for his attention. Sounds pretty normal to me!