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Monthly Archives: March 2020

If It’s Big Enough, No One Can Be Held Accountable For It

March 27, 2020, 11:35 am

Here’s a link to the same piece on Medium. The Trump administration surprised many liberals and Democrats by betting that whenever it “reopens” America, it will not be held responsible for any COVID-19 deaths that occur afterward. The White House seems to be betting that the executive branch can “play” the pandemic in much the same way that the rest of America’s institutions “play” any other society-wide problem – accepting credit for any success while denying blame for any failure. […]

Not now: “Imagine.” Now: “Instant Karma (We All Shine On)”

March 20, 2020, 12:17 pm

This is about Dar and your and my coronavirus fears, but give me a minute to get there. I know America hasn’t been united much lately, which is why it’s so nice to see that America managed to unite in hatred against the video of celebrities in isolation singing along to John Lennon’s “Imagine.” Well, it’s still one of my favorite songs. At my mother’s funeral service at the Berkeley Rose Garden, 15 years ago, 100 or so people sang […]

Love In The Time of Corona

March 12, 2020, 10:34 am

I love Gabriel Garcia-Marquez’s book “Love in the Time of Cholera” (an Oprah Book Club selection), although this blog post is about a different kind of love. I’m only borrowing Gabo’s title, not the plot, no never the plot. Gabo’s too deep, I’m too shallow. My usual words have felt particularly hollow of late, what with all of our combined fears about the coronavirus. I mean, with everything else, what’s one severely autistic kid more or less? I hear comparisons […]

Dar’s BIP in his IEP, March 2020

March 5, 2020, 7:18 pm

The problem behavior impeding learning is: Target behavior is tantrums. Instances of tantrums include a combination of at least 2 of the following: dropping, crying, yelling, aggression, banging or kicking items/surfaces, SIB Frequency Average of 2x per day Intensity varies, can range from crying and stomping foot to dropping and aggression Duration Averages 15 minutes per incident What are the antecedents for the problem behavior? When asked to sit in a chair Waiting for a high preference activity/item During group/academic […]