Jude had been in room 623 for over two years. He had come from a PPCD unit (preschool program for children with disabilities) but he had less than a year in that program. The parents thought Jude would outgrow his delayed communication and limited academics so they decided to wait to start school.

The fact was, Jude had needed early intervention. His autism was so severe that it held Jude back in all academic areas. Even so, the teacher could see a spark in Jude’s eyes from the moment he came into the room. The challenge was how to reach him.

The teacher had learned over the years that some children need several years of intervention before their abilities come all together. Jude was a child with an incredible smile. Every day the boy came into the room with the biggest smile the teacher had ever seen on a child. Rarely, would the boy look sad or upset. When the Jude was corrected, a quick frown briefly appeared on his face but it quickly turned back into a smile.

For the first two years in the class, Jude progressed very slowly. He was afraid of making mistakes. The teacher worked to overcome that hesitance by simply giving the boy a gesture assist to be successful on answering.

The teacher would point to the correct answer that he was afraid to touch. Over time, that prompt would be removed as he gained more confidence.

After the first two years of constant repetition, the teacher began to doubt if Jude was going to progress as much as she had hoped.

Even so, she and her staff continued to do the daily routines with the boy.

They had Jude follow the daily schedule, review letters, combine words with pictures and go over the numbers. Numbers weren’t really clicking but the words, something was happening with the words.

Jude began to recognize that a certain group of letters matched with a certain picture. The change was slow. Then, it was more consistent. Jude would read out loud sentences such as “I see a horse. The car is yellow. I see a boy.” He began to match pictures to the sentence.

Typical of ASD children, Jude would follow one step directions and match a horse to the word horse and car to the word car. When he saw the phrase “I see a yellow ball,” he would pick up any ball, not just a yellow one. Gradually, pictures with two step words like green ball and yellow car were correctly selected. Jude was coming out of his academic block more and more.

The boy’s smile and self-confidence was growing too. Jude’s sweet smile seemed to have a sureness about it. He wasn’t just trying to get our attention by smiling. He was proud of himself. It was fun to watch the change in the boy. The teacher moved the boy from the Smart board to paper and pencil work too. He was able to transition what he learned on the Smart board to another medium, a worksheet. The black and white words like yellow car and yellow ball challenged Jude.

He would cut the ball and paste it on the space next to the word. The teacher would ask him to read the words again. Jude would correctly read the phrase yellow ball. “Is that yellow?” she would ask. Jude would repeat “yellow ball, yellow ball.” The teacher would place three different crayons in front of him. At first, he didn’t know what to do.

With a little verbal directions of saying, “Color the ball yellow ball,” Jude would pick up the yellow crayon. Over time, the boy got better and better at knowing what to do. More two word phrases were slowly added such as little ball, green fish, and yellow car. The more words Jude understood while reading, the more his comprehension of the world around him improved too. Reading is a gift that can make such a wonderful difference in any children’s lives, especially a child with ASD.

Pamela Gross Downing, a special education teacher, can be contacted at [email protected].

“Ring out the false, ring in the true.”

Alfred Lord Tennyson

While thinking about writing this article, I reminisced about my flying days in the Air Force, and working on electronic compass systems in the field of avionics. The compass systems demanded 100 percent accuracy, as did all the other systems on the aircraft. The Navigators’ and Pilots’ lives depended on it being so. Without the compass systems being accurate, the intended course of flight would be altered. The heading always had to be true. There was no room for error.

Our lives are like those compass systems also, although we have the human factor involved we all strive to keep our headings true as we follow through with our life’s journey — our “life’s flight.” As a Navigator and Pilot plan for that flight, we make plans along our journey, with hope that the plans will be met with successful results.

At this time of year many of us are making resolutions for the New Year, with hope that they be fulfilled.

Most of us know that we may have to make deviations from our plans, course corrections if you will, due to the many events we may encounter. And, for most of us, we do so without much difficulty.

We simply realize that the plan as we originally intended was not to be fulfilled.

We just delay the plans, or simply shrug them off with hope that they will be fulfilled — not now, but later. Or, we may abandon the plan altogether and devise a different plan.

If you are like me, as I know many of you are, I contemplate my plans for the New Year — taking that vacation, following my health plan, etc., with knowledge that not all my plans will be fulfilled. You may resolve to quit smoking, to lose weight and eat more healthy, to exercise more, to visit with friends and family members more, to cut down (or quit) ethyl alcohol beverage consumption, to attend church services more often, to take that trip you always wanted to take, to resolve to give your employer 110 percent, to do volunteer work, to change your “dis-ability” to “ability…” and so on. For some, following through with the plans is most frustrating and often unattainable…but for most (even though the plans may not be completely fulfilled) the heading will remain true and the plans will be obtained if not, at the very least, will begin to unfold.

I suggest to you that “the journey begins with the first step.” No matter what our planned goals are, we cannot begin to obtain them without taking initial action. Talking about it does not mean action. We must be motivated and determined to initiate the action. It should be mentioned that probably over 90% of the people who make New Year’s resolutions fail to follow through with their plans, so having motivation to begin your process is certainly very important.

In my many counseling sessions, wherein change is a most important issue, I first empathized the need to define just what it is that the person wishes to change. This is equally important in making realistic plans for the year (the word “realistic” is most important), and involves writing down all the goals one wishes to achieve in the year; whether it is in losing weight, stopping smoking, a vacation; or other goals. One should question whether the goal is really realistic for them. Everyone is different, of course, and one should not assume that their goal is something they really believe they can obtain. Talking it over with family and friends will be most beneficial.

Once the list is completed, the next step which will logically follow is what it will take for one to reach each of the goals and the time necessary toward the completion of the goal. Perhaps it will take saving money for the vacation or other similar actions, or having a support system in play for stopping smoking, cutting down or quitting ethanol beverages, etc.

Third, is the monitoring of where one is at on their path of achieving the particular goal. This continuous review is important as it keeps one on course with the goal, and allows for any modification that needs to occur. As examples, monitoring ones weight and following a menu is important toward losing weight; monitoring ones saving finances toward that vacation, etc.

Quite often we set ourselves up for failure when we concentrate on the ultimate goal instead of concentrating on just how we are going to accomplish the goal. This is a trap that one can avoid by keeping things simple, taking baby steps toward the goal and not concentrating on the ultimate picture. This could be most frustrating, and may tend to have one give up as “it is just too hard for me to do!” The good news here is that there exist a lot of support groups to help you along your path…if food is a problem there is Overeaters Anonymous, Weight Watchers, and other supportive groups; if the problem is alcohol there is Alcoholics Anonymous; there are financial planners in the community to help with setting up a budget or financial plan; there is a lot of help out there.

Most importantly one should not be frustrated and unhappy about not obtaining a particular goal or resolution. Being honest and realistic toward oneself are the most important components of reaching a goal, and one must keep their “heading true” in this regard. Until next time, Stay Healthy my Friends!

BY LAUREN OLBETER

You are the best landscape designer – for your own yard, that is. Nobody knows your likes and dislikes better than you do, and nobody knows more about your outdoor habits. That makes you the best suited for the task of designing a landscape you will love.

Who doesn’t want a well-balanced and thriving landscape surrounding their home? You could hire a professional to walk you through the process, but you may enjoy the outcome even more if you do the work yourself and you are sure to save a lot of money.

According to home.costhelper.com, homeowners spend and average of $11 a square foot and closer to $20 if you throw in a water feature, a more formal design, or a wall or two, but since this is the information age, you already have all the help you need.

As long as you don’t mind taking the initiative and taking a little time to pull together design inspiration and information, you can have a beautiful design for free. And you can install it in stages as time and budget allow.

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The key is a plan! To get the most out of your outdoor space you will need to organize your ideas into a plan. For help generating sketches you can find a free online service called Plan A Garden at the Better Homes and Gardens website, BHG.com. You can also shop for software that ranges from $20 – $400, if you want a little extra help getting everything organized and onto paper.

With or without a landscape design program, doing a little homework will get you ready to put together the perfect landscape design for you and your outdoor space. Go to extension.missouri.edu and select the Lawn and Garden tab to read about steps to successful landscaping. The steps include: making a list of existing and desired outdoor features, drawing a base plan over which you can outline the major landscape areas (i.e. public areas, private areas, and service areas), designating locations for the desired features, and lastly, putting it all together in the final landscape plan. You can read about another take on the process at Williamson.agrilife.org, under the “Landscape” section. This article goes into even greater detail about these steps, breaking them into 12 separate steps.

Take some time to consider the unique conditions you have to work with – soil types, sun and wind exposure, slopes and drainage, orientation of property and structures, and view points from windows and walkways. This will help you to select plants and hardscapes that are right for each area of your yard.

To read more about the visual aspects of landscape design, check out Basic Principles of Landscape Design from the University of Florida website at edis.ifas.ufl.edu. And Remember: a couple days before breaking ground, call 811 to have all utility lines marked.

After doing a little reading and drawing out a plan for yourself, you can have a custom landscape design, tailored to your preferences and needs. The work will be well worth it when you are able to enjoy your outdoor space, designed perfectly for you, by YOU!

HARLINGEN — Some may be so bold as to exercise their right to openly carry their handgun.

So police officers in the community are switching gears and preparing how to react when encountering lawful citizens wearing their firearms in shoulder or hip holsters.

Harlingen police Sgt. David Osborne said since the law went into effect Jan. 1, there have been no calls or concerns about citizens with concealed or open guns in town.

Officers are aware they are going to see citizens openly carrying legally, and it doesn’t mean Texans toting guns are going to be criminals.

“We’re making sure that the officers are aware of the spirit of the law and what it’s trying to accomplish,” Osborne said. “Our officers have a firm under-standing of the open carry law.”

He said police are trained to “articulate” to a certain level whether or not they need to approach a citizen openly carrying a handgun.

Under the law, officers can approach and ask to see identification and a gun permit.

But he said officers who see a citizen openly carrying a gun will use their judgment and assess the situation to determine whether they need to approach the person.

“We’re not in the business of disarming lawfully carrying citizens who are not violating the law,” Osborne said.

“We are using our good judgment.”

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HARLINGEN — Shops in the business of printing signs have been pretty busy lately.

That’s because of the new open carry gun law.

If business owners want to ban open-carry guns from their premises, they are required to have signs posted at entrances — in English and Spanish.

If they want to ban all guns, they must have four signs.

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One to ban all concealed guns, one to ban all openly carried guns, and both signs must be in English and Spanish.

The signs must be in accordance with the law — specifically, Texas Penal Code sections 30.06 and 30.07, said San Benito Assistant Police Chief Michael Galvan.

With all these requirements, which started when the law went into effect Jan. 1, professional sign companies are popular right now.

Both Fast Signs in Harlingen and MJ Screen Printing in San Benito were busy all week preparing and printing signs.

The new law allows residents to openly carry licensed handguns in Texas.

People who openly carry guns are required to have them holstered on the shoulder or belt, Galvan said.

“It should stay in the holster,” Galvan said. “Don’t walk around with your hand on your gun.”

For the rest of this story and many other EXTRAS, go to our premium site, www.MyValleyStar.com.

Subscribe to it for only $6.99 per month or purchase a print subscription and receive the online version free, which includes an electronic version of the full newspaper and extra photo galleries, links and other information you can’t find anywhere else.

HARLINGEN — Shops in the business of printing signs have been pretty busy lately.

That’s because of the new open carry gun law.

If business owners want to ban open-carry guns from their premises, they are required to have signs posted at entrances — in English and Spanish.

If they want to ban all guns, they must have four signs.

1 of 3

One to ban all concealed guns, one to ban all openly carried guns, and both signs must be in English and Spanish.

The signs must be in accordance with the law — specifically, Texas Penal Code sections 30.06 and 30.07, said San Benito Assistant Police Chief Michael Galvan.

With all these requirements, which started when the law went into effect Jan. 1, professional sign companies are popular right now.

Both Fast Signs in Harlingen and MJ Screen Printing in San Benito were busy all week preparing and printing signs.

The new law allows residents to openly carry licensed handguns in Texas.

People who openly carry guns are required to have them holstered on the shoulder or belt, Galvan said.

“It should stay in the holster,” Galvan said. “Don’t walk around with your hand on your gun.”

Those who currently have a concealed handgun license can now openly carry.

However, local businesses have the power, if they choose, to ban all guns.

But they must display the proper signs alerting the public. That’s where the sign companies come into play.

Mario Maya, owner of MJ Screen Printing, said orders for signs banning guns came in well before the law went into affect and more after it became a reality.

Now that word has spread around town, Maya expects more orders for signs to come in.

Just this past week, Fast Signs had printed about 15 to 20 signs each day.

“And they are still coming in,” said spokesman Ernest Macias. “A majority of the orders have come from local businesses, clinics, pet clinics, hospitals and many more. We’re just trying to be proactive.”

Before the law went into effect, Macias said few customers were ordering signs for guns. But after that, many orders started rolling in, and fast.

“Customers have not expressed concerns. They merely asked what they can and cannot do and what each law means,” Macias said.

Designer Mando Barrera took Valley Morning Star staff through the process of making a sign.

Barrera starts by designing the sign himself, using the correct font, lettering and size required by law on the computer. To do that, Macias said they follow Texas.Gov guidelines.

After that, Barrera sets the sign up to print on a large industrial-style printer.

“If I had to say which one is being ordered more, it would be the sign banning open carry. But they are both being ordered,” Barrera said.

If need be, the company will install the sign for the business.

The new law bans guns at schools, courts and jails. Bars, polling places and sanctioned sporting events remain off limits, too.

Government meetings also can be designated gun-free with a notice.

The law still will ban handguns from certain public places including churches, hospitals, correctional facilities and some places where alcohol is served or sold.

Gun holders who ignore those signs made by Barrera and others risk violating state trespassing laws and could face penalties and fines.

HARLINGEN — Juan Cavazos pulls an old white piece of paper from his wallet. It is perfectly formed and one-eighth the size of the original sheet so it will fit into one of the compartments. His nimble fingers unfold it carefully and he lays it on his bed in front of him.

It’s a military document that proves he has earned both the Combat Infantry and Combat Medical badges, which he proudly wears on his black baseball cap, that also is adorned with the gold embroidered words Bronze Star Heroism and the Purple Heart medal.

He believes he needs to carry that piece of paper around with him at all times.

“When I wear my cap, some tell me that I can’t wear both (the Combat Infantry and Combat Medical badges),” Cavazos said. “I say maybe you can’t, but I can. They don’t believe me, so that’s why I carry it, to show.”

According to a 2013 document from the Willacy County Veterans Service Office that he also keeps around, he is believed to be the only veteran in the Rio Grande Valley who has earned and can wear both badges.

“I am more proud of these two than the Bronze Star and the Purple Heart, which are higher,” he said while sitting next to his bed at Retama Manor Nursing Center in Harlingen earlier this week and pointing to the hat and piece of paper. “It says here I am the only one who can wear them.”

The Sebastian native who has lived nearly all his life in Willacy County, joined the National Guard in 1960. A few years later, he enlisted in the Army and wanted to be a medic. He attended the Medical Training Center at Fort Sam Houston.

Years later, Cavazos volunteered to go to Vietnam. There, he served as an infantryman for about six months, earning the Combat Infantry badge as well as a Purple Heart and the Bronze Star.

With the Army there in need of a medical platoon sergeant, Staff Sgt. Cavazos was plucked from the infantry to take on that role with the 442nd Artillery, which included overseeing in the field his medics and assisting the doctors.

There, he saw more combat, thus earning the Combat Medical badge. The situation is made more unique by the fact that Cavazos earned both during the same tour of duty.

Being the only Veteran in the RGV with the two badges was something he never thought about until a few years back.

In 2013, he was honored by the Willacy County Veterans Service. He received a flag and some other items.

Alejandro Figueroa signed Cavazos’ document, stating “we are lucky to have and honor” the only veteran who can wear both.

“They were looking to honor some people and they came across this,” he said about the rarity of earning both badges. “I never paid attention to it.”

Although he never sought it out, there’s no question now that Cavazos glows with pride when showing off his two badges, which will remain on his prized baseball cap he wears every day.

HARLINGEN — It’s a group effort.

The desks, with their sweeping curves and bright colors, were clustered around each other as if to illustrate their plans to rehabilitate an antiquated style of solitary learning.

The desks, all cheery in shiny polished plastic or laminant, were dressed in joyful colors of sunny orange or blue. They greeted Harlingen teachers and administrators who spilled into the Harlingen school district’s administration building Friday for the “Modernization of the Classroom” expo.

The purpose of the expo was for teachers and administrators to view the new furniture with all its novel features and then provide feedback about what they liked most. That feedback would be used to determine which furniture the district would purchase for its classrooms. The district is seeking to bring a whole new style of furniture that would facilitate group activities.

“We are looking at modernizing our classroom furniture in the elementary schools,” said Veronica Kortan, the school district’s administrator for organizational development. “We have been studying different options for technology and furniture.”

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PENITAS — Alicia Ramirez and her family have been living in a bright pink house provided by the Buckner Family Hope Center for less than two months.

Before that, the family of eight lived in a single-bedroom mobile home, where they slept together on a king-sized bed each night.

“It was small for our family,” Ramirez said in Spanish. “It was just a room and the restroom — that’s all. It had a refrigerator, a stove and a table. It didn’t have insulation and it was just the wood.”

Now, her family lives comfortably in a three-bedroom home with a living room, kitchen, restroom and laundry room.

She said she can still remember the day when they received their home.

“It was a huge blessing,” she said. “Who is going to give you a house? We couldn’t make it, and we have a big family, so it was hard.”

The family lives on El Conejo Road. Along Mile 7 on the neighboring streets, numerous colorful Buckner homes can be seen. They’re within walking distance of the Buckner Family Hope Center, at 39614 Mile 7 Road.

The homes are given to families with children who attend the Buckner Family Hope Center and obtain a certain amount of Buckner points, which are used as currency. Points can be redeemed at the Buckner Market, where families can opt to get clothing, toiletries and food. They are accumulated as parents attend classes about leadership, coupon collecting, hand crafts, bow making, financial responsibility and fatherhood. Throughout the year, 897 families are served.

The center is one of 21 organizations benefiting from an AIM Media Texas Charities campaign to raise funds for the hungry, homeless and those in need of basic essentials in the Rio Grande Valley.

AIM Media Texas is the parent company of the Valley Morning Star, The Monitor in McAllen, The Brownsville Herald and the Mid-Valley Town Crier.

Ramirez said she saw a great change in herself when she started going to the center.

“I used to be one of the people who would get money and go directly to the store,” she said. “I’m not like that anymore. Now, I try to make sure that if I’m going to buy something, I get it in the least amount of payments as possible or else I would pay for it cash.”

She said the financial responsibility class helped her and her husband learn how to administer their money and make it last. Her husband, Juan Obregon, said the center helped him learn about the different options that he could explore.

“They show you how to value yourself and how to get ahead instead of just depending on a certain job,” Obregon said. “They show you how to make your own business if you have ideas.”

Ramirez said her life outside of the center has changed drastically because of the help they got.

“At first, I wouldn’t go out, and I would just be at home with the kids,” the 32-year-old said. “I started getting more comfortable and making more friends. They helped me with the programs that they have.”

Ramirez said she believes the center has had a great impact on her neighborhood.

“I think that here, in the neighborhood, we see a lot of people who are very humble and they give you the ability to learn to do something,” the Peñitas native said. “You can initiate something; you can start bringing yourself up little by little. Something will come out of it.”

Norma Aleman said she started going to the Buckner Family Hope Center four months ago when Ramirez finally convinced her to visit the center.

“I’ve been living on this property for four years,” Aleman said in Spanish. “Several times, my neighbors who went to Buckner would tell me that they would help and stuff but I never went. They would always comment on things and then Alicia told me about it again. So since she was a good friend of mine, I said I would go.”

Currently, Aleman is living in a single-bedroom mobile home with her husband and five children. She and her husband sleep on a pull-out sofa-bed in the living room while her three daughters sleep in the bedroom and her sons sleep in a storage space big enough to fit two mattresses.

Though her family is in line to receive a new home, she says the center has helped her in many more ways than that.

“Buckner gets the husband, the wife and the children,” the 30-year-old said. “It slowly starts changing the lives of people around the community. They help us with everything.”

The Peñitas native said she took the bow-making class and learned to make bows. She is now a volunteer assistant instructor for the class and sells them at the flea market for a bit of extra income.

“I have learned that if I earn a dollar on one thing, it’s a quantity that at the end of the day would add up,” she said. “That’s very good because sometimes we don’t even have enough money for gas or for whatever we need.”

She said she tries to do as much as she can with what her family has.

“I always say that God has everything under control and in its own time,” Aleman said. “Talking about the house, what else can I ask for?”

 [email protected]

HARLINGEN — It’s a group effort.

The desks, with their sweeping curves and bright colors, were clustered around each other as if to illustrate their plans to rehabilitate an antiquated style of solitary learning.

The desks, all cheery in shiny polished plastic or laminant, were dressed in joyful colors of sunny orange or blue. They greeted Harlingen teachers and administrators who spilled into the Harlingen school district’s administration building Friday for the “Modernization of the Classroom” expo.

The purpose of the expo was for teachers and administrators to view the new furniture with all its novel features and then provide feedback about what they liked most. That feedback would be used to determine which furniture the district would purchase for its classrooms. The district is seeking to bring a whole new style of furniture that would facilitate group activities.

“We are looking at modernizing our classroom furniture in the elementary schools,” said Veronica Kortan, the school district’s administrator for organizational development. “We have been studying different options for technology and furniture.”

She said the district is looking for furniture that will accommodate the collaborative learning platform. In other words, desks could quickly be moved together so students could work together, or collaborate, on classroom projects. They also could be split apart for more independent activities. The new furniture also would be more compatible for the use of technology such as iPads

“Kids learn differently than we did,” Kortan said. “Teachers have to be able to move them together to meet the needs for what they’re working on.”

The teachers spoke excitedly about how the desks could be used for collaborative activities.

“We are entering the technological age, and we need to keep up with the times,” said Lorena Jimenez, who teaches fifth grade at Bonham Elementary. All the teachers at the expo were from the district’s 17 elementary schools.

Jimenez said she looked forward to having the desks in her room to accommodate group activities.

“I like how they are integrating technology and collaboration,” she said. “We are about to do a science project and we’re moving back in a group.”

Eight furniture vendors, including Indeco Sales, J.R., Inc., and School Specialty, had desks and chairs at the expo. Eight technology vendors also were there. Kortan said teachers would provide feedback on what furniture they preferred. A final decision will be made in February about what features the district would seek when it goes out for bids.

Julio Cavazos, chief financial officer, said the matter would be discussed Tuesday at the school board meeting. The district, he said, has allocated $400,000 from the extra tax funds recently approved by voters. He expected to have the furniture purchased and delivered to the district by the end of the school year.

The furniture should be moved into the classrooms in time for the beginning of the 2016–2017 school year, Cavazos said. Current plans are to furnish all the fourth and fifth grade classrooms in all 17 of the district’s elementary schools next year.

The district will purchase another $400,000 worth of furniture next year for other grade levels in the elementary schools. Cavazos said this process will be repeated until the elementary schools are fully furnished, within about four years. He said the district would probably purchase furniture from multiple vendors.

Long-term plans call for the eventual purchase of furniture for the middle schools and high schools.

The desks on Friday sat on wheels and had more fluid shapes that would allow for the creation of flexible space. Portable desks in more fluid shapes also would allow for the creation of flexible space, which is important for the modern classroom, Kortan said.

One vendor had three desks with sinuous lines that fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.

“I like the way it all fits together,” said Nicole Romero, a fourth grade teacher at Long Elementary.

“They have a variety of different features,” Romero said. “Students can work in groups and then separate them.”

One of the features she really liked was the wheels.

“Because they have wheels, they can’t scrape the floors,” she said. “It’s noisy and it ruins the wax.”

The broad range of choices from different vendors interested teachers like Amanda Rubalcaba, who teaches fourth grade at Long Elementary.

“We are really looking at a lot of different furniture,” she said. “It will be nice to get it upgraded in the classroom.”

She was ready to get away from the standard space in classrooms, which is very limiting. The old desks needed to go, too.

“Furniture needs to be more than just squares and rectangles,” she said.

The desks seemed to illustrate the importance of collaboration in the classroom in order to prepare students for the work place where group effort is the key to success. District administrators have emphasized the importance of collaboration in the public schools many times.

The drastically new features of the desks seemed to hail a new era in which rectangular desks in neat rows are being shown the door. Their departure now makes room for a whole new look and a new concept in the way children learn.