Tuesday, October 18, 2011

BRILLIANT!

So guess what?? I finally got around to printing out the awesome comic book-style social story that I made for in an effort to aid her in her transition from home to daycare to school.

The genius of this idea, if you'll recall, is that though Lily is a paper-ripper. . . I, Jim, have outfoxed her with unrippable paper!! Check and Mate! Step one, if you'll also recall (if you didn't read it, you should. I read YOUR crappy blog), was printing the story out on regular paper to see how she'd do, and she did great. Step two was to print it out on unrippable paper, bind it, and give it to her. My wife borrowed a "binding machine" from someone at work for the project.

"Go at it, Lil'," I'd say, than laugh and point at her and say, "In your FACE!!! You can't rip this paper, Lily! It's unrippable!!!" then laugh maniacally.

Only I never got a chance to laugh in her face because. . . see. . . well. . . it didn't really work. I printed it out and the ink was still wet, and it smeared when I pulled it off the tray. Alarm bells started to sound. Because, as previously stated in the above-linked blog posting, what makes the unrippable paper unrippable is an invisible plastic coating that, it turns out, is pretty much impermeable. . . meaning the ink doesn't absorb into the paper. See?? Oh. . . no? Meaning, it will NEVER EVER DRY.

Yeah, okay, genius, give your autistic daughter a book full of wet ink and see who points at who and says "in your FACE" because I'm pretty sure there is no "win" for me in this particular game, and lots of potential for "loss". And also. . . who does that to their daughter??? That just seems mean.

I printed out another page and let it sit and dry overnight. Maybe the ink would dry, I postulated. The next morning I picked it up. The image had sort of smudged together and although it was still nearly legible. . . it was like the pictures of the chalk drawings from Mary Poppins that Dick Van Dyke draws on the sidewalk after the rain comes. Don't ask me why I remember that. On top of that. . . they still smudged.

I have one last change, and that is to attempt to print it out on the company laser printer during lunch break. By the time I finish this particular work of genius, she'll be in first grade. Go PARENTING!

22 comments:

  1. Wait. This is paper...that you can't write on? That's awesome that it is unrippable and all, but it seems to have a crucial design flaw. Okay. Now I have to go read your other post for more information.

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  2. well. . . you can write on it. . . you just can't use an ink jet printer on it. Although now that you say that. . .

    *writes on it*

    *waits a few minutes*

    pfft. Yeah. You can't write on it, with a pen. Just laser print and use a pencil. BRILLIANT!

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  3. Why didn't you just laminate the pages? She can't tear that, right? Btw - LOVE the comic style of the book!

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  4. Why don't you just laminate the pages? She can't rip those! Love the comic style book!

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  5. That's what my wife wants to do. I believe (and she does too) that Lily derives some sensory satisfaction from the feel of paper pages. . . I don't think she'll get as much out of a laminated "book". It will come down to that if I can't make the company laser printer work.

    And thanks!

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  6. Hee hee. Nice try outsmarting that brilliant girl!

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  7. I blame myself for not replying quickly enough. She may have thought I didn't hear her.

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  8. Haha! Get used to your kid outsmarting you. It feels better if you just give in to it.

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  9. When I first glanced at the picture I thought you had blistered your hand weightlifting or performing some sort of heavy duty labor. Then I found out you were just playing around with wet paper.

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  10. hahahahahahahaha! oh. . . oh my.

    No.

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  11. Hi! I found you through Christie and Karen's blogs and you seem like my kind of guy!

    We ended up purchasing a laminator for Little Miss's social stories (it's a Scotch TL901) and it only cost $25 on Amazon... it's LOADS better than dealing with wet ink!

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  12. I'm glad you found me!!

    We have OFTEN considered buying a laminator. She just really loves turning/pulling paper pages, and seems to lose interest in the hard plastic feeling of the laminated pages.

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  13. yeah laminate!!!!!!!!! lol You can go to staples and they'll laminate it and bind it.. you just pay! lol We've had to laminate LOTS! Tommy's a ripper when he's MAD. But he's so obsessed with manuals, that we've leaned to laminate them.. We laminated a PS manual. With heavy duty laminate. Ended up weighing close to 10 pounds lol Sometimes, you're damned if you do, damned if you dont! lol

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  14. We have thought about laminating...but she won't want it. I have heard of clear stickers that are page size that we can print on them and then stick them on the non rippable paper...hopefully that will work and still trick her !!!

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  15. I have a laminator (which apparently isn't a word) sitting in my basement. In the box. Unopened. My great ideas almost never come to fruition. But, you know, you're probably better at the follow through...right? Maybe you need to write a social story about not ripping her social story ; )

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  16. Sooooo..... Who's laughing maniacally now??

    I think God knew the secret wish of your heart was to "put it in your daughter's face" and He just couldn't let that happen. (I know what you're thinking - "who invited the preacher's wife??" But you've commented on all my regular stop blogs so I had to come check you out)

    Honestly, the book's too well done to give up on so you really need to figure something out.

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  17. @Jen. . . I think i just broke my wife's friends binder with the laminated pages. . . and regarding the social story about not ripping her social story? I know you're messing with me. . . but that doesn't change the fact that it's a good idea.

    @Along. . . I'm still laughing maniacally. . . but not because I'm the evil genius triumphing. . . more because i've lost my mind. Regarding the Preacher's Wives. . . There's room for everyone here. Even. . . *gulp*. . . spiritual people.

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