Enter for your chance to WIN an Epiphanie Camera Bag

I haven't posted in FOREVER, but I couldn't miss this wonderful opportunity to win a beautiful Epiphanie camera bag!!  So go check out Tara Swain Photography's blog and enter for your chance to win a bag too!  http://www.taraswainblog.com/epiphanie/

Have a blessed day!
-Hillery

Laughs for the Weekend

It's been a very long time since I have wrote and I am not even going to try to summarize what has happened in the past few months since the last post. That would take way to long. But as many of you already know, Austan and I finally tied the knot on June 14th and I recently moved to Twentynine Palms, CA to be with Austan until he deploys. When I finally decided that the best thing for us would be for me to move out here for us to spend time together before the deployment he was leaving in November. Now that I am actually here they are getting deployed sometime the last of September beginning of October. We aren't for sure when he will be leaving because they are sending them in 3 different sets, but his entire battalion will be in Afghanistan the first week of October. So what this means is we will be coming home for predeployment leave September 3-17. We can't wait to see everyone and enjoying time with our families and friends. At the same time, I know that the closer we get to coming home the closer we get to him actually leaving and even the thought of that I can not stand. Of course he says it will be spring before we even know it and that means him coming back, but we still have several major holidays that he will not be here for that have to come first.

Many people have asked what I will be doing after he leaves and what I am doing now since living in California and school is starting just around the corner. Right now I am enjoying my time being a wife and doing everything that I can for Austan. I am not working and am not planning on looking for a job. I will not be here long enough for all of that. I am however taking online classes through Western for this semester and will be returning home when he leaves.

OK, on a little lighter note.... I absolutely love living here. There is nothing like being able to drive to the beach every weekend if you want. The city that we live in isn't the fanciest, but what else can you expect when you live in the middle of the desert and during the summers the temperature gets up to 120.

This past weekend we did indeed hit up the beach and had a wonderful time. We have gotten really close to the owner/co-founder of the ultimate watersports brand, Body Glove. Bob and his wife Patty always welcomes us into their home and allows us to stay in their guest/party house for a weekend and treats us to meals and along with their children hooks us up with great deal at the dive shop. There is nothing like spending time with nice, down to earth people. Anyways, we along with one of Austan marine buddies, Les, enjoyed the weekend at Manhattan Beach and let me tell you there was some sites to be seen other than the beautiful beach and some amazing waves. The beautiful weather bought out some of the finest tanners! The first day we were there, there was a man in a high cut speedo that looked like it was from the 80s with all the bright colors. He had the back hair and all!! And if that was enough laughs for the weekend the second day was even better. When we found a place to lay our stuff I started looking around at the people around us and noticed a man to the left of us wearing yet again a speedo. Austan notice that not only was it a speedo, but a v-string one and not too long after that we finally realized that it was a v-string THONG!!! Even though it was a site to be seen the looks on people's faces as they walked by was priceless and kept us laughing the whole day!!

Pictures from Bridgeport

Here are a few pictures that I stole from Austan that he took while training at Bridgeport, CA. I thought that I would post them for all of you non-Facebook and/or MySpace users or if you aren't friends with him.





Look at how deep this snow is...
I would hate to know that I had to survive for a week out in this...


This is the plane that they brought Austan and the other guys that were chosen to do the K9 training along with workers from the base back to 29 Palms from Bridgeport on yesterday.
Austan on the plane...
Loading a Hum V in the airplane...

TGIF

Think Goodness it is Friday even though that means that this is the last day of Spring Break and school is back in session in 3 days, ugh. It has been a good week though and we have gotten more wedding stuff done and just got good news about Austan.

Monday, Mom, Claire, and I went to Glasgow to finally look and try on our dresses. They were all right, but need some alternations done to them, which that was to be expected. After we left the bridal shop we ate at Pizza Hut and then headed to Bowling Green to see if we could get more wedding stuff done while Lathan wasn't with us. (It is much easier to do things with only one child.)

While in Bowling Green we went and talked to a lady about getting flower ideas and prices and she is giving us a bid that I will pick up soon. We got several ideas about what to do for the wedding shower and reception in the books that we looked at. So Mom and I went to several different stores looking for vases and finally found the perfect ones for the wedding shower at Deals and then went to Trees and Trend and got vases, plates, and candles for the reception. And after LOTS and LOTS of thinking we thought of an idea for the actually ceremony so I went back to Trees and Trend on Tuesday and got more vases for that. I don't want to say much about what we got because I would like for it to be a surprise to everyone, but if you really would like to know, I will tell, maybe just not in a comment.

A little update on Austan, I talked to him again last tonight for the first time since Sunday night/Monday morning at around 1 AM and he said that he had just got off work then. They headed back out in the field Monday morning and got back to the barracks last night. He is so glad to get a hot shower and is very tired of seeing snow. He said that it had already been in the 90s at 29 Palms and it is only March. Today they headed to Hawthorn, Nevada. which was about a 2 hour drive from Bridgeport, to run the range there. This range was like running though a war zone with ammo going off everywhere. He said that is has a witch (to put it in clean terms). His platoon ran it today and tomorrow the other 2 platoons are going to then they are heading back to Bridgeport. The training is officially over for him and on Tuesday everyone (expect for Austan) is heading back to 29 Palms.

We have heard for a while, but haven't said anything about it because with the Marines you never know anything for sure and I didn't want to tell everyone and then be like no he's not going to, but it is official now so we can tell it. Austan has been chosen to go to dog training, which means when they get deployed he will have dog with them at all times to sniff out bombs and other things to that nature. I really don't know what all he will actually do and I don't even know if he knows yet. He is super excited about it though. We thought that after he left Bridgeport that he would be heading the Camp Pendleton, CA to do the dog training for 6 weeks, but today the CO of his company informed him that it was a for sure deal and he would be going to Virginia to do the training. So he is leaving Bridgeport on Sunday and probably flying to Virginia on Monday sometime. Now this means that he will only be 10 hours away!! So we are all excited and are planning a trip out there and done even know any details. LOL! I guess we are getting a little head of ourselves, but are so excited about it.

Well, that is it for tonight, but hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!!

What a wonderful day?!?!

Today has been wonderful, with the weather finally getting warm, the beginning of Spring Break, getting to talk to Austan, and getting more wedding stuff accomplished, I couldn't ask for a much better day other than to start feeling 100% again. Mom and I have both been sick these past few days with severe sinuses, but she went to the doctor yesterday and got us both medicine and we feeling a lot better than we have. This is one reason why we didn't go to look at my wedding dress today, but are now planning on going on Monday. We went to River's (Scott's nephew) 3rd birthday party today at Chuck E. Cheese then Mom and I went to Target to register for the wedding shower. We were in there for over 3 hours! Scott took Lathan and Claire with him to entertain them while we were there. Austan and I are now registered at Pampered Chef and Target and the wedding shower is planned for April 26th at Belmont. I don't have all the details yet though. After we left there we all went to eat at Smoky Bones. So it has been a day filled with family and it is a great feeling!!

On another note, Austan made it back from the mountains last night, but is still not back to 29 Palms. He said that it was VERY cold and he was super tired because of it. They slept in snow caves and on Thursday had to kill a goat and cook it for their food. (I know, very sad :( , but I guess they had to eat).

Well, hope everyone has a wonderful rest of the weekend and a wonderful Spring Break for those of you that have one this week. =)

Where did the weekend go?

It is already Sunday night... I can't believe it. I have a psychology test that I have been studying for today and can't wait until it is over tomorrow morning. Anyways, I didn't go look at my wedding dress yesterday, Mom and Claire have been sick and she didn't feel like going with me so we are going to shoot for this weekend. I ordered my garter last night from http://www.gartersbykristi.com/ and I would highly recommend anyone needing one to check out this website. She has some super cute ones on there and she is even doing a custom order for me. :) She seems so sweet too.

Austan did call again last night and he is doing good. They have been in classes ever since they have gotten to Bridgeport and tomorrow they will be heading out for actual training. Wherever they are going it is going to take them 11 hours on foot to get there, at 10,000 feet above sea level, with temperatures ranging from -20 to -30 degrees, and winds from 50 to 70 mph on top of that. They are at 700 feet above right now and I know is it hard enough on them. I think that they will need many prayers to get them through this. He has heard that they are coming back on Wednesday, but at the same time heard it might not be until Friday.

Hope everyone has had a wonderful weekend and have a good week at work and school! Keep Austan and the rest of his company in your prayers this week!

Now back to studying....

Just As I Thought

Well just as I thought, I didn't get into the Communication Disorders program. Now I am planning on waiting until Austan finds out if he is getting deployed or not and then going to decide from there what I will do about school. Moving is now a possibility. :S

On a positive note, I did order Austan's wedding ring today and it will be in within 6 weeks, so we are getting closer and closer to getting married!! The cake topper and chocolates that we ordered should be in pretty soon also.

Always Waiting on Something....

Well Austan made it to Bridgeport last night after an 8 hour bus ride and of course has no service to call. He did buy a 600 minute calling card before he left the desert in case this did happen, so I have talked to him a couple times since he has been there. They didn't do much today other than get more gear, but I am sure that the training will begin soon.

I have been waiting to hear if I have gotten into the Communication Disorders program for a couple weeks now and many people I know have already gotten their acceptation letters, so I am hoping for the best. Our mailbox was knocked down by a semi a couple weeks ago and now we have a new one up, but the mailman can't get to it, so they have been holding our mail. Mom is going tomorrow to the post office to see if it is there. I really don't think that I will get in because of my GPA, but still wanting to know for sure. If I don't get in I really need a Plan B in my life because I am now a junior and have all gen ed finished. I don't want to be in school for ever and don't want to take classes just because. I have been trying to think of something I can do with my life as far as a career and can't come up with anything that I think I would in enjoy more than being a speech therapist.

Well I am glad tomorrow is Friday and have the weekend to look forward too, I am hoping to go look at my wedding dress on Saturday to make sure everything is right with it. I am so excited about that, even if school always has me down!!!

My Wedding Dress Came In!!!

When I got off work yesterday I went a few different places and then when I came back to the apartment my phone I had fell out of my pocket in the car. So when I decided to text Austan I couldn't find it and finally figured out that it was in my car. When I went to get it out I had a voicemail and it was Erin from Bridals of Regiss Park letting me know that my wedding dress had came in. I was so excited because when I ordered it they told me that it would take 4 to 6 months before it would get here. I ordered it is November so it only took 3 months. Now mine, Mom's, Claire's, and the bridesmaid's dresses are all in. All we need now is a wedding date. Austan has said that he is suppose to found something out at the end of this month about when and where is he going, so we are keeping our fingers crossed that he actually will.

He leaves on Wednesday for Bridgeport, which is in Northern California, for cold weather training and will be gone for 3 weeks. I am hoping that he will have cell phone service because I have gotten spoiled to being able to talk and text him several times a day.

While Austan was home over Christmas we got our engagement pictures taken by Mike Ingram, which he is wonderful, and I am sure that most have already seen them, but here are a few of my favorites...

We NEED a Date!!

I always seem to forget or put off writing....

Last Saturday, Mom and I went to the bridal show that was here in Bowling Green. We had a really good time and got a lot of good ideas for the wedding planning that isn't coming along too well. We can't seem to find a date for sure because of Austan. They haven't even been scheduled to deploy yet and who knows when they will be or if they even go now and as everyone knows you can't really plan a wedding without a date. But we are just taking one day at a time and hoping for the best.

It's a New Year...

Well I originally started this blog for my English 300 class to post my papers on, but I think with the new year beginning and a lot of things changing and happening within 2009, I am going to try to start writing on it. I had wonderful holidays in 2008 and was so glad that Austan was able to be home for 16 days. We are always very busy, but these days who isn't, on Christmas Eve we had breakfast at Grandma and Pop's and lunch at Mamaw and Papaw's. Then Austan and I exchanged presents that night. On Christmas Day, we opened Santa presents, went to Mac and Janette's for lunch, and that afternoon we went to Maw and Paw (Austan's grandparents).

Johnna, Austan, and Claire at Grandma and Pop's
Austan, me, Mamaw, and Papaw
Austan with his present from me... Sony Cybershot Digital Camera
My present from Austan... Coach purse

For New Year's, Austan's parents had a party at their house, which was nice to enjoy everyone coming over there. I think that everyone had a wonderful time.

Before the night started...

Also, in the 16 days that Austan was home we celebrated his 24th birthday. Several friends and family joined us at Shogun to eat dinner and then some of us went bowling afterwards.


I took Austan back to the airport on Sunday, January 4th and now we're back to work.

Last night, I booked my next trip to Cali, which is next weekend. He gets time off for Martin Luther King day, so instead of him coming home I wanted to go out there.

Research Paper

Hillery Casey

Terry Elliott

English 300-006

April 30, 2008

Autism: Is there a treatment?

What if before the age of three your child was diagnosis with a disorder? What would you do? What it you knew that there was no cure for this disorder? Well approximately 24,000 children are diagnosis with a disorder called autism every year. (Schoenstadt)

Autism is the pervasive developmental disorder characterized by severe deficits in social interaction and communication, by an extremely limited range of activities and interests, and often by the presence of repetitive, stereotyped behaviors. The first signs of autism begin typically before age three. Although treatment has greatly improved over the past few decades, autism can’t be cured, and continues throughout life. It can range in severity from mild cases where people can live on their own to severe forms where they require social and medical support their entire life. Three to six of every 1,000 children have autism. The disorder occurs three to four times more often in boys than in girls.

A few possible causes of autism are through physical traits, such as, genetics, infection, and traumatic factors. Women who get viral infections during the first trimester of pregnancy have been known to cause autism and children with Fragile X syndrome and tuberous sclerosis are known to have a greater risk also. But no one knows for sure what causes autism.

Signs and symptoms of autism include, children with autism usually have problems with three main areas of development social skills, language, and behavior. Children with the most severe cases of autism have complete inability of communication or interaction with other people.

Some problems in the area of social skills could be that they fail to respond to his or her name, has poor eye contact, appears not to hear you at times, resists cuddling and holding, appears unaware of others’ feelings, and seems to prefer to play alone.

Language problems consists of starting to talk later than other children, loses previously acquired ability to say words or sentences, does not make eye conduct when making requests, speaks with an abnormal tone or rhythm such as a singsong voice or robot-like speech, can not start a conversation or keep one going, and may repeat words or phases verbatim, but doesn’t understand how to use them.

Some signs of behavioral problems are they perform repetitive movements such as rocking, spinning, or hand-flapping, develops specific routines or rituals, becomes disturbed at the slightest change in routines or rituals, moves constantly, may be fascinated by parts or objects, such as the spinning wheels of a toy car, and may be unusually sensitive to light, sound, or touch.

There was a survey done in London, UK that surveyed almost 1,300 parents for an autistic study. This survey was focusing on the views of the parents about the diagnosis process. Their children were ages 2 to 49 years old and it collected data on the age that the diagnosis was made and the time it took to obtain the diagnosis. The overall results showed that children were being diagnosis earlier than previous decades, but the average age was still age six. (Howlin and Moorf)

I believe that behavioral therapy is the best way to treat autistic children right now, even though there is not a specific treatment that fits every autistic child. But, what is the best treatment for autism even though there is not a cure? Is there a specific one or could there be many?

Due to the high rate of success behavioral therapy is becoming a very popular way to treat autism. Behavioral therapy puts emphasis on good behavior and allows the child to be rewarded for it, therefore they will be motivated to continue with the good behavior and it quickly lets the child know what behavior is inappropriate and it will not be encouraged. Within the behavioral therapy program there are four sections, a structured daily routine, behavioral control, communication, and applied behavior analysis. Children with autism will often use extreme behavior, such as, throwing a temper tantrum, self injurious behavior, aggression, and agitation. A structured daily routine is very important for an autistic child because autistic children do not respond well to changes and with a daily routine it gives them an idea of what to except for the day.

Next, is behavioral control, parents must be able to handle their child when they have these temper tantrums. But you must keep three things in mind when dealing with an autistic child. You must deal with the behaviors that may be dangerous to the child or to someone else first. You must use firm words and actions when doing this and try not to show any anger. Next, you need to teach your child how to sit down because this is sometimes difficult for them to do on their own. The best way to do this is to reward them for sitting down. Last, many autistic children have weird and repetitive behaviors, such as, rocking and finger flapping. Many of these behaviors will make you want to tell them to “stop”, but you must not do that. Instead, give them something else to do that will get them away from that distracting behavior.

Third section is communication. It is very important to talk to your children using short and clear sentences and this can be in a direct and simple way. Doing this will help you insure them and will not be confusing.

The last section of behavioral therapy is applied behavior analysis or ABA. This is just simply breaking down tasks into individual components. ABA has a success rate of 47%.

These sections of behavioral therapy will not cure a child from autism, but will help them to cope with the disorder. (Autism- Symptoms, Treatment and Prevention)

A couple other treatments for autism other than behavioral or communication therapy are drug therapies and complementary approaches. Drug therapies use things such as stimulants to help with hyperactivity and antipsychotic drugs will sometimes help with repetitive and aggressive behaviors. However, there is not a medication that will help with the direct signs of autism. Complementary approaches uses things like art therapy, music therapy, special diets, vitamin and mineral supplements and sensory integration. Therapies such as these focus on reducing a child’s hypersensitivity to touch or sound. (MayoClinic.com)

Western Kentucky University offers a program that I am sure many people do not even know about called Kelly Autism Program. Kelly Autism Program or KAP program goals are educational support through IEP assistance, classroom adaptations and tutoring, community involvement through active participation in community activities and the KAP ‘signature’ Christmas card project, social and leisure activities scheduled by the Teen council, job coaching along a continuum of support, and parent support/information through the Advisory Board, KAP website, “Dinner and Conversation” socials and Fact Sheets. They have four different levels of programs. Elementary Program helps develops concepts and skills in academic, social, and emotional areas through supported learning and social activities. The Middle School Program helps foster self-concept and skill growth as a result of educational support, social programming and community involvement. High School Program continues growth in self-concept and skills through participation in Teen Council, community involvement and job placement with varying levels of education and social supports. Last, the Post Secondary Program helps support a young post-secondary adult in a variety of placements including work and/or education placement. KAP also assists in social skills training and opportunities. (Kelly Autism Program) The Kelly Autism Program uses the best practice strategies to provide educational, recreational, and employment opportunities to participants and their families.

Communication disorders majors’ deals with training students in the knowledge and skills underlying communication sciences and disorders. This can be in varied settings from a school to a hospital to a nursing home. In each setting you will deal with people who have a disorder such as autism or someone who has had a stroke or even someone who is having to be taught how the speak again. (Department of Communication Disorders)

Works Cited

"Autism: Signs and Symptoms." MayoClinic.Com. 2 June 2006. 23 Mar. 2008 .

"Autism- Symptoms, Treatment, and Prevention." 20 Mar. 2008 .

"Autism: Treatment." MayoClinic.Com. 2 June 2006. 11 Apr. 2008 .

"Autism." Dictionary.Com. 23 Mar. 2008 .

"Autism." MayoClinic.Com. 2 June 2006. 23 Mar. 2008 .

"Department of Communication Disorders." Western Kentucky University. 23 Mar. 2008

Howlin, Patricia, and Anna Moorf, comps. Diagnosis in Autism: a Survey of Over 1200 Patients in the UK. 1 Nov. 1997. 10 Apr. 2008 .

Kelly Autism Program.

Leong, Sandra K. "Behavioral Therapy for Autism: an Overview." 23 Mar. 2008 .

Schoenstadt, Md, Arthur. "Autism Statistics." MEDTV. 9 Apr. 2008 .

Research Proposal

Introduction:

Autism is the pervasive developmental disorder characterized by severe deficits in social interaction and communication, by an extremely limited range of activities and interests, and often by the presence of repetitive, stereotyped behaviors. The first signs of autism begin typically before age three. Although treatment has greatly improved over the past few decades, autism can not be cured, and continues throughout life.

Three to six of every 1,000 children have autism. The disorder occurs three to four times more often in boys than in girls.

Signs and symptoms of autism: Children with autism usually have problems with three main areas of development social skills, language, and behavior. Children with the most severe cases of autism have complete inability of communication or interact with other people.

Some problems in the area of social skills could be fails to respond to his or her name, has poor eye contact, appears not to hear you at times, resist cuddling and holding, appears, unaware of others’ feelings, and seems to prefer to play alone.

Language problems consists of starts talking later than other children, loses previously acquired ability to say words or sentences, does not make eye conduct when making requests, speaks with an abnormal tone or rhythm such as a singsong voice or robot-like speech, can not keep start a conversation or keep one going, and may repeat words or phases verbatim, but doesn’t understand how to use them.

Some signs of behavioral problems are performs repetitive movements such as rocking, spinning, or hand-flapping, develops specific routines or rituals, becomes disturbed at the slightest change in routines or rituals, moves constantly, may be fascinated by parts or objects, such as the spinning wheels of a toy car, and may be unusually sensitive to light, sound, or touch.

Thesis: I believe that behavioral therapy is the best way to treat autistic children right now, even though there is not a specific treatment that fits every autistic child.

The research questions: What is the best treatment for autism even though there is not a cure? Is there a specific one or could there be many?

The methods:

Continue to find information about treatments: behavioral therapy

Internet, library

Visit Kelly Autism Program at WKU

The timeline:

This week: find more information about topic and continue to add to proposal

Next week: start putting information into a structure/ organize

A conclusion: A communication disorders major deals with training students in the knowledge and skills underlying communication sciences and disorders. This can be in a setting from a school to a hospital to a nursing home. In each setting you will deal with people that have a disorder such as autism or someone who has had a stroke or even someone who is having to be taught how the speak again.

Works Cited

"Autism: Signs and Symptoms." MayoClinic.Com. 2 June 2006. 23 Mar. 2008 .

"Autism." Dictionary.Com. 23 Mar. 2008 .

"Autism." MayoClinic.Com. 2 June 2006. 23 Mar. 2008 .

"Department of Communication Disorders." Western Kentucky University. 23 Mar. 2008

Critique

This article discusses the common types of speech and language disorders. There are between 3 to 6 million children in the United States with speech and language disorders. It is difficult to pinpoint an exact diagnosis during the first visit or two with a toddler, but there are many common communications difficulties at this age. “Waiting until your child is school age to see if he will “outgrow” a problem puts him at a serious disadvantage, especially when it comes to communication difficulties”.

One type of disorder is “apraxia is a neurological speech disorder that affects a child’s ability to plan, execute, and sequence the movements of the mouth necessary for intelligible speech.” Many children with this also have difficulty with sensory integration, or how he processes information from all of his senses.

Another type is “phonological disorder is difficulty with the “rules” or “patterns” for combining sounds intelligibly in speech in English.” Examples of this would be leaving off consonant sounds that precede a vowel, producing only one syllable in a multisyllabic word, and simplifying a multisyllabic word to a duplicated pattern.

A third type is “articulation disorder is difficulty with the production or pronunciation of speech sounds.” This is difficulty with an isolated sound such as substituting /w/ for /r/, or “st”.

A fourth type is “an auditory processing disorder is difficulty with listening to, receiving, analyzing, and organizing, storing, and retrieving information.” With auditory processing disorder children may have difficulty paying attention to what someone is saying or difficulty following directions when there is background noise or when they are more focused on something else.

A fifth type is “dysarthria is a neurological speech disorder that affects a child’s muscle tone.” This is present in children with Down Syndrome, cerebral palsy, or any other condition that causes “low tone”. Weakness will be seen in the muscles used for speech which include lips, tongue, soft palate, and cheeks.

A sixth type is “Dysfluency is the more professional term for stuttering.’ Many children develop the “stutter” when they move from using single words and short phases to longer sentences and/or when they are under pressure to speak.

The seventh type is “expressive language disorder is present when a child is not meeting milestones in the area of language usually involving vocabulary, combining words into phases, and beginning to use the early markings of grammar.” This disorder can and often co-exists with apraxia. With this disorder they have difficulty learning and retrieving new words and putting sentences together.

And the last type is “a receptive language disorder is difficulty understanding language”. Children with this type of disorder do not follow directions and it is not because they are being disobedient, but because they do not understand what they are being told to do.

This is a very informative article therefore there is anything for me to disagree with. It mainly explains the common types of speech and language disorders by telling what they are and what to expect from each type of disorder.

Works Cited

"Why Can’t My Child Talk? Common Types of Speech and Language Disorders." 5 Mar. 2008 .

Jing Project: Visual conversation starts here. Mac or Windows.

Jing Project: Visual conversation starts here. Mac or Windows.

Moving Research Forward

This week I have been researching more about what autism is and different ways of teaching children with autism.

Next week I am going to continue researching more about teaching methods for autistic children and ways that speech therapists help in this process.

"Top Ten Interesting 'Stuff and Things'"

1. A young woman buying a Louis Vuitton Murakami Cherry Blossom bag at a street-vendor booth. A bag that retails for about $1,500, she is likely to pay around $25.
2. “Reagan pronounced: ’Government is not the solution, government is the problem’.”
3. Four key reasons why transformations led to more cheating, New Pressures, Bigger Rewards for Winning, Temptation, and Trickle-down Corruption.
4. “If morality represents the way we would like the world to work and economics represents how it actually does work, then the story on Feldman’s bagel business lies at the very intersection of morality and economics”.
5. “In 1963 a national study determined that 81 percent of college students had engaged in some form of dishonest academic behavior; in 1993 the percentage was 83 percent”.
6. “Wealth has its privileges”.
7. Elizabeth Paige Laurie, 23, paid her roommate Elena Martinez a total of $20,000 to write her papers and help her prepare for tests.
8. “Pushed by pressures to succeed and armed with the latest technology, a growing number of today’s students seem to feel less and less reluctant to borrow rather than create”.
9. Downloading from the internet is the most common form of cheating today.
10. Teachers now look for student with one arm on the desk and one arm under it, using their cell phones.

Research Question...

How do communication disorders affect children?

Summary "You're 16, You're Beautiful and You're a Voter"

By: Anya Kamenetz, a staff writer for fast Company, is the author of "Generation Debt."

Legal age limits should never stand alone. They should always be flexible and paired with educational and cognitive requirements to decide the legal maturity. Driving laws show the best model for combining early beginnings and mandatory education. Many states already have a successful gradual phase in the driving rights of 16-year-olds, starting with their learners permit.

Like the driving laws 16-year-olds who would like to start voting should be able to obtain an “early voting permit” from their high school upon passing a simple civics course, which is similar to the citizenship test.

Sixteen is a good starting point for phasing in adult rights and responsibilities, from voting to drinking to marriage. The law ought to allow the young people decide this openly. “Surveys show that teenagers who drink at home with their families go on to drink less than those who sneak beers with friends.” Could you imagine 16-year-olds being able to receive a drinking permit after passing a mandatory alcoholism course? But it would only allow it at family gatherings or school functions for two years or until you graduated or moved out.

Also, the phasing of credit cards at 16 could work with firm restrictions. They would include a parental co-signer until the applicants have made one year of on-time payments and passing a mandatory financial literacy test, which would include questions such as defining compound interest, correctly deciphering the fine print on a credit card agreement and arguing with a customer service representative about an unnecessary fee.

“The more we treat teenagers as adults, the more they rise to our expectations.” Trying adult rights to cognitive requirements may also smooth out the bigger problems with age related social problems. We need to be able to test all Americans to make sure they are still qualified to drive and to avoid financial scammers. “From the public health point of view, the silver tsunami poses more of a threat than marauding teenagers ever did.”

Summary "Can Computers Change the Way We Think"

Everyone that answered the question about “Can computers change the way we think” believe that they do change us. Many people say that they change us by how we generate things in a much faster pace and we seem to use them for the simplest things, such as talking to people. The most important part of the computer is the internet and without it many people would feel lost. The internet makes the world available to people at their fingertips.