Back in 2015, the state awarded the schools in the Tri-Town district a cumulative total of $60,000 in technology grant money – all the schools except for the junior high, that is.

“What we couldn’t understand was … what happened with our junior high?” said Assistant Superintendent Elise Frangos. “It was somehow an omission.”

Frangos said ORR once again applied for the technology grant, and she was happy to announce that the state has awarded the junior high $25,000 to go towards technology infrastructure upgrades and teacher technology training.

“We’re really delighted because what will happen, Mass IT will walk around our school … with our technology department … and really look behind the walls at our infrastructure,” Frangos said.

“So, it’s really been a red banner week for technology in our schools,”Frangos noted, referring to the grant and also to high school technology teacher MJ Linane and his engineering students’ recent technology competition win.

Superintendent Doug White added that there are other grants the school districts do apply for but do not always receive.

“So this is a great opportunity for us to really celebrate the good work that is happening in the district and, actually, the ability for us to improve learning for all of our students,” said White, “so we’re really excited.”

By Jean Perry

When I asked my son, “So how was your Christmas this year?” he simply stated, “Awesome.” This year when people ask me how my Christmas was, I’ll say that it was nice and then change the subject. I think I do that every year, though, after each imperfect Christmas passes and we move onto the imperfect New Year.

My son loves Christmas. The gifts, lights, holiday music, and he’s got his dad and siblings with him (who only visit once a year for the holidays), so how could it be anything but wonderful? But for the grownups at our house, it’s always pretty awkward, always less than perfect. That should be understandable, since we are an imperfect family – my son having two parents separated, while being separated from two older half-siblings, all separated by the border of two neighboring countries – Canada and the United States.

But that awesome, wonderful, awkward, and imperfect Christmas we have come to expect every year almost didn’t happen. Something almost separated a young son from his father, and during the weeks of December leading up to the anticipated departure from Toronto to Boston, the sentiment was serious and Christmas was uncertain.

Duality pervades everything in this dimension in which we dwell. At the top, there’s heaven and hell, love and hate, good and evil. Of the lesser dualisms, there’s always day and night, black and white, and there’s also the spirit of Christmas and all its good will towards men, and the spirit of the Grinch that either directly or indirectly tries to diminish it.

Still maintaining the (ahem) child’s transient endurance of anticipation of the magic of Santa’s annual visit, my son – who is an avid watcher of the classic Christmas cartoon Dr. Suess’ The Grinch Who Stole Christmas – said to me weeks ago, “I hope the Grinch doesn’t come to our house and steal our Christmas.” It was one thing to have to tell him that, much like the Grinch, someone stole our spinning Christmas light show projector light from our front yard, but it was another thing entirely to tell him that someone wanted to keep my son’s father – and everyone like him – from entering our country, which ultimately would keep my son’s Christmas from coming.

Donald Trump’s policy to keep people from six predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States understandably makes sense to some people. Despite the majority of recent terrorist attacks being domestic in nature, the cultivated ongoing fear of Muslim extremist terrorism might make a ban on all Muslims traveling to the United States a logical option, although studies suggest otherwise.

The initial attempt to keep Muslims from entering the Unites States was suspended by the appeal process, but the threat of uncertainty kept some people – those who were born in, affiliated with, or would potentially travel from Chad, Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, or Somalia – from travelling to the U.S.

Having been born in a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, Syria before immigrating to Canada as a political refugee, evolving into a well known and respected public figure both nationally and internationally and living the Canadian dream as a Canadian citizen, my son’s father was naturally concerned about how the travel ban could affect him. After all, his first name is one variation of the most popular name shared by an estimated 150 million Muslim men worldwide, and although not a religious man or practicing Muslim, even the most remote possibility of being accosted, interrogated, detained, and inadvertently sent back to Syria is something for him to fear.

I told my son on November 30 that his dad likely would not be coming for Christmas. He cried. I cried for him. I’ll refrain from describing the lengths that I as his mother would go to just to be with my son, but his father had chosen to forego the risk, which at first I perceived as overreacting. Then on December 4, a divided Supreme Court allowed Trump’s travel ban to go into effect, validating Dad’s fears and diminishing the hope of a happy Christmas.

Stealing decorations had nothing on the Whos of Whoville, for it was love and family and the holiday spirit that made Christmas ‘Christmas.’ The Grinch did leave those superficial aspects of Christmas intact. We still had our presents and decorations – minus one light display projector – but what was truly important, the true spirit of the season, would be missing for us.

No one knew what Christmas would look like, what it would feel like this year. A number of phone calls, inquiries, and contacts needed to be made before anyone could assess the likelihood that Christmas would indeed be merry for the boy. I faced other details such as how many gifts do we need to buy, how big of a rib roast do we need, and would I need to go the extra miles to try to salvage Christmas this year because of a policy that would likely do very little to keep terrorism out, but would certainly succeed in separating loved ones. Even the Grinch himself couldn’t deliver that degree of devastation.

Many are unfortunate in their experience with the impact of this travel ban policy. But after some reassurance from relevant legal sources, Dad and siblings booked the airplane tickets and approached the U.S. immigration line at the airport. Questions were asked, facts verified, and ultimately passports were stamped. Six Canadian feet landed on U.S. soil in time for Christmas.

As with the Whos, for us Christmas still came, as long as ‘we’ still had ‘we,’ “hands to grasp,” and stood “heart to heart and hand in hand.”

Yes, Christmas for the boy was “awesome,” and for me, I’ll stick to my premeditated response of “It was nice.” But in dualistic reality, it felt like a dichotomy of merry and depressing, and was framed by polarized politics and a policy that might keep some undesirable people out, but also some desirable ones, too, like dads who want to be with their kids on Christmas. It might serve to tighten up the border of our country, but perhaps it further widens the dualistic border between wrong and right.

This Imperfect Life

By Jean Perry

December 23 proved to be a night when Rudolph’s red nose would have been helpful as people made their way through the foggy night going over the river, through the woods, and around the cranberry bog before finally arriving at the quaint ye olde Tinkhamtown Chapel to sing Christmas carols.

But the weather didn’t stop all ye faithful from coming.

The young, the old, people in-between and even entire families made their way to the chapel to share a moment away from the commercial side of the holiday season to participate in the simple joy of raising one’s voice in song to celebrate Christmas.

All the traditional favorites were sung to the accompaniment of an antique pipe organ played by Gail Roberts and violin by Louise Anthony. Roberts said that her grandmother, Minny Tinkham, had taught her how to play the organ when she was a high school student.

“So I guess the organ must be at least sixty years old.” Roberts pointed out that this style of organ including handles attached on either side, “So it could be carried through the jungles by missionaries.”

While Roberts and Anthony prepared for the community event, people began drifting in by ones and twos then by large family groups until every space on the wooden benches was filled.

Announcers Hannah and Calder Easton, 11-year old twins who are also fifth-graders at Old Hammondtown School, expertly ushered the congregation through the songbooks that had been provided.

After the crowd had warmed up singing such all time favorites as “Joy To The World,” “The First Noel,” and “Angels We Have Heard On High,” Roberts gathered 12 young volunteers onto the tiny stage to sing “The Twelve Days Of Christmas,” with each child holding up a picture representing specific lines in the song such as the ever popular “…Five golden rings…”

A smaller group of children sang a song wishing Jesus a Happy Birthday.

As the event drew to a close and people wished each other a “Merry Christmas and Happy New Year,” many commented how wonderful it was to be able to attend the gathering and to have a building such as the chapel to remind us that simple joys are still the best.

The Tinkhamtown Chapel was built in 1889 and has been in nearly continuous use since opening its doors 128 years ago.

By Marilou Newell

The holidays can be tough on anyone. What they may not realize is that it can be particularly challenging for autistic people. As an active member of the autistic community, please allow me to present a variety of factors that make this otherwise joyous season difficult for autistics, and also offer advice on how you can make it more manageable for an autistic loved one.

Number 1: Sensory overload, or ‘sensory processing disorder,’ is often common with autism. What this means is that autistics experience the senses more intensely stimulated compared to yours or that of other neuro-typicals.

Consider those lights – does your holiday room have a lot of bright lights? Do they flash off and on? This is something that the autistic person in your life may have a hard time dealing with. To them, those lights are intensely brighter, and when they flash they can be extraordinarily distracting. Those, like me, with sensory processing disorder may be extra sensitive to light, making those lights that are pleasant to some, painful to autistic people. To circumvent this distracting discomfort, keep holiday lights turned down or off while in the company of an autistic individual.

Then there is sound overload. Look around you, for example, during a holiday party with a crowd of people talking at once. Are children playing with noisy toys in the room? Is holiday music playing loudly? Some of these may be reasons why your autistic loved one or guest appears distracted, uncomfortable, or downright miserable. ‘Central auditory processing disorder’ could be playing into this.

If there are a lot of people talking while, at the same time, the music is playing, don’t be surprised if that autistic child doesn’t hear you when you say, “Okay, little Johnny, it’s your turn to open a present.” Know that he is not ignoring you; rather, he may just be having a hard time registering that you have even said anything as he struggles to process the auditory information around him. All the noises are kind of mushing together into one confusing onslaught. Be warned that this type of sensory overload experience has been known to induce ‘meltdowns’ and ‘autistic shutdowns’ or other unpleasant hang-ups.

To prevent these hang-ups should a situation escalate, maybe turn down or turn off the music, ask people in the room to cease talking for just a moment, or offer the autistic person a pair of earplugs or headphones to help cancel or filter the sound.

There also exists an olfactory sensory overload, an intense sensitivity to scents. Is anyone wearing perfume or cologne? Try to visualize the strongest smelling potent perfume, cologne, body spray, or deodorant that you have ever encountered. Do these sensations seem overwhelming or noxious to you? Think about a time that you felt overpowered by an artificial scent. You could probably double this for someone with scent-based sensory processing disorder.

Carly Fleischmann, a well-known autistic author and advocate, describes how even the briefest whiff of a perfume in the air can overwhelm her entire system, making it impossible for her to carry on a conversation or other task until the scent has cleared away from her system.

What can you do to respectfully mitigate the effects of scents on the autistic individual? Ask your guests not to wear scented products, or the very least you can seat your autistic loved one or guest away from that perfume-drenched person in the room. Refrain from burning scented candles and other fragrance-emitting devices in the room, no matter how festive the scent.

Number 2: Social interaction and social stimulation struggles and strategies. It often goes without saying that a parent raising an autistic child takes a lot of patience and understanding. If that is you, you will probably find that you especially need extra patience and understanding during a social holiday.

We have already covered central auditory processing disorder. Again, please understand that a noisy room will always make it hard for an autistic person to realize that you are speaking to them, make out what you’re saying, and engage in any conversation. Again, you can’t prevent this problem but try making the room as quiet as possible, given the circumstances.

Now, let’s discuss eye contact.

The autistics in your life probably won’t make as much eye contact as you’d like or expect from a person during holiday events or any other days. You may find that when they are stressed they make even less eye contact. You may even observe that they don’t make eye contact at all.

We individuals of the autistic self-advocacy community believe that no autistic should be forced to maintain eye contact for the sake of neuro-typicals. (Actually, we kindly ask you to get over this insistence.)

Keeping with the topic of social interaction, let’s talk about autistic ‘self-taught scripting.’

Despite what many neuro-typicals may think, scripting, or the art of an autistic person using a pre-rehearsed line of dialogue that we have designed, memorized, and filed away for future social interactions we encounter in this neuro-typical world, is quite useful to us.

I promise you, if an autistic person possesses a verbal capability of expression, they are using scripting to get them past social interactions that otherwise would be difficult to manage during the holidays, and the rest of the year. If you have raised your autistic child with the intent of being polite, they probably have worked out a script for those holiday gifts they receive with less enthusiasm than those that were on their gift list. If you are looking for that genuine enthusiastic look from your autistic gift receiver, try asking them what they want ahead of time. Do not assume that they want what other kids want, or what you would want for them. Remember, autistic kids – people – are quite different from you and others who are, in fact, neuro-typical.

You know, the greatest gift you could ever give an autistic person – for the holidays or any day of the year – is simply to engage with them in a conversation about their special interest.

If you have paid any attention to this darling autistic in your life, you should at least be aware of one or two of their special interests. Few things delight an autistic more than describing all the facets about their special interest they find intriguing. Set aside a good chunk of time and listen carefully enough to develop some follow-up questions. You might actually find yourself cherishing the moment, looking at the face of that amazing autistic in your life beaming back at you as they uncover (in great detail) every aspect of their particular special interest.

Please understand that most autistics, like any introvert, have limited social energy. It might be advisable to allow your socially anxious autistic a couple hours to decompress before guests arrive. I also advise allowing time for your autistic to socially decompress after the guests leave, or during time when things quiet down. Know that, for many autistics, social interactions require much bravery, and they can be rendered quite exhausted after time spent interacting socially with people, especially those they may not be too familiar with.

The most important thing to remember when helping your beloved autistic through the holiday season is to let them be their autistic selves.

Let her play with her toys and in her unconventional autistic ways. Let him practice his ‘stims.’ Let them have breaks from socializing, and don’t expect everything they say in the moment to make sense in the context of what was being discussed, and always be aware of their sensory issues.

This has been an analysis on why holiday times can be difficult for those autistics you want to share the joys of the holidays with. I hope you are able to use this advice effectively for the sake of your autistic loved one and for yours as well. Happy Holidays!

Chuck is a contributing writer and autism advocate from Mattapoisett. As an autistic, he can be relied upon as an authority on the topic of autism with firsthand experience and ethos to effectively describe the autistic experience.

The Autistic Experience

By Charles McIntyre