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Please don’t pity me because I have a kid with special needs

Written on March 23, 2009 by Ellen

Saturday, my friend Sharon called. She’s an old friend from college, we talk a couple of times a year. She and her family are coming to our area Easter Sunday weekend, and she was going to stay at our house. When I spoke with her last week, she thought that maybe our family and hers…

in Cerebral Palsy, Dealing With Public Perceptions

- 18 Comments

Coddling a child with special needs: Do we sometimes overdo it?

Written on March 16, 2009 by Ellen

6 Comments

This weekend, my kids had their usual car fight. Again and again and again. Max wanted to sit in his little sister’s car seat (yes, it’s very cute, his is just plain blue) every time we went out. Given that he and Sabrina are about the same weight, it is not a safety issue. It…

in Cerebral Palsy

- 6 Comments

How much should you encourage other kids to play with your child?

Written on March 9, 2009 by Ellen

8 Comments

The scene: Saturday morning. It is 70 degrees and gorgeous outside. Max and I are roaming around, and see two little boys on our block with their Razor scooters. Max is so excited to see them, he loves other kids and anything with wheels. He runs over. “Hi!” he says, and smiles. The boys look…

in Cerebral Palsy, Dealing With Public Perceptions

- 8 Comments

Acceptance

Written on March 2, 2009 by Ellen

14 Comments

That’s what’s been on my mind these past couple of days. This weekend, my husband and I went to a ceremony honoring teen volunteers for a Sunday morning program Max attends. It’s for kids with special needs, and it’s really amazing—Dave drops Max off at 9:30, and picks him up at 12. They sing, make…

in Cerebral Palsy, Dealing With Public Perceptions

- 14 Comments

Should you give a child medication he doesn’t really “need”?

Written on February 23, 2009 by Ellen

8 Comments

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about Max’s habit of drooling. Last week, my husband took him for a checkup to the pediatric physiatrist. They got to talking about Max’s drooling, and the doctor prescribed a patch to help that we’d stick behind one of Max’s ears. Dave brought the prescription to our pharmacy….

in Cerebral Palsy, Medications and Treatment Options

- 8 Comments

The happiest sound in the whole, wide world

Written on February 16, 2009 by Ellen

5 Comments

I’ll never forget the first time my Max laughed. He was about three months old, I made a funny noise and he let out this “Heh, heh, heh” that cracked me up. It felt good to laugh; I’d cried a lot during the first few months of his life. Another happy memory: When Max was…

in Cerebral Palsy

- 5 Comments

A great day at the aquarium (and other minor miracles)

Written on February 9, 2009 by Ellen

6 Comments

On Saturday, we road-tripped to a wonderful place, Adventure Aquarium. Both kids had an amazing time, but I was especially thrilled to see how excited Max was. He ran right into the aquarium, dragged us from room to room, and basically had the time of his life. Up until Max was four or so, we literally…

in Cerebral Palsy

- 6 Comments

The need to seem “normal”

Written on February 2, 2009 by Ellen

10 Comments

Hi, everyone. So, the wonderful pediatric neurologist I mentioned in my post from last week on doctors who have given you hope did e-mail me back. He was very happy to hear that Max was doing so well. I was really glad I’d gotten in touch—he deserved to know. This picture is from Friday, a…

in Cerebral Palsy, Dealing With Public Perceptions

- 10 Comments

Got a doctor who’s given you hope about your child?

Written on January 26, 2009 by Ellen

8 Comments

Greetings, everyone. This is Ellen, mom to Max, 6, and Sabrina, 4. A little background on how I got here: Max had a stroke at birth. Doctors told my husband and I that he might not walk or talk. That he’d have mental retardation. That he could have hearing and seeing problems. Basically, every nightmare…

in Day In And Day Out, Medications and Treatment Options

- 8 Comments