Author Archives: Jill

I'm a 30-something working mom of two girls. My oldest daughter is 5 and my 20 month old was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy as a result of PVL at 9 months. I love being a mom, I strive for organization but often fail, and I'm a terrible cook.

How Far She’s Come

As special needs parents our calendars quickly fill up with therapies and appointments. In between we may be finding time for other children, our spouses, jobs, and running a household. Among the day-to-day we may lose sight of the big accomplishments and how far we’ve progressed in a relatively short period of time. I know…

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Therapy Tools (part 2): PT

When J was about 16 months old her therapist suggested ankle-foot orthoses (AFOs). J was just rolling over and wasn’t crawling yet. She could bear weight on her legs with support and the therapist wanted her ankles and feet positioned properly when she was standing for therapy and in her exer-sauser at home. J hasn’t…

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Debbie Downer

Have you ever been in a group setting and felt like a total Debbie Downer? You know, the Saturday Night Live character who always talks about natural disasters and deadly diseases bringing everyone down and halting all conversation? Well I have. Shortly after my daughter’s diagnosis I was invited by a friend to one of…

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Therapy tools (part one): speech

I’m going to use my next couple of posts to talk about the tools we are using with J. I am in no way a medical expert or therapist; I’m only sharing what we have found to assist my daughter. At 20 months old, J is at a 6-9 month level for speech. She knows…

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The unknown is a scary thing.

Blogging for a group like 5MFSN is scary. Putting my words, my thoughts, my child’s story out there for others to read is scary. But I do it because others have done it and their thoughts and their stories have comforted me. I also know that this will challenge me and become the outlet I…

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