When it comes to my son, I want the best. I stopped counting the money we’ve put into therapies not covered by insurance–it’s too depressing. I buy him the fancy, organic food that I’m too cheap to buy for myself. He’s got an iPad for crying out loud. I’ve taken a similar approach when it…
Category Archives: Advocacy
Does The Future Frighten You?
I need your opinions on something. Once a child with disabilities reaches middle school and beyond, schools place a bigger emphasis on vocational skills – preparing the children for jobs once school is over. IDEA 2004 definitely supports that: In “Findings” of IDEA 2004 (Section 1400(c)), Congress found that “30 years of research and experience…
Advocacy for Special Needs
Sometimes, I have completely random thoughts that I just have to get out of my brain before it explodes. Lucky you–heh. We (as in special needs parents) advocate. Hard. Passionately. We push administrator’s buttons in the schools. We give the stink eye to people who stare at our kids. We complain (sometimes incessantly) about doctors,…
A Very Special T-Shirt
Have I mentioned before that T-shirts talk to me? Well, one T-shirt does. It’s a shame really because other than this little quirk, I’m a mostly normal person. So the talking T-shirt? It belongs to Charlie (of course)My brother gave it to him years ago and it’s fro a company called Threadless. The T-shirt features…
Help Wanted
Complex –adjective 1. composed of many interconnected parts; compound; composite: a complex highway system. 2. characterized by a very complicated or involved arrangement of parts, units, etc.: complex machinery. 3. so complicated or intricate as to be hard to understand or deal with: a complex problem. A friend of mine mentioned to me the other…
The Love Nest
Being new to 5MSN, I wanted to introduce myself to you, in a way that brought you close to my… bedroom? I have no shame! That’s right, we are going straight to the master suite…the place where the magic happens! (Hey, I made the bed for the picture! That’s an accomplishment in and of itself!)…
Leveraging quirky talents
Psychotherapist Janet Lawson of Mill Valley, California worked with many teen and young adult clients with social/communication challenges and had an idea. Wouldn’t it be more effective to facilitate social interaction by showing instead of telling? “Rather than mandating social interactions or creating artificial social situations, I wanted to help my clients enjoy naturally occurring…
Freedom Hopes
This Fourth of July week I’ve been thinking a lot about the word ‘freedom’ as it pertains to my children with significant disabilities. It’s not flags and fireworks I’m thinking about, but rather the freedom of choice. I want my children to be able to make choices, to live life their own way. I want…
Any words of wisdom for the IEP?
I thought I had a fairly good grasp of what type of school and support he needed fir the IEP. But where I find myself lacking is what kind of supports the school can and will offer for a medically fragile child.
I’m quickly finding out they don’t “offer” much. It seems I need to ask for every possible thing under the sun and then somehow prove why he needs what I am asking for. Has anyone else had that experience?
Definitely NOT a Poor Thing
Why do most people say “awww, poor thing” when I tell them of Ashley’s significant disabilities? I admit that when I list all her issues, it might seem like she has a daunting job just existing each day. But I honestly don’t believe, and I think Ashley would agree with this assessment, that her life…