When Zoe was little I spent a lot of time thinking ( and writing) about about how different she was. Then she grew, and through her grade school years blossomed with the encouragement to try and do her best as I made sure she was always included, and treated just like everyone else. Zoe will be starting…
Category Archives: Resources
Message for ALL Mom’s.. LOVE your kids, as if they were dying..
My day had started like any other, I was up at 5 packing lunches and backpacks, while trying to gulp down some coffee. I had an appointment at the office later, so I spent a few minutes standing in front of my closet perplexed and sighing. I looked in the mirror, briefly noting the major…
Rebuilding Life – An Interview With a Pro Who “Gets” Us
You know those stories we all tell about our kids’ care team professionals who don’t have a clue? The ones who clearly don’t know at all what life is like outside their 15-minute office visit with our child and her challenges? My guest today is NOT one of those professionals! Harriet Cabelly is a Life…
The Hardest Word I’ve Ever Said
Seven years. Over a thousand hours at hospitals and specialist appointments. Countless interventions at home. And it turns out the most important word to help my daughter’s treatment is this: NO. No… we’re not doing a nineteenth round of medication adjustments. It’s time for hospitalization. No… I won’t take her home from the hospital and…
Speak NOW for Kids
Speak Now for Kids is an advocacy campaign of the National Association of Children’s Hospitals (N.A.C.H.) designed to engage child advocates in communicating with Congress before they cut funding for two key children’s health care programs: Medicaid, which funds health care coverage for one in three children in the U.S. and the Children’s Hospital Graduate…
The Anonymous Note, Part 2 And Those Kids Who Inspire Special Needs Moms
When my daughter Zoe was a toddler, she didn’t spend her days spreading out her toys and playing on our cool tile floor , or toddling around clutching her favorite doll with sticky juice hands like her big sister Olivia did. Instead, Zoe preferred to cuddle for comfort. Her speech didn’t develop until late so…
Thrive with Autism – Tips for Those Looking to Understand
Andrea Richardson and Andrea Warner are two teachers who want to help parents Thrive With Autism. We love these tips from www.ThrivingWithAutism.com that they are sharing; both for parents, and for the community who is trying to understand Autism. Have you ever been in a store, movie theatre, or, yes… even an elevator, and your…
Soothing An Anxious Child
Some kids just pop out of the womb self-assured and confident. Mine, not so much. Raising 2 former foster kids, assurance is like a foreign language in their minds! It’s been a huge learning process for us to figure out what works and what doesn’t in helping them find confidence in stress. And I know…
Homework Strategies for Moody Kids
A few weeks back in school and all the old frustrations are in full swing. The pencil-breaking. The paper-ripping. The weeping. The gnashing of teeth. You’d think schoolwork was, in fact, hell on earth. But really it’s just hell to a child with a learning disability. Especially one that’s at the mercy of bipolar mood…
Summing up Your Special Needs Child
Each new school year I hand over a “parent report” to the child’s new teacher. I wrote a blog post about it at my personal site a couple of years ago. I still think it is one of the most powerful tools in my special needs mom arsenal. Our report is about five pages long, though I’ve also…