Children with special needs are all amazing in their own ways. But raising them isn't always easy. This group will let people talk about challenges they face and share experiences and possible solutions.
New Here
Hello, we have been here for almost a year. I have a 3yr old girl and 1yr old boy, both with special needs. My hubby and I have been married for a year, so sea duty is new to me. I am a sahm looking to find some friends just like me. I have met some ship wives and they were less than "friend" material! I am so glad I found this website :) Amanda
Christmas Money Savers
How do you save money on Christmas shopping? We have a limited budget this year but I still want to make it fun. What do you suggest?
2009 CureSearch Walk to Conquer Kids' Cancer
Even some of you younger moms and dads out there have likely been affected by someone in your life who has cancer. It's awful when it happens to an adult, but it's a whole new ballgame when it happens to a child. But this message isn't supposed to be a downer. Good news in this field is happening every day and new treatments are making miracles into realities.
Having a horrible time finding babysitters
I have tried to find a part-time babysitter without success! I have tried www.care.com and no one returned my phone calls. Now I am trying www.sittercity.com, and have had one person not return my calls! I am just wondering why people advertise themselves to babysit if they really don't want to?
Warehouse Clubs
Does anyone out there shop mostly at BJs or Sams or Costco and do you feel that this saves you more money than using coupons combined with sales. I feel like I spend too much time at grocery stores and perhaps buy more than I would by being there, even with the sales and coupons. I may try the warehouse-only approach for a month and compare.
David Spisak Jr. Fun-Raising Event
I'm giving this event another name: "Drink for David." Could it be any easier to help out a little 2-year-old boy who was diagnosed with leukemia in May?
Kids and babies
My best friend recently had a little girl, and it was so neat to see my 8-year-old son with her. Normally on the hyper and wild side, he held her so gently and looked at her like he couldn't believe how small she was. Parents of babies: I know you have to protect them from germs, but please consider letting the older kids around you at least take a peek.
A Comprehensive Eye Exam
Of all the stories I have written for Tidewater Parent Magazine, I feel this is my most important. This area is blessed to have Dr. Joel Zaba who conducted an important study of a vision screening for children versus a comprehensive eye exam. The entire article maybe be found in the archives of this website. Below are the highlights. Virginia Beach Optometrist Dr.
Comments
The power of Amelia Bedelia
The silly maid and her literal interpretations of common expressions have really helped my 8-year-old learn that people's words don't always mean exactly what they sound like. "Fill in the hole" in a line, for example, doesn't mean drop to your knees and look for a hole in the ground. "Dust the furniture" doesn't mean spread dust onto the table. And so on. I would recommend these books to any parent with a child on the autism spectrum to help them learn some of the nuances of language. We have to work on sarcasm next...
Alison Johnson
A cool description of my kid (and many others)
Sometimes I find myself getting too impatient with my son when he loses focus on his school work, uses sloppy handwriting, makes careless mistakes and generally takes a long time to take care of his homework and other responsibilities. Yesterday a friend of mine -- whose son is one of my son's best friends and also has trouble with attention/developmental issues -- put it like this: "It is so hard to see our kids struggling at school. I feel like they are running with weights strapped around their ankles, yet they're still managing to keep up." And that's exactly how it is. Tommy is working so hard at school, but he has extra weight to carry and simply keeping up is often a major accomplishment. Those words are going to help me feel more sympathetic toward his situation (although I will never give up having high expectations of him) and they've also focused my goal as a parent: to lighten that extra load as much as possible so he can move forward to the best of his abilities. And they also make me even more proud of him. So I just wanted to share them!
Alison Johnson
New Category for Special Needs: Mood Disorders
I think there are probably a lot of parents out there raising children who are autistic or have Aspergers, or other genetic diseases and disorders that are more commonly known. I am raising a child who has Early-Onset Bipolar Disorder. She was diagnosed at age 7, is presently 13, and doing well at the moment. There have been many terrible struggles for her and our family. Let me know if you too have a child with a mood disorder. I keep a blog about our family at www.stackjourney.blogspot.com.
Teaching the art of conversation
I've realized something recently about my 8-year-old, who has Asperger's syndrome. Actually, I've really known this all along, but only lately have I felt a clarity about one thing that he really needs from me: how to have the most basic "normal" conversations with people so they're less likely to consider him rude or too odd. In the car today, for example, I asked him how he should respond if someone says, "Hi, how are you?" He looked at me blankly before saying "yes" (my 6-year-old, meanwhile, blurted out, "I'm good, how are you?") It struck me with such force that my older boy really doesn't know. So I taught him the right lines for most encounters, and we practiced them. Next we need to work on following the subject of a conversation... i.e., not telling someone the size of a dinosaur's horn when they ask him what he's doing this summer. I'm hoping this role playing helps him negotiate the social maze at school while not changing his basic self, which is wonderful to me. If anyone else raising an Asperger's child has tips or stories, I'd love to hear them. This entry is posted on my blog as well.
Alison Johnson
Mom's Choice Awards seeks parents of special needs children
The Mom's Choice Awards is an international award program that honors excellence in family-friendly media, products and services. We are based in Hampton Roads, and we're seeking local parents to help us evaluate products and services. We're especially interested in parents who are willing to review content for parents of special needs children. To learn more about becoming a judge, please visit: http://www.momschoiceawards.com/judges.php. Thanks in advance for your consideration! Jane
Mom's Choice Awards
Honoring excellence in family-friendly media, products and services.
MomsChoiceAwards.com
Schizencephaly
Hi! Im a proud mom of a 19 months old baby boy who was diagnosed with a very rare neurological disorder called schizencephaly, is been very challenging but at the same time he has such a wonderful smile that doesn't matter how much of a challenge he can be. I would like to talk to moms or dads that their kids has benn diagnose with the same condition. you are more than welcom to read an article that Hampton Roads health Journal did about my son. just go through thr archives and it was done in august of 2008. Hope to hear from anyone!
Camille
Hi Camille, I'm going to
Hi Camille,
I'm going to find that article. Can you tell me exactly what schizencephaly is? One idea I had is to contact King's Daughters (you might now it as CHKD) and ask if they have a support group. I don't know if they'll have one particularly for this condition but I believe they have ones for parents with special needs. I remember talking to a mom before who was in the group and she said it was helpful with understanding paperwork for dealing with the state for special programs and for getting tips on coping day in and day out. I hope you find someone here, too, who can help.
Kristen De Deyn Kirk
Editor, Mytidewatermoms.com
Hi Kristen!
My son goest CHKD for all the help that he needs, they have a support group but only in Norfolk and since we live in Hampton is kind of hard to go all the way there, they are planning to start a support group here in the Peninsula but they haven't contact me yet. To learn more about Cael disorder you can google it there is not a lot of websites with info since is so rare. Plaese let me know if you find the article if not I will be more than happy to email you a copy.
Camille Atkins
Teasing
My 8-year-old has Asperger's and ADD and is beginning to encounter teasing from peers at school, largely because he has trouble understanding when people are joking and gets riled up very easily. We have talked to him about remaining calm no matter what response he gives, and he really can be quite good at standing up for himself. But he still has moments where he loses his cool and then obsessively thinks about what has happened. Anyone have any good advice about how to react? This is a wonderful but quirky kid who inevitably is going to have to deal with this stuff... and I'd rather that than him trying to change himself to be "cool."
Alison Johnson
Teasing
Have you tried Social Stories with your son? I'm a Speech-Language Pathologist and have successfully used Social stories with many children on the Autism Spectrum. If your child works with an SLP they might be able to help you develop a social story for teasing - it would be a written story saying what children might say etc. and describe ways that your child could react - be very specific in what he should say or do. You might also want to work on his comprehension of jokes/sarcasm etc. as this is very difficult for children with Aspergers- this is another skill a speech-therapist could assist you with. Good Luck!
Diane Ringler
Hi Alison, One expert I
Hi Alison,
One expert I talked to suggested regular role playing to help children understand how to react. You could pretend to be a joking child and your son is himself. Then you switch roles and after you're done, talk about how you reacted. She said the key was to keep practicing. I'd maybe also ask your son to tell you about every time he finds himself handling a situation well -- he might see that he's doing a pretty good job, as you've said he's doing most of the time. Maybe he can get those "good" moments in his head and try to switch his focus away from a "bad" one when something doesn't go as well as he would have liked.
Kristen De Deyn Kirk
Editor, Mytidewatermoms.com