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where parents of kids with special needs connect

All Blog Posts (132)

Introducing our family!

Hi, my name is Liz, & I am new to this group. It was introduced to me by another parent of a special need's child. My husband, Louis & I, & our two girls, Emily & Leah live in Texas. My daughter Emily is 6 yr. old, & was diagnosed with Optic Nerve Hypoplasia with Septo Optic Dysplasia at the age of 5 mo. She is mostly blind, with what little vision she does have being inconsistent, non functional & not useable. She is our angel girl & it has taken years to finally…

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Added by Liz Johnson on August 30, 2011 at 10:16am — No Comments

Stressed? Yes? Finally an IEP for Moms of Young Adults with Special Needs

Find out why the most stressful job in America is held by moms in mid life and what you can do to refuel, recharge and reconnect for the long haul!

Added by Doreen G. Fulton on July 29, 2011 at 4:39pm — No Comments

Raising my Quacky......

So part of me is sitting at my desk exhausted and just wanting to sleep and part of me is starting to see the humor in the night's circumstances and smirking at the total love I feel for my quacky little duck.  So my ex-husband caused a sequence of events that he is completely unaware of just how many triggers he set off.  I'm not mad at him.  That's entirely not the point of this story.  I am hoping you can read it and giggle just a teeny bit.  He brought the kids to try on shoes and C (Whom I… Continue

Added by LittleCsMom on July 13, 2011 at 8:46am — No Comments

What Lies Beneath

Tonight I have to write about depression (sorry Finian, autism is sooo last season dahling).



Mostly my depression is kept under wraps with medication and sound advice from my wonderful GP.

Occasionally, though, despite my best efforts, it sneaks up on me and takes grip and I'd like to try to explain what it's like.  Because I'm fun like that.



I can't get to grips with the fact that on the surface I seem fine, while a big black hole is circling deep beneath the… Continue

Added by Jean Carroll on July 11, 2011 at 5:16pm — No Comments

Things That Make Me Absurdly Happy

In keeping with my new outlook to live in the Here & Now (as opposed to the big, bad ,scary future), I've been paying closer attention to the things that make me happy.



Throughout the week I used my mobile to capture random moments that gave me a burst of joy, no matter how abstract (or just plain sad) they were.



Here they are, in no particular order.  Point and laugh as you will.…





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Added by Jean Carroll on July 5, 2011 at 2:48am — 1 Comment

Grab bag

Children are a magical mix of mom and dad.  The deal is you never know which parts of which parent each child is going to get.  It sure would be nice to pick and choose the best traits to combine.

 

Jazzy got her overbite and protruding “fang teeth” from my side of the family.  She’s got her Daddy’s darker coloring, but my freckles (which is quite the combo!) I look at her and see that she’s got pieces of both of us. 

 

But she also got traits from each of us that…

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Added by Kan on June 29, 2011 at 1:25pm — No Comments

Sweating The Small Stuff

This week I took a few baby steps into the realms of learning to sweat the small stuff, and left the Big Questions to be decided in a cosmic punch-up between Richard Dawkins and the Pope.











Personally I'd… Continue

Added by Jean Carroll on June 26, 2011 at 2:53am — No Comments

Dream Diet

Adapting to life with autism is a dangerous business, and I used to enjoy  indulgent little moments when I'd believed I'd cracked it.



I've read the dreamy books about the autie kid who progresses from being a screaming dervish of poo and vitriol to being a calm, (non-poo flinging) auto-bot who says "please" and "thank you" and definitely never, ever dips toilet roll in the loo and eats it.

That would never happen at the end of these… Continue

Added by Jean Carroll on June 18, 2011 at 7:43am — 2 Comments

The future!

This is such a scary topic to think about!

 

Autism is prevalent in today's society, we hear about it on the news, we see it in our local communities, there has been an explosion of information on the internet, mothers from all over the world link together.  There are divided opinions, supportive groups, parents sharing their…

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Added by Di Maitland on June 12, 2011 at 2:01pm — 1 Comment

Is it me?

We are the parents of a wonderful boy with special needs. Our J is twenty two years old and severely involved. Over the years we have learned to adapt to the differences in caring for special child versus our older son (also special just not special needs ; ) ). As the years went by we continually adjusted our expectations and learned to rejoice in the little victories...a day without siezures, a smile, etc. With every year we are grateful for the fact that he is here with us despite the dire… Continue

Added by helen audau on June 6, 2011 at 10:59am — 1 Comment

IEPs and Expectations: There’s No Box for the Good Stuff

 

I think every IEP season a small piece of me dies. I hate all the pedantic statements and the meaningless numbers that try to quantify the unquantifiable and create the illusion of objectivity. But what I hate most about it all, is how it paints us flat, every one of us, beginning with my son. Although the whole 30-page document is about him (supposedly), how is it that I don’t recognize him in it?  Could it be because there’s no mention of his most notable qualities:…

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Added by Laura D on May 5, 2011 at 12:05am — 2 Comments

sometimes stranger anxiety is just stranger anxiety

www.pancakesgoneawry.blogspot.com

Ever since the long-winded and incredibly expensivedevelopmental pediatrician told me that my youngest child has a 1 in 20 chance of being diagnosed with autism (because his older brother has it), I have been…

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Added by Patty on April 28, 2011 at 11:09pm — No Comments

Autism Conference - my presentation!!

Autism Presentation Nov 2010

  

How did I get to be standing here!  I am not to sure - perhaps a moment of madness as I really dread public speaking!!  However, I do have a child with autism. Nick is 11 years old and as well as having autism he is a non- verbal child…

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Added by Di Maitland on April 18, 2011 at 8:10am — 1 Comment

Obsessive Much?

Originally posted on Hartley's Life with 3 Boys



When my son, Danny was diagnosed with high functioning autism a year and a half ago, the doctor asked if he had any "special interests." I knew what he was asking; I had…
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Added by Patty on April 8, 2011 at 9:25am — 2 Comments

It's as easy as riding a bike....

One of my favorite hobbies is scrap booking. I love it because it gives me the creative freedom to put together my memory books so that when you look at them, it is my story that I am telling. It is the story of life that includes my family, my friends, my daughter's friends. When I look at my moms old black and white photos, they are beautiful, they are treasured, but they are nameless. I don't know if someone in those photos is an…

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Added by Tannis Ross on April 6, 2011 at 12:57pm — No Comments

Tutor

My daughter sees a tutor. She has had the help of this tutor for nearly two years.  And I can honestly say that it has changed her life. Changed our lives.…

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Added by Tannis Ross on March 25, 2011 at 11:40am — No Comments

Self Care for Parents of Autistic Youth (or other challenges)

Hello,

I am new to Hopeful Parents.  I really like your website.  Please check out my Blog for Self Care for Parents of Children (any age) with Autism (or other challenge).  

FREE Resource  Self Care for Parents of Autistic Youth

http://selfcareforparents.blogspot.com/

I look forward to getting to know Hopeful Parents!

Dawn :)…

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Added by Dawn AutismCaregiver on March 10, 2011 at 6:52pm — 1 Comment

How do you explain drama in the family to a child with ASD

To set the background for my topic today of "How do you explain drama in the family to a child with ASD."  I have to give you a little background into my childhood.  Honestly, I wish I could say that my childhood was normal and that we were a functional family, well that is so not the case.  Don't get me wrong, my mother is one of the most loving and caring mothers in the world, but my father, he was a monster.  I grew up with my two half sisters and my half brother, I was the youngest and…

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Added by Kathleen Marin on March 10, 2011 at 4:53pm — No Comments

My very Special Jacob

In November of 2010 my 11 year old son Jacob was diagnosed with PDD-NOS, he is lower functioning that Asperger's level in his daily activities with a maturity of about 5 yrs old and the comprehension of about a 2-3 yr old.  In 1st grade he was diagnosed with ADHD, but as he grew older we suspected that there was something more going on, he just wasn't maturing as others his age.  Jacob is my little bubba, he has always been my baby and he loves to cuddle and get loves and just be snuggled up…

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Added by Kathleen Marin on February 25, 2011 at 12:01pm — No Comments

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