special needs Archives - Page 9 of 16

2 smart ways to keep kids with special needs safer

Nov 13 2014

Children wander. Some more often and farther than others… If I could microchip my daughter like a pet, I would. Wait, can I?! Our cat has a teeny chip the size of a grain of rice between his shoulder blades. If he’s found far from home, the finder will be able to return him to us. Mental note: ask sister in law the vet to micro chip Avery. Children with special needs may have trouble identifying themselves or asking for help. My daughter doesn’t know her phone number or address so I ordered this bracelet for her from Etsy. It’s stainless steel so she can wear it 24/7. My cell number is on the reverse side so if she wanders (just typing it makes me queasy) she’ll be more easily “returned to owner.” When we’re out and about—visiting a theme park, hiking, playing at the park or taking a walk in the city, Avery wears a GPS fob. My friend gave us this one by T R I P LE C. The funky fashion forward fob is synced with your iPhone which allows you to locate your most valuable possessions (computer, pet…and yes, even your child!) You can[…]

Oct 30 2014

Whether we’re talking about kids with special needs or little ones who haven’t quite yet mastered the skill of brushing, flossing and… SWISHING (that’s a tough one), dental care is a skill that needs to be taught. Cavities WILL happen if we’re not vigilant in our fight against the “Plague Monster!” I prefer, “Sugar Bug” but Plaque Monster seems appropriate this month. October is Dental Health Awareness Month AND Halloween. Coincidence?? I’m on dental hygiene with my kids like braces on a tween, like taffy on braces, like Chapstick on winter lips, like white sludge on your tongue after a night of drinking….you get the idea. I’m on it. NOT because I’m winning at parenting or anything. I’m hyper hygiene aware, dentally speaking, because I have to be. If Avery requires any kind of dental work, she needs to be put under. Like, fully sedated in a hospital and obviously, that scares the crap out of me. She won’t stay still long enough for the dentist to do his thing, and due to a breathing issue, she can’t be quieted with gas so… ….when the dentist tells me they’ve found a cavity, I need to be quieted with gas. Saying goodbye to your child as she’s[…]

Oct 21 2014

You can barely hear them. She can’t hear them at all, and I like it that way. They’re soft and intermittent and I can almost always ignore them. Sometimes I can even silence them with a look or an explanation or sometimes with just a tiny shot of snark. Mostly they’re the whispers of strangers and who cares what they think? She doesn’t notice them and even if she did, she wouldn’t understand them. If she did, she’d probably just smile and reach out her hand because she’s gentle and kind and forgiving like that. Sometimes I also want to reach out my hand. But in a more, “come over here so I can slap your head” kind of way. Though my daughter has many friends, last year she made a new friend and this relationship was special. This little girl had just moved to Canada with her father while her mother remained overseas. Her new friend came over to our house often to play and attend parties and she called Avery on the phone. How excited my little girl was to have the phone ring—for her. Between Avery’s delayed speech and her friend’s broken English, it was the[…]

Jul 23 2014

As the parent of a child with developmental challenges, delays, cognitive disabilities… however you want to label it, I often flip-flop between two perspectives. 1. Wanting to let my fists fly (which is pretty hysterical if you’ve ever seen me try to punch something) on anyone who uses the word retarded. 2. Simply allowing the word to bounce off me and ricochet back at them. People who use the word retard are outing themselves as people I’d rather not know. Their word choice says everything about them and nothing about my child or anyone with special needs. I seem to be juxtaposed between violence and a “so be it” attitude so instead of choosing a perspective, I’m creating a new one. I’m going to take back the R-Word. Others have done it—taken a word used to discriminate and have claimed it as their own. By doing so they’ve taken the wind out of many biggoty sails. My daughter is retarded… Okay wait, I need to ease my way into this because just typing that made me squirm. Those seven letters pack a punch. Retard means delayed or slow. By definition, my daughter is slow. She’s slow to anger. She’s[…]

Jun 29 2014

We were told that it wasn’t likely our daughter would ever walk on her own without some kind of assistance. Doctors made this assumption based on what is known about her faulty DNA. Considering the significant chunk of genetic material missing from Chromosome 3 (3P Deletion Syndrome), this was a fair assumption. But you know what they say when we assume… “it makes an ASS out of U and ME.” So we try to never assume—and more importantly, to never say never. This spring Avery attended the 27th annual Special Athletes Track & Field Meet in our school district. There were 280 athletes in attendance, plus teachers, support workers and teary eyed parents. Each athlete was allowed to bring along one ambassador to help them. Avery chose her eleven year old brother. Sebastian wanted to be there, but he was scheduled to represent his school at his own track meet. In the end, and on his own, he decided to accompany his sister. He said he wanted to cheer her on. And boy did he ever. We are so grateful to the mother who started this special event 27 years ago and to all of the volunteers who make[…]

Tag - special needs

2 smart ways to keep kids with special needs safer

Protecting The Pearlies—Dental Care For Kids

Whispers Behind Her Back

Taking Back The Word Retarded

Never Say Never—A Story About Very Special Athletes