Special Needs Archives - Page 18 of 22

Holiday Concert: Tears and Toots

Dec 20 2011

At Avery’s holiday concert, as I sat surrounded by beaming faces, the parental pride was palpable. The children marched in, class by class and took their place on stage. Avery stood near the back, so I couldn’t see her but I cried anyway. It’s the music. Gets us every time. After the last song, Avery’s Ed Assistant lifted her up so her head was above the rows of other Kindie heads. Avery’s eyes met mine and she shouted, “Hi Mummeeeeeeee!” as loud as she could, waving frantically. Later that night as we lay in her bed reviewing the day, she asked, “See me Mummy? My show. See me?”Yes I saw you. You were amazing. A star, in fact. The next day, Avery and I attended her big brother’s concert. Cloaked in a forest green bed sheet, he played the role of one of the Three Wise Men. I may be biased, but I’m pretty sure he was the wisest of the lot. Then during a quiet moment in the play, a very loud toot broke the silence. No, not a horn or flute from the play. I’m talking about a big ol’ fart. Others only heard it,[…]

Dec 16 2011

What is with my family’s inability to keep their teeth in their heads??? I knocked out a front tooth when I was four. The adult tooth eventually came in, but slowly over the years it turned brown, then black. I eventually had to have it replaced with a crown (or live life as a pirate). When my son was a toddler, he followed in my footsteps and knocked out a front tooth. Two actually. Turns out the two teeth were attached at the root. Show-off. The adult tooth came in and though it’s not brown, it came in so high his eye tooth is practically IN his eye. In keeping with our family tradition, my sweet girl fell face first into an ottoman—which is soft except for the 1x1mm metal stud she zeroed in on. Fortunately she didn’t lose a tooth, but it was wiggly. I took her to the dentist the next morning. We’d been to this office a few times before and didn’t care for the dentist or her staff. Sorry. For a pediatric dental clinic they were not great with kids. Especially kids with special needs. The minute we pulled into the parking lot my daughter began[…]

Nov 28 2011

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but the words may not always speak the truth. Case in point, my kids’ class pictures. My son’s photo depicts him as a social butterfly surrounded by hordes of adoring fans, the consummate centre of attention. In reality, he’s a quiet guy who keeps a small handful of friends close. My daughter’s picture (below) on the other hand, tells the tale of a child on the perimeter of acceptance. She is the blondie at the end on the first row. A solitary loner at the end of the bench. In this picture, my daughter may be set apart from her peers, but unlike her brother, she is a social butterfly. She is fully integrated in her classroom. There is no judgement among her peers and she is accepted for who she is. At first glance, this photo could be unsettling for a family unaware of their child’s scholastic journey. And not just because of the creepy masks I Photoshopped on my daughter’s classmates due to privacy issues. Avery adores her teacher, her wonderful EAs and her loving classmates. She is made to feel like a valuable member[…]

Oct 30 2011

My daughter is not a fan of long car rides. Our saving grace is music. As they say, music soothes the savage beast. Not that Avery is at all beastly, but strap her into her car seat and drive for more than half an hour and she definitely becomes a little savage-esque. Her favourite CD is Name Your Tune. She can (and has) listened to it a thousand times. Children are egocentric. They LOVE hearing their name in the context of the songs. Truth be told, if I heard a few “Lisas” thrown in, I’d dig it too. My friend Erica (head mummy over at The Yummy Mummy Club) did a voice over for Five Little Monkeys – Avery’s most requested tune. It’s strange hearing Erica’s familiar voice serenading us in our mini-van. When she sings, “I can seeeeeee you,” Avery gasps and says, “She sees me??” Makes me smile every time. Later, when Erica says, “Be very careful,” Avery responds, in a whisper, “Very careful.” Shout out to our friend Scott too! He’s the manly voice in the Monkey duet. Thanks Candace for making such an amazing product. I’m putting “Name Your Tune2” on[…]

Oct 23 2011

I made a healthy, home-freaking-made-from-scratch meal and I was ready to impale myself on a dull spoon midway through dinner. My little girl eats like a bird. A baby humming bird. Lately we’ve made great strides, both in food diversity and in weight gain. It’s a roller coaster—good days and bad. I’m okay with that. But, when your child refuses to eat something she normally loves, it’s irritating. For the love, who refuses linguini?? I tried everything. All of our usual tricks. Even our latest and greatest… paying off each bite with a butterscotch CHIPIT. I can handle a little food refusal. What I can’t handle is when my child wrestles her dish (which was suction cupped to the table for stability) with such furry and determination that it launches suddenly upwards, flinging the entire meal like an aerial assault by an army of searing hot saucy snakes, into her mother’s face. I enjoy a facial, but I draw the line at a pesto prima vera treatment. I threw in the towel, after wiping away the sauce with it, and retreated to my office, leaving daddy to deal with the pasta shrapnel. Tomorrow would be a[…]

Category - Special Needs

Holiday Concert: Tears and Toots

See You Next Tooth-Day

Class Photos

Singing and Signing

Linguini Facial