About.com Parenting Special Needs

Indoor Activities, American Art, and More Fun Things to Do

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 09:48:19 +0000

A Saturday "Site of the Day" special: Most days, a single Site of the Day is plenty to keep you occupied. But on Saturday morning, with kids underfoot and a weekend's worth of amusement needed, something more intensive is called for. So be sure to stop by here every week for your super-sized listing of Five Fun Things to Do Today -- including a family activity, a site for the kids, a shopping site, a site offering humor or inspiration about parenting children with special needs, and a site that's just silly or fun. Today's list:

Activity: Indoor Play Day
Kids' Site: Families and Children in American Art
Shopping: Allergy-Free Advent Calendar
Humor: "Sick of Elmo's World: A Dad Rails Against His Autistic Son's Fixation"
Just for Fun: The Best Movies of All Time Map

Indoor Activities, American Art, and More Fun Things to Do originally appeared on About.com Parenting Special Needs on Saturday, November 7th, 2009 at 09:48:19.

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This Week in Comments: Correct Casting, Current Reading

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 23:38:51 +0000

Here's a list of posts that have received one or more comments this week:

What's on your mind today? Speak out in the comments below, or add your opinion to the posts above.

Photo by Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

This Week in Comments: Correct Casting, Current Reading originally appeared on About.com Parenting Special Needs on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 23:38:51.

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Weekday Reflection: The Final Blow

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 17:15:10 +0000

Read: "For the parents of a child with a behavior, social, and/or learning disorder, the diagnosis can be devastating. Typically, parents are told that there is no known cause for their child's problem -- that, most likely, it is genetic, which makes them feel even worse. But the final blow comes with the prognosis: There is no cure." -- Dr. Robert Melillo, from Disconnected Kids, this week's featured book.

Reflect: How much hope was I given when my child was diagnosed? Have things turned out worse or better than doctors predicted? What do I wish the doctor had said to me at the time?

Respond in the comments with your own thoughts on this quote and how it applies to your life with your child.

Every weekday, take a moment to read, reflect, and respond to a passage from a book, blog, or article. ... More Reflections

Also new today: Site of the Day | Today's News and Views | Tip of the Day

_{Cover image courtesy of Perigee}

Weekday Reflection: The Final Blow originally appeared on About.com Parenting Special Needs on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 17:15:10.

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Reader Suggests Giving Special-Ed Teachers a Break

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 15:54:19 +0000

I asked for ideas of what parents would like special-education teachers to know, and one reader submitted a plea for parents to sympathize with those educators instead. Wrote bus.driver: "Parents fail to realize no one would become a special needs teacher unless they truly cared about these children. I believe special needs teachers are the most verbally abused professionals, other than prison guards! Parents need to know most teachers' hands are tied by their corporations policies or instructions. The teacher is the liaison between the two parties and is abused by each side." I've certainly had sympathy for many or most of my kids' special-education teachers, and agree that they're often put in a position where they have to implement policies they neither created nor support. On the other hand, there have been a fair number of news reports lately showing that teachers can dish abuse out as well as take it. What's your experience been with special-ed teachers? Share your thoughts in the comments.

More Parenting Tips: Tips of the Day | Behavior ABCs | Parenting Book Reviews

_{Image by Terri Mauro}

Reader Suggests Giving Special-Ed Teachers a Break originally appeared on About.com Parenting Special Needs on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 15:54:19.

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Site of the Day: One Place for Special Needs

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:52:43 +0000

What It Is: "An information network and social community that allows parents and disability groups to share resources and make connections with special needs families in their own neighborhood. And a place where those who actively work with those who have disabilities can let us learn about their products, programs and services."

Who's In Charge: Dawn Villarreal, the mother of two children with special needs. According to the site, "When she learned of her children's disabilities she found it difficult to find answers. 'In many cases, physicians give parents the devastating news that their child has a lifelong disability and then send them on their way ... At a time when parents need the most support, they find they are on their own.' Villarreal made it her mission to help families find the resources and services they need. 'Parents don't have a year to read up on a disability and leisurely figure out what will have the best impact on their child's development.'"

Why It's Worth Checking Out: It's a great place to find resources from around the Web or around the corner. Couldn't we all use more of that?

Where to Start: The site's gathering of H1N1 resources related to special needs is pretty timely.

More Sites of the Day

+ Page of the Day: Diagnosis Index +

Site of the Day: One Place for Special Needs originally appeared on About.com Parenting Special Needs on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 11:52:43.

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What's In a Name?

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:45:06 +0000

I've always felt that getting a diagnosis is important, that putting the right name on something is helpful. Some worry that labels limit a kid, but at least with my two, I've felt that knowing what you're up against and understanding what that means -- and helping others to understand, too -- is a useful, worthwhile thing.

So it's frustrating to note how slippery names for some diagnoses are getting these days. I've felt annoyed as Sensory Integration Disorder became Dysfunction of Sensory Integration became Sensory Processing Disorder and any number of other variations, mostly in an attempt to make it eligible for inclusion in the DSM-V, the manual of psychiatric disorders. Maybe there'll be some extra room if Asperger Syndrome and PDD-NOS do indeed lose their diagnostic status; there's talk of folding them into autism spectrum disorder, a spectrum I'd have thought could do to be tightened, not made more all-encompassing.

And then there's the book I'm reading this week, Disconnected Kids, which proposes a whole new diagnosis -- Functional Disconnection Syndrome -- that encompasses not only those autism spectrum disorders but ADHD, ODD, dyslexia, Tourette syndrome, and other neurological disorders. That's a big umbrella.

Do you find the shifting of diagnostic names and categories to be a good thing -- a necessary fine-tuning of understanding -- or a bother that makes you have to research and explain a whole new set of labels? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Also new today: Site of the Day | Today's News and Views | Tip of the Day

What's In a Name? originally appeared on About.com Parenting Special Needs on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 00:45:06.

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Weekday Reflection: Not Like Other Students

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 16:00:03 +0000

Read: "Okay, let's make this perfectly clear. If I could just TALK my asperger son out of his obsessive behavior, I would be touring the world, making millions of dollars talking other kids out of their syndrome. What don't educated people realize about this? He is NOT like the other students in their class." -- bizymomof3, from the post "Teachers should be educated in how to handle Asperger students" on the blog Autisable.

Reflect: Do my child's teachers have the training they need to deal with my child? Do they understand what needs to be done at school and what can and can't be done at home? What can I do to help educate them?

Respond in the comments with your own thoughts on this quote and how it applies to your life with your child.

Every weekday, take a moment to read, reflect, and respond to a passage from a book, blog, or article. ... More Reflections

Also new today: Site of the Day | Today's News and Views | Tip of the Day

Weekday Reflection: Not Like Other Students originally appeared on About.com Parenting Special Needs on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 16:00:03.

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Share Your Ideas for Great Teacher Gifts

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 14:58:47 +0000

The holidays are coming quick, and with them the need to come up with ideas for giving goodies to teachers, therapists, aides, bus drivers, and other important people in your child's life. Over the years, I've done cookies and pumpkin bread, candy and knickknacks. One year I had my key-loving boy give all his school helpers keychains, and I think most of them got the connection. Have you come up with a unique way to thank school personnel, something that's pleasing to the recipient while also reflecting your child's special gifts? Share your inspiration with those of us still looking around for a clue.

More Parenting Tips: Tips of the Day | Behavior ABCs | Parenting Book Reviews

_{Image by Terri Mauro}

Share Your Ideas for Great Teacher Gifts originally appeared on About.com Parenting Special Needs on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 14:58:47.

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Site of the Day: NCWD for Youth

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 11:12:24 +0000

What It Is: "The National Collaborative on Workforce and Disability for Youth (NCWD/Youth) assists state and local workforce development systems to better serve all youth, including youth with disabilities and other vulnerable youth. The NCWD/Youth, created in 2001, is composed of partners with expertise in education, youth development, disability, employment, workforce development and family issues."

Who's In Charge: "Funded by a grant from the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP), the NCWD/Youth is housed at the Institute for Educational Leadership in Washington, D.C. NCWD/Youth offers a range of technical assistance services to state and local workforce investment boards, youth councils and other workforce development system youth programs."

Why It's Worth Checking Out: From the site, you can download materials to help your child through the transition process, and read about programs all over the U.S. that are being created to increase the opportunities for young people with special needs.

Where to Start: Guideposts for Success

More Sites of the Day

+ Page of the Day: Book Review: Planning for the Future +

Site of the Day: NCWD for Youth originally appeared on About.com Parenting Special Needs on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 11:12:24.

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Wordless Wednesday: What I'll Be Reading in November

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 17:50:17 +0000

Join the discussion!
(Photo by Terri Mauro)

More Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday on About.com

Wordless Wednesday: What I'll Be Reading in November originally appeared on About.com Parenting Special Needs on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 17:50:17.

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