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Category Archives: Parenting
Manscaping Mishaps: Hide Your Razors
When my 15-year-old son started sprouting a baby mustache, his sisters promptly campaigned to shave it. “It’s not a good look mom,” they said, and I agreed. But their brother balked at the idea – until I bribed him with … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, Parenting, Siblings, Special needs
Tagged adaptive skills, autism, parenting, special needs
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The reluctant baker: solving a holiday dilemma
Every December, I do the same calculation: 1 classroom teacher + 2 classroom aides + 1 principal + 1 behaviorist + 1 speech therapist + 1 counselor + 1 occupational therapist + 1 bus driver = $1 million in holiday … Continue reading
New tooth fairy in town: the last true believer falls
“Mom, I know your secret. You’re the gift giver,” my son said. And just like that, I lost my last true believer. Thanks to autism’s innocence and credulity, we had a good 12-year run of Christmas magic. “You figured it … Continue reading
Ghost Boy
Parents see ghosts. My teen-aged daughter sings with her high school choir, and I see the ghost of the baby girl who bounced up and down with excitement in her crib when I walked in her room. My ten-year-old rests … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, Parenting, Special needs
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He ain’t heavy, he’s my brother: 10 strategies for supporting special needs sibling relationships
Like a boulder in a rushing stream, our daughter sat calmly reading on a chaise in the living room, her brother sprawled on the floor next to her, crying and tantrumming. Three adults (me, a babysitter and an ABA therapist) … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, Parenting, Siblings, Special needs
Tagged Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), relationships, siblings
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Side effects: three strategies for evaluating whether and when to use medication
Have you considered medication? No matter how gently and kindly put, it’s a question that parents of a special needs child wish they didn’t have to hear. Deciding whether and when to use medication for a child is difficult for … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, Parenting, Seizures, Special needs
Tagged ADHD, medication, seizures
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Stupid head, furball, “iniot” and other favorite phrases
One of the joys of raising a child with a developmental disability is a tendency to latch onto and repeat random words or phrases that they hear from TV shows, movies, older siblings or from your-guess-is-as-good-as-mine. And this isn’t your … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, Parenting, Special needs
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Rinse and repeat: a mom’s beauty regimen
I should have known better. Usually I put a hard stop to the up-sell, but the cosmetics salesperson caught me at a vulnerable moment. I’d come in to get my makeup done for a party. The bright fluorescent light at … Continue reading
Posted in Autism, Parenting
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Social sheepdogs: nipping and nudging into the mainstream
For several years, our son with special needs has participated on recreational sports teams to develop his social skills and to get some exercise. He has played (and I use this term generously) soccer, basketball and baseball. Coordinated and tall, he … Continue reading
Mom falls asleep monitoring child’s texts: 4 strategies for navigating the new media frontier
Zzzzz… What? Oh sorry. I fell asleep reading my daugther’s texts. A newly minted middle-schooler, she wants a phone of her own, but we think she’s too young. Our challenge – most of her friends have phones, and she feels … Continue reading