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Describing Disability: If You Use These Terms, Think Again
These are some descriptions that regularly come up in my Google feed: “Wheelchair-bound” “Cerebral palsy sufferer” “She suffers from Down syndrome” “Cerebral palsy victim” Before I had a kid with...
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More About The Girl Who Signed Her School Concert For Her Deaf Parents
Kindergartner Claire Koch of Clearwater, Florida, wanted her mom and dad to fully enjoy her holiday concert. So she did one thing: She signed it for them. Both her parents are deaf. The video her mom,...
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7 Ways To Entertain Kids With Special Needs Over Winter Break
Winter breaks are rarely a vacation for parents, but they can be even harder on ones who have kids with special needs. Children can be thrown by the lack of their familiar school schedule. Meanwhile,...
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Wishing You Naps In The New Year!
I have one running fantasy in my life, and it does not involve my husband, a larger home, chocolate cake or exotic travel. It involves me, a bed and a nap. I want one. Bad. It’s not just finding the...
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Home Is Where The Special Needs Heart Is
Our family loves going to hotels. Any will do, but it’s a major treat when it’s one like the Ritz Carlton, Laguna Niguel in California. We splurged on a stay after our trip to Disneyland. I expected...
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Knowing When To Push A Child With Sensory Issues
Here’s Max peering into the Disney Junior—Live On Stage! show at Disney California Adventure Park. We were there on vacation over the holiday break. While we spent a whole lot of time in the wondrous...
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More Parents Trying Alternative Medicine For Kids With Special Needs
An increasing number of families are using complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) for children with autism and other developmental delays, finds a new study from the University of...
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A Boy With Down Syndrome And A Dog: Sweetest Video Ever
Have you seen this viral video? It’s about Hernan, a little boy in Buenos Aires with Down syndrome who meets up with a Labrador named Himalaya. His mother posted the video on YouTube, noting that her...
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A New Test That Diagnoses Developmental Delays
A new blood test will detect chromosomal variations that may be responsible for a child’s developmental delay or intellectual disability. Called the Affymetrix CystoScan Dx Assay, it can do a complete...
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Teaching Kids With Disabilities To Safely Cross The Street
Practically every single day, I get a Google alert about a wheelchair user struck by a vehicle. Like the woman in a wheelchair in Memphis hit by a FedEx truck last week and a hit-and-run in...
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Clothes For People With Down Syndrome, Designed By A Granny
I’ve got a fashion challenge with my son, and it doesn’t have to do with him wanting to wear his new Lightning McQueen slippers all the time. We need to find clothing that he can put on himself. This...
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A Bride Shares Her Wedding With Women With Special Needs
I try hard not to think too much about Max’s future. Long ago, I learned that it mostly made me anxious, which did me and Max no good whatsoever. And so I do my best to teach, enable and encourage...
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Hooray For Cheerleaders With Special Needs
There’s a trend out there worth cheering for: more teens with special needs are becoming cheerleaders. I’ve been reading articles about girls with special needs joining squads, as Rachel Massingale...
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Should An Olympic Medalist Play Up His Brother’s Disabilities?
Yesterday, I watched Canadian freestyle skier Alex Bilodeau, 26, win the gold at Sochi. The camera panned to his brother, Frederic, wildly cheering him on, joy and pride beaming out of him. Soon, Alex...
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A Boy With Special Needs Discovers A Million People Like Him
“Because of Colin’s disabilities, social skills are not easy for him, and he often acts out in school, and the other kids don’t like him,” read the post on the Facebook page Happy Birthday Colin,...
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Sisters In Wheelchairs Win A National Dance Competition
Two sisters won the Jamfest Dance Super Nationals this past weekend in Covington, Kentucky. That’s pretty cool, but their story gets even better. Gracie Latkovski, 9, has cerebral palsy and cystic...
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When People Do Favors For Kids With Special Needs
You may have seen the viral video by now: Five-year-old Daniel of Ojai, California, has autism, and loves to watch the Monday morning garbage pickup. Driver Manuel Sanchez decided to buy him a toy...
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Sled Hockey For Kids With Disabilities And One Amazing Dad
Dads running sports teams in which their kids participate is nothing unusual. A father who starts a sled hockey team for youth with physical disabilities is. Meet Bill Greenburg and his son, Sam,...
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How Autism Moms Parent Differently
Moms who have kids with autism are less likely to set rules than other parents, says a study published in the March issue of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. These moms more...
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A Talented Girl With Autism Draws The Friends She’d Like To Have
When Leah DeMonia, 12, was first diagnosed with autism at age two and a half, her mom found that making art and crafts could help coax her out of meltdowns, or draw her out of one when nothing else...
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