Physical Therapy

Dear Health Professionals

Dear Health Professionals

“As a parent with a special needs child, we are expected to have a medical degree, multiple therapy degrees, education degrees, degrees in nutrition, psychology and more. (I’ll be able to claim the psychology degree in a few months.) At least it seems that way when we take our child with Autism to the doctor or consult one.”
Read more. . .

Dear Medical Professionals

Dear Medical Professionals

“Yes, it’s almost like we are asking you to be God. But you don’t have all the answers, and can’t preform all the miracles.”
Read more. . .

To Speak or Not To Speak, That Is The Question

To Speak or Not To Speak, That Is The Question

”Because of all the time I have spent in these waiting rooms, seeing kids with various issues come in and out, talking with their parents to pass the time, I can often pick out sensory issues, physical issues, and other things a child is experiencing.” Read more…

Camping with Kids

Camping with Kids

I LOVE camping. I love the smell of a wood fire. It is one of my favorite smells.
Add roasted marshmallows to it and I am one happy person! I love sleeping in a tent, and the unique smells and sounds that you can experience there. It’s something of an adventure and I’ve always loved adventures. Read more…

Medications- They Work For Some 

img_2798I’m in multiple Special Needs groups online and spend part of my time trying to help parents find resources to help them. Medications, supplements, and therapies are a frequent topic of discussion because we are all trying to find something that works for our child.
Medications are a tricky issue. As a parent and advocate, I hesitate to recommend a medication or treatment. I’m happy to share with you what our experiences have been and tell you what has worked for us, but I’m not a doctor and usually, neither is anyone else in these groups.
img_2797In these groups, you have parents who don’t think you should ever be giving your child medication. I disagree, but I feel you have a right to make that decision. Then there the parents who debate over which medication/treatment is best for which issue. Here’s the thing- What works for one person doesn’t mean it will work for the next person. We all have different chemical makeup and different medications work differently for different people. Also, when you have tried one medication, or two, it doesn’t mean the next one won’t work for you. It takes a lot of patience sometimes to find the right medication, supplement or therapy that works for you or your child. I know this from hard fought experience. There are several types of medication D has tried almost (or every) medication there is for that ailment before finding one that works. It has been a LONG and FRUSTRATING process. And when I talk about medications like this, this is not to say we haven’t tried most of the alternative treatments out there. Chances are we have. Sometimes we find one that works, other times it’s like the medication and we go through trying everything.
I guess this blog post is really just about being cautious about where you get your information from. Make sure it’s a reputable source. Make sure you are working with a Doctor or Naturopath who has spent years of their lives studying so they have the knowledge to help you.

A Day in the Life: Raising a Child with Autism

A Day in the Life: Raising a Child with Autism

The alarm goes off. I just want to stay in bed. Why can’t it be Saturday yet?? Time to wake the kids up. I wake my daughter, she smiles and jumps out of bed.
My son is a different matter altogether. We will spend the next 2 hours coaxing, bribing, and sometimes physically pulling him out of bed and into the shower, as he has no intention of waking up for several hours, though he’s been in bed for 12 hours, so it’s not lack of sleep.