When raising a child with special needs, I believe it’s more important to focus on the similarities than the differences. However when I hear a mom bellyaching that “all parents worry about their children,” I sometimes get a little defensive. Although some sincere friends and relatives genuinely try to put themselves in my AFOs [ankle foot orthotics], I think the “mainstream” parent doesn’t have a clue. So I’ve designed some everyday analogies to help parents of “typical” kids better relate to the stresses and strains of some of our daily routines.
Boy Meets Goal by Lori Miller Fox
Preparing for your child’s IEP can be stressful enough, but the morning before your meeting, can drive you crazy. You talk to your friends, you talk to your family; worries and fears run through your mind. Some things are said, some are unsaid. Here are just a few of the many things wives say to their husbands before their child’s IEP meeting.
Party Called on Account of Pain by Lori Miller Fox
We all have our own ways of dealing with pain. Grief is a process. For some it is finite, for others ongoing. Here are some of mine.
Your School District Might Be a Pain In The Neck If… by Lori Miller Fox “worthy”
As a parent of a child with special needs, I suspect that some of my parental involvement may have been considered bothersome by the school district. However, it seems to me that most of the time, it is the district that is the real source of trouble. So in the quest for fairness, I’ve come up with some criteria (a la Jeff Foxworthy) that I hope will be helpful in identifying the real culprit. So use it wisely and feel confident in knowing that your school district may be a pain in the neck IF…
My Dog Ate My IEP by Lori Miller Fox
A beautiful article came to my attention the other day about Chelsea the companion dog [Download Canine_Help_for Child.doc]. Miraculously, she can sense a seizure before its onset, thus warning her owner and protecting him from harm. I find this unselfish dog’s work tremendously commendable, and the trainers extraordinary. I think there are some days that I need a companion dog, albeit a different kind of companion dog, for myself; one that has unique talents that can be useful when you are a parent of a child with special needs.
Ding, Dong, Bell…My IEP Has Gone to Hell by Lori Miller Fox
People everywhere are more similar than they are different. As long as there have been parents, they have been worried about their children with special needs. I would venture to guess that even Mother Goose has had to attend an IEP now and then. Here are just a few of the statements we would likely see from her children’s student records.
Should Auld Afflictions Be Forgot… — by Lori Miller Fox
Every year at about this time, I think about how my life appears to be different from the lives of most people. For the first time in a long time, I’d like to focus on the similarities rather than the differences. So I’ve come up with a list of New Year’s resolutions just like everybody else’s. However, how I plan on achieving them may set me and Moms like me a bit apart. Please glean from them what you will, and together we can change the world.
Home for the Holidaze — by Lori Miller Fox
Every year, the onset of the holidays gets my mind wandering to a simpler place and time before children. And I ask myself, when did life become so complicated? When did special needs become so specialized? Here are just a few warm childhood memories I’d like to share, some of which are my own and some which belong to Hallmark.
If You Give a Child An Appropriate Education – by Lori Miller Fox
One of my daughter’s favorite books, If You Give a Mouse a Cookie by Laura Joffe Numeroff, inspired the following posting:
Law and Disorders – by Lori Miller Fox
As the parent of a child with special needs, I have experienced my son being given many labels and diagnoses by both the medical and educational community: physically challenged, seizure disorder, etc., while I, on the other hand, have been given just as many, if not more, labels, albeit unofficially, by everyone from doctors, school staff and relatives, to the nosey checkout lady in the grocery store. Here are just a few I’d like to share:
