Which Different Dream meditations captured the attention of Power Women Magazine host Deb Bailey? Click on Deb Bailey Interview to find out. If you like what you hear, visit the Power Women Magazine website and see what else you can find!

The other day I was exercising, trying to distract myself by listening to one of my favorite radio shows, Splendid Table with Lynne Rossetto Kasper. It wasn’t working. Enter J. J. Goode But when her guest, food writer J.J. Goode, read his essay about single-handed cooking, I stopped exercising, captivated by his story. He spoke with eloquence and honesty about life with a disability, addressing...

Life as a parent is wearing. Life as the parent of of a special needs child is especially wearing. The specter of life as a perpetual care give and decision-maker can be overwhelming. But the parents I interviewed for A Different Dream for My Child lived joyfully despite their circumstances. Many parents of special needs students I worked during my teaching career. Over the next three days, I’ll...

Since A Different Dream for My Child was released, readers have been asking what motivated me to write it. To answer that question, I’m adhering to a lesson I learned as the parent of a special needs child: do not reinvent the wheel unless it is absolutely necessary. Between doctor’s appointments and feeding tubes, surgeries and special diets, there just wasn’t time. Those days are...

How do you respond when you hear the date September 11? Do horrific images of the Twin Towers falling and people fleeing in terror flash through your mind? Does the destruction and loss of life at Ground Zero overwhelm and sadden you?  Are you angered by the way our country has changed because of the attack? Meet Billy When I think of 9-11, I remember Billy, one of my fourth grade students. He was...

For parents with a prenatal diagnosis indicating a fatal birth defect, there are dozens of questions and no easy answers. If your unborn baby has received such news, I am so sorry. I have no answers for you, but hope this post and video will help your family in the difficult days ahead. Trisomy 13 The video, posted on the Dallas Morning News website, was created with the Laux family’s permission, ...

If you’ve read my book, A Different Dream for My Child: Meditations for Parents of Critically or Chronically Ill Children, you know about Nic. He’s the young man who was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at age three. But if you don’t know Nic, let me introduce you to him and his medical condition. What’s Neuroblastoma? Neuroblastoma is the medical name for a type of childhood cancer...

My new book, A Different Dream for My Child: Meditations for Parents of Critically or Chronically Ill Children, was released on September 1, 2009. While it hasn’t yet made a big splash in the national ocean, it has created a respectable ripple in our local pond. A day or two after Different Dream’s release, a local reporter  stopped by for an interview and to take a few pictures. The...

Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) doctors and nurses know that a stay in NICU can lead to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in preemies. But a recent study shows that a NICU parents are at risk of developing PTSD, too. NICU Babies and PTSD According to the New York Times Health Guide, post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a type of anxiety disorder. It can occur after someone sees or experiences...

For families caring for a chronically ill, homebound child, it’s very hard for both parents to work outside the home. But depending on the severity of the child’s condition and the amount of care required, working at home could provide extra income without transportation and day care hassles for one parent or the other. Jill Hart, a friend of mine, recently released her new book, So You...