How can the parent of a child with special needs live a balanced life? In Balanced Living All Year, Joan Celebi shares the strategies that help her accomplish the feat. Meet Joan Celebi Joan is the mother of two children, one of whom has special needs. She’s also the creator of www.specialneedsparentcoach.com, a website featured in a DifferentDream.com blog post in December of  2009. Each month,...

Recently, I found a letter written by my father, and it reminded me of something urgent I need to do for my kids, something my Dad couldn’t do for me. EParent.com The whole story is posted at my EParent.com blog. If you read it and decide you need to do the same thing for your kids, come back here and leave a comment. Or if you think of another legacy parents should leave for their children,...

If you were to ask me to recommend one resource for parents of kids with special needs, Terri Mauro’s site at About.com would be it. About Terri Mauro According to About.com, Terri is the mother of “two teenagers with special needs: a 19-year-old with language-based learning disabilities and a 16-year-old with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, both adopted from Russia in 1994.” ...

A few months ago, DifferentDream.com was part of a blog tour for a new book, So You Want to be a Work-At-Home Mom. Since then, I’ve met many moms, some of them with special needs kids, who want to work from home but don’t know where to start. They keep coming to mind, and I keep wanting to help them. Since I’m not an expert on the topic, the best thing I can do is refer them to someone...

You know, sometimes I come across a story that puts a smile on my face. The story of Morgan’s Wonderland is one of them. What Is Morgan’s Wonderland? Morgan’s Wonderland is a theme park under construction in San Antonio, Texas. It’s slated to open in February of 2009. Now that may not sound like anything unusual. But when it’s finished, the theme park will be the largest...

Special family events during the holidays are supposed to be fun. But parents of special needs kids know that the excitement and extra stimulation those occasions create can be recipes for disaster. about.com Terri Mauro’s article at about.com has some great advice about how parents can engineer more successful holiday outings with special needs kids. Among other things, her common sense suggestions...

Shopping for age-appropriate toys for kids, grandchildren, nieces, or nephews can be tricky business. The age recommendations on the toy boxes help if you’re buying for a child whose mental development follows the typical growth curve. But those suggestions aren’t nearly so instructive if the child you’re shopping for is developmentally delayed. So what’s a consumer to do? Toys...

In the previous post in this series, you met Teresa Lasher and heard just a little about her life with an ADHD child. Today, you can read her whole story. Life with an ADHD Kid People with good intentions said, “God doesn’t give us more than we can handle,” or “God only gives special kids to special parents.” I didn’t feel specially blessed, but felt I was being punished. My special child...

Today, I’d like to introduce you to an amazing woman, Teresa Lasher, who agreed to guest blog at DifferentDream.com. Meet Teresa Lasher She’s a sailor, motorcycle rider, freelance writer, and speaker who lives in Michigan with her husband. We met at a writing conference last summer and discovered we have much more than writing in common. We are both mothers of prodigal sons who struggled...

During the holidays we’re encouraged to show brotherly love to those who need support, like families with special needs kids. But the busyness of the season often makes carrying out our best intentions difficult. When that happens, we feel guilty. Simple Ways to Help But there are simple ways to avoid guilt, complete your holiday to-do list, and help those in need simultaneously. Recently, I...