In a recent blog post, you met Joan Cebeli, who is a special needs coach and the mother of a special needs son. Joan Cebeli’s Blog: The Special Needs Parent She frequently posts excellent, practical parenting tips on her blog, The Special Needs Parent. One of her recent posts, 18 Ways to Calm Your Child with Special Needs, could be a life saver during the busy holiday season. The tips are simple...

The holidays are supposed to be a time to relax and enjoy your family. But if you are the parent of a special needs child, the expectations of the season can become a time of great stress. Meet Joan Celebi Recently, a Twitter update mentioned a teleseminar for special needs parents with special needs coach Joan Celebi. After downloading and listening to the seminar, which is about an hour long, I...

In Part 1 of this series, you met Julie Papievis, a woman who miraculously survived a near fatal brain stem injury. In that post she shared five positive ways her injury and recovery changed her.  In Part 2 of the series, she shared seven valuable tips about how parents can support their brain-injured (or special needs) child. In Part 3, the final post in the series, Julie provides some facts and...

In the first post in this series, you read about Julie Papievis, a woman who survived and recovered from a severe brain stem injury. In that post, Julie shared five positive ways the accident changed her. In this one, she gives advice to parents of children with brain injuries. I think it applies to a broader audience. See what you think. Education Educate yourself about what’s happening to your...

Julie Papievis was a dynamo before the car accident that changed her life. Now, more than a decade after her brain stem was so badly damaged the EMTs were sure she would die, she’s a dynamo again. In the months and years between her injury and recovery, which was remarkable but not total, she struggled with depression and grief for the woman she used to be. Recently, I had the opportunity to interview...

Not long ago Lisa Copen, founder of Rest Ministries, asked me to take a shot at answering this question sent by a struggling mom. Heart-Wrenching Question I am a mom of a 2-year-old who was just diagnosed with autism. I also have had fibromyalgia for 5 years. I don’t know how I am going to get through this. I had assumed that, with my husband’s help, I could be a pretty good mom despite my illness....

Every now and then I update the progress of families profiled in A Different Dream for My Child, to give you an idea of what life is like for them on an ongoing basis. A week or so ago Scott, the father of seven-year-old Evan sent this link to a recent article about his son. Noonan’s Syndrome Evan has Noonan’s syndrome, a heart condition which typically includes a thickening of the heart...

In the two previous posts in this series, I shared six commonalities observed in parents who live triumphantly with special needs kids. Today the last three ways will be discussed. As was mentioned before, don’t try to implement all of them at once. Select one, work on it until it is firmly in place, then choose another. #7 Triumphant parents get away now and then. Getting away takes forethought,...

In the first post in this series, I shared three commonalities of parents who live triumphantly with special needs children. Today we’ll look at three more. As was suggested in the previous post, don’t implement all the ideas immediately. Concentrate on one until you master or complete it before going on to a new one. #4 Triumphant parents advocate for their children. They advocate at school,...

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...