It’s that time of year again. A few weeks ago I started getting notes home from my daughter’s special needs school, first reminding, then begging me, to please send in this year’s parent intake form This is the form that asks me questions such as, do I think my special needs daughter will be her own guardian? (No.) Or, what are my hopes for her future? (I have no idea. I … [Read more...]
A Survival Kit for the Special Needs Parent
As the new school year starts and I watch my three kids get ready to enter grades 12, 8 and 6, I can’t help but think of all of the moms and dads with children entering kindergarten. The kids all are amazing, but some don’t fit the typical mold. Perhaps your child has dyslexia, like our first son has, or they struggle with ADHD, like our youngest son does. You know in your … [Read more...]
Children Will Listen
“Little pitchers have big ears,” is a phrase I remember my mother saying often when I was a little kid. She usually said it when she was on the phone and my sisters and I were playing at the table, or she was talking to my dad, while we were all eating dinner. I didn’t know why she was whispering about milk pitchers and ears when all I wanted to do was find out … [Read more...]
A Star is Born
My daughter is destined to be a star. I just know it. She walked onto the stage Friday night in her pink and green costume with her lion mask on top of her head, and her mere presence made the crowd go wild. OK. The people who went wild were me, my husband Joe, our two sons, and my parents. But we were as excited to see Lizzy take the back row of the chorus in her school’s … [Read more...]
My Special Dancer
I run through the list in my head. Dance costume? Check. Jazz shoes? Check. Do I need hairpins? No, this is only the dress rehearsal. I’ll get hairpins and hairspray before next week’s recital. I reach in my closet and get the costume. I don’t know why I have butterflies in my stomach. It’s my nine-year-old daughter who will be preforming, not me. Check the time. 11:45. … [Read more...]
