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Strollerderby
The delightful Ellen Seidman has a wonderful article up on Babble about what not to say to parents of children with special needs.
First on the list: “I’m sorry.”
The other day, after witnessing my five-year-old pitch a wobbly, my mother gently said, “Have you had her evaluated? She may need help.”
I assured her that what my daughter needed was a nap, but I also checked in with the school about it at our next parent-teacher conference. They were with me: my girl is a normal, healthy five-year-old.
As a kid who doesn’t need professional help to do the work of being a child, she’s inhabiting an increasingly narrow spectrum. The number of children receiving occupational therapy has mushroomed over the past decade, and continues to rise.
To call Gordon Hartman a devoted dad would be an understatement. Once a successful real estate developer, the 46-year-old San Antonio man sold his business so that he could spend more time with his daughter, who suffers from severe cognitive delay.
While hanging with 16-year-old Morgan, Hartman came to realize that she needed something more than time with dad: She needed the chance to experience the joys of childhood that were often denied her because of her special needs. Continue reading »
A Massachusetts teacher told her class to draw something, so a kid drew a picture of Jesus. And now he’s been suspended from the school.
OK, let’s regroup here. Christmas is a holiday generally celebrated by Christians to celebrate the birth of Christ, and a picture of Jesus is bad because? Continue reading »
As parents, we’re used to making sacrifices for our kids. We sacrifice “me” time to play yet another game of Chutes and Ladders. We sacrifice designer clothing and high-priced vacations to sock money away for college. And sometimes, we sacrifice time with our kids in order to put a roof over their heads and food on the table.
But sometimes, our kids need an even bigger gift, a sacrifice that says, “Yes. I can put my own needs aside and do that for you.” In his column “Modern Love,” Joe Blair writes about that gift and why he’s giving it to his special needs son.
Two teacher’s aides from a Montana middle school are facing felony charges of assault on a minor and endangering the welfare of children. Parents of five children with special needs are accusing Julie Parish and Kristina Marie Kallies of severely abusing their children, at least one of whom could not speak. There were twelve children in the class altogether, so it’s possible that other parents may come forward as well. Continue reading »
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