Lesson: Shake off the dirt and step up.

In my experience, the best lesson I’ve ever learned came the day we discovered our newborn daughter was born with hearing loss.

The day after my daughter Meg was born, I was in the hospital, talking to the lactation specialist when a nurse interrupted us.

“Hi, I’m Nancy. Sorry to bother you. I know you are busy but I wanted to let you know your daughter didn’t pass her hearing test. It is probably just fluid in her ea

Let’s face it, our society has everyone in a tizzy. We want everything faster, quicker, now and right now! With stress levels so high, more and more cases of anxiety related issues are being diagnosed. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, anxiety disorders affect 40 million Americans yearly. Unlike the anxiety caused by a single stressful event, anxiety disorders last 6 months or more and can get worse if not treated.

So what is anxiety or anxiety disorder?

Maria Montessori, a respected doctor at the beginning of the 20th century, turned educator, is known for saying “any unnecessary help is a hindrance to development.”

We’re in such a hurry today this belief is even more on point now then when MM philosophized about allowing our children to do things for themselves.

Assisting a child that wants to walk, button, put on shoes, coat, etc. holds back development, lowers self esteem.

That is not to say we don’t give l

I am the oldest out of 4. Married now for 5 years, have a 3 1/2 year old daughter and I'm 28.

Our mom died March 2, 2011 just 2 days before her 46th birthday.

My sisters have their dad, but he's in his 80s. He acts though maybe in his 60s but he's still a guy and they still need a mom being 12 and just turned 14. I will be getting them for the summer and various time though out the year.

Their dad is my step and is a very nice gentlemen. He and I both want me

I am about to write an article for a local magazine. It is going to be about reaching out to special needs families. I'd love your input!

How would you like other people to help you? What are some things they can do to come to your aid?

Thanks!

The other day I was getting frustrated. I had mapped out the day to get everyone what they needed. As often happens in life, the day didn't follow the plan.

That meant that I got to the library at least an hour after I had hoped. I walked in, waved to the children's librarian, and, well, stopped. Why? Because the children's librarian said, "Oh! There she is," pointing to me.

Last month I started a special needs story time at our local library. The staff have embraced us, a

Once a “newbie” autism mom asked online what we who had gone before would recommend as she started her journery. These thoughts came to my mind. Whether your child has autism, a physical disability, or an emotional disability, I think these recommendations will help you. Simply adapt them to your situation.

Looking back to my first days in the autism world, which is really not that long ago, I would say:

1) You don't have to have it all figured out at once. You'll get di

If you have a child on the autism spectrum, or a child who needs practice in social skills, this story may give you an idea of how to help him practice.

Since Dr. H is on the autism spectrum, one of his deficit areas is social skills. Greg and I are both amazed at how far he's come, in a year and a half. However, we need to keep working with him so he will be able to have enjoyable friendships and reach out to others. One of my goals with the membership to the Henry Ford complex is t

Autism is one of those things that require a lot of mental and emotional strength from the caregivers. You need a tough skin. You learn not to ask your child, “Do you love so-and-so?” because they may very well say “no” since they are not feeling loving at the moment. You learn to put on a game face and pretend there are not other people in public with you when your child is having a meltdown. You also learn not to take comments personally. Or you try to.

Yesterday was one of those d

I did get tired of the doom and gloom news, so I thought I would try to get a few to see that it could always be worse. That is the reason I started blogging.

I have dealt with MS Multiple Sclerosis for 30 years, so when I look around it is easy to see that stuff could always be worse

http://stuffcouldalwaysbeworse.blogspot.com