• special needs

    Smart books

    September 29, 2009 - By 

    I am taking a few moment today to organize as I just got back from another excellent conference, this time in Saskatoon. One of my take home ideas from the FASD (Fetal alcohol specturm disorder) conference last week put on by the Saskatchewan Prevention Institute was this – a manual on my children essentially. A tip I’m going to call my Smart Books, for lack of a better name. So this morning I made a quick stop at Shopper’s Drug Mart and bought two new binders to start my organizing. One will be for each of my children. Up until…

  • FASD - Health - Parenting - special needs

    FASD DAY 09-09-09

    September 9, 2009 - By 

    On the ninth hour of the ninth day of the ninth month of 2009 (09,09,09 FASD DAY) we gathered in London’s Victoria Park for a pregnant pause to raise awareness regarding FASD Day. The Number 9 is Symbolic A pregnancy takes 9 months typically. So the number 9 has become a symbol to people in the FASD disability world. Hence the day – the ninth day of the ninth month and this year in 2009 this felt ever so meaningful. The Stats Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder, is an invisible neurological disability, affecting an estimated 300,000 Canadians. The numbers are staggering,…

  • parenting - special needs

    Why Parts Language is Not Okay

    August 18, 2009 - By 

        (This is the second installment of my NACAC inspired blog series running this week)  It was easily two years ago when I first brought this issue up in a parent’s meeting at a school one of my daughters attended. Back then it was common parenting practice to say to a child: “I love you, but I don’t like your behaviour right now.”    They call it ‘parts language’ now, but there was no term for it back then when it was standard practice. I had been guilty of using this phrase more than a few times and yet…

  • Parenting - special needs

    An Ode to Toes – Siblings of Special Needs Children

    June 20, 2009 - By 

    Parents of children with special needs live on a planet most other people wouldn’t even want to visit, not even for a stopover flight. So constant are the stresses on these families that many break down. It’s hard to stay healthy when a child consumes everything, financially and emotionally. Stresses on siblings of special needs children run high too. Stresses on Special Needs Families I ran across a statistic recently that indicated 85 % of families who have children with special needs break down. It’s a stunning statistic that ought to make everyone – including government, social services and education…