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Six of the Best ADHD Books for Parents
ADHD books for Parents can come in handy, especially at the start of your journey when trying to gather resources and facts. Parenting a child with ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) can be extremely challenging. Impulsivity, distractibility, attention, focus and even explosivity are all symptoms that can be genuinely hard to manage and live with on a daily basis. As a parent of two girls who are opposites with these symptoms – one hyperactive and one inattentive, I often need to remind myself to find my calm side and approach parenting from that starting point. This ADHD Books for Parents post contains affiliate links as a service to readers. I…
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Courage and Parenting a Child with FASD
I wrote this in May when we had a not so great month here at school and home due to FASD and explosive behaviour. Sometimes I day dream about where I could go if I just left. Maybe for the day, maybe longer. Sometimes I contemplate never returning. Yesterday was one of those days. I love my kids, my family, my husband. But some days the scale tips. This past May was a month of this. When the Scale Tips – How it Feels Parenting a Child with FASD. Do you ever have those days where the scale tips? Where how much I hate living with FASD (fetal alcohol spectrum…
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Special Challenges With a Special Child – Angelman Syndrome
THIS IS A GUEST POST about Angelman Syndrome and part of what I hope will be a series here for parents of children with disabilities and special needs. Have an idea for a guest post that might help another parent? Please email inkscrblr7@gmail.com I used to think my family was among the less-than-lucky few gifted with big challenges. We have Anna, a 17-year-old toddler with Angelman Syndrome, who was “disruptive” long before the term became popular. Special Challenges With a Special Child and How We Survive Them However, as I listen carefully to everyone around me I find that the semi-perfect families, the normal ones, are the true exceptions to…
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How To Move Teens on to High School when Change is a Huge Issue
Do you have teens with special needs or simply inflexible teens? Do they have trouble adjusting to change? Me too. This September my youngest starts high school. Why is that a big deal? Well, my younger daughter has a host of diagnoses. She has an IEP (individual education plan), technology for accessing the curriculum, FASD (fetal alcohol spectrum disorder), sensory and learning challenges, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) all related to that. Combine all of that with a difficulty adjusting to change. Ainsley has difficulty adjusting to life changes. That is extremely typical for kids and adults with FASD – a prenatal brain injury sustained prior to her birth…
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Comfort Objects for Tiny Special Needs Travellers
Comfort objects are important to many kids. When you travel with a child who has special needs they can make all the difference to the transition process. We began travelling intentionally as a family when my youngest was about five. Why did it take us that long? Well, we were afraid to travel because my younger daughter has special needs. We thought it would be challenging, and it totally is. BUT, it is also abundantly worth it, and then some. Watching my daughter make friends with children from all over the world, getting her hair braided in Haiti, racing down waterslides with her at Atlantis and hearing her talk about…
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Clearwater Marine Aquarium – The Little Aquarium and Animal Rescue Centre With Heart
Clearwater Marine Aquarium has been on my bucket list forever. When my kids were small we read a series of true stories about animals overcoming adversity. Knut was one we fell hard for and so was Winter’s Tale – How One Little Dolphin Learned to Swim Again. Our kids are both adopted and they’ve had some unique challenges in life. Knut is a polar bear raised by a foster human. My kids get that. As a baby dolphin, Winter lost her tail after getting caught in a crab trap. Rescued by Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Winter had to learn to swim again. That’s a story my youngest related to most. Winter the…
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How Have Catholic Teachers Made an Impact on Our Family?
This post is part of the Ontario English Catholic Teachers #catholicteachers sponsored program. I received compensation as a thank you for my participation. This post reflects my personal opinion about the information provided by the sponsors. A few weeks before my daughter was scheduled to start grade nine I started to worry. It’s pretty common to have concerns about a child’s education. But when your child has anxiety disorder and an IEP (individual education plan) with a learning disability, or any other type of unique needs, you worry even more. My Concerns as a Parent What if they weren’t able to meet her needs? What if she fell through the…
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Embracing Caregivers #CareforaCarer
Are you a caregiver for someone with unique needs or health care challenges? I see you. I know you miss many social events, or family gatherings. Perhaps you stopped work entirely to care for someone you love. Or you switched to part time, freelance or contract. Chances are good you have missed your own doctor’s and dentist’s appointments. Maybe, you woke up so bone weary one morning you drove down the street without your glasses. Maybe you forgot to take your own medicine. How do I know any of this? Been there, done that. For years my life has been health care triage. Juggling an overwhelming number of specialist’s appointments,…
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Spooky Halloween Pumpkins Coloring Book – Practice Fine Motor Skills And Visual Spatial Skills Activity
Halloween word search and printable activities as well as recipes and crafts are in full swing here right now. We are all back into the fall school schedule looking forward to Thanksgiving. So we have been sharing some great printables and activities for readers this month. Here’s another one to pin and print out and enjoy with your kids – This Halloween Pumpkins Coloring Book is a cute activity for them to do as well. There are nine pages to this one, if you include the cover, so make sure to print them all out and have some fun. I am also sharing a Kawaii Halloween Pumpkins Coloring Book this season, which…
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Special Needs Families in Ontario Need to Know This Now
Special needs families in Ontario struggle. If you are a special needs parent in Ontario, regardless of the diagnosis, you are struggling in some way. The emotional and physical burdens of parenting a child or youth with special needs, are draining. FULL STOP. Now add financial stress to that. Extra programs, time off work, specialty therapies – all of these cost a lot of money. Sometimes that is literally your grocery money. Other times it is your retirement plan. Financial costs are a huge strain to Ontario special needs families. There are some programs that help. Not everyone knows about them, but you need to know how to access these…
