• advocacy
    family - Parenting

    Advocacy – WIN THEN BUILD Philosophy

    September 13, 2010 - By 

    This is something I share when I do workshops throughout North America on advocacy. But because I know so many friends with children who can use this information I thought I would post a tipsheet on the topic. I call it the WIN then Build philosophy of advocacy. I run a non profit (Canadian Coalition of Adoptive Families http://www.canadiancoalitionofadoptivefamilies.ca/) in which I often use these tactics and I am a Mom and I have a child with special needs. This is what works my experience. Of course there’s more than one way to make things happen but this worked well…

  • family

    The Tooth Fairy movie and some days are like that…

    March 23, 2010 - By 

    This should be the review of the PG-rated movie The Tooth Fairy. But instead it is a post about flexibility. Not the kind that comes from doing pilates or yoga or any of that. The kind that comes from being a parent, especially well known to those parents of children with special needs. Anyways, what started out as noble intentions last week – a family movie with Grandma and me and my sweet kids, home for the March break, turned out to be what I can only guess was a full sensory assault to my little one, who as some…

  • press_conferences
    FASD - Parenting

    Payback, Press Conferences and Special Needs Parenting

    November 5, 2009 - By 

    Many days special needs parenting is a challenging proposition. It’s weighing do I go to work out of town for the day and Some of you may know I went to Toronto for a speaking thing yesterday at a press conference. Sometimes I do this when someone calls me to advocate for an issue I care about then I do go out of my way to attend press conferences. That meant my husband took my kids to and from school and took the day off work. I went to the event – not my first rodeo. Press conferences and speaking…

  • 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…

  • school_board_adventures
    family

    Mommy’s school board adventures

    June 15, 2009 - By 

    This is the story of Mommy’s school board adventures. If you know me, you know I am an advocate and I use my voice for good whenever possible. So I have been gathering ideas on how best to use that locally to help adoptive families and those struggling with demands of special needs adoption. I mean it’s not always enough just to have a loving family. You have to also have a family of champions willing to stand up for you. Anyways enough serious stuff – this is the story of Mommy’s school board adventures. Ever have one of those…