Search Results for: blog agnoizing journey the undiagnosed child

Actor Speaks Out About Special Son

Actor Colin Farrell is used to the media spotlight. In fact, the movie star use to revel in his reputation for being one of Tinseltown’s hard-core party boys. Which is why when news broke that Farrell had fathered a boy with his ex-girlfriend no one really expected him to cut-back on his nightly appearances at various Hollywood hot spots. After all, he had admitted in more than one interview that it was in his Irish blood to have a good time no matter where he was. That being said many of Farrell’s fans were quite shocked when the actor fell … Continue reading →

Memo to New Moms: You Can’t Get it All Right

New parenthood is filled with expectations, ideas, and theories. I know–I was there once. I, after all had been a teacher. I learned what not to do with my own children by watching others’ serious mistakes. None of us ever plan for a rebellious child or a disabled child. We have images of successes upon successes when we hold that perfect little bundle of joy in our hands. Even when we know that there may be something wrong. . .that baby is still perfect to us. Trying to get it all right. . .causes us moms a lot of angst. … Continue reading →

When Your Newborn Has Special Needs

The days surrounding your baby’s birth should be full of joy and excitement. Yet when your newborn has a medical problem, or is at risk for developing a disease or disorder, those joyous feelings are often replaced with fear, sorrow, and even disappointment. You might learn that your baby will not be able to come home from the hospital as soon as you hoped. Your newborn might be covered with tubes and probes, instead of being the healthy cherubic infant you imagined. He or she might be kept under special care in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit) or face … Continue reading →

Syndrome Soup: When Your Kid Has a Mixed Diagnosis

Although some special needs children have a very specific diagnosis of ADHD, autism, or Tourette syndrome, etc., many children have symptoms from a variety of disorders. For example, a child might have Tourette-like tics, with ADHD-like inattention, OCD-like anxiety, and bipolar-like mood swings. Add a dash of learning disabilities, and you’ve got syndrome soup. Many neurological disorders have cross-over symptoms, and many are commonly seen together, such as ADHD and Tourette syndrome. Sometimes these mixed-diagnosis kids have a long list of disorders which seem to utilize every letter of the alphabet, or they might be in limbo with no specific … Continue reading →

Stuck in Between–When We Have to Wait for Answers

There’s a strange and awful place that we sometimes have to go when we have a child with a developmental delay or chronic illness. It’s like a halfway point between two doorways: The “everything’s going to be alright” doorway, and the “my world and my child’s world is shattered” doorway. And we stand there, in limbo, waiting to see which one will open. The Agony of Waiting We find ourselves in this in-between place when we’re waiting for the doctor to call with results from our child’s blood test or biopsy. Or when we’re waiting to hear the psychiatrist’s analysis, … Continue reading →

Should You Seek Genetic Counseling?

Genetic counseling is a guidance service offered to prospective parents who are concerned about whether they might pass on a family disease, defect, or trait to their future children. It is also for parents who already have one child with an illness or disability, who want to know their risks of having a second child with the condition. Genetic counselors also work with parents who are closely related, or who have had a previous miscarriage or infant death. They deal with parents who have had multiples (twins or triplets, etc.), or those who have been exposed to an environmental hazard … Continue reading →