Tips For Gathering And Supporting Family

The month of December includes several holidays, including Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Solstice. Many people enjoy gathering together to celebrate with members of their families during these holiday celebrations. For best results, follow these tips for gathering and supporting family members. Plan Gatherings Around The Most Vulnerable Family Members CNBC News reported advice from Dr. Katrine Wallace, an epidemiologist at the University of Illinois Chicago. Her number one piece of advice is to plan gatherings around the most vulnerable family members. Vulnerable communities include people who are immunocompromised, children, and elderly people. Dr. Wallace listed the following examples of how … Continue reading

The Importance of Pregnancy Support Groups

If you’re pregnant and feeling uncertain, or even if you feel great about pregnancy/childbirth, I still have an important recommendation: try to find a support group.  Not necessarily one called “pregnancy support group,” but try to find a group of other veteran, new, or expecting moms to spend time with. The support that’s offered just from spending time with others in the same boat, or who have been through it recently, is invaluable.  A lot of the weird things about pregnancy can be less alarming if you have others to talk about them with, who can say: “oh yes, that … Continue reading

Where to Find a Support Group in New Jersey

Everyone could use a little extra help sometimes. Parents of kids who have special needs can benefit from attending a support group. Finding help can be difficult. Here is a list of support groups that are located in New Jersey. Wayne Special Parents Association is located in Wayne, New Jersey. It is for parents of children who have special educational needs. Their website has information about upcoming events. Mom2Mom has a list of when, and where, support groups will take place. Most are in Newark, New Jersey. Their website says “You’re caring for your special needs child…Who is caring for … Continue reading

Study Finds Kids With Autism Lack Language to Describe Behavior

A new study finds that kids who have an autism spectrum disorder are not accessing the language areas of the brain in order to identify behavior that is socially inappropriate. They can recognize the behavior, and understand that it is bad, but lack the language to effectively communicate about it. One of the symptoms of an autism spectrum disorder is that the child has great difficulty with social skills and in appropriately and comfortably navigating through social situations. Typically, the social cues and behaviors that children automatically pick up on as they grow are things that need to be systematically … Continue reading

Find a Support Group for Parents of Kids with Special Needs

Every parent could use some support from time to time. There will be plenty of good days when life seems easy. There will also be some incredibly stressful bad days to deal with. Parents of kids who have special needs can benefit from attending a good support group. Start by seeing if a group mentioned in this blog can help you. In San Jose, California, there is a support hotline for parents of kids who have special needs. This is an excellent resource for parents who have reached their breaking point and cannot leave the house to attend a support … Continue reading

Support Hotline for Parents of Children With Special Needs

All parents, no matter what their circumstances, can benefit from some support. Parents of children who have special needs also require support. In San Jose, California, a support hotline is being set up for parents who cannot leave home to attend a support group. In March of 2012, tragedy struck in Sunnydale, California. A mother named Elizabeth Hodgins killed her 22 year old son, George, and then killed herself. George had autism, and Elizabeth was his primary caretaker. Her husband, Lester, arrived home from work one day to find the bodies of his wife and son. He didn’t know what, … Continue reading

Special Needs Blog Week in Review – July 1 – 7, 2012

Once a week, the Special Needs Blog Week in Review gives you a brief summary of each of the blogs that appeared here in the past seven days. This is a fast way to find out about the blogs that you might have missed when they were first posted. The Special Needs Podcast Roundup went up on July 2, 2012. This week, I’d like to point out an episode of The Coffee Klatch podcast. The episode is called “The Best of the Coffee Klatch – Sensory Processing Disorder”. The episode features Dr. Lucy Miller, author of “Sensational Kids: Hope and … Continue reading

Where to Find a Support Group

All parents require a little bit of support at one time or another. Parents of children who have special needs can benefit from talking with other parents who are going through similar parenting experiences. It is a way to relieve stress, to find emotional support, and to feel understood. Here are some support groups for parents of children who have special needs. Parents of Children With Special Needs is a support group that was created by a group of moms who have children with special needs. The moms in the group provide emotional and spiritual support for each other, and … Continue reading

Where to Find a Sensory Friendly Easter Bunny

Last year, around Christmas, several places offered “sensory friendly” or “sensitive” Santas. This enabled kids who have autism, or sensory integration dysfunction issues, to visit with Santa. Now, there are “sensitive” Easter Bunny events being held, for the same group of kids with special needs. On March 31, 2012, there will be a Sensitive Easter Bunny at the Timothy Hill Ranch / Apple Day Camp, which is located in Riverhead, New York. This event is for children who need to visit the Easter Bunny in a sensory friendly environment. The event will begin at 10:00 in the morning, and will … Continue reading

Special Needs Blog Week in Review – March 11 – 17, 2012

The Special Needs Blog Week in Review gives you a quick and easy way to find out about everything that hit the blog this week. You may have missed something that you wanted to read, but didn’t end up having the time to do it. Just click on the link to any of the blogs that catch your attention, and you will go right it. The Special Needs Podcast Roundup went up on March 12, 2012. This week, I’d like to point out an episode of a podcast called “The Power of Moms”. It features Mary Jenkins, the mother of … Continue reading