Your Style ~ Yourself ~ Your Life
Do you need a gift guide for special needs care providers? If you have a special needs child, then you probably have a team of people to shop for each holiday season. Mr. Diggy’s classroom team alone is usually around ten people, never mind the slew of folks who support him and our family outside of school. Depending on… Read More
Do you need to rethink the holidays for your special needs family? Eighteen people from four states. Food allergies. Picky eaters. Spirited discussions. Multiple football games on multiple screens. Your autistic child’s routine turned upside down. If the upcoming holiday season has you dreading what is supposed to be a celebratory time, then it’s time for you to rethink the… Read More
The Special Needs Photo Session: If you have a family member with special needs, you may have given up on the idea of capturing family photos altogether. Certainly this is not something we do very often, but we do try every few years. We wrangle everyone into some collared shirts and find a way to document everyone’s growth over time. … Read More
Dear B- You were meant to be an autism sibling. You didn’t know this when you were born – and, truthfully, neither did we. We didn’t know when you were born that you would be a brother, let alone a brother to our non-stop, nonverbal, ping-pong ball whom we call Mr. Diggy. And we certainly didn’t know that you would… Read More
Do you need a self-care challenge? It can be easy to lose track of you in your role as special needs parent. But just like putting your oxygen mask on first in an airplane, you have to find a way to maintain your own mental and physical health, or you will be less effective in managing your child. You are… Read More
Autism and sleep. Or perhaps, more accurately, autism and LACK of sleep. No matter what the age of your child, you may have spent hours searching for autism sleep advice. There is little else in the world of autism parenting that more directly affects YOUR quality of life. For us, the low point was when Mr. Diggy was four. He… Read More
When was the last time you took a few moments to refresh your closet? Like many people in the US – and around the world – you may have run around your house, asking yourself if an item sparked joy, and spent time making piles of outgoing items. In the name of Marie Kondo, you may have practiced folding your… Read More
Can you celebrate Halloween without candy? For many people, Halloween and candy are inseparable. But maybe you have food allergies or intolerances in your family? Maybe you are practicing healthier eating and want to share this with your friends and neighbor? Or maybe you just want a break from the sugar rush? If that’s the case then here are… Read More
What’s on your back to school checklist? If you’ve walked into almost any store lately, you’ll have noticed that it’s back to school season – which, amazingly, starts shortly after the 4th of July in the US. As a full-time educator, I always want to get a jump on things for my own kids – without reminding myself of how… Read More
You need a self-care survival guide. It’s not just your imagination. Parenting special needs kids has been shown to be more stressful. However, this stress is not experienced evenly. It depends on the coping mechanisms implemented by the parents. On an airplane, flight attendants advise you to put your oxygen mask on first, before assisting others. Parenting – especially special… Read More
