Special Needs Archives - Page 7 of 7

June 25, 2014July 30, 2021

Are we really that far from ‘normal’?

It’s been an interesting few weeks. We finally got a diagnosis for C, only to discover that the diagnosis had been sitting in the ‘books’ for at least one year. A monumental stuff-up with the hospital administration meant all correspondence was going to the wrong doctor…

…but it’s OK now. I’m OK with that, I think. The diagnosis was not unexpected either – Cerebral Palsy. After all, the specialist who’s been treating him is a world-class medical researcher into CP. But still, it is … interesting.

We now have another set of letters to add to the list of medical conditions C has been accumulating.

And yet, and yet. My heart still wants to say, ‘We’re not that far from normal, are we?’
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April 21, 2014July 30, 2021

Keeping Balanced: Promoting Health and Wellness in the Gifted/2E Child

This topic is close to my heart, because it is something we deal with in this house everyday. As I have talked about before, both my kids have LDs. My son has SPD and ideopathic toe walking (plus another unknown disability we’re going through the wringer to get diagnosed). My daughter has anxiety disorder – she gets stressed and then is unable to feel pain – which causes her to be a sensory seeker – she likes throwing herself onto the floor for the bump. I cried the first time she complained about a minor injury. Because it was a big deal – it meant that she was able to feel it, and therapy was working.

So today I’m going to talk about how we incorporate strategies into our day to keep everyone on an even keel. Some of these are for the disabilities, some for the OEs. They all help.
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March 19, 2014August 26, 2021

My Kid is NOT Average, and Pride Has Nothing to Do With It.

What can I say about the post, ‘My kid is average and I am oh so proud‘ ?

I can say that it makes me feel deeply uncomfortable. Maybe it’s the passive aggressive tone, maybe it’s the conflation of their child’s achievements and their own ego. I’m not sure.

What I think is damaging and breath-takingly dangerous about this post, is that it reinforces stereotypes that encourage discrimination and prejudice. Even if the opposite was the author’s intent. Which I’m not sure is the case.

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November 26, 2013June 15, 2017

Normalising Disability

My little girl, J is a funny girl sometimes. Recently, when we took C to his physio session at the hospital, we had to share the room with another therapist and patient. J loves these ‘go Doctor’ sessions, as she calls them – there’s lots of cool toys, and she usually has Mummy running around after her while C ‘plays’ with the therapist. This time, she spent her time watching the other patient – a teenage girl with motor problems – grab toys from one location and crawl to another to put it in a circle. Suddenly J wasn’t next to me, but had raced forward to join the other girl – grabbing toys and putting them in the circle. I quickly sped forward and scooped her up, exclaiming,
‘I know it looks like a lot of fun, but it’s the big girl’s turn now.’

The other girl and therapist laughed and J went back to playing with her toys and copying and bugging her brother.

It was only after the session that it hit me. This is J’s normal. She has spent her life going in and out of doctors’, therapists’, and specialists’ waiting rooms. It’s been like that from the very beginning, even in the womb.
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August 11, 2013August 26, 2021

Dealing with Diagnosis Soup

It’s been a while since my last post. Mainly because we’ve been busy with what I like to call the ‘diagnosis soup’ – seeing all the specialists who have a stake in helping C with his disabilities. As well as learning how to integrate all the home therapy into our daily routine. With all of C’s and J’s diagnoses, if we did all that each Dr recommended – there would be no time for eating, sleeping …or living!
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