Disaster preparedness planning is complicated when a child in your family has a disability. Intellectual disability causes my daughter to perceive stressful incidents through a different lens. Her predictable responses (based on experience) were considered as I formulated our disaster plans. The prospect of K-12 schools closing due to the coronavirus is looming. Colleges and Universities throughout the country have already begun closing. Coping with unplanned school closings requires planning...
It Takes a Village to Raise Children with FASD
FASD Families Need Support Every time I speak about FASD, I discuss the village that supports my family. This is my most important and desperately needed treasured group of friends and family. It takes a village to raise children with FASD. I am a single mom of two adopted children. My son was diagnosed with FASD at the age of fifteen and my daughter was diagnosed with FAS (Fetal Alcohol...
What is Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD)?
This is what it is like raising children with an FASD from a parent’s perspective. I am not a licensed professional. The Statistics I reference can be found on the Pr%f Alliance (formerly MOFAS) website. I am a parent of two children that I adopted from foster care as newborns. They are currently 19 and 16. Here is what I have learned about Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders. These are my personal experiences...
Puppy Party – Birthday Celebration
How do you create a birthday celebration for a child that spends her days bouncing off the walls with endless energy and goes from ten to sixty on the over-stimulated meter in three seconds flat during every special event and holiday and often results in epic meltdowns? Have a puppy party. I noticed a local business flyer on a community board advertising that they bring pups to your location as...