Encouraging families living with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and other Invisible Disabilities
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Safe Social Distancing Summer travel and visiting local over-crowded tourist destinations were not an option this summer. We are an at-risk family. Staying home was our safest option. I searched for local destinations where safe social distancing in St Augustine was possible. Good Timing Our move across the country was lucky for reasons we could have never guessed. Unbeknownst to me, a pandemic had begun on the other side of...
A Virus Stopped The World Holidays have been a challenge since my children were about four and seven. They can’t help it due to their disabilities. There have been years when we skipped celebrating several holidays. Easter has been the hardest. None of our difficult Easters will ever come close to the what world as a whole has become in 2020. Looking through our photos of our past attempts at...
Big Decisions Before Our Cross-Country Move How we moved cross-country to Florida happened quickly. Relocating was always in the cards as I planned my retirement. The cost of living in Los Angeles and the increasingly horrible traffic made it easier to leave. Retiring happened sooner than expected due to the treatment of my son by our school district and my daughter’s increasing needs. Plan B included relocating after Miss Bee...
We are a Transportation Family My son has always loved transportation vehicles – the bigger the better. Despite having a limited ability to focus, Mac could play with his wooden trains on his train table with laser focus for an hour or more. Thomas the Tank Engine, Toby, Mavis, Percy, and friends were Mac’s favorites and he often incorporated his Matchbox trucks in his play with the trains. Several of...
Stoneview Nature Center Nestled in the Baldwin Hills are two family-friendly parks connected by a hiking trail. On the east-facing side of the hills is Stoneview Nature Center. This lovely gem off the beaten path is an easily manageable park that opened in April 2017. Hiking and a workout in the Baldwin Hills is a unique experience in a natural setting. There is a quarter-mile dirt path surrounding the perimeter...
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...