Encouraging families living with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders (FASD) and other Invisible Disabilities
Category
Parent Experience is Invaluable In 2019, my family moved from Los Angeles, CA to St. Augustine FL. I chose this small city because the school district is the best in the state. Changing schools in the middle of high school was hard. The improvements were immediate and life-changing. I have learned from years of experience with two children in special education. The best way to help other families is with...
Senior Portraits High school graduation was approaching. Our first attempt at senior photos with the high school’s local photographer was unsuccessful. Photographing cognitively challenged teens requires patience and knowledge of their neurodiversity. I was fortunate that the ideal photographer was working with Miss Bee at school all year. Obligatory Photography Studio Last summer Miss Bee’s high school sent us to a locally contracted photographer for senior portraits. Due to the...
Finding a Project Pinterest has countless ideas for easy art projects that are workable for my daughter Miss Bee. Over the summer, I found several Pinterest pins for creating flowers out of painted river rocks. We had an empty flower bed at our front entrance. An easy garden art project to fill this space was an ideal project for us to tackle. Locating the Supplies The first step was to...
Fetal Alcohol vs. Snickerdoodles Spring break is over. It was time to tackle the activities in my previous post Coping with Unplanned School Closings. Miss Bee chose to bake. Piece of cake, I love baking. Baking is our school closure math. Our math infused baking activity became a three-day challenge. It was frustrating to be defeated by an elegant little cookie. After a week of idleness cooped up in the...
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...
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...
Special Education is Complicated Updated 11/28/2021 My daughter was placed with me as a newborn from foster care due to prenatal exposure. She qualified for the Early Start Program through the Regional Center in California. The Regional Center provides assistance to children and adults with developmental disabilities and at-risk infants through age three. Here is what special education parents need to know in order to successfully advocate for their child. ...