Special Parents Confidential

Special Parents Confidential Episode 32 Death and Grief. Death is one of those subjects that few people want to talk about, yet everyone will experience. For children, death, and the grief that comes with it, can be very hard to talk about. Many kids, even teens, don’t have the abilities or the tools to adequately […] The post Special Parents Confidential Episode 32 Death and Grief. appeared first on Special Parents Confidential.

A Sibling’s Perspective. What’s it like growing up with a special needs sibling? Do you have feelings of being ignored by your parents? Do you worry about how your special needs sibling will be treated by society or your friends in particular? Are you frustrated over how often you have to explain why your special needs […] The post Special Parents Confidential Episode 31 A Sibling’s Perspective appeared first on Special Parents Confidential.

Blind Justice. Our guest for this episode of Special Parents Confidential is Michigan Supreme Court Justice Richard Bernstein. In November of 2014 he became the first blind attorney to be elected as a Justice to the Michigan Supreme Court. Or as he likes to say, “Blind Justice is now on the Michigan Supreme Court”. Justice […] The post Special Parents Confidential Episode 30 Blind Justice appeared first on Special Parents Confidential.

Sibling Support. Being a parent of a special needs child requires a great deal of concentration and a lot of involvement. So much so that often if the special needs child has siblings, they can feel overlooked or forgotten. Another challenge is stress involving sadness or unanswered concerns about the special needs child, which can […] The post Special Parents Confidential Episode 29 Sibling Support appeared first on Special Parents Confidential.

The Mighty.  Once in a while you come across a website that is just so compelling, so useful, and so helpful that you have to share it with everyone you know. Thirty million people have done that with The Mighty.  After finding out that his daughter had a rare genetic disorder, and his son was born with […] The post Special Parents Confidential Episode 28 The Mighty appeared first on Special Parents Confidential.

Education Funding. School districts across the United States are facing education funding problems. Whether through outright tax cuts, or reductions in revenue from State allocations, education budgets are getting smaller every year.  Unfortunately in order to save funding for general education programs some districts have made the hard choice of reducing special education programs by eliminating support […] The post Special Parents Confidential Episode 27 Education Funding appeared first on Special Parents Confidential.

Parent Problems Parents of special needs children face problems that few others can understand. Extraordinary  joy and crushing despair, sometimes in the same day, the same hour, the same moment. One thing is true, people who relate the best to these moments are other parents of special needs children. We have a bond that, while […] The post Special Parents Confidential Episode 26 Parent Problems appeared first on Special Parents Confidential.

Early Intervention. There’s probably nothing more nerve-wracking and stressful for any parent than the realization that your new baby, your toddler, your child might have some problems. Whether it’s not speaking, not walking, or not engaging socially like other kids, the hardest question many parents face is, what do I do about this? Of course […] The post Special Parents Confidential Episode 25 Early Intervention appeared first on Special Parents Confidential.

MI Lt. Governor Brian Calley. Michigan, like many states, has been working on changes to laws in special education to make sure that the rules are up to date and following the laws that are set down in the Federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, or IDEA, which are the main requirements of how special […] The post Special Parents Confidential Episode 24 MI Lt. Governor Brian Calley appeared first on Special Parents Confidential.

Finding Matthew For parents of special needs children perhaps the most stressful and anxious time is when you are first told that your child has problems. That first diagnosis is such a shock. You don’t know what to do, you don’t know what to think, and you feel completely overwhelmed with it all. One of […] The post Special Parents Confidential Episode 23 Finding Matthew appeared first on Special Parents Confidential.

Vaccine Safety  In the last 20 years or so we have seen an increase in popularity of an anti-vaccine movement which is based on some very disturbing claims. Primarily among them being that the MMR vaccine, which stands for Measles, Mumps, and Rubella, causes autism. Others claim all manner of health problems can come from […] The post Special Parents Confidential Episode 22 Vaccine Safety appeared first on Special Parents Confidential.

IEPs and the Law. Individualized Education Plans. IEPs for short. Possibly one of the most stressful times for parents of special needs children. IEP meetings are those annual events when parents meet with schools to plan out the kinds of help and services their special needs children are going to receive for the next school […] The post Special Parents Confidential Episode 21 IEPs and the Law appeared first on Special Parents Confidential.

Health and Wellness. Perhaps no other subject is a greater concern to a parent than the health of their children. Parents of special needs children have an even greater concern because our kids often have disabilities or disorders that require specialized health care options. Some disabilities or disorders like Downs Syndrome can be diagnosed immediately […] The post Special Parents Confidential Episode 20 Health and Wellness appeared first on Special Parents Confidential.

Understood Dot Org.  One of the major benefits of the Internet is the amazing amount of information that is available on virtually any subject you might want to know about. The problem is trying to figure out what information is accurate and what information is nonsense, especially when the nonsense information comes disguised as something […] The post Special Parents Confidential Episode 19 Understood Dot Org appeared first on Special Parents Confidential.

Special Parents Confidential Episode 18 Living With Dyslexia Dyslexia is possibly the single most mis-understood of all disabilities. People who don’t have it think that those who do see misspelled words, or letters out of order, or even that they read backwards. But none of that is actually true. People with Dyslexia can recognize letters […] The post Special Parents Confidential Episode 18 Living With Dyslexia appeared first on Special Parents Confidential.

Special Parents Confidential Episode 17 When Schools Say ‘No’. In 1990 Congress passed IDEA, or Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which entitles each student with a disability to a free appropriate public education (FAPE) to meet his or her unique needs. Originally titled Education for All Handicapped Children Act of 1975 (EAHCA), it was based on Congress’ […] The post Special Parents Confidential 17 When Schools Say ‘No’ appeared first on Special Parents Confidential.

Special Parents Confidential Episode 16 Gigi’s Playhouse For many parents one of the challenges in raising a child with special needs is finding the right therapy for your child. Sometimes we get lucky and find the right kind of therapy right near where we live. Unfortunately for some people there’s nothing nearby that can help. […] The post Special Parents Confidential Episode 16 Gigi’s Playhouse Part 1 appeared first on Special Parents Confidential.

Applied Behavior Analysis. ABA. Applied Behavior Analysis or ABA is a term parents of special needs children hear a lot in schools, doctors offices, therapy centers, and just about anywhere our kids interact with people. Studies have shown that ABA can be used to help children as early as 18 months learn to cope with […] The post Special Parents Confidential Episode 15 Applied Behavior Analysis. ABA. appeared first on Special Parents Confidential.

Special Parents Confidential Episode 14 We Connect Now When it comes to educating our kids with special needs we as parents tend to focus primarily on the here and now, especially if our kids are younger.  But what will life be like for our kids when they get older and go into college and then […] The post Special Parents Confidential Episode 14 We Connect Now appeared first on Special Parents Confidential.

Special Parents Confidential Episode 13 The Friendship Circle One of the recurring themes we have in our podcasts is how some of the best information and support comes primarily from parents of special needs children. We know what our children need for help and it’s incredible when some parents step forward and create groups and […] The post Special Parents Confidential Episode 13 The Friendship Circle appeared first on Special Parents Confidential.