by jphilo | Aug 23, 2011 | Different Dream, School/Education, Special Needs Parenting
I’d like to introduce you to Amy. We met during a recent Twitter Chat. She had so many good ideas about special needs homeschooling, I contacted her later and asked if her blog could be featured at DifferentDream.com. In today’s post, she answers some questions about how her blog www.onajoyfuljourney.com began.
Would you introduce us to your family and your connection to the world of special needs?
My husband and I have been married for 21 years. It has been such a joy to be married to my best friend and soul mate. As I look back on our years together, I am in awe of how richly blessed we are and am excited about where God is leading us.
We have two living children. Kiera is 19 years old and a college sophomore. Reagan is 16 years old and was born with Down Syndrome. My experience in the world of special needs really began with the birth of my first child. Michelle was born with severe, and ultimately fatal, heart defect. Her challenges added a new dimension to my faith journey and her passing has deepened by love for the Savior who gave me the strength to persevere…who never left us during our trials.
Why did you begin your blog about special needs homeschooling?
Initially, I began blogging to chronicle our special needs homeschooling journey during the teen years while my husband was attending seminary. I have a small blogging niche offering support to others homeschooling children with Down syndrome. Blogging lead me to write a book about home education and children with Down Syndrome.
What do you want your blog to accomplish?
The focus of my blogging has changed over the course of time. The Holy Spirit has long been whispering to me about the lack of support in our faith communities for individuals with special needs – including that of my daughter with Down syndrome. In January of 2008, I attended a local conference promoting ministry alongside individuals with special needs and I knew it was time for me to seriously consider the work that needs to be done in our community. My blog mirrors my journey today in formalizing my new ministry alongside individuals with special needs. I want to bring awareness of this mission field to the forefront. It can no longer live solely in my thoughts but must become a reality in the life of all of our faith communities.
What kind of response has it garnered?
I am well-known in the home education and Down Syndrome community. I have put in many years of research into how children with Down Syndrome learn. I have been blessed with a format to share what I know from my research and experience. Blogging has allowed me to consolidate my research and experience and turn it into an e-book which has been read by more than 8000 viewers. It is available at no cost on Scribd.com (http://www.scribd.com/doc/30242645/Homeschooling-Children-with-Down-Syndrome) and is the result of my ministry to others who homeschool children with Down yndrome.
I am very new to the world of ministry alongside people with special needs. I have been warmly welcomed in that community and am moved by those who are willing to share and help me begin my formal ministry.
Come Back Tomorrow!
Be sure to come back tomorrow for the rest of Amy’s interview when she shares advice with parents of kids with special needs. It’s encouragement you won’t want to miss!
Part Two
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by jphilo | Aug 22, 2011 | Different Dream, School/Education, Special Needs Parenting
School is about to start all over the country. For some kids with special needs it can be a hard transition, one parents can make easier by following a few simple steps.
Here are a few favorites I used as a parent and suggested to parents when kids were transitioning back to school:
Tip #1: Add Routine to the Day
Start adjusting your child’s bed time and wake up time to the upcoming school schedule. Do the same with meal times, chore times, and any other routines that will be part of the school year.
Tip #2: Acquaint your Child with the School
Kids going to a new school should visit ahead of time, tour the building, and try out the play equipment. Arrange a time for your child to meet teachers visit the new school and walk through the daily schedule.
Tip #3: Sharpen Skills
Be proactive about subjects or situations that will be difficult for your child. Make a game to practice math facts, start reading together more often, role play interactions, or create social stories ahead of time. (An online search for “social stories” will yield a host of free ones to download or print.)
Share Your Transitioning Back to School Tips
What are your favorite transitioning back to school tips? Share the ones that make life easier at your house in the comment section. I’d love to hear them.
Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop up box and the second at the bottom of this page.
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by jphilo | May 2, 2011 | Different Dream, School/Education, Special Needs Parenting
One of my favorite special needs bloggers is Ellen Seidman at Love That Max. Her posts about life with Max, her son who lives with cerebral palsy, are funny, honest, and transparent. She also runs some really good give way contests now and then, so if you haven’t visited her site before, give it a try. You might win something!
Joy Cowley and Dr. Seuss
In her February 23 post (Yes, this follow up is dreadfully behind the times), Seidman talks about a challenge common to parents of kids with communication delays: finding books that aren’t too babyish or too wordy, books for kids with special needs they will actually enjoy. To overcome this difficulty, she and Max have been reading Thomas the Tank books, because he’s into Thomas, and Dr. Seuss, because Max is into rhymes. When Max brought home a Sunshine book by Joy Cowley (who started writing them the 1960s when one of her son’s had trouble learning to read), Seidman hit pay dirt. Cowley has written over 600 titles with big type, repetitive rhymes, and short sentences. Perfect for Max and other kids with special needs.
Special Needs Coloring Pages
Here’s another resource in a vein similar to books for kids with special needs can be found at found at www.coloring.wa. They have about 30 coloring pictures (Coloring may not stimulate your child’s creativity, but filling in spaces with waxy color can be very calming to kids…and give you a few minutes to breathe) featuring kids with special needs. Go to this link to access and print them. It seems to me that since about 17% of kids in schools have identified special needs, 1 in every 5 coloring pages should include them, too. Maybe these 30 pictures will start a new trend.
What Resources Have You Found?
Have you found books that meet your child’s special needs challenges? What are they? What other kinds of resources have your searches revealed? Please share them in the comment box so more families can benefit from them. And if you still haven’t visited Love That Max, take a look at Ellen’s post about reading with Max. His personality is contagious and will make you smile.
Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop up box and the second at the bottom of this page.
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by jphilo | Dec 28, 2010 | Different Dream, School/Education, Special Needs Parenting
Are the kids tired of their Christmas toys yet? Are they picking at each other? Owly with cabin fever? Are you counting the days until school starts again? Do you need a good laugh?
Visit Wright’s Law
If your answer is yes to any of those questions, this might be a good time for you to check out the most recent Wright’s Law newsletter. It answers this question–can there be humor in special edcuation–by featuring the lighter side of special education in four humorous articles. You’ll find them at www.wrightslaw.com.
Is Humor in Special Education Appropriate?
If you think humor and special education shouldn’t be hangin’ together, consider this advice from my dad. He spent the last 38 years of his life in a wheelchair because of multiple sclerosis. When someone asked him how he could be such a kidder in his circumstances he said, “Well, I can laugh or I can cry. I have more friends when I laugh.”
Thanks for the advice, Dad. I try to follow it at least once a day!
Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop up box and the second at the bottom of this page.
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by jphilo | Nov 15, 2010 | Different Dream, School/Education, Special Needs Parenting
For many years Temple Grandin, a highly gifted woman with autism, has been a spokeswoman for others who also have autism. But now another gifted woman is sharing her insights about life with autism.
Lisa Daxer’s Life with Autism
Lisa is a biomedical engineering student at Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. She blogs at Reports from a Resident Alien, sharing her perspectives. She explains how her hand-flapping is triggered when unexpected stimuli send energy coursing through her bodies. She describes the challenges of going shopping and how she overcomes then. It is fascinating reading.
National Public Radio
Daxer was recently featured on NPR’s news show, All Things Considered. In it she talks about her inability to pick up on social cues and the coping skills she’s developed. Since arriving at college, she’s memorized a list of topics taboo in casual conversation: sex, anatomy lab, surgery, things that happen in the bathroom, and death. Though she doesn’t understand social taboos, she’s learned to accept them. “We all avoid different things,” she says. “I avoid polyester clothing. They avoid talking about death.”
The story, which is as fascinating as her blog, can be read or downloaded at www.npr.org.
Wright State University Newspaper
In an interview Wright State University’s campus newspaper, no longer available online, Daxer talked about how difficult it was for her to participate in the NPR story.
“I realized that I had to do it,” said Daxer. “I really want to get the message out that autistic people are just people. We should be accepted, rather than feared or pitied.” That story is worth reading, too, especially the part about advanced calculus being easier than interacting with others.
Many people with autism have communication deficits, and Lisa recognizes her ability to be a spokesperson for them. So she did the right thing instead of the easy thing by being a spokesperson for them.
Move Over, Temple Grandin
So move over, Temple Grandin. There’s room for both of you and Lisa to explain life with autism to those of us who want to know. Your insights will help so many.
Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop up box and the second at the bottom of this page.
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by jphilo | Nov 1, 2010 | Different Dream, School/Education, Special Needs Parenting
If your child with special needs is considering going to college, here’s a website you might want to visit. No, I’m going to rephrase that. Here’s a website you need to visit.
Where to Find Scholarships for People with Special Needs
DisabilitiesScholarships.us is packed with links to governmental and private scholarships for people with all sorts of disabilities and special needs. The website says, “There are unknown scholarships for disabled students that cover just about any type of disability that you may have. Everything from Multiple Sclerosis scholarships to deaf scholarships for paralyzed veterans is covered. What this means is that you do not have to be a graduating high school senior in order to be eligible for all of these disabilities scholarships, but that will be a requirement for some. For most, however, you can be an adult student either starting college for the first time or returning to further your education, as long as you meet the disability requirement for the scholarship you are applying for.” That means this site can help adults with special needs as well as high school students. So pass the information on.
Categories of Disabilities
To help you sift through the scholarships for people with special needs, they have been divided into the following categories:
- Blind scholarships
- Cancer scholarships
- Diabetes scholarships
- Education
- Essay scholarships
- Hearing scholarships
- Learning scholarships
- MS scholarships
- Unknown scholarships
- Unusual scholarships
- Writing scholarships
I clicked the “unknown scholarships” link (Philosophers and cynics, please set aside your “if they’re unknown scholarships how can we know about them” objections and be nice. We’re talking about real money here.) and learned people with disabilities can not only receive Fulbright Scholarships, but also receive assistance so disabilities won’t keep them from using them.
Keep Searching the Site
If your disability isn’t listed in the categories above, don’t give up. Beneath the categories, there is a running list of recent scholarships posted – everything from Lyme’s Disease to Learning Disabilities and everything in between. The site also offers an RSS feed to alert you of new postings.
So check it out, and if you find something useful, come back and leave a comment. Your success could spur someone else on, too.
Do you like what you see at DifferentDream.com? You can receive more great content by subscribing to the quarterly Different Dream newsletter and signing up for the daily RSS feed delivered to your email inbox. You can sign up for the first in the pop up box and the second at the bottom of this page.
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