What Are Developmental Disabilities? Developmental disabilities are a group of conditions that come from a physical, learning, language, or behavior impairment that manifests before the individual turns 22. These conditions usually last throughout a person’s lifetime and can affect everyday living. Recent estimates in the United States show that about one in six (17%) of… Continue reading Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month: Beyond the Conversation

Here’s Why Music is the Universal Language This past autumn in that magical window of time before the weather requires multiple layers but after the leaves start to change, our family attended a festival to raise money to clean up the river that winds its way through our small town. The “Riverfest” was less than… Continue reading Music is the Universal Language

We Cannot Underestimate the Importance of Disabled Role Models for Our Kids I’m pretty good at being my son Charlie’s mom. I know the difference between his sad cry and mad cry, his happy laugh and jokester laugh. I know his favorite foods and can probably guess what he’d want to do at any given… Continue reading The Importance of Disabled Role Models

Advocacy Doesn’t Have to Mean 100% Inclusion I want my son Charlie to be with his peers. I want him to roll his wheelchair out onto the playground for recess and sit in the cafeteria during lunch and participate in the Fun Run (where his aide wheeled him in whirligig circles on the track until… Continue reading Is Inclusion Always the Right Choice?

Weighing Risks of a Major Surgery Larry McMahon, who turned 80 in December, is weighing whether to undergo a major surgery. Over the past five years, his back pain has intensified. Physical therapy, muscle relaxants, and injections aren’t offering relief. “It’s a pain that leaves me hardly able to do anything,” he said. Should McMahon,… Continue reading 7 Questions Older Americans Should Ask Their Surgeon

I’m Not Raising a Wilting Flower This pandemic has challenged every single one of us as humans. Children, teens, adolescents, adults: we all have had to balance an extra set of life demands that have been outside of the scope of any other life experience we have had thus far. I often pose the question… Continue reading How to Raise Resilient Children

Stress is a common feeling for caregivers. Some coping strategies to combat caregiver anxiety are outlined below: Recognize...

Crying in the Library and Other Signs You Need a Break One Wednesday in late winter, I returned a book to the library. Driving home, I felt pretty good about myself, knowing the book had a hold on it and the next person would be happy to know they could get it that much sooner.… Continue reading Signs You Need a Break

It’s 2023! We all have high hopes for the new year for our country, our world, our homes, our lives. We want a new year to bring new hope and intense change, perhaps even a return to “normal.” This is especially true since the pandemic began, but while much time has passed, our desire to… Continue reading New Year Intentions vs. Resolutions

An analysis of 31 other studies concludes that, for people with hearing loss, hearing aids reduce their risk of long-term cognitive decline by 19%. As we age, the prospect of dementia is out of our hands in many respects. Simply getting older is the biggest risk factor, followed by genetics. But a study published earlier this month… Continue reading Study Finds Hearing Aids May Reduce Dementia Risk for Seniors