While all parents celebrate their children’s milestones and major life events, parents of children with special needs also celebrate inchstones - those tiny little milestones no bigger than an inch but every bit as significant.

Writing is activism in the best sense. It presents worlds with a cornucopia of multi-faceted characters, because no one is just one kind of person.

In Northern Michigan jobs are tough to come by, even for our non-disabled child. When you add in an intellectual disability, the search becomes a puzzle.

I’m a crunchy mama. I make almost all of our meals from scratch, as much as possible from out own chemical-free garden, and I have lavender essential oil on hand at any given moment. I am a smoothie connoisseur, flax seed makes me happy, I take supplements, and prescriptions, side by side. I’m an experienced… Continue reading Research, Experts and Essential Oils

Our son Ben was diagnosed with congenital hypothyroidism at his one-year-old checkup, and from that day forward, he has taken a thyroid supplement every single day. In addition, he has numerous other health complications as well as an Intellectual Disability (Down syndrome) and ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder). This combination of medical and developmental diagnoses makes… Continue reading Tips and Tricks for Giving Medicine to Kids

As special needs parents, advocate, independence, and empathy are three vital words to our children’s lives. But I would like to add one more.

As a special needs parent, I’ve had to train myself to put down that Magic Eight Ball. I’ve had to stop asking all the “what-ifs” over and over again.

My daughter is the only non-disabled child in our family. Her needs may be different from that of her special needs siblings, but they are still very real.

Taking your special needs child to the dentist or any other appointment doesn't have to be so harrowing. Here are my top three tips for making it bearable.

Families with complex disabilities lack a voice. Only by having allies to help us ask for programs and support can our voices be heard and heeded.