Author Archives: Nancy

About Nancy

I am a freelance writer focused on parenting children with special needs. My articles have been featured in numerous parenting publications and on www.parentingspecialneeds.org. I am the former editor and publisher of Vermont HomeStyle Magazine. I am a wife and mom to a two daughters, one with cystic fibrosis and one who is a carrier for cystic fibrosis.

Food Allergy Treatment Drug in the Works

It seems to me that food allergies among children are far more prevalent than when I was a child. In fact, I don’t remember any kids in my grade school class having food allergies. The only friend I have with an allergy to a food is my college roommate, who is so allergic to eggs we couldn’t cook them in our townhouse without opening every window. But we grew up in the 80s. From 1997 to 2007, food allergies among children increased 18% with 3 million reported cases of childhood food allergies. One of the more common allergies is nut, … Continue reading →

Pacemakers Used to Help Children with Stomach Condition

Last year, surgeons used a pacemaker to help a 16-year old gastroparesis patient live with the debilitating stomach condition. Gastroparesis is a condition in which the stomach contracts less often and less powerfully, causing food and liquids to stay in the stomach for a long time. Symptoms include vomiting, nausea, bloating, feeling of fullness, heartburn, reflux, changes in blood sugar levels, and lack of appetite. These symptoms leave children malnourished and underweight. In severe cases, it affects the ability to live a normal life and attend school or play sports. In such a surgery, the pacemaker is inserted into the … Continue reading →

Regular Massages Help Reduce Pain and Depression in Sick Children

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Massage isn’t just for stressed out moms. According to a study by researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, it offers both physical and psychological benefits to children with special health needs such as Sickle Cell Disease. In the study, published in the Journal of Pediatric Psychology, researchers found that massage helps to reduce pain, anxiety and depression. Sickle Cell Disease is a genetic blood disorder that affects the red blood cells. It causes cells to become hard and pointed rather than the normal soft and round. Symptoms include anemia, repeat infections, and periodic pain. More than 70,000 Americans live with Sickle … Continue reading →

New Computer “Game” Helps Improve Memory in Children with ADHD

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A major shortcoming found in children living with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is working memory. Working memory allows us to hold onto information long enough to achieve a goal such as looking at a phone number and then dialing it. Those with ADHD or the inability to pay attention are lacking sufficient working memory. According to the Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, a new computer program can help relieve this symptom. Cogmed, a Swedish company, and the Karolinska Institute developed the software, which was used in a US study by Steven Beck, Christine Hanson and Synthia Puffenberger … Continue reading →

Why Genetic Testing Can Be Wrong

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I took my second child in for genetic testing a couple of days ago. My oldest child has cystic fibrosis, and although my two-month-old had a normal newborn screen and a normal sweat test, her doctors and I still felt we should do the genetic testing for CF for that final, more definitive answer. While I was speaking with the genetic counselor, I learned something that I hadn’t known before. When it comes to genetic disease, at least with CF, there are numerous gene mutations that can cause the disease. In the case of CF, there are over 1600 possible … Continue reading →

Everyday Citizens Fail to Stand Up for Disabled

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I watched another episode of What Would You Do? this past Friday night, only this time people really disappointed me. The “set-up” was straightforward and the discrimination was clear, yet through an entire day of filming, only one person stood up for the two girls who were being discriminated against. And to make matters worse, three people sided with the person who was doing the discriminating. The scene took place in a little restaurant where two young women who are hearing impaired walked up to the counter and expressed interest in applying for a job at the restaurant. The manager, … Continue reading →

Doctor Day Bag Essentials

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So we’ve had a busy couple of days. All I can say is that I’ve seen the inside of the children’s hospital way too much lately. But that’s okay. We go prepared. It makes life a lot easier. We have to spend a couple of hours in one small room waiting to meet with a nurse, a doctor, a respiratory therapist, a social worker, and the random medical student! So to prepare for the long day, my daughter and I pack her a bag of essentials and the fun stuff. A “Newer” Toy. We bring any newer toy that she … Continue reading →

Communicating with an Infant with Hearing Loss

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According to the March of Dimes, 3 in 1,000 babies each year are born with congenital hearing loss or deafness. This hearing loss can be caused by genetic and non-genetic factors. Genetic factors are thought to cause up to 50 percent of hearing loss in infants and young children due to the mutations of as many as 400 genes. Non-genetic causes include illness or injury such as rubella during the mother’s pregnancy. In many cases, the cause of an infant’s hearing loss is unknown. If your baby has been diagnosed with hearing loss or deafness you may be frightened about … Continue reading →

Adapting Your Home to Help Your Visually Impaired Child

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When you learn your child has a disability, you are hit with a flood of emotions ranging from fear to guilt to sadness. In addition to the changes you will go through, with some disabilities your physical environment, especially your home, will go through a period of change too. This is most definitely true with visual impairments. Adapting your home to meet the needs of your visually impaired child is an important step in the process of preparing your child for life as an independent adult. Family Connect offers these tips for helping your visually impaired child develop and grow … Continue reading →

Treating Respiratory Conditions with Salt

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The root of the problem with cystic fibrosis is salt. Chloride channels in the cells don’t work properly and cause normally thin mucus in the body to become thick and sticky. It clogs the pancreas, it clogs the lungs and it leads to life threatening lung infections. So, add salt and the conditions improve. In fact, surfers with CF have better lung function than those who don’t surf. And from this finding, a now routine CF treatment, hypertonic saline, was born. However, there’s a new age of salt treatments taking over the American business world from salt lamps to all … Continue reading →