Author Archives: Nichole True

About Nichole True

Nichole is a married SAHM to a 3 year old from Guatemala, that was brought into thier family through the miracle of adoption. Her daughter Mia is legally blind with Optic Nerve Hypoplasia (OHN), Nystagmus, and Strabismus. Mia has been diagnosed as legally blind but they do not know an exact vision number like 20/200 yet. Nichole hopes to be able to get a more accurate diagnosis as Mia gets older and can communicate better. Nichole worked for 5 years in the Wichita, KS school district as a special education cllassroom Para-educator, and as a one on one Para-educator for a child that has Cerebral Palsy and is wheelchair bound. She was able to watch him grow and learn and learned a lot about the education plans for children with special needs. Nichole is excited to be here and hopes to learn from everyone here.

Why My Heart Melts

I am sure when people look at children with disabilities some have pity for them. I however have not and will never pity my Mia. Mia is so much more than her disability. This is my tribute to her and all the things she does to melt my heart, and why I love her more and more each and every day. 1. When she wakes up and says, “I hungwey.” 2. When as soon as she is dressed she HAS to put on socks and shoes, even in the house. 3. How when she runs out of juice in her … Continue reading →

Holidays with the Family

We had our first holiday get together this past weekend. And Oh My, it was a mad house. With 21 people including 3 children, it got very hectic and crazy. Poor Mia had people calling her name non-stop, and she had no idea which way to go. Mia, as you know, is visually impaired and uses her hearing and other senses to get around and find people. With 5 people at a time yelling, “Mia come here.” She got very confused and very frazzled. I think people just forgot that, although she looks and acts like a normal 3-year-old toddler, … Continue reading →

Don’t Baby My Special Needs Child

As a parent with a special needs child you all, I am sure, have at least one family member or close friend that thinks you should baby your child. I know I have come across this in my short time, as a special needs parent. My family wants to feed her and not let her walk freely, but carry her everywhere. It can be very frustrating when we, as parents, are trying to teach our child independence but as soon as they are around grandpa they revert back to an infant. Here is an example; when we first got Mia … Continue reading →

Orientation and Mobility for the Visually Impaired Individual

As a parent of a visually impaired child there are many challenges to meet, one of them being just the simple act of walking freely from one place to the other unassisted. There is therapy available called Orientation and Mobility therapy (O & M). O & M is very important for children and adults with visual impairments. This is what helps them to be able to walk independently in their environment, may it be a common or new environment. If a person with visual impairments is not comfortable in their surroundings it can cause unneeded stress as well as confusion … Continue reading →

Is your child attached to you?

I know this seems to be a silly question for those of you with a biological child. But what you should know is that it is a very real problem effecting biological and adopted children. There have been many blogs about this under the adoption topic. However it is not solely an adoptive family problem. Children that spend a lot of time away from home, may it be in the hospital for a long period of time can develop an attachment disorder of some kind, this is just one example of what may cause an attachment disorder. What is an … Continue reading →

Is it OK to Shock Kids?

While doing research trying to figure out what topic I wanted to start with, I came across a lot of articles about learning disabilities and schools. It is amazing to me that we have such a HUGE school system in the US overall yet there are still schools that have a hard time with giving the special needs child what they need. For instance I came across this article titled “When is it OK to shock kids”, when is it EVER ok? It is discussing the article in The Village Voice titled “School of shock” .I understand why this particular … Continue reading →

Hello From Another Special Needs Parent

Hello and welcome to my blog about special needs parenting. My hope is that this will be informative and helpful to you all, as I know it will be to me as I research and discuss each topic. I plan on going over many different subjects, from attachment to schooling. I am very excited to start this venture and I know it will be rewarding. A little about me My name is Nichole True; I am a full time mom and part time retail associate. In September of 2006 my husband and I brought our first child home from Guatemala. … Continue reading →