A study suggests that having a “medical home” can help parents of children who have special needs to save some money on medical bills. It seems to work because it organizes the care that a child needs into one location. When you hear the phrase “medical home”, it conjures up images of hospital-like group home situations. There are many parents who are going to dislike the idea of sending their child who has special needs off to one of these types of places, (even if they thought it would help to cut down on medical expenses). However, “medical home” actually … Continue reading →

Your child has just been diagnosed with a developmental disorder, or with a mental disorder, or with a serious health condition. This is going to be a traumatic experience for any parent to go through. Here are some suggestions about how to cope with this knowledge. Perhaps you always had a “feeling” that something was “different” about your child. Maybe you have taken your child to see doctors and specialists, in order to confirm or deny your suspicion. You might have visited with a psychologist or other mental health practitioner who observed your child. After all this, you finally get … Continue reading →

Perhaps you are reading this blog because you are a parent of a child who has a special need. If not, then you might be reading this because you have a family member, a loved one, or a good friend who has a child that has special needs. Here are a few ideas about how you can offer help and support to that person. Parenting is an incredibly difficult job. Parents don’t often get “days off”, and almost never get “sick days”. There is an emotional component that comes with parenting that can be extremely moving, or incredibly stressful, or … Continue reading →

Parents of children that have severe allergies might be a bit perplexed about what their child can do for fun this summer. You probably had a pretty good idea about what sort of allergens to expect that your child could encounter at school, and were prepared for them. What do you do now, when your child is out of school? The trick is to modify fun activities around your child’s allergies. Its nice to be able to play in the sprinkler on a hot, July, day. Parents of children who have no allergies can simply set up the sprinkler in … Continue reading →

Gluten allergies are something that should be taken seriously. If you just discovered that your child is allergic to gluten, then your family is about to experience some big changes. It can be overwhelming to try and figure out how to avoid feeding your child food that contains gluten. Here are some tips to help you do that. I recently discovered that I have a gluten allergy. This is not something I am happy about, because it means I will have to give up eating many of the foods that I really liked. Fortunately, I am an adult, which means … Continue reading →

Summer vacation is something many families look forward to. School is over, and that gives families the freedom they need to do some vacation activities together. This lack of predictable structure can be overwhelming for children who have autism. Here are some tips to make summer vacations a little less stressful for kids who have an autism spectrum disorder. Children who have autism tend to need a set, predictable, plan for their day. When they are in school, they know that they can count on things happening in a certain order. There is comfort in knowing what will happen next, … Continue reading →

One of the biggest difficulties that parents of children who have special needs face has to do with employment. Parents who are called away from work too often, in order to tend to the needs of their child, can end up becoming unemployed. One solution to this problem might be to work from home. Raising children is expensive. All children are going to require the basics: food, clothing, and shelter. There will be money spent on things like toys, games, and movies to provide entertainment to the child. You can count on there being fees required by schools, and medical … Continue reading →

Your child’s food allergies may be causing him or her to have low self esteem. Children want to fit in with their peers, and be as similar as possible to them. Having a severe food allergy means that your child is “different”, and this will be noticed by his or her classmates. Fortunately, there are things that a parent can do that will help their allergic child to regain his or her self esteem. Children, especially older children (like middle schoolers and high school students) want to fit in. No one wants to be that strange kid who can’t eat … Continue reading →

The start of Spring is a miserable time for people who have allergies. Parents who have children with severe allergies are going to have to be especially careful now that allergy season has gotten into full swing. Fortunately, there are some things a parent can do to help their allergic child be a little bit more comfortable this Spring. This is a difficult time of year for people who have allergies. Spring allergies make people physically uncomfortable. No one enjoys having itchy eyes, constantly draining sinuses, and an inability to stop sneezing. This can make even the hardiest of allergic … Continue reading →