Have you ever felt as though your child was “allergic to everything”? It’s not unusual for parents to feel that way if their child has severe food allergies to multiple foods. Your child is not truly allergic to everything, though. A boy in South Australia, however, actually is allergic to all foods. A five year old named Kaleb lives with his family in Adelaide, South Australia. He has a somewhat perplexing and rare condition that it took doctors a while to figure out. In short, Kaleb is allergic to all food. Testing is still being done to try and figure … Continue reading →

Tatiana and Krista Hogan are twin sisters, who are currently four years old. The first thing most people would notice about these two girls is that they are conjoined at the head. Despite this, they each have a very distinct and separate personality from each other. There is some talk that the girls may, someday, be featured on a reality television show, based on their family. The term conjoined twin is relatively new. In the past, the most commonly used term for this condition was “Siamese twins”. This could be in reference to two famous brothers, Chang and Eng. They … Continue reading →

The classes at colleges and universities are designed to be challenging for the students who take them. Usually, students are at least eighteen years old when they start attending college, after having graduated from high school. So, it’s really impressive to hear that a twelve year old boy, who has autism, will be attending college in the Fall. Alex Beach lives in Georgia. His mother. Melinda Beach, says that he has a “genius IQ”, which I would believe, considering that Alex is fluently trilingual. He speaks both Japanese and Latin, in addition to his native language of English. He has … Continue reading →

It isn’t always easy to be a teenager. Think back to the awkwardness that surrounded the school dances when you were younger. Social situations, like a school dance, often leave out the students who have special needs. One lucky teen, however, ended up going to her school dance with one of the Chicago Bears. This unique experience happened due to a series of seemingly unrelated events. First, J.T. Thomas got drafted by the Chicago Bears football team, in the sixth round of the draft, last month. He is a linebacker. J.T. Thomas lives in West Virginia, where he helps out … Continue reading →

When you hear the phrase Tourette’s Syndrome, you probably have a certain image that comes to mind. The first thing people think of when they hear that a child has Tourette’s Syndrome is that the child is going to unleash a string of expletives and inappropriate comments. This isn’t necessarily true of all children who have Tourette’s Syndrome. The more you know about Tourette’s Syndrome, the better you can watch your child for early warning signs that indicate that he or she may have this disorder. One person is diagnosed with Tourette’s Syndrome out of every 100 people. It’s not … Continue reading →

Jake Barnett is twelve years old, and has an IQ of 170. He also has aspergers syndrome. His interest in astronomy and advanced mathematics eventually lead him to question the calculations of Einstein’s theory of relativity. This, from a child who psychologists thought would always remain detached from the world around him. Asperger’s syndrome is a form of autism. It’s been described as high functioning autism. Symptoms tend to include an intensely focused interest in one particular subject to the point where the person knows everything about it. Other symptoms involve delayed motor skills, a lack of eye contact, and … Continue reading →

We are the lucky ones. My daughter was born with cystic fibrosis, but in the 1950s, parents of CF children formed the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and since then millions of dollars have been poured into CF research. The average age of survival has risen from age 8 to age 37.5. While those numbers aren’t perfect, they are drastically improved, and new treatments and drugs are being in the process of being developed. The parents of Hannah Sames didn’t have such good news when their daughter was diagnosed at age 4 with a genetic condition called giant axonal neuropathy (GAN). The … Continue reading →

Each year, 40,000 US children are born with a congenital heart defect. While the type of defect and its severity can vary from person to person, each family must cope with the anxiety, the pain and the unknown. This year, one of those families was that of Matt Hammitt, the lead singer of Sanctus Real. His son Bowen was born on September 9, 2010 with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome. The left side of his heart was severely underdeveloped and blood was not pumping correctly to his body. Bowen underwent his first open heart surgery just a few days after birth. … Continue reading →

Without knowing it, Trig Palin has made a lasting impact on our nation. The youngest child of former republican vice-presidential candidate Sarah Palin, Trig has Down syndrome. That didn’t stop his mother from proudly including him in her speeches and at her campaign events. Most importantly, it didn’t stop her from giving birth to him. Trig has become the face of civil rights movement long overdue. He is showing the world how much love and hope there is for people with special needs. In September of 2008 Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson called Trig a civil rights leader. He notes … Continue reading →

The desire to adopt a child is a great gift but can be a long process. When considering adopting a child with special needs, there are many additional factors to consider. Children who are up for adoption, especially older children, come with a history that many of us can’t even imagine. Some have been through numerous foster homes, some have suffered abuse and neglect, and some were born with disabilities. Each child is unique, and understanding and accepting who he or she is and what you as parents can offer, are key in making sure your adoption goes off without … Continue reading →