Toddler Goes Home After 850 Days in Hospital

Imagine what it would be like to have spent your entire life in a hospital. This is the reality for a toddler in Texas. She was born with her intestines outside of her body. After many surgeries, the little girl is finally able to go home and spend Christmas with her family. Adalynn Willett is a two year old who has spent her entire young life in Cook Children’s Medical Center, in Fort Worth, Texas. She was born with a condition called omphalocele. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is a birth defect of the abdominal … Continue reading →

NFB Wants Amazon to Make Kindle Accessible

The National Federation of the Blind is very concerned about something that Amazon.com is doing. The company has been distributing their Kindle e-readers and Kindle e-books to schools. The problem is that those devices are inaccessible for students who are blind or who have other difficulties with print. There is a protest planned. The National Federation of the Blind (NFB) is the largest and most influential membership organization of blind people in the United States. Their purpose is the complete integration of the blind into society on a basis of equality. They fight to remove legal, economic, and social discriminations … Continue reading →

Girl Removed from Hospital Might be in Mexico

A mother removed her daughter from a hospital in Arizona. The girl has leukemia and a catheter in her heart. This could lead to very serious issues if the girl gets an infection. Now, it appears that the girl may be in Mexico. The information is unclear, and police are still uncertain of where the girl is at. Norma Bracamontes is the mother of an eleven year old daughter who has leukemia. Her daughter, who is being called “Emily” in the media, was in the Phoenix Children’s Hospital. She was there for about a month, and was receiving chemotherapy. An … Continue reading →

James and the Emerald Night Train

An eleven year old boy who has autism saved up his money for years in order to buy a very special LEGO set. Imagine the disappointment he must have felt when, after reaching the amount he needed, it turned out that he still could not afford to buy it! Fortunately, this story is one that ended in a very happy way. You’ve heard of LEGO. It is the company that makes little colored plastic bricks of different shapes that can be easily snapped together. The bricks can be popped back apart later on, and used to build something else. LEGOs … Continue reading →

APA Board Approves Changes to DSM-5

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) has officially finalized the changes to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM). Will these changes affect your child? If so, in what ways? Here’s a brief review of some of the changes that have been made. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Medical Disorders, or DSM, is the book that psychiatrists use to determine a diagnosis of a specific mental disorder. Every so often, it becomes necessary to review the contents of the current DSM, and to determine if anything needs to be revised, updated, or removed. There have been a total … Continue reading →

Mom Removes Daughter with Leukemia from Hospital

A mother has removed her eleven year old daughter from a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. The child has leukemia. She also has a heart catheter in place, and could die if she doesn’t go back to the hospital soon. At the time I am writing this blog, police do not know where the child has been taken to. Leukemia is a serious condition. It is the cancer of the blood forming tissues in the body, including the bone marrow, and the lymphatic system. There are many types of leukemia, including some forms that are more common in children than in … Continue reading →

Boy Left on School Bus in District of Columbia

Very recently, the District of Columbia was allowed to regain control of the busses that transported Special Education students to and from school. It didn’t take long before a child was left on one of those busses. This does not bode well for the District. A few weeks ago, U.S. District Court Judge Paul Friedman decided to end the federal supervision over the District of Columbia’s special education transportation program. The original class action lawsuit was filed in 1995 by parents who alleged that the city of the District of Columbia had “failed to provide reliable transportation for students with … Continue reading →

Kelly Preston Speaks About Son’s Autism

Kelly Preston has opened up about the death of her son, Jett Travolta, for the first time. She feels that chemical and environmental factors contributed to his health issues. It was known that he had Kawasaki disease. Kelly Preston has now revealed that he also had autism. Jett Travolta was the son of Kelly Preston and John Travolta. Jett died in 2009 at the age of 16. He had a seizure and hit his head while in the bathtub. He was found unconscious by a caretaker. This occurred while the family was on vacation in the Bahamas. Jett had Kawasaki … Continue reading →

Child With Cancer Receives Medical Marijuana

A seven year old girl who lives in Oregon has leukemia. She is one of 52 children who qualifies through the Oregon Medical Marijuana Program to receive medical marijuana for pain, nausea, and cancer. Her mother approves of this, but her father does not. Medical marijuana is a controversial topic. Some states have made it legal for a person to use medical marijuana as a form of treatment for specific, serious, health conditions. Two states, Washington and Colorado, recently made it legal for a person to consume marijuana for any reason. The federal government, on the other hand, considers marijuana … Continue reading →

Where to Find Sensory Friendly Santa Events in December

Sensory Friendly Santa events, (and Caring Santa Events) are designed to make a visit with Santa less stressful for children who have special needs. Lights are dimmed, music is turned off, and crowds are kept to a minimum. Here is a list of Sensory Friendly Santa events that will happen in December. On December 1, 2012: The Therapeutic Recreation Activity Center, which is located in Bridgewater, New Jersey, will have Santa come to visit. He will visit from noon until 3:00 in the afternoon. There will be an opportunity for kids to meet with Santa and have a photo taken. … Continue reading →