Updates: Sensory Santa, Bus Incident, Isolation Room

Have you ever read something on the Special Need Blog at Families.com and wondered, “What happened next?” If so, then the answer to your question might be right here. I’ve got a few “follow ups” to stories that I recently wrote about. A while ago, I put together a list of all the Sensory Friendly Santa events that I was aware of. The list had details about events that would take place in December of 2012. Need more? Check out the awesome list that Jennifer Cerbasi put together. She has the events broken up by state, to make it easier … Continue reading

Guide Dogs, iPads, Egg Allergies, and Santa

It is time, once again, for the Special Needs Blog Week In Review. There are a lot of different topics that get covered here in a given week. This time, there were blogs about iPads as tools, control of Special Education school busses, egg allergies, Sensory Friendly Santa events, the effects of smoking while pregnant, and guide dog puppies visiting the fire house. Which ones did you miss? Study Says iPads Help People with Vision Problems Read A recent study found that the iPad is a great tool for helping people who have vision problems be able to read. There … Continue reading

Sensory Santas, Health Insurance Coverage, and Autism

The past week has been filled with big, important, things. Families are recovering from Hurricane Sandy, there was a Presidential election, and the Black Friday sales are starting to be released. It is understandable that you might have missed something on the Special Needs blog this week. The Special Needs Blog Week in Review will help you to catch up. Your Child Can Visit a Sensory Friendly Santa Do you know what a Sensory Friendly Santa is? It is a Santa event that is designed to accommodate children who have special needs. I list a few places that will be … Continue reading

Halloween, Mountain Climbing, School Removal, and More!

It is time, once again, for the Special Needs Blog Week in Review. As always, there are a variety of topics to be found. A few blogs discuss tips for helping kids with special needs to cope with Halloween. There were also blogs about ADA upgrades, EE, cystic fibrosis, and a new study about autism and difficulties with using language to describe behavior. How to Make Halloween Easier for Kids With Autism This blog gives you some tips that can help your child who has an autism spectrum disorder to cope with all the changes that come with Halloween. It … Continue reading

Halloween Allergens, Dyslexic Fonts, and Homecoming

This week, the Special Needs Blog has included a wide range of topics. I guess that makes the Special Needs Blog Week in Review a little bit more interesting. This time, we have blogs about mercury, Halloween related allergens, Homecoming, medications for kids who don’t need it, and a font that can be read by people with dyslexia. “No Candy Halloween” Safer for Kids With Food Allergies This Halloween, consider offering a non-food item to the trick-or-treaters that come to your door. Halloween candy often contains allergens that children who have food allergies cannot safely consume. Everyone can enjoy a … Continue reading

New Medicines, Transgenic Cows, and an Ice Cream Truck

This week, the Special Needs Blog had a wide range of topics appear. There’s a blog about hypoallergenic milk, a music program donation, a couple of new medications for specific special needs, and even a blog about a fantastic Halloween costume! This Week in Review blog will catch you up on whatever you missed. Transgenic Cow Makes Hypoallergenic Milk Scientists have created a genetically altered cow hat produces milk that is hypoallergenic (in some ways, but not in others). Could this mean that, someday, we will have this type of milk on store shelves for people who have allergies to … Continue reading

Homecoming, Halloween, Toy Catalogs, and More!

This Special Needs Week in Review blog just so happens to fall on the very last day of September. A wide variety of subjects hit the blog this week. There are blogs about homecoming rumors, Halloween activities for kids with special needs, a new drug, a new toy guide, and some concern about “clustering”. Arbaclofen May Help Symptoms of Fragile X Syndrome Arbaclofen, (also called STX209), has been approved to treat one of the symptoms of Fragile X Syndrome. It helps with social withdrawal. There is potential that this drug might also help people who have an autism spectrum disorder … Continue reading

Zombies, Playgrounds, and News Updates

There is always a wide variety of topics that appear on the Special Needs Blog. This week, there are blogs that update previous news stories, information about a Zombie Walk, and places to find inclusive playgrounds that can accommodate kids with special needs. These blogs appeared between September 17, 2012, and September 22, 2012. The Trailers are Still Being Used Last year, a public school in Missouri placed the Special Education classrooms into two trailers, that were not located on the grounds of the elementary school. Parents were upset, and threatened to remove their kids from the school if the … Continue reading

Celiac Disease, Autism, PTSD, and More!

This week, the Special Needs Blog included a wide variety of topics. There were blogs about Celiac Awareness Day, things that may cause autism, PTSD, a special needs friendly playground, support groups, and a bizarre story about involving an isolation room. These blogs went up between September 10, 2012, and September 15, 2012. September 13 is National Celiac Awareness Day National Celiac Awareness Day is a day to honor the birthday of Samuel Gee MD, the pediatrician who published the first clinical description of celiac disease. It is also a day to bring awareness to what celiac disease is, and … Continue reading

Cameras, Airline Problems, and Medication Issues

This week, the Special Needs Blog included topics such as cameras in classrooms, airlines behaving badly, unaccepted apologies, and many issues with different kinds of medications. Here is a quick review of the blogs that went up between September 3, 2012, and September 8, 2012. Thalidomide Maker’s Apology Not Enough Gruenenthal, the maker of a drug called thalidomide (and Contergan and Distaval), issued an apology for the harm caused to those affected by their drug. Many are seeing this apology as insufficient, and believe that there should be financial compensation coming to the thalidomide victims. Harvard Newspaper Website Runs Ad … Continue reading