Saturday, I took the kids to see their first movie! We went to a sensory friendly movie at a Cobb Luxury Theater. It was full of experience for sure. I called to confirm about the sensory friendly environment after finding out from my ABA therapist. It was advertised to have lower volume, more light and…
Tag: advocate
Ultimate Guide to Advocating
At my last IEP meeting I received a compliment from the compliance specialist in the district. She has been in every IEP meeting this school year! We had four meetings this year and she told me, “I just want to thank you for being so thorough, detail oriented and prepared for each and…
Hug, Kiss and High-Five
Affection and Autism Social/Emotional deficits are one of the three common domains that children on the spectrum or diagnosed with autism often struggle to understand. Emotions can be difficult to read or display. Some criticize people on the spectrum for their lack of personal and physical relationships. Other family and friends worry about relationships, emotions…
Summer Problems for Special Needs Children
SUMMER IS HERE! School ends this week, Thursday for those of us in Florida (Pinellas County). Thursday is an early release day. Why does the school district do this to us?! Why are you even taking them? 8:30-11:30 that is not helping us working parents, now you have added more scheduling, after school transportation and…
Transitioning to Kindergarten? Quick Tips to make your Transition a Success.
Is your child graduating from Pre-K?! It all happens so fast, you don’t really think about it at the beginning of the year because it’s still preschool then all of a sudden May comes and you get a graduation announcement! My little guy is graduating from preschool and moving onto kindergarten. No matter if…
Surviving Stress and Exhaustion
Today, I needed a clone! I needed another person to meet all the responsibilities on my list. Yesterday, I knew that I needed to step back, breathe, and set my priorities. I also realized that I needed to get some things or some people into the “box”. Yesterday, I started getting a migraine at…
Why do you get help…
…and my more medically complicated child gets none?! Over the last week or so, the questions and concerns have been made regarding assistance for children with autism that have complex medical needs. Why are some families qualifying and others not? What is the missing piece? The information that started the discussion was about Medicaid. Our…
Having High Expectations for your Special Needs Child
Over the last few weeks, our family has continued to try the “reality check” for our growth and our child’s growth. Personally, over the spring break week, I put in some time with my husband making plans, create ideas and making a list of goals to accomplish by September. Our family is making a commitment…
How to mentally prepare for an IEP meeting.
Having a child with special needs is a very emotional experience. Having a child that is delayed or under performing at their age group is common and parents have to develop a plan for their child’s success in life. That brings in the school. Schools are legally responsible for providing a free appropriate public education…
The serious business about the McKay Scholarship
Does your child have an IEP or 504 in the state of Florida? Florida was the first state to implement a scholarship like McKay. McKay allows for parents of special needs children to use funds allocated to the public school for private school tuition. (you can use McKay to transfer to another public school as…
Ruthfulness 