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disabilities

This tag is associated with 89 posts

With a lot of help …

The last week was hard: Figuring out Deane non-stop ingesting schedule; Having Deane home because high schools finish a week early; Having our intake meeting with the government agency that has funded the personal support worker who has been feeding Deane dinner since March; Getting those services transferred up to our cottage and endless struggles … Continue reading

Hard to swallow

I was calm as they said my son was aspirating food and liquids. I was calm as they recommended a g tube and an immediate NG tube. The experts at the swallow clinic had built an irrefutable case. They had just watched Deane eat solids – fairly runny mashed potatoes – drink liquids and eat … Continue reading

These braces were made for walking…

I can’t remember when Deane got his first pair of ankle-foot orthotics. He was small. The first ones fit easily in my hand. As he grew, we kept the old ones. They were too personal to throw away. Last week, Deane got his eighth pair and finally there was a suitable solution for the old … Continue reading

Google Hangout on raising special needs kids

Google Hangout on raising special needs kids Check out my conversation with blogger Lisa Thornbury (Forever in Mom Genes) and Katrina Carefoot who blogs at Fickle Feline about the challenges and joys of raising children with special needs hosted by iVillage.ca.  It was a great exchange of ideas and experiences.

Moms talking disability on iVillage.ca

This week I am participating in a conversation on iVillage.ca about raising special needs children. The chat is hosted by noted pregnancy author Ann Douglas and includes blogger Lisa Thornbury and writer Catrina Carefoot. We cover the joys, sorrows and challenges of raising special needs kids. Check it out. iVillage comments about support networks and … Continue reading

Awful parenting 101

So I legitimately had a doctor’s appointment when the school called to say my son was “exhibiting a high temperature.”  But I didn’t have to get off a station early and make three stops on my way home to get the car.  Or take the time to delete 97 emails from my phone and make … Continue reading

Message received

The dietitian’s accent is strong enough that I don’t catch every word and my voice is so low that he has to ask me to repeat myself. But the message was loud and clear: Deane had lost weight since coming out of the hospital and the dietitian is referring us to the g tube clinic. … Continue reading

Birthday surprise

The list goes on and on: the musical letter matching pad, the remote-control Brio train; the DVD complete with dance pad; the 18” remote-control robot that danced, burped and farted; the glowing, spinning sphere controlled by an iPad. We even wrapped up the Wii console and gave it to him (not that the rest of … Continue reading

On the bus

A car dealership in Idaho recently advertised its new trucks by asking, “Are you driving a wimpy truck? Do your kids take the short bus so they won’t be seen in it?” The dealership was then hit with complaints from parents of disabled kids complaining about the derogatory reference to “the short bus.” In places … Continue reading

On ice cream

  A neighbour crossed the street to speak to me. “You’ve had a dreadful winter,” she said, her voice full of sympathy. I was at a bit of a loss as to how to respond. While it was happening, it was dreadful, although, lost in the details, I couldn’t have summed it up that succinctly. … Continue reading