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Remembering Samantha

Honey — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 02:21:36 +0000

An angel flew home to heaven last week. I did not know Samantha, but she went through cancer treatments at the same time as my friend Jennifer’s son Hatcher and they had become close. Hatcher was healed by God here on Earth and Samantha was healed by being taken home. Her father wrote something very heartfelt on her caring bridge page and I don’t think he would mind if I shared it.

http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/samanthaarnett/journal/2

It is the post dated Sept. 9, 2010. The part that stood out to me the most was when he said: ” He (God) has blessed us with the time we had with her and it isn’t like he took something from us that was not his to begin with. Yes, we did dedicate Samantha to Him when she was a baby. That is merely symbolic, we are all property of God. We call him Lord and yet forget what that means.”

Amen

Please keep the family of this remarkable little girl in your prayers. She is at peace, healed and whole. It is the rest of us who must deal with the sorrows of this world and wait for the time when we can be called to be with Him in His glory.

Update

Honey — Tue, 14 Sep 2010 01:58:15 +0000

It has been a long time since I’ve written. Not because I did not want to, but life got the better of us. This past year has been hard with my grandfather entering into the last months of his life with his battle with cancer, to the news that my older son, Luke, has Pervasive Developmental Disorder or PDD. This was particularly hard to take. PDD is on the Autism spectrum and I all I could think about during the diagnosis process was a conversation I had with a friend the day after Joshua’s birth. Jon is my best friend’s husband and we went to college together. After they transported Joshua to Vanderbilt’s NICU I sent most of my family to be with him as I could not leave the hospital yet. Jon came in after they had left and said “I don’t know what to say.” Which I really appreciated. I looked at him and said “At least its not Autism. I don’t know if I could handle that.” I did not know then how that statement would come back to haunt me.
We’ve had a difficult past few months coming to term with the fact that not only will Luke have to deal with a medical syndrome, but these learning and social issues as well. For the first time I really got angry with God over life and the direction in which it was going . I realize that all of this is happening for a reason, though I may not see what that is right now. The important thing is that Luke is doing well in school and seems to be happy. What more could a mother want. Right now he is being pulled out with the hopes that we can slowly incorporate him into the regular classroom without having to rely on an aide.
Joshua is thriving at his school. I really think he is a shining example of why Down Syndrome should probably be called “Up Syndrome” instead. He is such a happy, loving child who loves the outdoors, reading books, and giving hugs.
I am really going to make an effort to keep up with this blog. I found that writing was such a great therapy outlet for me and I miss it.

Top ten toys for developing fine motor skills in young children

Honey — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 14:04:00 +0000

My Joshua has Down Syndrome, and as a result we have spent many an hour at occupational therapy working on his fine motor skills. Fine motor skills are especially important for tasks like self feeding, self dressing, and writing.

There are many conditions that can cause fine motor delays. One thing that you might notice during therapy is your child’s occupational therapist using a lot of toys. They are using a concept called play therapy. Using play therapy makes it more fun for the child because they are usually doing activities that they enjoy. You can also take some of the play therapies that the therapist is using and incorporate them into your child’s normal play at home. Here are some great toys that can help you to do this.

How to Prepare for the Birth of a Special Needs Child.

Honey — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:47:29 +0000

When a woman becomes pregnant she usually fantasizes about her unborn child. Who will the baby look like? What will the baby do when he/she grows up? With the advancement of medical technology we can now learn a lot about the baby before he or she is born. We can also discover if the baby is going to have special needs. Finding out that the baby is going to be a special needs child can be devastating to some couples. There are several things that you can do to prepare yourself for the birth of your special needs child.

For full article, click here.

Girls With Turner Syndrome May Have Children.

Honey — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:45:17 +0000

On a recent road trip with a friend of mine, I found out that she had mosaic Turner Syndrome. I had been under the impression that women with Turner Syndrome could not have children, but she has two healthy daughters with no sign of TS. I also came across this article that talks about the possibility of having children even if you have a full case of Turner Syndrome. For more read here.

How to be Gluten Free

Honey — Mon, 25 Jun 2007 02:40:11 +0000

Removing a food from your diet because you or a loved one has been diagnosed with an allergy or intolerance be very difficult. People with Celiac Disease are unable to process a protein called gluten. Gluten is found in many common products that contain barley, rye, and wheat. Here are some great websites that offer Gluten-Free recipes.

Celiac Spruce Association

Celiac.com

Recipezaar

The Gluten Free Kitchen

Why We Do This

Honey — Thu, 03 May 2007 04:59:01 +0000

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Originally uploaded by honeybunny062.

Many people wonder why someone sets up the website that they run.� My reason is simple. I have two beautiful boys, Luke and Josh. Luke is almost 2 and has Shwachman-Diamond Syndrome. Josh is still a baby and has Down Syndrome. One thing that I have learned by being the mother of these two wonderful boys is that having support and being educated about your child’s condition can make all the difference in the world.

Odds and Ends

Honey — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 22:29:26 +0000

Just an update to let everyone know that the site is about 60% complete. We appreciate your patience as we work hard to complete it.� Also,� we hope to publish our first podcast by the end of the month. We have an interview that is in the process of being set up that will deal with Music Therapy. If you have any specific questions that you would like for us to ask about Music Therapy during our podcast interview, please contact us.

For those of you who live in the Middle Tennessee area, The Down Syndrome Association of Middle Tennessee will have the 2007 Fired Up! For Down Syndrome Conference May 4th and 5th. There will be several sessions that both parents and professionals can attend. Some of the topics to be covered include Nutritional Supplements, Music and Art Therapy, Sleep Disorders, After Early Intervention, Mental Health Concerns, Potty Training, Opportunities After High School, Speech in the Early Years, and much more. The registration fee is $50 per parent or family member and that includes lunch for both days. You can visit the Down Syndrome Association of Middle Tennessee’s website for more information.

The basics of special education

Honey — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 03:32:27 +0000

By Honey Denson�

Education is one of the main concerns expressed by parents of special needs children. They want their children to be included in all aspects of the academic experience and not be left behind simply because they are considered “different.”

The education of a special needs child begins at birth. First and foremost, a baby is a baby, no matter what their health status is. All babies need love and attention for proper brain stimulation. Read to your baby. � Sing songs and recite nursery rhymes. But most important, give a lot of hugs, kisses, and “I love yous’.”In 2004 the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act or IDEA was passed. It basically ensures that all children, regardless of their disability have the right to a free public education including early intervention. If you think that your child might require special education, you can request that your child be evaluated by your state’s early intervention program. If your child is delayed 40% in one area or delayed 20% in two areas, he or she will qualify for services. You and the early intervention services will then create what is known as an Individualized Family Service Plan, or IFSP. An IFSP is basically a road map that shows where your child is and where you would like them to go. The IFSP will include goals for your child to reach, what type of services will be needed in order to reach these goals (physical therapy, speech therapy, etc…), who will be providing these services, how frequently will these services be provided, and where these services will take place. The IFSP is reviewed every year to make sure that the child is on track and if services need to be added or dropped.At the age of three, the child will go through transition. Basically they will move from early intervention with an IFSP to public special education with an Individualized Education Program, or IEP. The IEP will include new goals for the child and how they will be met. The IEP is reviewed every year. Those present at the IEP meeting may include the parents, a general education teacher, a special education teacher, an administrator of the school, specialists in your child’s disability (invited by you or the school), guidance councilors, and, if you wish, � your child.

When making or reviewing your child’s IEP, it might be a good idea to bring along a little packet explaining who your child is and what you think is the best direction for your child’s education. Frequently the general education teacher and administrators at the meeting know nothing about your child. The only thing they know is that they have had their schedule interrupted to attend an IEP meeting about a child that they will probably never see in a classroom setting (the general education teacher does not have to be a teacher that your child has). Having a little booklet of information about your child gives them a story and a reason to care. You can include pictures, art work that your child has made, or even copies of their baby book pages. Let them know how wonderful your child is and how hard you are working to make sure that they are getting the best education possible.

If you ever feel that your child’s goals are not being met, you have the right to call the administrators and remind them of IEP and its goals and how you think that the problem might be fixed. Not having enough money is not an excuse that the schools can use in defense if an IEP goal is not being met. They will have to find a way.

Making sure that a special needs child has the education that they deserve is up to the parent. You are your child’s best advocate. Make sure that you know as much about your child’s condition as possible and take the time to review your child’s rights as stated in IDEA. You are your child’s best hope for a bright academic future.

Stores are up and running.

Honey — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 03:31:56 +0000

We are proud to announce that our Special Family Books tore and our Educational Toy Store are both up and running. Please feel free to visit each one to see if there are any products that might be helpful to you or your special needs child. 10% of our profits from the Educational Toy Store will go to Shwachman-Diamond America.