Courtesy of Brie of Austin – 10 years old

Does your child have Springtime inspired artwork?  Post it here!

Happy St. Patrick’s Day! 

Are you looking for fun things to do this St. Patrick’s Day with your child with special needs?  If so, here are a few ideas:

1.  4 Leaf Clover Hunt – Especially if the weather is good, hunting for a 4 leaf clover or the rarer 2 leaf clover is a good way to get outside.  This activity promotes language skills.

2. Go to the library and read St. Patrick’s Day themed books.  This activity promotes reading and comprehension skills.

3.  Paint faces, rocks or paper with shamrocks and rainbows.  This activity promotes sensory tolerance.

4.  Play Gaelic games like “Heave Ho”.  To play, use a spatula to toss a paper filled lunch bag over a fence.  Whoever makes it across the most times out of ten is the winner.  This activity promotes visual motor and gross motor skills and, social skills.

What ideas do you have for St. Patrick’s day fun with children with special needs?

Have you considered a Gluten-Free diet for your child?

Gluten-Free foods are popular.  These products are available at your local market largely due to the growing number of people diagnosed with celiac disease, an autoimmune disorder where the gut can’t digest certain nutrients found in wheat, oats, barley and rye.  Many parents of children with special needs who I know recommend Gluten-Free foods to address digestive problems, speech delay, insomnia and food allergies.

A fun and language rich activity for you and your kids is making a Gluten-Free meal.  Here’s a yummy recipe for Gluten-Free buttermilk pancakes:

1 egg, 3/4 cup buttermilk, 1 tbsp canola oil, 1/2 cup tapioca flour, 1/4 cup cornmeal, 1 tsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt

1.  Whisk together buttermilk, egg and oil in a medium bowl until smooth and set aside.  Mix tapioca flour, cornmeal, baking powder and salt in a small bowl, then add this mixture to the buttermilk mixture.  Lumps are okay.

2.  Use 1/4 cup of batter per pancake and drop batter into large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Cook for 2 to 3 minutes per side or, until light golden brown.

3.  Serve with maple syrup and bananas or confectioners’ sugar; or spread with strawberry cream cheese and roll up.

Serves 4.  Per 2-Pancake serving: 150 calories, 5g fat, 55mg cholesterol, 4g protein, 21g carbohydrates , 1g fiber, 280mg sodium

Editor’s Note: Recipe reprinted from The Gluten-Free Vegetarian Kitchen: Delicious and Nutritious Wheat-Free, Gluten-Free Dishes by Donna Klein (HP Trade; April 2007)

Do you have other recipe ideas or know great restaurants that serve Gluten-Free foods?  If so, add your resource to Special Needs Neighborhood.com or, leave a comment here.

Has anyone ever said to you that you’re smothering your child?

I was reading a special education thread today where a mom related an incident with her son’s therapist involving how the therapist told her that she needed to give her son some space.  The mom really was upset about the therapist’s remarks.   Here she’s spent years handling her son’s needs and now she’s asked to step away and to let go.  She wondered whether she was enabling her son or helping him.

I can relate to her feelings.  I started to think about my family.  For ten years now I have helped my child with everything from brushing her teeth to putting on her shoes.  At times, I serve as her translator due to her severe articulation issues.  While I am anxious to see her realize an independent and abundant life, I admit that the thought of letting her go terrifies me.

Think about flying in an airplane and how the flight attendant reviews the safety instructions and tells you that in the event of a loss of cabin pressure to secure your air mask before assisting your child.  Then he comes over to you, makes eye contact and gets your promise to follow this instruction.  Well, I admit that I readily make this promise every time, but I always wonder to myself whether I just lied to the flight attendant.  Everything about his instruction goes against my motherly instincts.  I think about how my child who has motor planning issues will have a hard time orienting the mask to her face, attaching the straps around her ears and how the mask may cause her sensory system to freak out!  

Letting go, even when the experts tell you to do so, is hard.  How do you know the right time to step away?

Is your child lactose intolerant or suffer stomach aches regularly?

Organic B.R.A.T. Feel Better Drinks are made with ingredients that settle upset tummies, calm diarrhea and restore electrolytes and nutrients.  B.R.A.T. is an acronym for bananas, rice, applesauce and toast; that age old doctor recommended diet for stomach aches.

Greg and Lisa Toepfer created Organic B.R.A.T. Feel Better Drinks after their girls developed the stomach flu.  Their children’s pediatrician recommended the B.R.A.T. Diet to settle their daughters’ upset stomachs.  But, the girls complained throughout the day about wanting to drink milk.  The Toepfers, unable to calm their girls, were inspired to create a product that settled their tummies, provided nutrition and rehydration.  They used brown rice, banana puree, apple puree, vitamins and minerals.  Their girls loved the new drink and kept asking for more long after healing from the stomach flu.  Then, Organic B.R.A.T. was born!

Organic B.R.A.T. Feel Better Drinks are all-natural, non-diary drinks, available in 32 oz. packages in four flavors, Original, Vanilla, Chocolate Honey and Cinnamon Toast.  According to B.R.A.T. LLC, children with celiac disease, gastro-intestinal issues related to autism, food allergies, and many more health issues will benefit from drinking Organic B.R.A.T. Feel Better Drinks.

You can buy Organic B.R.A.T. Feel Better Drinks at Rice Epicurean Markets, Safeway, Whole Foods Market, Albertsons and through Amazon.com.  For more information on Organic B.R.A.T. Feel Better Drinks, visit the website.

Have you tried Organic B.R.A.T. Feel Better Drinks or other organic drinks that you like?  If so, add your reviews to the Nutrition category at Special Needs Neighborhood.com or, leave your comment here.

Are you ready for tax time?

Your family may work with a good accountant, but consulting a qualified special needs planner at tax time can solve complicated questions about taxable income affecting people with disabilities.  According to the Academy of Special Needs Planners, http://www.specialneedsplanners.com, all income is not taxable.  For example, Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits, Social Security Disability Insurance Payments (SSDI), funds paid through a qualified Dependent Care Assistance Program and Veterans Administration disability benefits are not considered taxable income.

Further, if you are your child’s caretaker, you may qualify for a refundable tax credit.  A refundable tax credit can reduce tax owed and result in a refund.  You can see up to 35% of your childcare expenses refunded through the child and dependent care tax credit.  Also, parents of children with special needs can claim an Earned Income Tax Credit, depending upon your family’s income.

Lastly, tax rules for special needs trusts vary.  Your child, you, the special needs trustee and the special needs trust may owe taxes on trust income. 

To learn more about tax savings for families of kids with special needs, click here: http://www.specialneedsneighborhood.com/wordpress/?p=118.

Have you saved on your taxes using a financial advisor, accountant or special needs planner?  If so, add your resource to Special Needs Neighborhood.com or leave your tip here.

When you make your spring break and summer plans include Morgan’s Wonderland as one of your destinations.  It’s located in San Antonio, TX. 

Morgan’s Wonderland is  the world’s first ultra accessible family fun theme park.  http://www.morganswonderland.com.  It opens on April 10, 2010.  Admissions to the Park require an online reservation or call 1-210-637-3434.

Morgan’s Wonderland is part of a 106 acre sports complex.  The Park will contain playscapes with custom ramp access for wheelchairs, swing areas with over 30 traditional and adaptable swings, shaded pavilions for quiet time or parties, a sensory village and, more. 

The Gordon Hartman Family Foundation spear-headed this Park project.  The Foundation seeks to establish more ultra accessible family fun theme parks around the U.S.  Sports Outdoor and Recreation (SOAR) was created to raise funds for the Park, including funds for its maintenance and operation.   The Park addresses the need for millions of children and adults with cognitive and physical needs to participate daily in outdoor recreation and, overcomes accessibility issues so every visitor can have fun. 

Does your community have accessible playgrounds or parks?  If so, add your resource to Special Needs Neighborhood.com or leave a comment here.

Yesterday an Italian court convicted 3 Google Executives for failure to comply with the Italian privacy code.  The court found that the Executives violated the code when a 2006 video was uploaded to YouTube that showed an Italian boy with autism being bullied.  See, http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/serious-threat-to-web-in-italy.html. 

How can we use innovations like YouTube to increase society’s tolerance for children with differences?  Likewise, how can we encourage innovators like Google  to inform and to empower kids with special needs through technology?

The American Association for the Advancement of Science, www.aaas.org, met this past weekend.  The scientists agreed that a connection exists in the brain between words and music.  They said that music education can help children with developmental delays, including autism, to use speech more accurately. 

Dr. Gottfried Schlaug, Associate Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School, told the meeting that music is a  multisensory experience that activates several links to parts of the brain.  Nina Kraus, Director of the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory at Northwestern University, reported that new studies show that musical training enhances the brain’s ability to do other things.  For example, playing an instrument may help youngsters better process speech in noisy classrooms and to process social nuances.

Have you tried music with your child?

To learn more about music therapy benefits for kids with special needs click here: www.specialneedsneighborhood.com/wordpress/?p=111.

To find a music therapist in your area, See: www.musictherapy.org.  To recommend a music therapist in your area, add your resource to Special Needs Neighborhood.com or, leave a comment here.

This year I’m giving myself a gift for the holidays.  I’m getting a puppy!  I’m excited about having another companion but I’m terrified about adding more responsibility to my already full plate.  But, I’ve met the little puppy and now I’m head over heels for him.

I encourage you to treat yourself special this holiday season and to give yourself a gift.  Here are a couple of gift ideas for busy moms of children with special needs like me:

a)  Concierge/House Help Services – Hire a concierge service for around your house to plan and to prepare meals, run errands, shop, organize your home, clean or supervise vendors.  Here’s an example of concierge services being offered on Special Needs Neighborhood.com: http://www.specialneedsneighborhood.com/welcome/resource_view/435.

b) 2010 Self Renewal/Exercise Class – Sign up for a 2010 class on self help, balanced living or exercise.  Commit yourself to finding more time for you.

 What gift are you giving to yourself this holiday season?