Parenting
Find resources to help you on your parenting journey, including advice on fostering multi-generational relationships and how to find peace as the caregiver of a special needs child.
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Parenting, Special Needs
When my family accused me of using my special needs child as an excuse
We make decisions for our medically fragile kids every day, but sometimes family members just don't understand our reasons.
Parenting, Support
Dear Grandparents of Visually Impaired Children
Being a grandparent is so important, maybe even more so for grandparents of blind children. Here are some tips to help you relate to your family and give them the...
Advocacy, Parenting
I’m Raising My Special Needs Child with Dignity – Are You?
Special needs children deserve honor and respect. As parents, we need to maintain their dignity and help them present themselves at their best in public.
Parenting, Support
What I Wish Someone Had Told Me When My Child was First Diagnosed with a Disability
If you could go back in time to when your child was first diagnosed with a disability, what would you tell yourself? What advice would you give?
Parenting, Special Needs
My baby is blind… What do I do?
When your baby is diagnosed with a visual impairment you may at first feel lost. What do you do? Where do you begin?
Parenting
Can Someone Who is Blind Be a Parent?
The Parenting with Vision Loss series from VisionAware provides helpful tips and advice from a genuine expert.
Parenting, Special Needs
What I Will Say the Next Time Someone Asks an Insensitive Question About My Deafblind Daughter
"What's wrong with her eyes?" Do people ask you questions about your blind child? What do you say?
Parenting, Special Needs
Why I’m Talking About Sex and Intimacy as a Special Needs Mom
A call to couples and parents raising special needs kids to prioritize sex and physical intimacy in their relationships.
Parenting, Special Needs
8 things I am so done with as a special needs mom
It's hard to keep things together as a special needs family. I'm losing patience and I feel totally selfish for being so annoyed with the world, but I'm going to...
Parenting, Support
Surviving the First 18 Months After Learning Your Child is Blind
Learning your baby is blind is hard... but you will move on! Janine says, "Life was continuing and I started to realize how strong we were becoming. The tears were...
Parenting, Support
When I Feel Alone as a Mom to a Child With Anophthalmia, I Remember This
Gwen writes about her baby daughter, Ivey, and the medical issues she faces. Gwen finds strength in her friends, family and even strangers who are drawn to her little girl.
Parenting, Support
Disabled Parenting Project
The Disabled Parenting Project (DPP) is an online space for sharing experiences, advice, and conversations among disabled parents as well as those considering parenthood.
Parenting, Support
“What if I die?” Creating a care plan to combat the secret fear of every special needs parent
If you are the primary caregiver of a special needs child, you probably worry about what would happen if you were gone.
Parenting, Support
25 Things Only a Mother of a Child who is Visually Impaired Would Understand
Becoming a parent to any child is magical in its own right, but here is a list of observations about things only a mother of a child who is visually...
Parenting, Special Needs
What I wish people understood about raising a medically complex child
Here's something I've learned in the last 10 years: Raising a special needs child is hard, but raising a special needs child who is medically complex is much harder.
Parenting, Special Needs
Parenting a Child with a Rare Disease
Navigating life's path as a parent of a child diagnosed with a rare disease can be hard at times. It's okay to look to others for help.
Parenting, Special Needs
Blind Motherhood
Holly Bonner writes about being a mother to two beautiful little girls. What makes her blog different than most mommy blogs is that Holly is blind. She blogs about life...
Parenting, Support
The Caregiver’s Notebook: An Organizational Tool and Support to Help You Care for Others
The Caregiver's Notebook gives those who care for someone with multiple needs a handy place to organize information.
Parenting, Special Needs
Raising a Blind Baby: A Father’s Perspective
Nick writes about learning that his baby daughter, Mia, is blind with LCA. Most blog posts are written by mothers, but here Nick writes from the father's point of view.
Parenting, Special Needs
Why it’s OK to Ask Me About My Special Needs Child
When you see my daughter, please ask questions! I believe it is my role to educate others about being deafblind and how this shapes (but doesn't define) my child.
Parenting
Encouraging Sisterly Love
How do you encourage sisterly (or brotherly) love? Nicole shares some tips for encouraging your "typical" kids to play and interact with their special needs sibling.
Parenting, Support
The Day I Redefined Perfection as the Mother of a Blind Child
How can your baby be perfect if he can't see? Obviously there is something really wrong with his eyes, and isn't perfect the absence of wrong?
Parenting, Support
If you had a magic wand that could “cure” your child’s disability, would you use it?
I recently asked this question to a group of special needs moms: "If you had a magic wand that could 'cure' your child's disability, would you use it? Why or...
Parenting, Special Needs
I may not sit, roll, walk or speak but I AM SO LOVED
Janyia is a little girl with several medical conditions: Arthrogryposis, Cerebral Palsy, Chronic lung disease and Hydrocephalus. This is her story.