By Mia Carella of (this) mom with a blog You may have seen the headlines. Last Friday, Jeni Stepien married her fiancé Paul Maenner in a beautiful ceremony near Pittsburgh, PA. Sadly, Jeni’s father could not walk her down the aisle because he had lost his life tragically years earlier. […]
Special Needs
Life After the NICU
By Rhiannon Giles of rhiyaya.com It really did happen. I have to remind myself sometimes that it was not just a story I heard—not a story that happened to somebody else. I really did start bleeding at 29 weeks pregnant. The words, “placental abruption” and “in case we have to deliver,” […]
Autism Still Lives Here
Autism still lives here. I want it to leave. I’ve tried taming it, coaxing it, encouraging it to move on. For awhile now, I thought it listened. So sure was I that it had vacated the premises, I made comments like, “I’m not so sure he even has autism,” and […]
Naysayers, You’re Right. There’s Nothing “Wrong” with a Child in Special Education.
By Britta Eberle of This Is Motherhood At my son’s three year check-up, our pediatrician pointed to a picture in a book: “What color is this bird?” “Boo,” my son, Wolfy, whispered. The bird was blue. The doctor turned the page. “And what color is this bird?” he asked, pointing to […]
Our Story of Disrupted Adoption
By Inga Wismer My husband and I were a happy family with two boys when I found myself pregnant with a third baby. I lost that baby to a miscarriage. After much grief, I felt that I wanted to adopt and give love to another child who does not have a family. […]
Happy to Sad in T-Minus Five and Counting: Autism Meets Mental Illness
By Courtney Barnum of A Legion for Liam I was laying in bed this morning, enjoying the quiet and watching some TV. I could see on the monitor that Liam was awake, watching Pat and Jen on YouTube and playing Minecraft. All was right in our world. Or so I […]
How I Overcame Self-Criticism and Helped My Son with ADHD
By Kathy Radigan of My dishwasher’s possessed! Like most people, I don’t like admitting my mistakes. Especially when it comes to how I deal with my kids. That’s not to say I don’t make errors regularly, because I do. But sometimes I screw up in a way that really sticks with […]
To the Parents of My Son’s Classmates
By Danielle Helzer of daniellehelzer.blogspot.com To the parents of my struggling son’s classmates: By this point in the school year, I’m sure your child has shared an “interesting” story about something strange, inappropriate, or distracting my son did in class. Maybe you’re part of the PTA or a volunteer in our […]