On the night before my first IEP meeting, I realized that while I had read a million articles, consulted a handful of people, printed worksheets and records, and even picked out my wardrobe, I had failed to pray about it. It had never even occurred to me until that moment, likely because the whole process…
As states across the U.S. figure out how and when to open up following weeks of COVID-19 induced quarantine, special needs families are struggling behind closed doors in unique ways, and will continue to do so, long after their friends with typically developing children return to a somewhat normal life. As the mother of two…
Most prayer books directed at Catholic families suggest praying together as a family. Many families struggle with how to work a family rosary, or other prayer, into their daily routine. Despite the importance of prayer, between school, work, outside activities, chores, errands and everything else, it’s not uncommon for family prayers to fall by the…
I dislike helicopter parenting. Very early on my husband and I both realized, and thoroughly embraced the fact, that getting these kids out of the house sooner rather than later meant encouraging independence from the get go. We agreed to let our children have the same carefree childhood we both grew up experiencing. As baby…
The phone call came in close to midnight, the voice on the other end, an emergency room doctor informed me that my youngest son was going to be airlifted to a Seattle hospital due to a collapsed lung. I was on the other side of the country, 3,000 miles separated me from my child. I…
Merry Christmas! How was your holiday? Was it wonderful and peaceful? Was all calm and bright? Or did your plans go awry? It’s okay. So did Mary and Joseph’s. In all seriousness, the post-Christmas blues are pretty common, but they can be especially difficult when you throw special needs into the mix. Sometimes it feels like…
The Catholic Church teaches that “the profession of our faith in God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and in God’s creative, saving, and sanctifying action – culminates in the proclamation of the resurrection of the dead on the last day and in life everlasting” (CCC 989). In this rising, “God, in his…
