I am honored to be featured in Exceptional Needs Today’s 3rd edition. Building and maintaining friendships both inside and outside the exceptional needs community is vital for us as parents of exceptional children. Not only to find the support we need to be the best parents possible but for our own mental health and well-being.Continue reading The Value of Parental Friendships Both Inside and Outside the Special Needs Community – As Featured in Exceptional Needs Today
Raising a child with exceptional needs is often overwhelming for families. Even if the child receives the services and support they need outside the home, they may still struggle at home. I am excited to announce that I will soon be launching Big Abilities Caregiver Coaching.
Raising a child with a developmental disability such as Autism Spectrum Disorder can have a huge impact on a family’s finances. Families of children on the spectrum often have less income because one parent may need to leave the workforce to be the primary caregiver. In addition, the expenses of an ASD diagnosis can spanContinue reading Top 5 Free Autism Resources in 2021
I speak with parents all the time about optimizing their home environment to help their exceptional needs family thrive. Often I use the children’s book, Sally’s Room, written by M. K. Brown, as an example of why an organized and tidy environment is so important for our children with exceptional needs.
Back in 2017, when my son was first diagnosed with a speech delay, while we waited for speech therapy to begin, I searched for as many resources as possible to help him at home. One of the first resources I found was an app called Speech Blubs.
I recently read a quote, “It’s never the same day twice, but don’t dare change the routine!” If you are the parent of a child with Autism Spectrum Disorder, I am sure you can relate!
In this episode, I have a conversation with Meegan Winters. CEO and Co-Founder of Able Eyes, a virtual platform that offers people with disabilities access to virtual tours, of businesses, video modeling “How-To’s”, and social stories. Continue reading Pod 37: Meegan Winters of Able Eyes
If you are the parent of a child with exceptional needs and are using the same techniques your parents used while raising you, or that you’ve used with your children who don’t have exceptional needs, it’s probably not working. But, here are three strategies that will!
Rose is an ASHA certified Speech-Language Pathologist and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst. She divides her time between a public school and her own private practice- ABA SPEECH. ABA SPEECH provides specialized in person and teletherapy speech therapy services across 10 states including California, Ohio and Florida. Rose is the creator of the Autism OutreachContinue reading Pod 36: My Conversation with Rosemarie Griffin of ABA Speech
Follow my blog with Bloglovin Family’s of children with exceptional needs often spend a great deal of time looking for resources and providers outside the home, and understandably so. However, it is equally important to focus attention on what is happening inside the home as well. The following suggestions can help your exceptional needs familyContinue reading Optimizing Your Home Environment to Help Your Exceptional Needs Family Thrive
Why traditional parenting strategies won’t work with children with exceptional needs and what to do instead.Continue reading Burn Your Parenting Books: Why Traditional Parenting Won’t Work With Children With Exceptional Needs
Young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder can struggle with following instructions, fine motor skills, creativity, color and number recognition, and task completion. Fortunately all of these skills can be improved with one simple and fun activity: coloring by number!
Autism Navigator, created by the Autism Institute at the Florida State University College of Medicine, is for families of children between birth and age eight with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) diagnosis or at risk, as well as the providers that support them. Autism Navigator provides resources such as online courses, live webinars, and more.
(previously published in The North Lake Outpost) I spent most of my childhood and professional career in Umatilla, Florida. My family moved to North Lake County in 1980, and I joined the staff at Umatilla Middle School in 2005 as Media Specialist and Television Production teacher. I left Umatilla Middle School to be a full-timeContinue reading Former Umatilla Middle School Staff Member Working to Support Families of Children With Exceptional Needs
Jessica Andrews knows firsthand how challenging raising a child with exceptional needs can be for families. She and her developmentally disabled brother, Juan, grew up in the Tampa area. Jessica saw her single mom struggle to get a break, and when she could find respite providers, they were often ill-equipped to properly care for Juan.
Navigating the world of raising a child expectational needs can be overwhelming. This is why Collaborative Corner is offering personalized Client Concierge Services.Continue reading Client Concierge Service at Collaborative Corner for Exceptional Children
A Google search of the phrase “what is autism spectrum disorder” will net you about 46,700,000 results in 0.62 seconds. Many of those results are full of complex medical jargon, paid advertisements, obsolete information, and misconstrued facts. It’s understandable that so many people both inside and outside the autism community do not have an accurateContinue reading What is Autism Spectrum Disorder?
The Premack Principle, often referred to as First/Then or Grandma’s Rule, is a simple behavior modification strategy parents can easily implement to help children overcome challenging behaviors.Continue reading The Premack Principle: How Using First/Then Can Improve Behavior
Had a great Facebook Live with Wendy Valente where we spoke about transforming screen time for sedentary to passive, to physically active and cognitively engaging.Continue reading Toys, Storage, and the Importance of Play with Wendy Valente
Children love their favorite movie and TV characters. By organizing their character-themed toys into interactive bins and engaging in play with your child you can increase their verbal and nonverbal communication, as well as cognitive skills in just 4 easy steps!Continue reading 4 Steps To Make Screen Time Interactive Using Toys
In this article, posted originally on Collaborative Corner for Exceptional Children, you’ll learn early intervention strategies you can implement now while waiting for therapies to begin.Continue reading Early Interventions You Can Implement Now!
In this episode, I have a conversation with Aaron Wright, author of the book Thirteen Doors.Continue reading Pod 35: Aaron Wright, Author of Thirteen Doors
I was honored to be invited to share our family’s autism journey with our son on the Love What Matters platform. Read it now!Continue reading Love What Matters
Educators often schedule parent-teacher conferences regularly to discuss with parents their child’s academic progress and struggles as well as behavior and social-emotional development. For families of children with exceptional needs, the interactions between home and school are typically greater than for general education students. But what happens when a parent, rather than the teacher, requestsContinue reading How to Structure an Effective Parent-Teacher Conference From the Parent’s POV
Before you were born, I had a pretty good idea of the path you’d follow. At least early on. All the baby books written by Drs. X, Y, and Z, as well as what I intuitively knew about child development, led me to believe that you’d smile before you laughed, coo before you spoke, sitContinue reading To My Child on the Autism Spectrum
Amy Nielsen shares how choosing therapy instead of school helped her autistic son during the COVID-19 pandemic. — Read on themighty.com/2021/01/therapy-remote-learning-autism-covid-19-prnt/
In this episode, I have a conversation with Zafer Elcik, co-founder of Otsimo, an award-winning educational app for children with special needs.Continue reading Pod 34: Zafer Elcik Co-Founder of Otsimo
Thank you to Otsimo for this guest blog post on the role technology can play in enhancing the lives of children with special needs.Continue reading Technology: Front and Center – Guest Blog from Otsimo
The emotional health of parents of children with exceptional needs can be at-risk. However, there are ways to keep your emotional health balanced.Continue reading The Importance of Emotional Health for Parents and Caregivers of Exceptional Children
Listen for my top 10 takeaways, tips and tricks from 2020 to help your family thrive in 2021!Continue reading Pod 33: 10 Takeaways From 2020 for 2021 for Families of Children With Exceptional Needs
Big Abilities 