From the day we took my son home from the hospital, I knew it was going to be a wild ride.   He cried all night long and didn’t stop for six months.   He was adopted and we knew little about his birth parents’ medical history and none of their family’s history.  After six months, my son was a happy but very impulsive, hyper little boy.  If a thought crossed his mind he was carrying it out no matter how often we said “NO!”  He was always very good at approaching new people and making friends.  Staying friends was more of ...

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As a parent of a special needs child, one often does not know where to begin. It all can depend on how old the child is when he or she is diagnosed. If a child is age 3 or older, one of the first things a parent should do is to request his or her child to have an individualized education plan (IEP).

Even if a child does not have a specific diagnosis, an IEP may be given based on general categories, such as a “communication” based disorder. How does a parent obtain an IEP?

Each state, different school districts, or even ...

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One of my main goals as a mom — and in my opinion, one of the most important qualities you can have as a parent — is to be more flexible and adaptable. Now, when I say “flexible” I don’t mean that you should throw rules, limits, or structure out the window. What I mean is that we all need to be open to trying new ideas and techniques when the old ones aren’t working anymore.

I have many parents tell me on the Support Line that they’re confused and overwhelmed because unexpected problems pop up in their lives. The good ...

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When our son TJ was nearing the end of 7th grade, he had not yet earned any AR*, or “Accelerated Reading” points.  In an attempt to resolve this before the deadline, we created scheduled reading times and reading quantities (number of pages per day) but he still could not finish his books or pass an AR test.

With the end of the grading period approaching, I decided I would read his AR book to him so I could discuss each chapter with him in hopes that it would help him remember the story better.

One evening as we were discussing a chapter ...

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