Muscular Dystrophy is Just Part of Their Lives - The Markell Family - Our Special Life

From CafeMomStudios

Sophie has a rare form of muscular dystrophy called Emery-Dreifuss. She is celebrating her 13th Birthday and is Vice President of her student council! She has incredible control over her feet and is able to paint and play computer and Wii games with her right foot.

Parent-Teacher Teamwork and a Dash of the Unexpected Help Coax Breakthroughs for Special Needs Kids

By Jamie Grover, director of group development, Autism on the Seas        Special Education Advisor - Special Education Articles

When you’re parenting a special needs child, only someone running in your shoes can really understand the marathon of challenges associated with educating that child.

As a former parent educator at a major university in California, and a parent of a child on the autism spectrum, I understand the importance of educating our special children. It takes a village to raise a child. And when that child has special needs, it sometimes takes a village, the neighboring village, and a tribe of warriors!

Finding balance between a child’s disability, a quality education and some fun innovative experimentation, is the greatest challenge of all. With all the therapies, behavioral plans, IEPs, etc., that our kids are subjected to, it’s easy to lose sight of one of the simplest and effective educational tactics: Teamwork. Yes, teamwork, between you and your child’s Special Ed Teacher.

Read more HERE.

'Team Amelia' backs transplant for special needs child

By Kim Painter, Special for USA TODAY

When Chrissy and Joe Rivera walked into a conference room at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) a few days ago, they thought they were going to see a slide show to help them start preparing their 3-year-old daughter Amelia for a kidney transplant.

Instead, a doctor and social worker told the Riveras that Amelia, who has a rare genetic disorder called Wolf-Hirschhorn syndrome, would not qualify for a transplant because she is "mentally retarded" and has "brain damage," Chrissy Rivera claimed in a blog post Thursday and in phone interviews.

Read complete article HERE.

Adapted Screening of "Rio" on Thursday, May 12th, in Dublin

Time for another adapted screening for our kids. This time it is "Rio". This is NOT the 3D version.

Those of you who are not familiar about the adapted screenings here is what the theater does for our kids.
They will show the film with the following adjustments:
*Lowered volume
*No Trailers
*Theater set to dimmed lights. (not completely dark)

Date: Thursday, May 12th
Start Time: 3:55 pm
Where: Regal Hacienda Crossings
5000 Dublin Blvd.
Dublin, CA 94568

*Purchase your tickets at the inside counter or outside at the window. One parent/adult per child (special needs or typical) will be allowed FREE admission as the child's "attendant". Typical friends and siblings are welcome of course. You may also send your child with a therapist. This is a great "community outing" experience. Feel free to pass this on or post it on any ASD sites.

There is NO NEED to RSVP to these films. Just mention that you are seeing the adapted screening when purchasing your ticket/s.

Summer Education Projects for Your Special Needs Child

By Dennise Goldberg from the Special Education Advisor Blog

Summer is usually a time for fun vacations, trips to the beach or lazy days in your backyard. As a result, there isn’t a lot of education going on during this time. For children with special needs, this can put them at a disadvantage when the new school year begins. Some children will qualify for Extended School Year (ESY). For those who didn’t, like my son, there a few projects parent’s can give their children to keep up with their educational skills.

Since my son is going into 4^th grade, he gets to pick out a chapter book to write his report on. Allowing my son to choose whatever book he wants really helps with his attitude toward the assignment. If he likes the book, then he’s eager to write about what he read. Every time he reads a chapter, he has to write three paragraphs on what it was about. The good thing about this project is that it lets me know whether he understood what he read. Not only do I look at the content, but I also review the spacing and penmanship. When he’s finished, we review it together so that he learns from whatever mistakes he’s made. I’m sure he’ll be writing a lot of book reports in fourth grade, so this project will help keep his skills intact.

Read more here.

Adaptive Screening of Gnomeo and Juliet in Dublin, Wednesday, March 9th

Special Parents for Special Kids has arranged an adaptive screening of Gnomeo and Juliet

Date: Wednesday, March 9th
Start Time: 3:05 pm
Where: Regal Hacienda Crossings
5000 Dublin Blvd.
Dublin, CA 94568

Purchase your tickets at the inside counter or outside at the window. One parent/adult per child (special needs or typical) will be allowed FREE admission as the child's "attendant". Typical friends and siblings are welcome of course. You may also send your child with a therapist. This is a great "community outing" experience. There is NO NEED to RSVP to these films. Just mention that you are seeing the adapted screening when purchasing your ticket/s.

Those of you who are not familiar about the adapted screenings here is what the theater does for our kids.
They will show the film with the following adjustments:
*Lowered volume
*No Trailers
*Theater set to dimmed lights. (not completely dark)

Resources to help a special needs child understand sarcasm

By Dawn Villarreal from One Place for Special Needs

In this video, a teacher explains sarcasm and gives examples of some common sarcasm phrases as "great," "not" and "Yeah, right." From JenniferESL at Sclipo

Watch video clip HERE.