KidSpeak is taking a break from blogging to wrap up the rest of the summer semester, to prepare for the new school year and to spend some time with family and friends. We will be back in September with lots of new material to help you prepare for the holidays and for keeping your child social during the fall!

When working with kids with special needs, we all strive to take on a team approach in order to help each child the best that we can. The child may have several professionals working with them at the same time like a tutor, occupational therapist, speech therapist, physical therapist, neurologist, psychologist, ABA specialist and most importantly, their teachers. As we juggle our crazy schedules and what comes with the day to day routine, it can be challenging to create a successful team intervention approach.

Many parents are hustling to get their kids fully potty trained before the new school year starts. We wanted to revisit our potty training blog and provide some helpful tips for accomplishing that goal.

Preparing for the New School Year

We all hope the children we love never have to endure surgery and that they are perfectly healthy but what happens when this comes up? As a parent perhaps you have run to your doctor for advice about anesthesia, whether your child must undergo dental work or something very serious it is important to know and understand the implications of the drugs used. This is especially a concern for those children on the autism spectrum or with developmental delays.

Summer is a fun time to be a kid. You are out of school and it’s time to play! But summer can be a difficult time if you are a babysitter or a stay at home mom or dad. You have to fill each and every day with activities and you are faced with the challenge of how to keep things fun and entertaining for the both of you. Let us help you do just that!

When you walk into Parent Teacher Night what is one of the first things you see? Art! There are art projects on the walls, on the bulletin boards and more. Art is a part of each child’s life from preschool to high school and for some they continue this passion into their adult life.

Many have read or heard about the damage heavy metals can do to a developing child’s mind and overall health. There are three main ways to test for metals and each is different. It is recommended children with the following symptoms or diagnosis get tested.
• Psychosis
• Autism
• Depression
• Chronic fatigue
• Sleep disorders
• Anxiety
• ADD/ADHD
• Mood swings
• Digestive disorders
• Anemia

A recent series of conflicts left me seriously doubting humanity. With each twist and turn of kindness and flexibly I tried to show, I was slapped in the face with an attitude of entitlement and more demands made in an ugly and hurtful way.
Because I am still pretty irritated with the whole situation, it would give me great satisfaction to list my every right and her every wrong just to make you see how hard I tried to do the right thing. I would also love to share the list of funny (and not so funny) ways I have creatively crafted in my mind to get back at her. But at some point, I need to consciously stop thinking about it and choose to focus my energy on the good I can do in the world instead.
Sometimes I think autism helps me quickly get to bottom of a person’s true character. If someone is kind and welcoming to Lizzie, then I know they have a good heart and can likely be trusted. But if they show irritation or choose to talk down to her, then I know pretty quickly that I need to be on guard with them in other areas of life as well.