As written by Katie Emde from her blog @A Journey for Avery We will always fight for you. The days you are crying, the days you scream all day & when the meltdowns are never ending. We will...
special needs caregivers Archive
Strength Not Weakness
As written by Kim Mcisaac from her blog @Autism Adventures with Alyssa Mental health struggles are real and can be dark. You can lose your ability to cope and even to care. It can push you to the...
I Feel Myself Slowly Deteriorating
As written by Melissa Gill from her blog page @My Journey With Jackson I honestly never realized how coping with Jackson’s extreme needs would affect me physically. I had read about the effects from...
Endless Game of Charades: Trying Nonverbal Strategies
As written by Laurie Hellmann for Autism Parenting Magazine and her blog @welcometomylifeblog The minute we become parents, we instinctually set high expectations and timelines for our children’s...
When Losing Hope isn’t an Option
The following guest blog post was written by Michelle Kiger of My Redhead Warriors The last thing I ever want to do is lose hope. When our life gets really hard I try to think of our past. Look back...
A Holy Shift
I descended the stairs, immediately irritated by what was awaiting me with each scream originating from my 15-year-old son. Great, I muttered as the uninvited stench rose to greet my nose. Luke, my...
Holy Work
“This is holy work,” I begrudgingly reminded myself a day after returning home from a much needed vacation; a week of relaxation, sun, and reconnecting with my husband, and here I was now, again,...
Manna for the Moment
Luke has been back in school for about a week now. Experts claim that special needs caretakers often experience PTSD, and I particularly notice this tendency when I don’t have him on my radar for an...
Luke’s Brain
I often struggle to understand or explain Luke’s thought process to others. Luke, my 15 year old primarily non-verbal son with profound special needs. Friends, bystanders or even specialists will...
A Glimpse – I Choose Hard
“You and Ryan seem so calm” A phrase I often heard when Luke was in PICU for almost 4 weeks this past December and into January. We probably appeared calm because we’ve experienced the worst case...
WHAT HAPPENS?
I spent an intense morning with Luke at the eye doctor. Honestly, we’ve been frequenting doctor’s offices most days. Yesterday was PT for Ryan, today, eye doctor for Luke, tomorrow PT for Ryan,...
Simple Ways to Support Special Needs Caregivers
Anger, guilt, anxiety, depression, stress and exhaustion. Pick a word – special needs caregivers experience it. Not seasonally nor occasionally but daily. I do often with 8 kids; one, my 15...