New #PTPA Member

I’m so excited to be a new member of the Panel of Blogaholics with the PTPA (Parent Tested, Parent Approved). The PTPA is the largest parent-testing community and seal of approval recognized worldwide. Here is my introduction as a Blogaholic:

“I’m single mom of 7 year old boy/girl twins. My son has Autism. My daughter has Anxiety Disorder. I’m also very happy to still have a relationship with my 18 year old stepdaughter, despite being divorced from her father. She has Asperger’s and Mysophonia. BUT, my kids are so much more than their respective diagnoses.”

Read the rest of my intro here. I’ll admit that I’m so excited to be part of the Blogaholics, that I actually had butterflies in my tummy when I posted my introduction!

 

I encourage you to sign up to become a PTPA tester for products here.

 

If you have a product you would like tested by the panel of PTPA testers, check it out here. As always though, if you are hoping for just me to review your product, feel free to contact me directly.

 

My Guest Post – #Autism is Nothing to be Ashamed Of

(Guest post on SpecialNeeds.com) 

A few years ago when I was married, we invited a number of other families over for a “get to know you” type of BBQ as we all met at a 10-week course, in the beginning of our journey of learning about Autism.  As we went from family to family, one family surprised me. They had received diagnosis within the last 6 months, and they were still trying to figure out how to tell their immediate family members. These same family members even babysat occasionally so would have obviously been familiar that there were “issues” with this family’s two boys. 

Honestly, it took almost everything I had to remain composed during this discussion. The parents were highly educated, well respected, and employed in enviable jobs.  They had the ability to understand what Autism is, and how to access programs and services to support their sons’ Autism diagnosis.  Yet, they were worried about how their family would treat their kids, and especially how they would be “labeled” at school.

See the rest of my post here: http://www.specialneeds.com/children-and-parents/autism/autism-nothing-be-ashamed

 

My Guest Post: #SupportGroups Needs, from a Parent’s Perspective

Posted today on SpecialNeeds.com:

Because I’m an extrovert to the core, I’m naturally a “joiner”. I’m part of Parents’ Council for both of my kids’ schools, Autism-related support groups, special needs-related support groups, moms groups, etc. As a result, my schedule can get pretty filled between those groups, appointments for my son, field trip chaperoning for my daughter, being taxi-driver to ensure my son gets to IBI, etc.  

I’ve seen groups that are well managed, others that are still growing, and others that have it so down pat that they are amazing! So, I thought I would compile a list of things I really like that groups put in place to help their members.

To communicate with your group:

• have a Facebook group 
• keep a current membership list (this will look different for any group as some have fee-based memberships, others are just attendance-related)
• have an email distribution list…

Click here to view the entire post.