Being the parent of a child with Autism is no easy task. To those of you doing it every day this is not new news. I’ve read so many books by the experts about everything from causes to best practices, but never have I been so struck by a book as I was when I read The Things We Cannot Say by Kelly Rimmer. Let me backtrack just a little. I am in a book club that I love. After so many years of …
Advice for Future Speech Language Pathologists
Deciding what you want to be when you “grow up” is often one of the most difficult decisions a person makes. For some it comes easily, but from my experience most people just aren’t sure and change their mind often. In this third part of the series in which we asked our expert Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) for their feedback, we wanted to know what advice they have for someone …
What Speech Therapists Want Parents to Know
In this second part of our series, we asked our expert Speech-Language Pathologists (SLPs) what they wish parents knew? The question was broad, it could be what they wish parents knew about speech therapy, about their child's disorder or pretty much about anything. Even with that said, the responses we got have some pretty clear themes. The first is that your SLP is your advocate, …
The Effect of Covid on Speech Therapy
Kids Who Need Speech Therapy In An (Almost) Post Pandemic World In this first of a three part series of blog posts, we reached out to several of the speech therapists we have been privileged to work with, and asked them for some feedback to share with our families and supporters. The first question we asked is, What effects have you seen on students since the impact of …
The Top Three Reasons I Tell Someone To Get A Speech Assessment
I don’t prefer to start a post with a disclaimer, but in this case one is needed - I am not a certified Speech-Language Therapist. I don’t play one on TV either (haha). I'm just a Mom who has been fortunate to have a tremendous experience with her child's speech therapy, and is often asked by other parents if I think their child should get assessed? I give them the same disclaimer! The perfect …
How Do You Know Which Resources To Trust?
I am always happy to sit down and chat with parents and caregivers about anything related to Autism or children with special needs. I enjoy learning about the new things they are able to do because of research and technology, and am mesmerized by their passion and commitment to their children. I often sound like a broken record saying ‘wow, back when my kids were little we didn’t have anything …
What Makes You Smile?
I really try hard not to be on social media too much. I have to be on social media in some ways for work and that’s okay, but when it’s time to decompress I believe in the research that says it is not good for you mentally and that it does not help with sleep. The times I do get caught “going down the rabbit hole” or spending too much time with social media is when there are certain kinds of …
Benefactor Spotlight: GIE Media
I asked one of our longest supporters, Chris Foster of GIE Media, to share his story about raising a special needs child as well as why he chooses to support The Orange Effect Foundation. A true shout out to Chris for all he does. ~ Pam Chris Foster: We have three children. Our daughter, 28, is a registered dietician living in Cincinnati with her husband. Our oldest son, 26, is a Chemical …
Technology is Moving Fast
If you’ve ever been responsible for the content of a blog or other project, you know it can be both invigorating and exhausting. It is a remarkable way to communicate with a group of people who know and trust you, but at the same time it is daunting to have to come up with that content every single day/week/month. For example, I have a huge admiration for people who do a daily podcast. I don’t …
Every Single Amazon Account Holder Should Do This
Some people argue that there is no such thing as free. Often they have a valid point. Maybe you have to buy one to get one free, or you have the cost of your time and travel to get whatever is free. The person who wants to buy you a coffee (hence free for you) may want something from you. I have however found the one scenario that is absolutely free. That I can guarantee costs you nothing and …
Remember, You are Just ONE Person
I love the holidays. I love everything about it. I love how my house changes with the decorations, I love trying to find just the perfect gift for friends and loved ones. I love baking as much as I can find plastic containers for and I love seeing everyone at parties and meals. It really is a wonderful time of the year. What’s the catch? Well, let’s be honest. It can be REALLY stressful. There …
Charades: The real life version
We started Orange Effect Foundation not only because of our own personal family experience, but because we worked in marketing, so communication was the core of our universe. Sounds dramatic but it’s true. Where would we be if we couldn’t communicate? Is there any other way businesses can get their message across without written or verbal communication? I can’t think of any. Could you even …
