I have an adult son with special needs and it’s sometimes a struggle to organize our complicated lives and communicate needs and concerns to the many people involved in my son’s care. That’s when I use lists — best-of lists, top 10 lists, checklists in many forms. It calms me to have something that I can keep and share. They are powerful tools for organizing and motivating and teaching. I spend …
blog
A Loss For Words
Our son Micah was two years old when we learned he was profoundly deaf. I remember him wading in the Florida Gulf waters up to his chest, and it suddenly occurred to me that he didn’t know his name. In his fist, he held a handful of pebbles, and he launched the rocks in flight. I watched as the pebbles glistened, tiny sparks of light, and realized if I called his name, if I screamed, the word …
Walk In Her Shoes
A simple trip to the grocery store with a mom and her child who has autism. Walk in her shoes for just a moment. Have you seen her? Is this you? Tell us about your experiences in the comments section below. Source: TODAY Parents …
Orange Effect Foundation Awards Grants to Help 11 Children
The Orange Effect Foundation board is excited to once again award more than $20,000 in grants to children in need during their June board meeting. Now 11 more children across the country will have access to speech therapy, summer speech camp, or even special speech-generating devices that help them communicate like never before. Several of the recipients have been diagnosed with Childhood …
Animating Owen
Pulitzer prize-winning journalist and author Ron Suskind wrote about his son's fascination with Disney movies in his book, Life, Animated. Suskind describes how he used dialogue from these classic movies, particularly the Disney sidekicks, to communicate and ultimately reconnect with his autistic son. That story appeared in the New York Times Magazine in 2014. You can read it here: Reaching My …
Happy Birthday, Pam!
Today is Pam Kozelka's birthday, and we all know that Pam, our executive director, will say "no gifts, no gifts!" So instead, we'd love for you to help us celebrate Pam by supporting our foundation. Here are two ways you could help: 1. Donate! No donation is too small. Please click on the blue button above, or visit our website at www.theorangeeffect.org/supporters/ 2. Help us with raffle …
Lend Your Voice: What Are Your Experiences With Insurance and Apraxia?
Many health insurers state that apraxia of speech is a developmental delay and should not be reimbursed. However, the consensus among therapists and physicians is that apraxia of speech is a neurological disorder for which therapy is essential. What do you think? Does your health insurance cover apraxia of speech? Should it be required to cover it? Please share your thoughts below. Bottom Line: …
How Technology is Changing Speech and Language Therapy
Speech and communication skills are integral to independence and well-being. As technology advances, speech therapists are using new and innovative ways to incorporate it into therapy sessions. Read more about three projects that synthesize technological advances and speech therapy. Kaspar the robot: helping children with autism communicate Meet Kaspar: he can be talked to, tickled, stroked, …
Toddlers’ Screen Time Linked to Slower Speech Development, Study Finds
Hand-held screens might delay a child’s ability to form words, based on new research presented at the annual Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting in San Francisco. This preliminary study is the first to show how mobile devices impact speech development in children, raising a question that fills the minds of many parents: How much time should my child spend with a mobile device? But for parents …
What About Your Special Needs? Self-Care for Parents of Children With Special Needs
5 Methods of Self-Care to Help Parents of Special Needs Children Recharge, Reset and Rally When my daughter was diagnosed with developmental delays, I fell backward into grief, even as I furiously crossed off action items on a to-do list that rarely included self-care. My seemingly unstoppable tears provided me with something I desperately needed, though: Because it’s hard to talk to …
Parents Misread Early Signs of Autism
Many parents in the U.S. know little about autism and some have never heard of the disorder before, finds a study published in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. Latinos specifically also tend to normalize autism symptoms or view them as a sign of family problems, such as an inattentive parent. The findings may help explain why Latino children with autism are diagnosed an …
The Stuff They Don’t Talk About During Autism Awareness Month
I am not sad because my kid has autism. You know what I'm sad about? It's all the other stuff that comes with the autism that can get bent. The crippling anxiety, the obsessive compulsive disorder, the sensory processing issues, the hyperactivity, and the one that makes life really freaking complicated, the intellectual disability. Ya see, this is the kind of autism that doesn't get talked …
