Our Content
Perspectives For Parents:
Advice & Support from Parents & Caregivers
Overloaded with Feelings: Could Tapping be the answer for your child?
February 4, 2021
Processing emotions is like trying to solve a Rubik’s Cube or playing a game of Twister – it takes time, patience, focus, practice and follow through, but is NOT impossible to do! For adults the processing is more easily understood. Kids? They need our help to get there!
Read more
Learn from my words and not my actions
January 28, 2021
Wait, what’s wrong with the title? Yes, it is the opposite of what we are told by professionals. Yet I want to harken back to the days of “do as I say, not as I do” parenting. The cause of my abrupt change of attitude?
Read more
My child has a disability and I do not: How do I make sure she has role models?
January 26, 2021
Last Wednesday my daughter saw herself in the mirror. We watched the presidential inauguration together and she saw herself reflected everywhere we looked. There was Captain Andrea Hall, the hearing daughter of a Deaf parent, recited the Pledge of Allegiance in ASL, my daughter’s primary language.
Read moreHow can I make remote school easier for my child (and me!)?
January 21, 2021
I’m not going to ask how remote school is going for your family because I see you sitting with your phone in the one quiet corner of the house taking a minute to yourself. I get it. I’d share my secret stash of chocolate if I could. This isn’t easy to manage.
Read more2021 Parenting Mantras
January 8, 2021
2020 was a tough year for us parents (and for everyone), and 2021 has started off with quite a bang. But a new year gives us a chance to pause, breathe, and set our intentions for how we move forward with our children. Here are some of our favorites.
Read morePeople with disabilities should have priority access to the COVID vaccine
December 19, 2020
People with certain disabilities or chronic medical conditions have a higher rate of infection, and recent studies show that people with disabilities are three times more likely to die of COVID than the general population.
Read more
Have you heard about Covid fatigue?
December 19, 2020
Oh don’t roll your eyes at me, you know you’ve thought about it. Or read about it. Or brushed it off when someone talked about it. Many of us are feeling this fatigue acutely—whether it presents itself physically, emotionally or both.
Read moreThanksgiving 2020
November 24, 2020
Thanksgiving is a time for friends and family. It often conjures up memories of traditions, foods and probably some classic movie tropes reminiscent of someone’s Uncle Eddie or Aunt Bethany (National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation reference). This year, all of these these layers are still part of the holiday but on top of that we are…
Read more5 myths about adopting children with special needs – from a 12-year-old adoptee and her mom.
November 20, 2020
November is National Adoption Month and my daughter, Lucy, and I want to talk about some of the myths we have heard about adopting children with special needs.
Read moreIt’s The Little Things: 10 Ways to Support a Caregiver
November 18, 2020
For this post I’m talking about my son’s Grandmother. When it comes to caring for others, she’s a total Rockstar. Whether it’s care for her daughter who was diagnosed with a brain tumor when she was two (Sarah is quite the miracle, really), her son who also has a history of meningioma brain tumors and…
Read moreVoting in 2020: Here are some tips to do it right and make sure your vote counts!
October 23, 2020
This year, voting may be trickier. See our other blog to learn more.Click here to learn about your state’s process and deadlines. That will also show you how to contact your local election office. You can call them if you have any questions!
Read moreThe Census and Disability: what you need to know
October 6, 2020
I’ll be honest with you. Until recently, I didn’t really understand why the Census really mattered all that much. For example, did you know that U.S. Census Bureau data helps communities respond to natural disasters and secure funding for hospitals and fire departments?
Read moreDeaf with a capital D
September 22, 2020
My daughter can hear the doorbell ring -- once in a while. She can hear dogs barking and she says something that sounds a lot like “bless you” when you sneeze. She sings “Wheels on the bus” without any recognizable English words, but with a close enough approximation of the tune that anyone would recognize…
Read moreMy favorite thing about being Deaf, by Addie
September 21, 2020
For International Week of the Deaf 2022, Addie, age 11, tells us her favorite thing about being Deaf.
Read moreThe best thing about being Deaf, by Elly
September 21, 2020
For International Week of the Deaf 2022, Elly, age 9, tells us about the best part of being Deaf.
Read moreWhat I want hearing people to know about Deaf people, by Lucy.
September 21, 2020
For International Week of the Deaf 2022, Lucy, age 12, has one important thing she wants hearing people to know about Deaf people.
Read moreDear Emerson, I am ok, BUT…
September 11, 2020
I just said this 5 minutes ago as the ever-evolving information about school starting plows through my head at 86 MPH, again. This is so hard, so confusing, and so nuanced that I find I’m either in hyper planning mode OR, more likely, in a shut down and ignore everything, mode. I’m not hollering anything…
Read moreWondering if you made the right decision about back-to-school in 2020? Bring cookies.
September 2, 2020
I want to talk to you about back to school. (Hang on one second while I stuff cookies in my face. This is my new coping strategy for how to deal with back to school feelings and I don’t have time to judge myself about it right now so let’s just let that part be.)
Read moreWhat do you mean, ‘Self Regulation is the new IQ’?
August 22, 2020
Carrie Alvarado, PhD, OTR explains more about self-regulation following her presentation with ELI's Kitchen Conversations, Summer Style webinar series where we talked about mixing Occupational Therapy into summer fun at home. Find the full webinar (30 minutes) with closed captions and transcript here: /webinars
Read moreWhat if the siblings are always around?!
August 22, 2020
Carrie Alvarado, PhD, OTR answers this question that many of us are asking, how can we support our child with self regulation challenges when we're also managing multiple siblings? This question is a follow up from ELI's Kitchen Conversations, Summer Style webinar series where we talked about mixing Occupational Therapy into summer fun at home.…
Read more
