Our Content
Perspectives For Parents:
Advice & Support from Parents & Caregivers
Kitchen Conversation, Summer Style: How to mix OT into summer fun
July 16, 2020
Carrie Alvarado is the creator and director of the Earliest Connections Clinic and the DIRFloortime/PACT (Pediatric Autism Communication Therapy) Hands-on Family Empowerment program at Autism Community Network (ACN), a non-profit focused on provision of both interdisciplinary diagnosis and innovative intervention for young children with autism spectrum disorder.
Read more
How do you cope when anxiety takes over your child?
July 10, 2020
For a lot of parents and kids, the arrival of summer camp is more than welcomed (Don’t let the door hit ya on the way out, sweetie!) – especially now, given all the time kids had at home because of the pandemic.
Read more
Can I stay with my family member in the hospital if they have a disability? Yes!
July 9, 2020
The last time my son had to stay in the hospital, he tried to pull the needles and tubes from his arms so he could “escape” from his bed. He was 20 at the time, old enough to not need a parent with him in the view of many hospitals.
Read more
Kitchen Conversation: Speech Therapy at Home
June 24, 2020
Cindy Harrison is a speech language pathologist practicing in Ottawa, Canada. Cindy’s area of clinical focus is the assessment and intervention for children/youth and young adults with autism spectrum disorder and developmental disabilities. Cindy is also senior faculty with Profectum, a not for profit training institute that specializes in training clinicians in DIR/Floortime.
Read more
Kitchen Conversation: Mental Health Counseling at Home
June 17, 2020
Marcela Mota Aversa, clinician, Preschool Outreach Program, The Home for Little Wanderers (Boston, MA)Marcela Mota Aversa is a Clinician & Early Education Mental Health Consultant at The Home For Little Wanderers and a Gallery Educator at the Museum of Fine Arts.
Read moreKitchen Conversation: Applied Behavior Analysis at Home
June 10, 2020
Zack Storer is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and Clinical Director at St. Nicholas Center for Children. His clinical experience includes 10 years of work with clients of various ages with Autism and Developmental Delays using Applied Behavior Analysis.
Read moreKitchen Conversation: Occupational Therapy at Home
June 3, 2020
Carrie Alvarado is the creator and director of the Earliest Connections Clinic and the DIRFloortime/PACT (Pediatric Autism Communication Therapy) Hands-on Family Empowerment program at Autism Community Network (ACN), a non-profit focused on provision of both interdisciplinary diagnosis and innovative intervention for young children with autism spectrum disorder.
Read more“How are the kids?”
June 3, 2020
But, those answers are really more about me. Which I think is really fine because let’s be honest, my friend asking me in passing or over email about my kids is not really asking how my kids are doing, she’s checking in to see if I need to talk.
Read morePlease, No More Self-Care: A Quarantine Rant
May 20, 2020
I’ve been hesitating writing to you. I love to share and I love connecting, but I’ve turned inward these last couple of months. Partly because it’s what I needed to stay ok but mostly I didn’t want you to feel like someone else is here to tell you ‘one more thing’.
Read morePart 3: Keeping your child healthy, safe, and calm. Pandemic emergency planning for families of kids with disabilities
May 18, 2020
The final piece of making a pandemic emergency plan for your family is writing down what your back-up caregivers will need to know to keep your kid(s) healthy, safe, and calm. We’ve made some templates that you can download and fill out for your caregivers.
Read morePart 2: Who will take care of my child if I get sick? Pandemic emergency planning for families of kids with disabilities.
May 15, 2020
A pandemic emergency plan is a plan for what to do when you and your co-parent (if you have one) are both sick and need to quarantine or go to the hospital. This is hard for most people to think about; for those of us with kids with disabilities, it can feel overwhelming.
Read morePart 1: Pandemic emergency planning for families of children with disabilities: Why is this so hard?
May 13, 2020
As parents, it’s almost unthinkable to imagine what would happen to our kids if something happened to us. For those of us with kids with disabilities, it’s that much more complicated.
Read more
“GOOOOOD MORNING MY DAPHNE!”: Quarantine living with my adult cousin with a disability.
May 6, 2020
He is still a room away, shuffling full speed to the kitchen in his PJs. Thomas is a goof in the morning and it is impossible to predict what he’ll exclaim or what funny pranks he will play before he is completely awake Thomas lives with a developmental disability and before the pandemic he was…
Read moreFamilies First Emergency Paid Leave: what does it mean for families of children with disabilities?
April 28, 2020
Families of children with disabilities really need to know the facts because many of us may need to use this leave. Schools are closed and those of us lucky enough to work remotely are trying to work from the coat closet at home (just me?).
Read moreBut I’m Not a Teacher…
April 21, 2020
I am a single mom of an 8-year-old boy and I find there are many times in a day when I feel like a deer in headlights. Anyone know what I mean…anyone?
Read moreWho will hug my son when I can’t visit?
April 14, 2020
It’s Friday at 5:30, the time I usually pick up my son at his residential house. I know he’s standing by the door waiting to get in the car and come home for the weekend like he usually does.
Read moreHandling Work from Home and Home Schooling
April 2, 2020
With the current health crisis, a lot of us parents are in new waters, working from home and schooling our children at the same time. Problem is, I’m already drowning. And will bet many of you feel the same.
Read more5 tips for home-bound families of children with a disability
April 1, 2020
A routine is something familiar that happens everyday. The familiarity of this routine feels safe and can help us feel grounded during a time that feels unsettled. It can be as simple as reading together before bed, or getting dressed after breakfast.
Read moreHow do we embrace the day at home with our kids with disabilities?
March 27, 2020
Like all parents, we are doing our best to figure out a routine that works for our family, all while maintaining homes, jobs and relationships. Our top priority, of course, is health and safety.
Read moreStuck at home? Our kids tell us how we can do it better
March 20, 2020
I know I’m not the only one desperately trying to figure out our new normal. As parents, we are getting advice from educators, professionals, other parents, scientists, literally everybody.
Read more
