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Ten Ways to Help Your Child with OCD (or Anxiety) Succeed in School

The child with obsessive-compulsive disorder or generalized anxiety can have a difficult time in school. Obsessive thoughts and an intense need to perform rituals can cause a lot of difficulty with learning. Often parents are extremely frustrated just getting their son or daughter to school in the first place, when the child changes her mind ten times about the clothes she wants to wear, or washes his hands eight times before meeting his carpool. Then, at school, the teacher must deal with difficult behaviors while still trying to manage the classroom. These children need a lot of love, patience, and … Continue reading →

Ten Ways to Help Your Child with Aspergers Syndrome Succeed in School

Children with high-functioning autism or Aspergers Syndrome have many similarities to their peers. They want to be liked, accepted, and fit in with their classmates. It was once assumed that these children preferred isolation, but this is not usually the case. Instead, many have described that it is their difficulty with social skills and pragmatic language, sensory differences, and restricted interests that make relating to others a challenge. Whenever possible, children with high-functioning autism or Aspergers Syndrome should be mainstreamed into a regular classroom with age-level peers. This is important for their social growth, intellectual stimulation, and the ability to … Continue reading →

What is Transition Planning?

I can still remember quite clearly the way I felt as a fourteen-year-old when I first walked the grounds of my new high school. It was overwhelming. The school seemed twice as large as my previous one, and I couldn’t quite make sense of the map of the campus. I was excited, nervous, and intimidated. I knew this was an important transition I needed to make, yet I was uncertain about my ability to succeed in this new, big place. Next year, my son Kyle will be starting high school. This means that soon he will be making an important … Continue reading →

Teaching Modesty: Creating a “Private Zone”

All children are vulnerable to predators—people who might want to take advantage of their innocence. Children on the autism spectrum and those with developmental delays are obviously even more at risk because of their inability to understand what behaviors are appropriate and inappropriate. An adult or older child might confuse a special needs child with terms that seem harmless like “friendship” or “hugs” or “secret.” And even if our children are never put in a dangerous situation, they could inadvertently embarrass themselves by exposing or talking about their private parts at improper times and places. Especially as our children approach … Continue reading →

Mainstreaming: The Special Needs Child Goes to School

The kindergarten through elementary school years are crucial, formative years for your child both educationally and socially. There are things you can do as a parent to make these years more beneficial and enjoyable for your child. What is mainstreaming? Mainstreaming means that the special needs child attends a regular classroom along with students who are his or her actual (not developmental) age. Mainstreaming means that the child is not kept isolated in a special class, away from peers, but is included just like everybody else. Adaptations are made so that the child’s special needs are met, while still being … Continue reading →

Putting on a Brave Face: Children with Facial Disfigurements

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Facial disfigurements can be caused by birth defects, genetic conditions, or traumatic injuries. Parents of children with facial disfigurements feel a tremendous amount of pain for their child’s sake. That’s because they recognize that going out into the world with a facial difference takes an enormous amount of courage. Children with facial differences are often teased, bullied, humiliated, and shunned. “I know what it is to be left out of things. On more than one occasion, kids would whisper behind my back, sometimes even throw things at me. I never knew what it was like to have a boyfriend much … Continue reading →

Help Your Child Recognize Bullying

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This is a companion blog to my previous one, “Protect Your Special Needs Child from Bullying.” Children with special needs don’t always recognize what bullying “looks” like. That may be because rejection and cruelty has become all too common for them. Or maybe it’s just too difficult to judge the conduct and emotions of others. For example, it might be hard for a child with Asperger’s Disorder to determine whether someone is telling a friendly joke or laughing at him. Unfortunately, bullies will take advantage of these difficulties, putting our kids at risk. I looked around the internet for some … Continue reading →

Protect your Special Needs Child from Bullying

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Once upon a time, there was a bully. He was rough. He was tough. He was mean. He was obscene. He was large, and in charge. He thought he was cool, and he ruled the school. Although this is the image that comes to mind when we think of “bullies,” in reality, bullying takes many forms. In most cases, bullies look like any ordinary student at your child’s school. And they often strike in groups, where several kids encourage and feed off each other. A bully doesn’t wear a sign on his chest. And many of them (rather vicious at … Continue reading →