Support and Encourage these Kids with Awesomeness!

Just wanted to pass along this great announcement from the Friendship Circle’s Great Bike Giveaway – we can congratulate 29 amazing, awesome, phenomenal special needs kids! They win the world by winning their very own adaptive bike as part of The Great Bike Giveaway!

It is so important to keep these kinds of events in focus, because participating in them is such an easy way to support the entire special needs community, and specifically these kids with awesomeness and their families.

I always stress how important it is to give where you can for special needs kids, for any kind of cause, really. The simple truth of the matter is that you give by supporting causes like this in any way – even just sharing on your social networks. We don’t all have money to give even when we’d love to – but it only takes a second to share with our social media networks.

I encourage you to read up on the winners and think about what a blessing each adapted bike will be for these amazing kids – they and their families deserve your respect and attention. But consider taking that extra step and sharing as well – because it’s only by sharing events like these that we can continue to spread real awareness and promote real understanding and change in the special needs community and the world.

For the last three weeks Friendship Circle has been running the Great Bike Giveaway, a nationwide contest where children with special needs can win an adaptive bike. Over 400 people entered the contest. Congratulations to the 29 winners of the Great Bike Giveaway!

29 Winners in the The Great Bike Giveaway! | Friendship Circle — Special Needs Blog.

I would love your comments – feel free to share about this or other causes and how you’ve found ways to support them!

The post Special Needs Kids Win the World! 29 Great Bike Giveaway Winners! appeared first on Kat's Cafe.

Our Birth Story is not for the Weak of Heart, but its full of Hope

This photo was taken literally days after Logan was released from the NICU after being born at a whopping 2’14”

Each of our boys was born in a state of emergency and desperation, leaving us full of hope and questioning what their futures might bring. I don’t talk about it much, but their births were only the best days in my life because my guys were born – in every other way those days were the worst.

And yet, in a world where over 1 million babies die on the very day they enter this world, I know we’re lucky in ways others might find hard to understand.

After all, most people don’t consider it lucky to find out every one of your children is born with a rare disorder, that one is completely blind, that another had a brain bleed … it most assuredly doesn’t seem like luck – but we were blessed. Because our children made it. They lived.

The Pin Drop – Bobby’s Birth Story

I am sure I’ve written before about Bobby’s entry into this world, but it never seems any less miraculous. By the end of Bobby’s pregnancy I was extremely swollen with high blood pressures and horribly sick. I had pre-eclampsia, a disorder that effects millions of women each year and causes some 10,500 newborn deaths in the U.S. alone and half a million deaths worldwide (from the Preeclampsia Foundation). I went to a prenatal appointment just before 36 weeks and ended up going home to pack, ordered back to the hospital.

Bobby was born at 36 weeks gestation, just past the point of being a preemie, and weighed in at 5 lb 2 oz. And after his birth, I didn’t care about any of the fear, the terror, I only had eyes for my little guy. Until a nurse in the delivery room whispered to the doctor, and suddenly I was in shock again.

“There’s something wrong with his eyes…” The nurse’s words were followed by a request for the specialist on call to come look at his eyes. His eyes were almost white, clouded over.

That moment, the one where a nurse spoke words that broke my heart, you could have heard a pin drop – or at least it seemed that way to me. Our lives changed forever that day, not because we became parents, but because we became special needs parents and were thrust into a world more terrifying than typical parenthood.

But his birth, has scary as it was – and it was scary as hell – was a success. We had a beautiful little boy with a full head of hair and sweet disposition. And I never could have imagined loving a little boy more.

Confusing Hell – Andy’s Birth Story

Preeclampsia hit again when I was pregnant with Andy, earlier this time. At 32 weeks pregnant I was ordered straight to the hospital after worsening blood pressures and swelling. Once at the hospital we endured test after test to see how our little man was doing. What we found out was terrifying.

I was at the hospital for almost a week when the doctor gave us a grim announcement at the last ultrasound, Andy’s measurements were those of a child much younger – he had stopped growing and would go into fetal distress if we didn’t head into an emergency c-section.

I wish I could say that was the end of that story, but because of my preeclampsia, my placenta abrupted (it tore away from the wall of my uterus), causing massive internal bleeding. Had we not been hospitalized Andy and I would have both died, and even though we were at the hospital and already prepping for an emergency c-section when there was suddenly way too much pain and blood (sorry for the visuals – imagine living it!) … it was still a life and death struggle.

Andy was born gray, not breathing, and was whisked away for resuscitation  When we were finally allowed to see him and were told he was breathing, that he was okay … let’s just say despite being drugged and weak and in pain, I remember that moment beyond just about anything else. Jim just remembers the blood (poor guy was traumatized for life after this birth!).

Andy was a whopping 3 lbs 14 oz when he was born, tiny even beside the other fighters in the NICU. His birth story was terrifying in life threatening ways, but Andy’s birth was another blessing and testament to the level of health care we had available.

Small and Mighty – Logan’s Birth Story

When we went to the OB to confirm Logan’s pregnancy, we learned his heartbeat was slow and that I would likely lose him … and Logan proved that even then he was a fighter; a week later we went back and the OBGyn said he looked perfectly healthy.

His pregnancy was a hard one, and I was hit with the beginning signs of preeclampsia at just past 20 weeks along. By the time we hit 30 weeks I was on the highest dose of blood pressure medication I could be taking, I was swelling worse than during my other pregnancies, and I was fighting horrible headaches caused by all the stress to my body. I was on bed rest, and my body was still pushed to the breaking point.

It was at an ultrasound just days later that we verified what my OB was worried about – Logan was in distress and had already stopped growing. The umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck three times and was endangering his health … he would have to come out.

Unlike the drama of Andy’s delivery – everything went fairly smoothly for Logan’s delivery – except that I was very out of it and barely remember anything from the whole time period because of the medicine they were giving me for my preeclampsia.

He was a scrapper, born weighing in at 2 lbs 14 oz and breathing without the need for a ventilater. Weeks later we learned he had a brain bleed … we were destined, it seemed, to have awesome little guys who needed us in amazing and unique ways.

The Common Thread – Hope

The common thread in our three birth stories is that no matter the circumstances, we had hope during and after the pregnancy, because we had excellent care and were blessed to be able to bring our boys home, some a little later than others.

As part of the special needs community, I read stories constantly of families who have had similar experiences, and I can’t help but think that hope holds us up, it empowers us and strengthens us during these early days. Part of the pain in putting this post together for the Global Team of 200 is knowing that for so many women, hope isn’t enough to bring their babies home from the hospital.

Millions of babies have been born due to the efforts of organizations like Save the Children, who push education and advocacy to literally save the children. This years State of the World’s Mothers Report by Save the Children bring focus back to the largest number of babies that can be helped in real ways if people, people like you and I, work together to make a difference. In the words of Melinda Gates …

In commemoration of Mother’s Day, Save the Children is publishing its 14th annual State of the World’s Mothers report. Every year, nearly 3 million babies die within the first month of life, most from preventable causes. More than a third of these babies die on their first day of life – making the birth day the riskiest day for newborns and mothers almost everywhere. This report shows which countries are doing the best – and which are doing the worst – at preventing these deaths. It also examines the need to strengthen health systems, train and equip more health workers and make proven, underused solutions available to every mother and newborn who needs them. Such efforts could help prevent as many as 3 out of 4 newborn deaths.

Foreword by Melinda Gates, Surviving the First Day, State of the World’s Mothers Report, 2013

What I’ve realized, in sharing our birth stories and reading more about Save the Children’s initiative, is that our stories are humbling, when compared to those who don’t have the chance to share their own story of life, of the joy in their newborn baby.

Where it Leads – Every Birth Story Makes an Impact

Every birth story is one of hope and new beginnings, except for those who don’t get the chance to share a story of birth. I’m asked often how I handled having three boys with special needs, and I have often said that at least I have had the chance to love my boys, regardless of their difficulties.

So many mothers will never get that chance. More heartbreaking is that as many of 3 out of every 4 newborn deaths could be prevented if we would share the statistics and advocate for changes to help these most fragile of our world citizens.

This was our birth story and an introduction to Save the Children’s initiative and report, but I will be sharing several other resources here at the Cafe and would ask you to look through them and share them, really think about how you can effect the lives of of those yet to be born.

Elsewhere at the Cafe on the State of the World’s Mothers and Save the Children: (Coming Soon)

The Global Team of 200 is a highly specialized group of members of Mom Bloggers for Social Good that concentrates on issues involving women and girls, children, world hunger and maternal health.

Our Motto: Individually we are all powerful. Together we can change the world. We believe in the power of collective action to help others and believe in ourselves to make this world a better place for our children and the world’s children.

The post Our Birth Story and the Story of Hope appeared first on Kat's Cafe.

Adaptive Bikes for a Child with Special Needs – How Awesome is That?

There are few things more amazing than the freedom of riding your own bike for the first time, but for many children with special needs, that won’t easily happen without an adaptive bike.  The Great Bike Giveaway will help children with special needs by helping provide special adaptive bikes made JUST for these kids and their awesomely special needs.

This is the second year Friendship Circle is holding the Great Bike Giveaway, a national contest giving away adaptive bikes to children with special needs. This year they are partnering with Buddy Bike, Rifton, Ambucs, Triaid Flaghouse and Tadpole Adaptive to give away adaptive bikes to children and young adults with special needs.

Not only is Friendship Circle an amazing resource for special needs families, they lead the pack when it comes to caring about children and adults with special needs. I encourage you to not only participate in this giveaway, nomination and voting process, but check out their site as well!

Why The Great Bike Giveaway?

Many children with special needs miss out on the childhood joy of bike riding because their physical or cognitive limitations make riding a bicycle near impossible. For this reason we have created a contest that will enable children with special needs to win a bike.

How the Contest Works

• Between April 15th and May 12th a parent of a child with special needs can choose their bike and submit a picture of their child with special needs along with a short explanation of why they need an adaptive bike.
• Once the entry has been submitted the participant will need to be nominated by 50 friends and family members to be entered in the drawing.
• A drawing will be held for each prize to determine the winners of the adaptive bikes. Only those with 50 nominations will be eligible.

Director’s Choice Prize

In Addition to the drawing, five additional entries will be selected as Director’s Choice Winners. These winners will be chosen by the Great Bike Giveaway Contest Coordinator and will each receive a $500 Gift Registry courtesy of Tadpole Adaptive towards an adaptive bike.

New for 2013!

In addition to the bikes that have been sponsored, Individuals have the ability to donate to the Great Bike Giveaway to get more bikes added. Every time the donation meter is filled another bike gets added to the drawing!

To enter the Great Bike Giveaway visit www.greatbikegiveaway.com For contest rules visit www.friendshipcircle.org/bikes/rules.

How You Can Help a Child with Special Needs get an Adaptive Bike:

Whether you have a child with special needs or not you can help more children with special needs win an adaptive bike.

1. Donate To Add More Bikes

You can make a donation on any of the bike pages. Once enough money has been donated an additional bike will be added to the Great Bike Giveaway.

2. Share and promote

Let as many people as possible know about the opportunity to win an adaptive bike by sharing the the contest via your social networks and email. You can also check out our resources page for additional tools you can use to share the contest.

Your help in sharing this contest is greatly appreciated by Friendship Circle, The Adaptive Bike sponsors and most importantly by the special needs families who will have a chance to win an adaptive bike because of your efforts.

Know a Family Involved in the Great Bike Giveaway?

While you can still sponsor a family for the next few days, it’s just about time to push for those nominated and help them reach their minimum of 50 nominations needed to qualify for the bike drawing! If you know of a family, leave a comment with a link to their entry and I’ll append it to the post! The Cafe family can pull together this way!

Interested in spreading the word across all the major social media networks, maybe even blogging about it yourself? Feel free to share from this post, or for more options, you can find more Great Bike Giveaway resources on the Friendship Circle site and share away!

The post Awesome Adaptive Bike Giveaway for Children with Special Needs appeared first on Kat's Cafe.

Note from Kat: Please welcome blogger and special needs mom Marcela to Kat’s Cafe as she shares what she’s learned about exploring supplements for your child with special needs. She speaks with the experience only being the parent of another child with awesomeness can bring!

If you have any questions after reading please say hi and leave a question for Marcela, would you?

Supplements: When Every Little Bit Counts & You Want a Little Bit More

Fish oil supplements. Image courtesy of Getideaka

Every little bit counts. That’s a lesson that having children taught me—having a child with special needs, however, made me realize how much of a difference those “little bits” can make. There is nothing that will keep my son, who has cerebral palsy, from having more health issues that my other kids, or keep me from worrying about if he’s getting the proper nutrition. But making sure I give him the right supplements can really work wonders.

I started giving my son supplements after hearing from a blogger friend who had given her CP child certain vitamin and minerals and had seen improvement in both his spasticity and muscle control. At first, I didn’t believe it—an inexpensive, easily attainable way to improve my child’s muscle and skeletal strength? It couldn’t be true.

But, when given in moderation, vitamin and mineral supplements have almost no side effects, so I knew I wasn’t risking my son’s health by adding them to our daily routine. I am so glad that I did!

Between bloggers, friends who dabble in holistic medicine, and some online research, I gathered together a list of supplements that seemed to help kids with special needs—not just for cerebral palsy, but ones that reach across a broad spectrum of ailments.

Of course, I checked with our pediatrician (and our CP specialist, and our physical therapist, and our speech therapist—they might have more suggestions!) before I started slowly adding supplements.

Marcela’s List: Supplements for Your Child with Special Needs

• Fish oil, or specifically Omega-3 fatty acids. We use 2 teaspoons everyday (get the flavored ones for children so that it’s more tolerable). Omega-3 helps reduce involuntary twitches in people with movement disorders and possibly decrease the frequency and intensity of seizures, a sometime symptom of CP.
• P5P (the “broken down” version of vitamin B-6). Not enough B-6 the nervous system can be impaired since B-6 is necessary to produce neurotransmitters and for myelin formation. Vitamin B-6 is also thought to lessen involuntary movements and help with seizure activity. B-6 deficiency also leads to sensory problems which can only compound existing issues. We started with 50 mg, but after reading that long term high dosage of vitamin B-6 can cause nerve pain and damage, we decreased the dosage to 25 mg.
• Calcium + Magnesium + Vitamin D. As people with CP are at greater risk for osteoporosis (and kids, they’re still growing, need all the extra calcium they can get to form strong bones while they can), calcium is an important supplement.
• Vitamin D helps prevent osteoporosis as well—and as vitamin D is produced by the skin through sun exposure which is difficult in winter/less sunny climates, supplementation is a good idea just for general health! Magnesium helps the body to absorb the calcium. The two combined can also improve mood and sleep (we’ve noticed an improvement in sleep; he’s always such a happy child, I don’t think we can improve on the mood!).A supplement with a 3:2 ratio of calcium to magnesium is optimal since this prevents excess calcium build-up/magnesium depletion, which can lead to the opposite of the intended effect.
• Vitamin C. (This is the easiest one to convince him since we use a fizzy drink mix that he drinks right up!) Vitamin C benefits a number of bodily systems and functions in the human body, ranging from the neurological to the skeletal system. Also, children with CP can have a compromised immune system, so any extra bit to ward off colds, flus and other illnesses they can pick up at school is a benefit in my book!

Vitamin C and other supplements. Maggie Smith

Beyond Actual Supplements, What else?

These next two aren’t really a vitamin or a mineral, but they can be helpful because kids with cerebral palsy are more susceptible to malnutrition as eating can be an ordeal. So these two supplements help make the most of the nutrition that they are taking in.

• Digestive Enzymes. Some foods can more difficult to digest, so the addition of digestive enzymes goes a long way to helping the GI tract break things down. This supplement definitely needs to be taken with food.
• Probiotics. A good probiotic helps with digestion, bowel movements, and can support the immune system as well. Some say that it should be taken first thing in the morning on an empty stomach—but I find that serving it after some food seems be fine as well.
• Kefir or yogurt with active bacterium (make sure to check the label) are also good sources if your child rebels against taking yet another pill (like mine did!).

This is a list of what I’ve used and found to work best, so far—if you’ve heard of more, please let me know!

The post Supplements for Your Child with Special Needs appeared first on Kat's Cafe.

Curing Autism isn’t Realistic, Silly!

I wrote the following article a while back, then re-edited it after we watched the sensationalist news report from a local television station – talking about the newest possible cure for autism. Curing Autism … really?

I couldn’t help becoming angry … but I know that my point of view isn’t always the popular one. We have 3 boys with autism, one of whom is mostly nonverbal. We understand the hope that talk of a “cure” brings.

But it’s a false hope.

Why? Well, I encourage you to read on and see my reasoning. The point? Is that my boys are pretty darn amazing – they try my patience and sometimes having three on the spectrum is more than a little overwhelming.

But they wouldn’t be MY boys without their autism. It’s part of who they are. Also, autism isn’t a freakin’ disease, thank you very much. You cure disease, you treat neurological disorders and love the child who works their ass off to make progress. To imply that you can “cure” autism is to imply that our children are disease-ridden and in need of curing, that they aren’t amazing little guys all on their own – autism included.

And I refuse to do that.

Autism isn’t a Disease, People!

Our local news is all excited about a potential “new cure” for autism! It seems, *gasp*, that children who have intense behavioral therapy can be “cured” from their autism.

To this I have one response – I laugh.

First, this is hardly news – studies have been around for years talking about the importance of early therapy and the extreme difference it can make for some children on the spectrum.

Let’s be geeky about this for a minute, shall we?

A cure, or recovery even, connotes a type of healing that one would have from a disease, not a neurological, sometimes-genetically-based and scientifically proven disorder which is not in any way a disease. (the researcher in me is quick to point out that certainly some neurological diseases surely do exist which can do this, but autism does not)

As the mother to three boys who happen to have ASD, with proven genetic and neurological basis, anyone throwing around words which imply that autism can simply be cured isn’t someone (or a news station) I can have a whole lot of respect for.

While many awesome, marvelous children have made great progress in their therapy and have gained the needed social, emotional, and cognitive skills to appear supposedly “cured,” these are children, and adults, who have been profoundly changed by something about themselves which is fundamentally different from *some* other people.

The child with autism who has gone through intense therapy isn’t a child who is miraculously cured. Therapy isn’t a cure – it’s hard work. Not only that, but you can’t “cure” the neurologic basis for autism, only help address the symptoms of the disorder. To call years worth of therapy and hard work on behalf of the child, parents and therapists a cure is to disrespect the amount of work they all went through.

The autism disorder doesn’t go away because someone learns how to act in public, learns how to communicate, and learns how to relate to the people around them. They will always have to make adjustments in their routines, in their mind, for the thought processes that neuro-typical folks have without the same level of work.

I’m not autistic, I only have three boys and a husband on the spectrum – to think that the years of therapy and work our boys have gone through could be reduced to a “cure” is ridiculous — I can’t accept that. I won’t. My boys are autistic. They are awesome just the way they are.

They just happen to be one of millions of children who have worked for years to improve in small and steady ways instead of extreme ones. Don’t discount these children, who make up a far larger number of those on the spectrum, just because the thought of a “cure” is making news headlines. Again.

I’d love your thoughts about this – because I will NEVER say my children with autism need to be cured, that they are somehow less because they happen to be autistic. You?

The post Why “Curing” Autism is a Ridiculous Headline appeared first on Kat's Cafe.

This post was originally published as part of our autism awareness month writings in 2012 but I think it speaks to a visceral and personal explanation of why and how autism awareness is a part of our family. 

I would love to hear your family stories in the comments!

30 Days of Autism – Autism Awareness Month, Cafe Style

Autism Awareness … 30 Days of Autism … these are meant to be what? Catchphrases to help us understand the world of autism a bit better? A way to help raise funding for autism research? A chance to pin blue ribbons or puzzled ribbons around and tell the world how much they need to be aware of Autism?

Or maybe, it’s about something a little more.

I think that’s it.

I think it’s about more than ribbons, or blue-colored lightbulbs (thought they do look cool).

I think it’s about more than any one organization, one blog, one writer, one mom, one person or entity. Because there is a bigger stake here than whether or not you know what autism is, whether you care, and whether you want to spread the word.

It’s called respect. Understanding. Empathy. It’s about realizing that no one picture, person, site or organization can ever encompass what autism means to all the individuals affected. To all the families affected. And I don’t think Autism Awareness is overrated, but it is more complex than most will understand.

The face of autism is a varied one. It’s not just about the kids you see in a sweet picture (though I’ll share a few great ones with you!) and it isn’t just about the adults who mesmerize us (Temple Grandin anyone?), and it isn’t just about the ones in between, struggling to come to terms with a diagnosis that defines their world, but not themselves, completely.

Today, my post will be a bit long, because I want to introduce you to three very different faces of autism in our house. I’ll leave my husband’s story for him to tell another day.

The Moody Gang … Our Family is one Touched by Autism

Three times over, we have gone through the diagnosis roller coaster with our children. In between Andy and Logan’s diagnoses, my husband was also diagnosed on the spectrum after a lifetime of never feeling like he fit in.

We have three startlingly different faces of Autism in our three children …

Bobby is more than 1 of the Numbers, the Faces, of Autism

In Bobby, we have the child who has struggled to understand his world with additional sensory issues. Legally blind, Bobby’s diagnosis of autism was delayed because ‘blindisms’ can mimic autistic tendencies. Bobby, you see, was born almost completely blind, his eyes appearing almost white at birth because of the Axenfeld-Rieger Syndrome he would later be diagnosed with (a rare disorder).

He was in therapy from an early age, though, because Bobby was not given an easy start to life. He fought tooth and nail for every achievement he ever made. Rolling over, sitting up, his first steps, his first smile, these things that come naturally to other children.

Right around 3 and 1/2 years old, Bobby (and ours) world was rocked as he started showing signs of seizures, including staring off, losing all tone and dropping suddenly … and he was diagnosed with epilepsy only after the specialist determined he was having hundreds of seizures a day.

He regressed, he learned, he grew, and he fought. And for all he has had to fight, he’s a child with a ready smile and a sense of humor and teasing attitude that will make you adore him. His is one of the many faces of a child with autism.

Andy can’t be Defined as a Number Either

In Andy, we have the preemie who defied the odds and won, but not without a cost. Andy was born at 33 weeks, the result of an emergency c-section and a life-and-death race to the OR. He wasn’t breathing when he was born. Weighing in at just 3’14″, Andy was our tiny fighter.

He gave us a glimpse of how hard he would work when he came home from the hospital in just two weeks. He, too, met all those standard acheivements later than what they told us was normal. When he was later diagnosed with PVL (peri-ventricular Leukomalacia – try saying that ten times fast), and a type of brain damage as a result, we feared the worst.

And yet he proved the horrific projections wrong again. He had mild issues, low tone, a lack of protective responses, he drug his head when he first crawled (really!) and he struggled to speak. It wasn’t until he was in school, much later, when we would learn he also inherited the rare syndrome, that he also had epilepsy, and finally, he also was autistic.

Where Bobby struggled for every acheivement in school, though, Andy excelled. Every new academic challenge was another hurdle to jump – and he’s jumped them all. He’s our honor roll student with an eye on college in the distance.

But he doesn’t make friends easily. And he would rather stay home, inside and on the computer, than go anywhere where he has to meet people out of his comfort zone. He still struggles with abstract concepts, and some advanced language skills. And he still struggles to rise above his dyslexia.

And yet, his bright face and enthusiasm for any challenge will endear him to you. You’ll fall in love with his very precise manners and some of the funny ways he puts his words together. He’s growing as tall as his dad and his feet are already the same size … and his heart matches it all. He’s a fighter, and a dreamer, he’s an artist, a writer, and has a heart of gold. And his is one of the faces of autism.

Logan can’t be Defined or Contained

Logan couldn’t wait to come into this world, but his pregnancy was one soap opera after another’s worth of drama. Also born at 33 weeks, Logan had stopped growing in utero at 28 weeks and came into the world as a 2’14″ scrapper.

We knew early on that he would rock our world, as any child will. An early scan revealed he had damage, possibly from a fall on ice in my 25th week. Just one of many questions about our lives we will never really know the answers for. His milestones were never met on time, but he was a charmer from the beginning.

In Logan we have most of our life and death moments as a family, and most of them began with his first major seizure at about 10 months old, when he seized for 45 minutes and didn’t wake up for two days. Since then, we’ve dealt with AFOs and SMOs and cerebral palsy, as well as the same rare disorder his brothers share … and through it all he has always been the most amazing little guy.

He has a sweet smile and a giggle that will literally melt your heart, and he has a temper that you DON’T want to be on the wrong side of. He’s a charmer and a rascal all in one. And he has been through things that many adults wouldn’t wish to deal with, and he still rises above it.

Nonverbal because of severe apraxia, autistic by definition, Logan can’t be contained by any one diagnosis. He is neither trapped in his own world or ever fully in ours. And his is one of the faces of autism.

Parents, Individuals, and More

You will hear from Jim this month, in his own words. For now, I will say that opposites attracted with us, but our marriage has been filled with stresses that would scare most away. Like two pieces from the same puzzle we fit together. Through thick and thin, through fights and hurts and near death experiences … we fit together.

And yet, we are parents first, and we are defined by that. We wouldn’t know what to do with a child who breezed through every milestone. We scratch our heads at the child who rarely sees the doctor, and only then for a yearly checkup (though we aspire to that!).

In each of our children’s challenges, and triumphs, we are reminded that in this family, we all fit together. We’re all in this together. And part of the puzzle for our family, part of the fight, is in dealing with the many diagnoses that challenge us. Autism is just a piece of the puzzle that makes up our family. It fits. We wouldn’t be *US* without it.

Understand that autism awareness doesn’t mean you lose the trials or the triumphs, the understanding or the misconceptions, the straight up facts or the conjecture. Autism Awareness, and understanding, and empathy … it means that you realize that it fits. Sometimes with mismatched pieces and sometimes with the edges crammed together, but Autism fits into the puzzle that is every individual and family dealing with the diagnosis.

Autism is a part of our lives, it’s a part of the puzzle.

How has autism affected your life? Are you doing anything special for autism awareness month? 

The post The Many Faces of Autism – Autism Awareness Month at the Cafe appeared first on Kat's Cafe.

Note from Kat: My good friend and fellow blogger Pamela Maynard, from Mom Does Reviews, asked if I wanted to participate in a fun giveaway aimed at spreading a few facts about autism at the same time. I loved the idea of using a giveaway to spread a bit of real autism knowledge.

Autism Awareness isn’t about Giveaways – but they don’t hurt!

Remember that autism awareness isn’t found in entering a giveaway or in reading a post, but in understanding what those facts down below might mean the next time you encounter someone with autism (or someone who loves them!). For more reading about my own ideas on Autism I hope you might consider reading recent posts from the Cafe -

April is Autism Awareness Month and Mom Does Reviews and a GREAT group of bloggers are working together to raise awareness AND offer a fun Giveaway!

Stompeez are the slipper/shoe with PERSONALITY!

Stompeez slippers are the most comfortable, funny slippers that will make you smile. You, your kids, and everyone else will love them! As Seen on TV Official Site feet approved. You will run, jump, and stomp all over the place! When you stomp, jump, or step Stompeez come to life. It’s like magic. You have to see (and feel) it to believe.

Stompees are soft, warm, colorful, fluffy, and are made durable for a lot of use! It is a great gift for girls, boys, teens, and even adults! (Kat Here: I considered getting some of these for my guys but wasn’t sure if they would appreciate the constant motion after the novelty wore off – anyone out there have a child on the spectrum who has tried these? I’d love an opinion in the comments!)

What do you know about Autism? Here are some facts from The Autism Society:

• 1 percent of the population of children in the U.S. ages 3-17 have an autism spectrum disorder.
  
• Prevalence is estimated at 1 in 88 births. (Kat Here: New numbers show the number could be 1 in 50 – if you believe the hype!)
  
• 1 to 1.5 million Americans live with an autism spectrum disorder.
  
• Fastest-growing developmental disability; 1,148% growth rate.
  
• 10 – 17 % annual growth.
  
• $60 billion annual cost.
  

Stay tuned for our next giveaway for Autism Awareness month!

Enter below on the easy rafflecopter to win your OWN pair of Stompeez! TWO lucky readers will each win a pair!

a Rafflecopter giveaway


The post Autism Awareness Month Giveaways! appeared first on Kat's Cafe.

What’s Your Perception of what Autism Awareness Really Is?

I have been reading lots of great posts as we enter Autism Awareness Month and can’t help feeling like we tend to sidestep our real emotions and understanding too much of the time as we react to this month and many of the blogs posted during it.

First, I will never say that someone else’s opinion is wrong or right, even if I might disagree with it. I might talk about what I think awareness is, but you don’t have to agree! Part of an open, honest discussion means that we must first come together and talk about this before we work to fix it.

Second, I think autism awareness is a way to spread, promote, and otherwise share the facts about what autism is and how it impacts individuals and families. You know that old saying – you can’t really understand someone until you’ve walked a mile in their shoes? When it comes to autism awareness, there’s a whole population of amazing people who are misunderstood, misrepresented, stigmatized, and otherwise devalued because of a label that society doesn’t understand.

It doesn’t matter if you’re an autistic adult or a nonverbal child with autism – and it doesn’t matter that the numbers of those diagnosed on the spectrum are rising steadily … because understanding autism has to come at an individual and emotional level.

That said, I still think that autism awareness is important. I don’t think the idea of awareness or even World Autism Awareness Day is overrated. But I do think that many people have a skewed perception of what awareness means and why they should care.

What Is Autism Awareness? How About What it Isn’t?

It’s easier to further a conversion about autism awareness by cutting out the misconceptions first. Which means to see what I’m getting at it might be easier still to let you know what I don’t think autism awareness is. So, autism awareness is NOT:

• Putting a  blue lightbulb in any light socket. It’s pretty, but what does that tell anyone about autism?
• Sharing every photo, image, or social media design. Pretty, again. But are you passively sharing or trying to inform?
• Pinning a ribbon on yourself, your site, your profile. Marginally effective if you are sharing real information – but how many of us stop to do that?
• Sharing how many in 50, in 88, in 150 … sharing how many people are diagnosed. Again, this isn’t always bad, but are you just sharing the shocking number or contributing to the conversation about it?
• Talking about how hard eye contact is, or personal affection, or emotions are to handle for someone on the spectrum. Are you talking about yourself? Your child? How many people with autism do you know intimately? Are you perpetuating a stereotype or trying to share real facts?

It’s easy to see how even things we do in good faith, with the best of intentions, aren’t necessarily a way to further awareness.

I think it’s a difference between passivity and action. When you passively switch a lightbulb, share a photo, pin a ribbon, and spread statistics, it’s easy to start thinking that you are raising awareness. Let’s be fair, I create and share those images, I have digital ribbons out the wazoo, and I write about and share those statistics too. It’s a way to feel like we are really spreading awareness – a physical sign that we are helping.

Right?

I have one of my graphics as my Facebook profile picture right now – and while I did it as a way of sharing I can’t say it’s an act of building awareness. It’s passive.

These things don’t build awareness, even if they do help us show something that we stand for. They are about us – we want to put out there that we care about autism awareness, that we care about this child or that adult with autism, that we care that the numbers of those diagnosed are rising.

But building awareness?

That’s something a little different. It’s more that that kind of passivity.

It’s writing about perceptions and stereotypes and opening or furthering that dialogue. It’s reading those posts and intelligently reacting and responding to the ideas they represent. It’s sharing what the reality of autism is. It’s working to educate and break down those stereotypes.

Sometimes, it’s a heartbreaking and emotional, gut wrenching post and other times is acknowledging someone else’s point of view.

The photos, the graphics, the gimmicks – they are part of the campaign, they’re a way to show what WE stand for, but for awareness to be something tangible we have to ACT beyond that passivity.

Awareness is more about action than passion.

Building Autism Awareness isn’t about any ONE Organization or group

If we want to help others understand autism we can’t present one opinion (even if it’s our own) and call it awareness. We can’t ingratiate ourselves with one organization and call our donations awareness.

I’ll state for the record – I’m all for supporting great autism charities and organizations – many of these organizations do great thing with little budgets to try and effect change for the autism community. But I do NOT, and never will, support Autism Speaks. Their awareness activities might be important but they come at a high price – from an organization that wants to cure our kids instead of understanding them, who wants to obliterate autism and raise money instead of (or in addition to) even employing one person on the autism spectrum. I’ve turned down offers to participate in worthy awareness campaigns by some great organizations and businesses simply because they have partnered with Autism Speaks. 

My friend Jim just posted about this, sharing the words of someone with autism who is also the parent of a child with autism. She can’t stand this kind of awareness, or the World Autism Awareness Day, because it is represented so heavily by Autism Speaks. I don’t want to put words in her mouth, because even though she asked to share her thoughts anonymously I think she raises a valid point in this post, simply titled Blue.

What I took from her words is she thinks one organization has overtaken the ideals of autism awareness (and Autism Awareness Month and World Autism Awareness Day). When society looks to one organization to stand up for a community of individuals, they invariably will leave those individuals in the dust. I already stated my thoughts on Autism Speaks, but I think ANY organization can fall into this trap, just as any group of supporters can do the same.

Our responsibility, our passion, our drive should be in making sure that the individuals are heard first. Autism awareness isn’t about one group of people, it’s about millions of people who share a diagnosis but not the same symptoms, and it’s about a society that refuses to look past the stereotypes and the voices of a few to see the individuals who are at stake.

I’m not autistic. I can’t speak for those who are. But I can speak for my children and my husband – I can speak as someone who loves them, who cares for them, who works with them, struggles with them, dreams with them.

And I can speak for the millions of us who love someone with autism. We want you to see the sons and daughters, husbands and wives … the individuals … that we love. We want you to understand that they are not a collective known as “autism.”

Don’t pity us, and don’t pity those we love. Take a minute and try, really try, to understand them, to understand our lives as the ones who love them.

That’s what Autism Awareness really is.

What are you spreading today? Awareness or passivity?

The post Autism Awareness isn’t Overrated; Maybe Your Perception Is appeared first on Kat's Cafe.

Autism at Home: Love Breeds Chaos

Our house would never win a good housekeeping award.

Our laminate floors don’t gleam and the carpet always looks like it needs to be vacuumed. The dogs never went to obedience school, though they sometimes—only sometimes, mind you – behave better than the kids.

Our boys aren’t spit-shined; they don’t have perfect manners, even when they try. Something intangible sets our home apart from others, though. You can hear it in the giggles that echo through the halls, see it in the mismatched assortment of toys lining the floor, smell it in the air as peanut butter, laundry detergent, bleach, and the slightest hint of eau-de-dog mix together. (We should package it!)

As the kids come running, dogs dancing just behind them, you’ll feel like you’ve come home, because when you visit these boys, on their turf, you’ve become one of the family.

Where you See Autism

In the hit and run hugs, the repetitive questions, the mystifying mix of aloofness and excitability … the boys show how unique they are. Autism might shade the way they hug, the questions they ask, and their quirky-but-somehow-lovable attitudes, but these guys aren’t actually defined by that word.

Where you may see autism in Logan’s preverbal chattering, his wide eyes begging you to know exactly what he’s thinking about saying, we see his attempt to bring us into his world.

Where autism is the decidedly obvious factor in Bobby’s questions, asked in a multitude of ways multiple times, we see a curiosity about the world around him, an insatiable need to know.

Where autism is whispered in Andy’s sentence structure or word choice, in his confusion about when to speak or how to answer a question, we see his careful exploration of the people that make up the world around him.

Where you See Chaos

Despite our best attempts to organize, prioritize, strategize … there is an air of chaos when you visit us here … from the boys and the dogs waiting to meet you to the crayon colorings we still haven’t wiped off the wall in the front room.

Where you see chaos in one kid asking questions, another trying to worm his way into a hug (just before running away giggling), and the other talking above the others to make sure you hear his latest triumph, we see an ease in their home environment hard to find anywhere else.

Where you see a colorful array of scribbles along the front room wall, we see Logan’s mastery of crayons and love for the ability to make his mark on his world (Okay, yes, we should really clean that up!).

And in Andy’s sketches, littered throughout the house, we see a casual love for the world around him – from the shows and the characters he loves to his family and on to make believe – his love for all things creative adds a special twist to this chaos.

Where you hear the chaos of repeated questions, high-pitched giggles, and ongoing conversation all occurring at once, we hear the sound of our kids being kids – something they are hard-pressed to be sometimes.

We See Love

In Logan’s literal hit and run hugs (he’ll either come tap you and run away as a kind of hug, or he’ll wrap himself around you for a second or two of stillness, forehead resting against you), we see his love for the world around him, for the joy of meeting each new person in his path.

In Bobby’s own Bobby Hug (™) he literally relaxes against you for just a moment, allowing one full side of his body to rest against yours while he grins a secret grin, and we see a unique love and empathy for the people around him.

And in Andy’s hugs, there may seem nothing remarkable in the way he squeezes you tight. But his hugs give a squeeze and a tug on the heart, and we see love for life and each person he meets in every squeeze.

Where you see Autism, Where you see Chaos, We see Love

Whether you’re a first time visitor here or a long-time friend, you instantly become family when my kids attach themselves to you. UPS man; mail lady; door-to-door salesman … it doesn’t matter, the quirks and love for the world around them mean my kids act a little differently, talk a little differently, even hug a little differently … but they still love with everything they have.

Our boys aren’t just an extension of the house they live in. Their lives are a complex, chaotic adventure – one they embrace enthusiastically, with true love and honest affection. Their grins and giggles, special needs and challenges, hugs and even kisses, have all combined to make this house something living, something real, something special … a home filled with autism. But more importantly, it’s filled with love.

The post Where You See Autism, We See Love – Autism Awareness in Our Home appeared first on Kat's Cafe.

Autism Awareness Month Kick off with Autism Awareness Graphics Set #1

Hey there everyone! I just wanted to re-post this kick-off post from last year since there’s a great awareness set linked through the graphic at the end. I would love for you guys to  get into the spirit of promoting awareness by sharing, modifying, and using these graphics however you’d like. If there’s interest, I can include the puzzle frame I used for the boys’ graphics (Andy’s pictured below) in the set I release later this week.

Now back to the original post!

I had SO much fun seeing my Cafe visitors enjoy the Epilepsy Awareness graphics set I published, that I just had to begin Autism Awareness Month by releasing the first of a series of Autism Awareness Graphics as well.

But first, I wonder how AWARE of Autism you are?

Has it touched your life in some way? Do you have a child or loved one diagnosed with Autism, or has this disorder impacted your life in other ways?

You’d have to be hiding under a rock somewhere to miss the latest release of the CDC’s newest numbers – that 1 in 88 children have autism. I have a post coming up about my thoughts on that, along with a round up of what other special needs bloggers are saying about it.

And of course, with the Autism Awareness Month itself beginning tomorrow, the Cafe will be abuzz with all kinds of posts and information on autism, personal thoughts about the reality of having three little guys on the spectrum, reviews of websites and, of course a few great giveaways that should be exciting for you all (one of them starts with an “i” and ends in a “Pad”!).

I’ve joined with several other great special needs bloggers to write about autism awareness and more this month as part of the 30 Days of Autism Challenge (Interested in joining up? Request to join the Special Needs Blogging Group on Facebook to learn more). You’ll learn more about my fellow bloggers by hopping on over to visit them from time to time too!

Kick off Autism Awareness Month with Autism Awareness Graphics

For this first set in the Autism Awareness Graphics, I’m including a couple of links to free resources available online as well. For instance, the puzzle frame at the top of this post with Andy featured, is part of a template, and you can find it at PSD Graphics. So if you have Photoshop you can create your very own! (They also included a JPEG version that you can use instead if you want (You won’t be able to layer the effect, but it’ll still be fun to play with!

Also, several bloggers and I have a great board on Pinterest, called “Light it Up Blue – Supporting and Celebrating Autism.” There, you’ll find inspiration for all your Autism Awareness inspiration needs. I’m also trying to add extra graphic elements to the set so those of you wanting something for your own blog or profile images online have some graphics to play with!

In the same spirit as my Epilepsy Awareness Graphic Set, this Autism Awareness Graphic Set is the most basic set I will offer for you to download, free, here at Kat’s Cafe.  Each of the three included graphics is available in a high resolution, PNG format, with a translucent background. Hopefully you will have a chance to use these in some of your web projects throughout April, and beyond this month, in a show of support for Autism Awareness. Just click on the graphic below so you download your own set to use.

I would love if you shared the link after you use these, so we can all see others supporting Autism Awareness. Use of this Autism Awareness Graphics set is free for personal and commercial uses, provided you are not reselling or otherwise profiting on these designs.

One last Treat, and then hopefully you will share your own Autism Awareness plans for the next month.

I’ll be using all these graphics and others on my site throughout the month, but I think I had the most fun with the following graphic. I purchased a base template to help with the puzzle pieces, and created the rest to go with it … I would be honored if you wanted to share this autism awareness graphic around … and plan to join me here at the Cafe over the next month to support Autism Awareness!

The post Autism Awareness Graphics Set and Autism Awareness Month Kick Off appeared first on Kat's Cafe.

Time to be Honest about my Fibromyalgia – and Face the Fact I’m Only Human

Life is a journey, made up of moments, glances, smiles, friends, family, adventures … and when you’re a special needs parent it’s made up of challenges, trials, and celebrations about even the most minute of those moments.

I haven’t been 100% honest though, because my world not just about being a special needs mom – I also have Fibromyalgia (AKA “Fibro”).

So? What the Heck’s the big Deal about having Fibromyalgia?

What this means? Is that I don’t get a simple cold, the sniffles, a day of the flu … I get sick and my immune system plummets and suddenly I am not just dealing with being sick – I’m also in a Fibro flare.

This isn’t a post about what Fibromyalgia is, though that will come – it’s a post about being human.

See, I’m like a lot of moms out there – I take care of my family the best I can, I handle the craziness of life and rise to one challenge after the next. Heck, I’m like a lot of other special needs parents too – I don’t think I’ll ever feel like I’m doing enough, that I’m good enough, to give my kids everything they need. But …

But I refused, for the longest time, to acknowledge just what having Fibromyalgia has cost me – how difficult it is. Oh I’ll admit in the middle of a flare I can host a pity party to rival pity parties. But I still try and do everything, be everything, for this family – even when I’m drowning in obligations and needs – even when my body is desperately kicking me in the ass and telling me I need to take a step back.

That means, that I can be in the middle of a Fibro flare that makes my latest bout of flu look like a picnic and I’ll still be worried about the house, the hubby and the kids – and I’ll still be struggling to keep up as many of my work commitments as I can. I might even worry about this little blog of mine. And I’ll try to keep up with the house and doctor’s visits (for everyone else!) … but at the end of the day when I’m so exhausted that sleeping doesn’t feel like rest I’ll still be pushing to do more.

Turns out that Sometimes your Body Fights Back … Who Knew?

And my body has had enough of it. For months I’ve been struggling to deal with a stupid sinus infection. I’ve been on rounds of antibiotics, tried just about every natural remedy out there – and I can’t beat it. After about a month of ongoing symptoms (and being sick through Christmas!) I realized I was starting to lose my ability to focus, to keep my eyes open even after waking up for the day. My pain levels ratcheted up and I realized I was in a Fibro flare. I’m still, even a month later, trying to deal with this same flare.

The daily struggle to be mom and wife, to handle everything and be everything to everyone … it turns out that sometimes you can keep up the pretense – but somewhere along the line you pay the price.

The price? Exhaustion, inability to focus, sinus symptoms that got worse instead of better, pain, and a household that I was struggling to maintain. I lost clients and had to cut back on working with others. I stepped back from most of my posting here at the Cafe. I lost respect for myself – because I couldn’t do and/or be the person I wanted to be.

I couldn’t keep up. I’m only human, and I have Fibromyalgia  and I’m admitting that I couldn’t do it. I can’t do it. I’ve had to make adjustments — mentally, physically, spiritually — that I never wanted to make.

Now for me there is light at the end of the tunnel – I’ve started taking a different set of supplements and while I’m not better by a long shot, I am beginning to feel better. I have been able to return to working with some of my really amazing clients. I’ve been able to slowly, hesitantly, try to step back into this life of mine, the same life I had to put on hold for months because I just couldn’t do it anymore.

Being human kinda sucks, sometimes

There’s no magic wand to make you instantly better, there’s no rule that says you don’t have to have a chronic condition even though you have three amazingly awesome kids and a  pretty awesome husband counting on you. And it’s not fair.

But that’s part of life, part of accepting this part of my life. I don’t think I really accepted it before — having Fibromyalgia  acknowledging that I had to make changes without feeling like I was giving in to this condition. I have to give myself limits in lieu of giving up. And I have to move on, doing the best I can as I move forward.

So I’m putting this out there, because I think there’s others like me out there – other moms who are having a hard time accepting that they have limitations – that they are only human. And I think there are others who don’t understand what it’s like to have a chronic condition like Fibromyalgia (especially if you are also a special needs parent).

So I have this confession to make – I have Fibromyalgia and I hate it, and I’m just now realizing that I will be dealing with it for the rest of my life. And I hate that too. And I would love to know that I’m not alone – that others out there get this, understand it.

The post Fibromyalgia Confessions – Or … Mom’s Not Allowed to be Sick appeared first on Kat's Cafe.

Resolutions Never Work, at Least not for Me – How about You?

I’ve spent the transition to and first few weeks of this New Year sick as can be and struggling to figure out how to stay caught up with personal and work commitments as well as blogging ones. And it got me to thinking … resolutions pretty much suck.

Why?

Because resolutions are our perfect dreams, arising out of a perfect reality – when in fact our reality is just that – real. It’s not always pretty, fair, or easy.

For the past few weeks, I was sick. Barely able to truly celebrate Christmas and the New Year with my family, falling behind in my own work commitments, unable to log in and keep up with posting at the Cafe.

Being sick sucks!

If I stuck with my original ideas about New Year’s resolutions I would be feeling even worse. Like most folks I wanted to work smarter, blog more, spend more time with family, be healthier … blah blah blah.

Which is why I say resolutions suck. They don’t make us consider our reality, where we get sick, where we have kids with special needs, where a kid might have a seizure at any moment, where life happens.

And we end up feeling like failures because we. Can’t. Keep. Up with life, much less those resolutions.

Resolutions Suck, but they are Still Useful!

New Year’s resolutions suck – I’ll shout that from the rooftops – but they are a useful measure of what you most want to change about yourself. And change – that’s entirely possible no matter how sick you get, how many breakthrough seizures you are dealing with, no matter what life throws at you.

So what were your resolutions? What are the things you are most wanting to change about yourself in 2013? And, here’s the real kicker … what are you going to do to make it happen?

Resolutions are a promise to yourself that you can break as soon as life throws reality in your face. But if you have made them, broken them, thought about them at all – then you have a better idea of what you most want to change about yourself.

And THAT is valuable. Because we all want to change something about ourselves. Resolutions are a great motivator to help us think about what we want to change (lose weight, give more, post more, etc) but they are usually very subjective things – and they don’t roll with reality as well as might want.

We get sick, or one of our amazing kids with awesomeness (ie special needs) has a problem or a breakthrough seizure … and suddenly we’re back to square one and upset because we broke our all-important resolution.

Let’s Create Change instead of Resolutions

Huh?

How about instead of making a resolution, so much, we take that idea and twist it around a bit. Instead of saying “I want to lose weight this year” or “I’m going to get in shape this year” how about we think about actual changes we can make?

So instead of “I want to lose weight” maybe we can say “I’m going to change the amount of fat I’m eating (or sugar … etc)”

Or, instead of “I’m going to get in shape this year” we can say “I’d like to be active 3x a week (or um, at all, if we’re not so active right now!)

Instead of generically saying we want to give more, blog more, do more, how about we give ourselves an actual goal, something we can actually change, that helps us track, measure, and realize that change?

To that end, I’d like to share a few of my own ideas for change this year …

1.  I will change my activity level by striving to be active every day, and work up to working out (hah!) at least 3x per week this year.
2. I will increase the numbers of fruits and vegetables I bring into the home and serve; and I will increase the numbers of organic products I serve, changing our eating habits in the process.
3. I will change my frequency of posting at the Cafe, with regular posting days and extra posts for special campaigns.
4. I will change how often I am online and *working* so that I can spend more time with my family, focusing for shorter periods of time on completing client work.
5. I will continue the Giving campaign by changing it to an ongoing initiative at the Cafe to help special needs families (very excited about this – stay tuned for more details) and to share further important and related causes and campaigns.

What about you? Hate resolutions? Love ‘em? Tell me about them in the comments!

The post Why Resolutions Suck, and Why Giving Continues! appeared first on Kat's Cafe.

Giving Christmas is more than Winning a Giveaway

Giving Christmas at Kat’s Cafe this year started as a way to connect some great brands with the Cafe readers because I thought their products were that great for special needs families. I couldn’t help but think if all the gifts were given together to one family it would sure mean a better Christmas for one lucky family, right?

So “Giving Christmas” was born. The idea, that we would have several great product reviews and giveaways, highlight some amazingly awesome brands for special needs families (and some that are just great brands overall)…but the underlying goal was that we would also give the Gift of Christmas to one deserving family.

This was all a spontaneous idea and I worked fast to pull together sponsors and brands who might be interested in partnering with me here at the Cafe (and with some of my friends at other blogs who are helping promote this!). Then…I got sick!

So I Revised Giving Christmas just a Bit

I published the first round of giveaways, some without reviews, so that we could get some of them listed before Christmas. And I put out the Nominations post so we could find a special needs family in need. (Read more about the Riley Family and how you can still help them!)

I’m contacting the first round of winners now and will begin posting the next round of giveaways and (some) reviews, and I’d love to encourage you to again check out our Christmas Giving Family — the Rileys. They’ve had a year filled with loss and could use your thoughts and prayers just as much as they could still use your help. Give them a sweet boost and leave them a comment too, would you?

Of course I will be updating the official Gift Guide Page and Giving Christmas posts with further information so please stay tuned!

And Now… I will be posting the rest of the Giving Christmas posts leading up to the New Year, as well as a gift guide for special needs families that will NOT be only for Christmas.

The idea is this – Christmas is about giving, but it doesn’t stop just because Christmas is over (for some of us). The gift of Christmas is that the feeling you get by GIVING can keep going.  And there are lots of reasons to give, year-round. So you can always use a great guide with tried and tested gifts to give, right?

Right now, I’d love to hear from you! How was your Christmas? Have you found a way to GIVE BACK yet? Tell us about it!

The post Why Giving Christmas is Giving Back, and an Update appeared first on Kat's Cafe.

The Giving Christmas Campaign is Running a Bit Behind Schedule

But the family we’ve decided to help still needs your help!

This is a very short post to update you on the Giving Christmas campaign and the family chosen to benefit from the Gift of Christmas. I thank all my Cafe friends for helping us spread the word about this great campaign! We already know we’ll do this on a larger scale and earlier in the season next year!

Keep in mind the family we’re helping has been verified based on further information they gave when asked, and we plan to continue being great friends of this family for some time to come!

The Family Chosen for Giving Christmas ’12

We’ve chosen the Riley Family in Kentucky to be our special family this year. The Riley family and I have already been in contact and we’ve been working on getting some additional things for them together.

I think that Becky’s words are the most powerful reason why choosing them was a good idea, so I’ll share that with you before I ask for your help!

From Becky, a Comment of Need

I’ve  had one heck of a year and would just love to receive a little joy in this terrible year….My Brother died Jan 8th, Followed by an aunt that lived in Indiana whom we didn’t get to say goodbye to. One Joyful moment was the Birth of my daughter, whom my Brother didn’t get to meet. 1 month after she was born my oldest had to go through eye corrective surgery to correct her wondering eyes.

1 month after that My 2 year old was diagnosed with Tuberous Sclerosis, which causes Tubers in the vital organs such as the brain, eyes, kidneys, heart, lungs, and Skin, it also causes skin leasions which is dry patches on his skin. Also with this diagnosis he was also diagnosed with Epileptic Seizures. I beilieve he also has a Sensory disorder, because to go to sleep he rubs his hand against something for comfort. He was also diagnosed that he’d have autism, Followed by that we couldn’t make our family reunion because the neuro told me to up his meds cause he was still having seizures, they wanted it upped from 3.5~ 5 but when I gradually upped it to 4 he started staggering around like a drunk vomiting and could not stand up, so meds had to go back down to 3.5 and adding Keppra to 2 ml both 2xs a day.

Followed by all this 2 more Aunts Died in Indiana, and 2 more were diagnosed with stage 4 Cancer, One aunt has Cancer on the Brain, which is causing her to be in a vegetable state, the other takes meds all day long, and is very weak. We probably wont make it to see them before they go. (Note from Kat: One aunt has since passed away)

My mother in law had a Stroke for Thanksgiving, My father in law has an annurisym in his aorta for Christmas, this could be their Last. My mom and all of us are grieving so much for my Brother and my mom’s sisters. We haven’t really felt the spirit of Christmas, but are trying to hold it all together for the kids. There are a total of 11 kids in our family.

We all live next door to each other. We are very Close and this is our first year without my brother. Who lived with my mom next door as she took care of him. I’d like to receive Fleece Sheets for their beds, Weighted Blankets, Things that they could use.

…I have 7 kids of my own all with learning Delays, and 4 nieces and nephews. Both my boys are Epileptic and nearly blind without their Glasses. They have trouble sleeping, so I’d like to try these weighted blankets for them. They could use Puppets, Vacuum with hose, Tomy Pic N’ Pop cause they love balls.

As you can see, the Riley family has had a difficult year. And in talking with Becky I am thrilled that the Cafe can help them in a small way with their Christmas. So here’s the rub …

The Riley’s are happy to celebrate Christmas as a way to say goodbye to this year, so they are celebrating on New Year’s rather than traditionally (they had some amazingly cute handmade puppets and hair bows from their crafty mama on Christmas morning).

What the Riley’s need:

Becky’s number one request was for blankets and sheets (fleece or warmer ones if possible) for the kids, as their trailer gets cold and she’d like to make sure the kids are all toasty at night.

I’ve had several awesome, brand new comforters donated that I will be sending to them, and others have pitched in to offer a sweet blanket or something here or there … but this is a large family. Becky herself has 7 children while her sister, who lives next door, has 4 more little ones. So this would be a great way to ship something directly from Amazon or another site to help them out with a real need. (See below if you want to do this and need the address!)

The kids have a few things to open that I’ve passed along from our great Giving Christmas campaign (yes, the one that’s running late!) but with 11 total kids I know additional gifts would be greatly appreciated. The children’s ages are:

Becky’s Girls are aged 15, 11, 8, 7, and 9 mos; and her boys are aged 10 and 2. Her sister’s children include a 15-year-old girl, 13-year-old boy, 11-year-old girl and a 2-year-old boy.

Giving Directly to the Riley Family:

While I won’t post their address publicly, you may use the “Contact Kat” page to drop me a line and I will share their address for shipping purposes. If you have an Amazon code, e-Gift from Walmart or another e-Store I will pass that on to them directly, please use the Contact page to let me know and I will confirm the details to pass along to them.

You’ll notice I have a Paypal donation button in the sidebar? That is for this family as well. I would love to ask you to give what you can afford, knowing that any gift from $1 on up will be greatly appreciated by this special needs family that’s been hit so hard this year.

Buy something from their wishlists

After some prodding from me, we finally have a wishlist at Amazon and at Walmart.com for the Riley family — while I told Becky to add anything she could think of for her and her kids, know that ANYTHING you can give will be appreciated, regardless of the dollar amount.

Purchase something for the Rileys from their Walmart wishlist here: http://kcafe.me/RileyWalmartGifts

Purchase items from the Riley’s Wishlist at this short URL for their Amazon Wishlist: http://kcafe.me/RileyAmazonList

The post Giving Christmas Love Still Needed for Special Needs Family appeared first on Kat's Cafe.

Zoobie Pet Kojo the Croc a New Family Friend

Our newest Family Member – Kroc the Crocodile!

We recently welcomed a new member into our family, a little Zoobie plush crocodile named Kojo. The little guy cam bundled with surprises that most kids will find amazingly sweet and fun, and most parents will find convenient as well.

For children with special needs I found a few limitations that I wanted to make sure to mention, but nothing that would stop me from recommending this sweet toy for your child (with special needs or not!).

Why do Zoobies Rock?

First, the toy is very soft, very plush an extremely cute. It’s made of high quality fabrics and materials that mean our new friend will stay around for a while. Croc’s seams are finally stitched, and every bit of him from his tail all away to his long nose is soft to the touch, and squishible, squeezable fun!

The soft blanket tucked inside of Croc was equally as well-made and extremely durable for such a thin blanket.

As you can see from the pictures I’ve included, our new friend Croc hides a panel underneath where you can unzip the side and pull out the blanket. The zipper is easy to use, of a larger size, and seems very durable. On the inside the blanket is also attached with a zipper so that the blanket can actually stay attached to the “blanket” pet.

My biggest concern is that the inner blanket’s zipper is a smaller one, and not as durable. I think it will be very easy for Logan to break over time. Even though this blanket pet is Bobby’,  as with most kids, brothers have lots of playtime as well. Time will tell (I’ll update the post later depending on what we find out!)

Aside from the durability of that inner zipper, I can also see Bobby unzipping it entirely and being stuck with the blanket that needs to be staffed back into Kroc. Although the blanket is actually his favorite part so he’s happy as can be having it separate so he can have the blanket anytime he wants – and poor Kroc can just get lonely on the sidelines!

The resulting frustration from not getting the blanket all the way back inside Croc’s body can cause a meltdown making this something that most parents of special needs children will want to address rather than leave to chance.

My suggestion is to either unzip the blanket entirely and just assume that it will never fully go back inside the blanket pet as easily as you would want because hey, it’s for kids, and kids don’t tend to be neat and tidy with their things, or … For mommies with sewing skills, I might suggest laying a few stitches at either end of the blanket to help attach it more firmly to the pet. I wouldn’t, however, say that you have to do this. It’s just an idea if your kid might become frustrated over a blanket that is too-easily detachable.

In Summary – I’ts a Soft, Sweet Toy to Love!

In any case, the plushable softness of the Zoobie means that any of your children, will fall in love with their new family friends.

For children with special needs, I would suggest showing them the video demonstrating how *easy* it is to tuck the blanket back up, and be prepared to help them do so.

If your child has many problems with their fine and/or gross motor skills and frustrates easily rather than asking for help, you might be better off choosing another soft toy for them. Otherwise, I would call this a great toy for most of your children with special needs.

Interested in Zoobies? They have a fine assortment of cute products and I encourage you to look them up, as they have won awards and been featured on many TV shows, in magazines, and around the web.

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Do you have a toy like this or similar for your child with special needs? Can you share any notes that might make it an easier decision for another parent to purchase? We’d LOVE to hear from you!

The post Zoobie Blanket Pets Soft, Convenient, Fun for Kids appeared first on Kat's Cafe.

LinguiMind a Sweet App for Foreign Languages and Your Child

When the developer of LinguiMind contacted me about his app I wasn’t sure what to think – I’ve downloaded multiple apps for my foreign language lover, Bobby. But I agreed to give it a try, and more importantly, let Bobby try it out (his opinion’s the important one, after all).

LinguiMind is unique. It doesn’t try and accomplish everything, it very simply offers basic vocabulary, numbers and letters in English, Spanish and French.

The opening screen after you name a player allows you to choose basic words, numbers, letters … and one of three languages. The cute little bees are even color-coded.

I wasn’t entirely sure that “cutesy” would work with Bobby, but the bright colors and simple concepts were actually perfect for him. And being able to ‘play’ with the bees and butterflies to hear them count in his chosen language delighted him!

I think, with Bobby’s love of foreign languages, this app were about perfect for him developmentally. And the simple concepts and clear way of moving through the app seemed to keep his interest without frustrating him as well.

LinguiMind – a Great App for all Kids, but perfect for Kids with Special Needs!

Here’s a list of key features of the App, available normally on the app store for $2.99

• Intuitive and easy interface
• Encourages learning
• Creates a great Cause and effect set-up
• Helps with Fine motor skills
• Alphabet sections feature letter sequence with words and graphics for each letter
• Numbers section features number sequence with graphics and words reinforcing the number tapped with sequential order of graphics; which can be moved around the screen, 0 to 10 count and 10 to 0 countdown with graphics and sound.
• Colors: Kids can learn colors creating their own drawings
• MULTILINGUAL! It comes in English, Spanish and French

Sound like it might be a great fit for your child? The developer was kind enough to include 2 codes so two of my amazing Kat’s Cafe family can win it as part of our Giving Christmas campaign!

Enter Below:

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The post #Win LinguiMind – a Foreign Language App for Children who Love Language! appeared first on Kat's Cafe.

Special Education Advisor’s IEP Success Kit Great for Giving!

When I reviewed the physical copy of the IEP Success Kit I awarded it the A+ Cup of Excellence – it was just that amazing a resource for parents of children with special needs.

Parents of children with special needs are usually old hand at going to case conferences, but knowing all the various IDEA and local special education legislation can seem impossible, if not at least daunting for even the most prepared parent.

Enter the IEP Success Kit, which not only helps educate parents as to theirs and their child’s rights, but also helps them organize it all.

I thought the kit was the perfect gift to offer Cafe readers as a Christmas idea. And since it’s available for download it’s the perfect last-minute gift as well!

One lucky Cafe reader doesn’t have to purchase the electronic version, though, they can win it!

The post IEP Success Kit – Giving IEP Knowledge for Christmas! appeared first on Kat's Cafe.

LessonPix Pulls Together Quality Resources for Special Needs Community!

I don’t think I’ve been quite this excited to share an amazing resource in a while. Though I’ve shared about some apps and have some additional things to share as part of our Giving Christmas campaign, LessonPix.com is a resource that virtually provides an amazing special needs resource.

A quick Video Introduction to all the features of LessonPix:

Awesome, right? I will be bringing a full review of this site to you soon, but I think you can tell the power of this site. In case you are trying to figure out how LessonPix could help you, consider:

• Create a Picture Schedule and Print it! 
• Provide a membership as a gift to your child’s classroom, therapist, school for pennies a day!
• Use over 11,000 custom images or ADD your own to create multiple materials
• Use symbols OR pictures
• Create social stories easily
• Language Finder, Material Wizard and Rhyming search & More!

From the LessonPix website, this is just how easy it is to use:

To use LessonPix Just follow 3 simple steps:

1. Find the Pictures Search or browse through the clip-art library which contains over 11,000 hand-drawn pictures or upload your own pictures. – Check out the search tools – including ‘SoundFinder”- to help you find what you need.

2. Send Pictures to the Tray Use our LessonPix Tray to hold the pictures you would like to use to create a material. Just drag the picture to the tray or click on the “+” sign near the picture.

3. Click “Create Materials” Follow the Materials Wizard to select the type of materials and details related to the material.

What’s really amazing is that full membership to this site is a bargain, only $3 a month! (I know! It’s crazy!)

The post LessonPix – Amazing Resource for Special Needs Families/Educators appeared first on Kat's Cafe.

Basic Posco AAC App Great for with Speech Difficulties

I will be doing a full review of this app in the future, but the developer has been kind enough to offer to give away TEN copies of this normally $10 app, so I wanted to share a few quick thoughts and let you enter to WIN!

First, What is an AAC App?

Well, it stands for Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) and is generally used for individuals with speech or communication disorders. So a child with autism could use this app on his iPad to help speak for them, or an adult stroke patient could bypass frustration by doing the same.

Different but still a Great AAC App option

I just shared about another AAC App available called Talk Rocket Go, and while I won’t be sharing all the differences here, I would say that Posco is a simpler  AAC App which offers most of the basic functions, while Talk Rocket Go offers advanced features that make it more of an advanced AAC device with the iPad’s full functionality utilized. In this case the difference in cost comes down to the difference in advanced functionality.

But the AAC functionality is still a strong component of Posco and I would recommend this for a family who wants to help their child with special needs (or adult with speech limitations) as an intermediate AAC option.

My own notes to Bryan, the developer, were that the included pictures weren’t really the ones we would normally want to use with our kids to build speech. But since those images can be edited I think that is a small issue.

Okay? Good?

So what does Posco offer?

The post Posco AAC App for Children (and adults!) with Special Needs – Giving Christmas appeared first on Kat's Cafe.

An A+ Special Needs Resource

The IEP Success Kit by SpecialEducationAdvisor.com

When I first stumbled upon this special needs resource by the good folks over at the Special Education Advisor website, I was skeptical. It promised a lot, and the price tag meant that many special needs families I know would find themselves priced out of the resource.

But I was already familiar with the website, and I knew them as advocates who truly know what they are talking about. And I know a lot of special needs parents who could use this kind of resource, $39.95 price tag or not. So I talked with Dennise Goldberg, founder of the site and one of the developers of the kit, to see if I could review a copy. (The new digital version is downloadable awesomness and only runs $14.95)

First True Cafe Review – Useful Resource for Special Needs Families

I have to say, I have been invited to do other reviews, and I have sought out a few others, because I want to start providing you guys with some great reviews of resources that mean something to you.

But I haven’t been quite as excited as I was when I received that large binder in the mail and started looking through all the different parts of it. It seems fitting that the IEP Success Kit is presented to you as my first review, because I can honestly say, after reviewing it, I find it to be an A+ resource, and well-worth the initial price tag.

I don’t say that lightly. Not all my reviews will be so kind *grin*

Let’s take a closer look at what the IEP Success Kit promises and what you will receive with it, so you can understand why I think so highly about it.

1. Teaches as it Compiles Information

What this means is that the Success Kit literally leads you, carefully, through Federal Special Education law, the IDEA legislation that seems like Greek to so many trying to wade through the process. It doesn’t treat you like a dummy – it assumes you can understand the basics of special education legalities, and that you want the best for your child.

Aside from the Federal IDEA information it includes throughout, one thing I found impressive was the extra resources that make this kit truly worth having … in the additional CD, you’ll find resources and further information on the special education law for every State. Wow! I know a lot of more expensive resources that don’t provide their users with this kind of comprehensive coverage.

Anyone who understand advocacy knows that you have to understand the nuances of the special education law in the State you live in, since every State has different legislation in place for their special education students.

This Kit takes nothing for granted, and provides you with a lot of information packed into a fairly easy-to-understand resource. This is why I recommend this to parents. Special Education Advocates will find the refresher on IDEA and the included State by State information well worth having on hand for reference.

2. Delivers on its Promise, and then Some

Here’s the thing, having the information you need, and understanding how it applies to your child are only part of the puzzle, you also have to understand how to put all your child’s information together, and you need to know how you can reference it when you need it.

Here’s one area this kit excels.

If you are a parent, especially with more than one special needs child, you quickly find yourself drowning in papers and forms, reports and evaluations. You know your child’s strengths, and you understand if something isn’t working … but how do you use your papers to prove it?

Well-organized parents can tell you that you have to organize all portions of your child’s educational record and you have to have a system in place so that you can easily reference any part of it needed, at any time. Huh? That can be difficult if you are a bit challenged in this area *raises hand*

Even as an advocate, I’ve had trouble putting all the different bits of information together in one place so that I always have everything on hand needed to advocate well for a given child.

This kit helps you find the information needed, helps you organize it, and helps you understand where each part fits together in your child’s special education puzzle.

It’s the rare parent who has been able to surpass the kind of organization I see possible with this kit (though I have a few friends especially good at this … and I admit to a certain bit of jealousy as a result!).

In this, the IEP Success Kit delivers well on it’s promises.

3. What if There is a Problem?

We want to assume that we’ll never have trouble with our child’s special education needs – that the school will always meet their needs and be perfectly accommodating for all the needs our children have. But that doesn’t always happen.

Either because they’re human, because your child’s needs change, or because they don’t understand their responsibilities under IDEA and your State Special Education Law, sometimes school just don’t get it. They don’t agree with you about things, or they just aren’t rising to the challenge of taking care of your child’s needs.

What do you do?

I know I’m not the only parent who has had to do searches to find sample forms, letters, resources, and more, to pull in at the last minute to convince the school to listen to my concerns, or to simply understand that I know my child’s rights.

Again, this Kit delivers – included in the IEP Success Kit are an assortment of samples of forms, letters, and resources that will help you meet your child’s needs, make the school take notice, or just help you and the school find the same page.

A Special Needs Resource that Delivers

After reviewing this resource, I am convinced that it is a bargain at the $39.97 price tag, considering all the information you get, the additional resources for ensuring you have all the information you need on hand, and the binder, CD with extra forms, and additional sample letters.

I’m excited to say that Dennise, who helped create the IEP Success Kit over at the Special Education Advisor website, has agreed to give away one IEP Success Kit to a lucky Kat’s Cafe reader. I will be posting a short interview with Dennise about the kit, her site, and her own passions in life, as I release the special widget that will allow you to enter this giveaway.

In the meantime, if you have specific questions about the IEP Success Kit, what it includes, what it might help you specifically put together for your child (or children), please reply in the comments and I will be asking Dennise those as well.

The IEP Success Kit – Awarded my A+ Kat’s Cafe Cup of Approval!

Originally Published Dec. 2, 20122 – I’m republishing this review to recognize the new electronic/digital version of the IEP Success Kit now available!

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