tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060Thu, 12 Mar 2026 06:29:13 +0000Asperger'sautismbooksgiveawayASDtelevisionParenthoodcandyfood sensitivitiespersonal spacesponsored giveawayAIDSAllergysmartsAmerican IdolAtlantaAutism Awareness DayBrain BalanceChick-Fil-ADino SquadFayettevilleGAGPSGeorgiaIEPIgE testIgG4 testOCDPeachtree CityRound 2: Week 2Southside SupportValentine's DayWeek 7book reportscancercharityclothingcommunicationcommunitydancingdiagnosisdinnerdinosaursdoctorsdonationseggsevaluationfamilyfood allergiesfree bookfriendsgluten-freehugginghumorhygienelife skillsmannersnight outpartyquestionssafe foodsocial skillssouthsidespecial needstouchingwww.allergysmarts.com<center>Normal is a perception, not a reality</center>http://www.thereisnonormal.com/noreply@blogger.com (Amanda)Blogger23125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060.post-1621467329034466629Tue, 29 Sep 2015 18:58:00 +00002015-09-29T15:03:50.476-04:00giveawaylife skillssponsored giveaway I always have a reason for posting giveaways, and I'm selective about which ones I post, and on which blog I post them. This sounds like something that might help kids who either don't have the motor skills to make a bed "perfectly" (and goodness knows some of our kids won't do anything if they can't do it perfectly), or who just need a boost in the personal hygiene/life skills department. Checkhttp://www.thereisnonormal.com/2015/09/giveaway-zipit-bedding-set.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amanda)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060.post-5653823205739136894Thu, 22 Jan 2015 18:02:00 +00002015-01-23T11:10:16.834-05:00AtlantaautismcharitycommunitydancingdinnerdonationsFayettevilleGAGeorgianight outpartyPeachtree CitysouthsideSouthside Supportspecial needsValentine's Day Regardless of your feelings about a "made-up holiday" it's fun to dress up and do something special every now and then. If you can have fun while supporting a great organization, that's even better! Thus, Southside Soiree. If you live on the south side of Atlanta, this is the place to be on Saturday, February 14, 2015. Featuring an open bar, live music, dancing, and a three-coursehttp://www.thereisnonormal.com/2015/01/make-your-valentines-day-even-more.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amanda)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060.post-7106242281192050539Mon, 13 Oct 2014 16:38:00 +00002018-01-28T13:05:26.059-05:00ASDdiagnosisfamilyI spent the day yesterday with a few other parents in our special needs support group. We didn't spend every minute talking about our kids, but when we did, it was great to know that the others "got it." Which got me to thinking about how fortunate I am that our homeschooling friends "get us" too. A couple of years ago, Jack was injured on the zipline at a friend's house. He had been nervous http://www.thereisnonormal.com/2014/10/you-are-your-childs-best-advocate-trust.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amanda)3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060.post-5209439372736534530Wed, 19 Mar 2014 20:04:00 +00002014-03-19T16:04:57.727-04:00autismIf you have a child with special needs, you know how hard it can be to get your child set up in a school. You have IEP meetings, struggles with teachers, parents, and school staff all trying to find the best way to meet the child's needs and still get everyone through day. If you have child with autism, you know that change is not a good thing. A local family is dealing with both of these http://www.thereisnonormal.com/2014/03/help-us-help-local-family-autism.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amanda)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060.post-6030636122457321302Tue, 08 Oct 2013 01:58:00 +00002013-10-07T21:58:39.864-04:00candygiveaway YUMEARTH ORGANIC &amp; NATURAL HALLOWEEN CANDY IS A TREAT, NOT A TRICK! YumEarth’s great taste comes from real fruit juice and natural ingredients, instead of scary artificial colors and flavors. YumEarth, the #1 organic candy in the US, makes Halloween treats kids love and parents approve. Growing numbers of families are looking for food choices that taste good and are good for you, http://www.thereisnonormal.com/2013/10/giveaway-yumearth-organic-natural.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amanda)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060.post-803901820891775620Wed, 21 Aug 2013 16:00:00 +00002013-08-21T12:00:20.665-04:00ASDAsperger'sOCD I'm a reviewer for The Old Schoolhouse Review Crew over at my other blog, Living, Learning, and Loving Life, and I was thrilled to review a DVD this week that was full of fascinating information. You can read my full review here. *I don't get a commission from the purchase of the DVD, but I did receive the DVD free for the purpose of reviewing it. http://www.thereisnonormal.com/2013/08/review-understanding-child-brain.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amanda)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060.post-4105688673502579908Mon, 04 Feb 2013 00:03:00 +00002013-02-03T19:48:17.224-05:00candygluten-freesafe foodsponsored giveaway YumEarth Candy is free of all allergens, preservatives, and artificial colors so they are safe for our kiddos. All products are Feingold-friendly. You can see a list of their ingredients&nbsp;here. (I'm not an affiliate and I'm not going to start posting a lot of weird stuff on here. I just stumbled across this giveaway and thought you guys might appreciate it.)~ Amanda This Contest is http://www.thereisnonormal.com/2013/02/yumearth-candy-giveaway.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amanda)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060.post-4458220903177847041Wed, 11 Apr 2012 01:06:00 +00002012-04-10T21:06:08.891-04:00 April is Autism Awareness Month. This hop will feature books about autism or posts about autism along with giveaways on each blog. I'm giving away a copy of What I Wish I'd Known About Raising a Child with Autism by Bobbi Sheahan and Kathy DeOrnellas, Ph.D. You'll have your choice of a Kindle ebook (You don't have to have a Kindle to read it. There are several free Kindle apps.) or a paperback. http://www.thereisnonormal.com/2012/04/win-what-i-wish-id-known-about-raising.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amanda)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060.post-6379037190571357532Wed, 11 Apr 2012 00:44:00 +00002018-01-28T13:12:54.966-05:00autismbooksAmazon summary Bobbi Sheahan, mother of a child with autism, and psychologist Kathy DeOrnellas, Ph.D., did not write this book to lecture you on how to parent your child. Instead, they offer themselves as your scouts in the field, who have valuable information to share—from the moment you realize your kid is different ("My, what a quiet baby I have!"), to the self-righteous moms on the playgroundhttp://www.thereisnonormal.com/2012/04/book-review-what-i-wish-id-known-about.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amanda)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060.post-8910356715137431763Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:06:00 +00002018-01-28T13:09:43.075-05:00ASDclothinghuggingmannerspersonal spacetouchingAs with so many things related to ASD, there is a wide range of behavior when it comes to personal space and touching. Some kids don't want to be touched and they certainly don't want to snuggle. Others (like my son) have no understanding of personal space or inappropriate touching. He's still a snuggler at the age of ten, though, so it's not all bad. :-) We just have to teach him what is http://www.thereisnonormal.com/2011/11/explaining-personal-space-to-your-asd.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amanda)6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060.post-3906321457392125333Sat, 15 Oct 2011 00:00:00 +00002011-10-14T20:00:35.680-04:00autismbooksgiveawayI'm giving away a copy of What About the Boy?: A Father's Pledge to His Disabled Son&nbsp;by Stephen Gallup on my other blog. This is a great story that "chronicles a family's rejection of hopelessness and their pursuit of a normal life." http://www.thereisnonormal.com/2011/10/what-about-boy-fathers-pledge-to-his.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amanda)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060.post-1206788077933817485Tue, 20 Sep 2011 23:11:00 +00002011-09-20T19:12:13.227-04:00Brain BalanceChick-Fil-Aeggsevaluationfood sensitivitiesfriendsGPSIEPYesterday J had his psychological evaluation with the school psychologist to see if he qualifies for an IEP. Her office is an hour away on the other side of Atlanta, so we had to get up early (for us) in order to get Little Brother to my friend's house before we left. The testing was to take about two hours and I knew that LB and I would both be much happier if he were occupied elsewhere. http://www.thereisnonormal.com/2011/09/because-every-day-is-adventure.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amanda)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060.post-3503500305208536853Mon, 19 Sep 2011 23:11:00 +00002011-09-19T19:11:56.965-04:00autismfree bookgiveawayI run a weekly book giveaway drawing on my other blog. This week's book is Seeing Ezra by Kerry Cohen.&nbsp; Hop over and enter. It's very easy. Just leave a comment. (On the other blog, please, not here.) It's a great book and I'd love for one of you to win it. Just go here to enter. Tomorrow, I'll post about our adventures in IEP land, including a spider hunt. http://www.thereisnonormal.com/2011/09/book-giveaway-seeing-ezra-mothers-story.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amanda)1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060.post-6866437756050194986Fri, 09 Sep 2011 00:53:00 +00002011-09-08T20:53:13.198-04:00autismbooksI usually do my book reviews on my personal blog, but I was actually asked to review this book on this blog. If I didn't think it was worth sharing with you, I wouldn't, but I do, so I am. Amazon summary Seeing Ezra is the soulful, beautifully written memoir of a mother’s fierce love for her autistic son, and a poignant examination of what it means to be “normal.” When Kerry Cohen’s son Ezra http://www.thereisnonormal.com/2011/09/seeing-ezra-by-kerry-cohen-book-review.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amanda)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060.post-4194905507981648119Thu, 01 Sep 2011 23:29:00 +00002011-09-01T21:05:50.829-04:00autismbooksdoctorsI write book reviews for my personal blog, and I recently received a wonderful book written by the father of autistic child. (Actually, he is no longer a "child", but during the time detailed in the book, he is.) I wanted to share it with you here. If you're reading this blog, there's a good chance you've already decided that there may be more solutions out there. This book is about a family who http://www.thereisnonormal.com/2011/09/what-about-boy-by-stephen-gallup-book.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amanda)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060.post-1309704952722342841Sun, 26 Jun 2011 17:22:00 +00002011-06-26T13:23:39.572-04:00Asperger'sbooksI finished Be Different: Adventures of a Free-Range Aspergian almost a month ago, but I’ve been thinking about it all this time, trying to decide what to write. Robison’s latest book is as well-written and entertaining as his first book, Look Me In the Eye: My Life with Asperger's. I think I’ve hesitated to write about Be Different because I see so much of myself in the anecdotes. I see more of http://www.thereisnonormal.com/2011/06/different-not-wrong.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amanda)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060.post-7463088544920561273Sat, 16 Apr 2011 13:32:00 +00002011-04-16T09:53:39.165-04:00AIDSAsperger'scancerhumorquestionsWe had an interesting conversation on the way home from the park. I don't remember every word, but I remember most of it, so we'll just go with the flow. J (out of nowhere): How does someone get AIDS? Me: There are several ways. Sometimes they get it from contaminated blood. Like giving shots at the doctor (there was more here; he understood I meant using the same needle for more than one http://www.thereisnonormal.com/2011/04/interesting-conversation.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amanda)2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060.post-6070819421532649897Fri, 25 Mar 2011 14:00:00 +00002011-03-25T10:00:05.916-04:00Asperger'scommunicationhygienepersonal spacesocial skillsI have&nbsp;a bit of a book addiction and in order to keep from using money that could be used for other things, like food, for example, I use the library. A lot. I also get books for free from publishers in exchange for posting reviews. One of my books was A Parenting Guide for Families of Children with Disabilities: Developing Social Skills Towards Independent Living. I've already written the http://www.thereisnonormal.com/2011/03/helping-our-kids-with-social-skills.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amanda)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060.post-2940244866677487809Mon, 07 Mar 2011 21:03:00 +00002011-03-07T16:03:15.197-05:00American IdolAsperger'sAutism Awareness Daybook reportsParenthoodRound 2: Week 2televisionNo progress to report this week, but I did learn a few things. Book reports are evil. At least they are for detail-oriented, literal children. He had a lot of trouble keeping his "summary" cut down to less than the length of the book. "Just tell me the important things," didn't help. Everything is important. And it's hard to "get" the theme or message of a story when you can't see past the storyhttp://www.thereisnonormal.com/2011/03/round-2-week-2.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amanda)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060.post-7498909598614981773Wed, 02 Mar 2011 17:36:00 +00002011-03-02T12:36:53.038-05:00Asperger'sParenthoodtelevisionDid you watch Parenthood last night? I recorded it and watched it this morning. Apparently I have a new show to keep up with. I want to see where they go with the story. I couldn't really understand why Kristina cried when they were explaining Asperger's to Max. Of course, I also don't understand why they felt the need to hide it from him for a year, either. AS is challenging and frustrating andhttp://www.thereisnonormal.com/2011/03/does-your-child-know-he-has-as.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amanda)5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060.post-6984930636246303383Mon, 28 Feb 2011 15:28:00 +00002011-02-28T10:42:03.977-05:00Asperger'sDino SquaddinosaurstelevisionBoth the boys are into dinosaurs, so we watch dino-everything-we-can-find (along with getting every dinosaur book from the library). We were watching Dino Squad on Netflix a few days ago when I saw an episode I had somehow previously missed. The first episode of the second (and last) season is "The World According to Liam". The Dino Squad is&nbsp;a group of five teens who can morph into dinosaurshttp://www.thereisnonormal.com/2011/02/aspergers-on-tv.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amanda)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060.post-1392295321158687285Fri, 18 Feb 2011 14:14:00 +00002018-01-28T13:19:02.331-05:00Allergysmartsfood allergiesfood sensitivitiesIgE testIgG4 testWeek 7www.allergysmarts.comI feel like this food testing thing has gone on forever. It really shouldn't have been this complicated. Since I went in without a clue, I thought I'd share my experience so you can navigate around the mistakes I made. I'm not a doctor or health care professional, and everything I know about food testing is what I have read or been told by a professional. So don't take this as medical advice, http://www.thereisnonormal.com/2011/02/food-sensitivity-testing.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amanda)0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5338127795706702060.post-4754679410910395700Sat, 13 Nov 2010 15:40:00 +00002018-01-28T13:03:10.090-05:00Asperger'sThis list is from The Asperger's Answer Book: The Top 300 Questions Parents Ask. What Your AD (Asperger's Disorder) Child Wants You To Know I may overreact for no apparent reason, but usually I have a reason I just can't say yet. Just because I was able to control myself for several days does not mean I can today. I don't misbehave on purpose, and I am not trying to defy or annoy you. Don't http://www.thereisnonormal.com/2010/11/what-your-ad-child-wants-you-to-know.htmlnoreply@blogger.com (Amanda)0