06/11/2018

This has been the most amazing year for Ella-Marie.  It is a year that I would have never fathomed she would have.  Like ever. Period.  Last fall she started her “Super Senior Year” which I wrote last year was a stupid name for kids that get held in special education for another year.  Little did I know that this would indeed be a Super Senior Year. The year started the same as countless others, with an IEP meeting and a disappointment.  Ella-Marie was permitted to take Art as an elective her

05/21/2018

It’s the last week of school here. Ella’s last week as a Kindergartner. I’ve always felt like Kindergarten is the last year that kids are “babies”, after that they just become big kids, even though they are really still little. I was sad with my older two when Kindergarten was over, but with Ella I have very mixed emotions. I’ve been counting down the days since after Christmas. This year has not been fantastic. In fact, a lot of the time it has been the opposite. Ella has really struggled in

04/25/2018

Our first awareness day felt like a miracle. I think it's because all of us USP7 families have spent so long on our own. Days that add up to weeks that add up to years. In the dark, trying to work on solutions. Hoping blindly for more for our kids.  And now that's all changed.  Not only are we a single USP7 tribe. We've also sprouted these ever-growing pockets of helpers. A bunch of folks who live in North Carolina and like college basketball, so they all took part in a March Madness

04/20/2018

Wow! What an April we had! Our first annual USP7 Awareness Day was April 7. Months ago, my sister, Holly, and I planned to hold an event at her little hot dog restaurant, Designer Dawgs.  Here are some of the highlights from our trip. We flew up to New Jersey on Tuesday, April 3 and our sweet girl got to see some snow! Yes, still snow in April, much to the dismay of many New Jerseyans, but for Ella is was awesome. Our good friend picked us up at the airport and we met up with Holly for our week

12/07/2017

I have been asked to talk about autism and visual impairment in children. I am humbled by the complexity of children whose paths I cross in my evaluation and consultation work. Too often the focus is on one aspect of a child - for instance, his/her blindness - as a way of explaining behaviors and developing an education program. This is not true for every child and system, however, it is worth cautioning reliance on this uni-dimensional focus. The other caution is that the field of visual

11/20/2017

I have been blessed to have two wonderful daughters.  My daughter, Amy, who is 18, has special needs.  My other daughter, Shannon, who is 16 doesn’t.  Our life is different than those who don’t have a family member with special needs..  I don’t think our life is harder but just different.  I’m sure for Shannon, it can be trying to have a sister who is actually older than her act younger.  Amy has never had as many friends as Shannon.  Shannon has always had a lot of friends.  However, Amy has