Where to Find Almost Everything For Family Caregiving

Where to Find Almost Everything For Family Caregiving

As the parent and primary caregiver of a non-verbal autistic child, there are many hats that I wear. First and foremost, of course, I am her mom. But I am also her advocate, her voice when necessary, and her caregiver. I will wear these hats for the rest of her adult life. And I embrace the challenges and roles that come along with it. As her primary caregiver, it also means making the most of her SSI money each month. We are a one-income family still and even when I am able to contribute more to the household; we still need to be mindful about our monthly expenses. Things can definitely add up quickly, so that means looking for every opportunity possible to make the…

How to Establish a Bedtime Routine for Your Autistic Child

How to Establish a Bedtime Routine for Your Autistic Child

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #TenaTips #CollectiveBias Sweet B is still not fully potty trained. She has occasional night accidents and we’re working on this with her. It is, of course, a work in progress and just comes with the territory of raising a child with special needs. I’m unsure if this problem will ever be fully under control, so until then we’ll take whatever steps are necessary to help facilitate her independence and make things easier. As an autistic child, she thrives on routines of all kinds. Whether it’s at home or at school, a routine is necessary for her daily tasks. We’ve established several routines with her already to keep things…

Hope and Encouragement for Special Needs Parents

Hope and Encouragement for Special Needs Parents

I received a complimentary copy of this book to facilitate my post and review. I was not required to leave a positive review and the opinion given herein is 100% mine alone. We’ve established previously that parenting is tough. There is no guide, there is no manual. You aren’t handed a “How-to Parent” guide in the hospital. And you can read as many books on parenting as you’d like- and you still may not have all the answers. That’s just how it is. As a parent of special needs kids, there have been times that I was on the brink of losing hope. That I questioned the light at the end of the tunnel. I wondered, some nights, if there was ever going to be…

How to Develop an ESY Program at Home

How to Develop an ESY Program at Home

Through her IEP, Sweet B is guaranteed to attend some form of extended school year (ESY) during the summer. When she was younger, she would attend a summer school style program at Wildwood but in the past few years; she’s attended Camp Wildwood. Services, such as speech and occupational therapy, are still provided. However, there’s a brief time period between camp ending and the school year beginning that she’s at home. And while our afterschooling program may suffice, I wanted to looking into developing an ESY program at home. With thanks to Fun and Function for providing our items and sponsoring this conversation for our program; I’m outlining a suggested plan for a two to three week time period. First, you’ll want to determine what…

How to Deal with the Unexpected Learning Disability in Your Special Needs Child

How to Deal with the Unexpected Learning Disability in Your Special Needs Child

My oldest child was born 3 months premature. It was expected that he could have some sort of developmental delay. It was expected that he could develop some sort of developmental disability. It was expected that he could always be behind his peers developmentally and academically. And maybe it should have been expected that he would have additional complications. It was the unexpected learning disability though that would ultimately define his IEP goals. Maybe if we had looked for the early signs of a learning disability supports could have been put in place earlier. V was born 3 months premature at 24 weeks gestation and was given a 50/50 chance of surviving the night. He was in the NICU for almost 4 months. He had…

Autism A to Z

Autism A to Z

Autism is a topic that we do talk about regularly here on Kori at Home as it’s a major part of our daily life. Because of that, when the A to Z challenge came up in April of 2015, I decided to join in with the topic of autism. It felt like a good fit since April also happens to be Autism Awareness Month, and so the series: Autism A to Z was born. While I was writing this series, I also realized that there were so many other things I wanted to cover with some letters. That’s why, I’ll also have additions to this page. A – 10 Myths About Autism B – B is for Behavior C – C is for Comorbitidy D…