Sunday Digest 44...

...which I'm writing on Wednesday. Yeah...tough week. Actually I played a lot last weekend and I'm kind of paying for it now. Anyway - here are the coolest, most inspirational, most informative, most heart-tugging posts that I've found in my Internet roving over the last few weeks. Please enjoy and be sure to tell them you found them through The Simple Life.

1) This piece on waves from kidz pretty much sums up where I've been for the last four years or so. I'm learning to find treasures amid the surf.

2) As usual, Varda at Squashed Bologna nails it again with her piece about words. Varda is responding to the story about the father who planted a microphone on his son to find out what was happening to him during school. He discovered that his son's instructional staff were being verbally abusive to the children in his special needs classroom - children who often do not have the verbal abilities to tell their parents that something very wrong is happening. It's every special needs parent's worst nightmare. Yes, words are powerful.

3) I love reading Laura Shumaker's blog. Her book A Regular Guy was particularly meaningful to me because we live in the same area and I could relate to so much of her story from her son's early days. I also love reading about how Matthew is doing now as an adult with autism. On the one hand it's hard to hear that he is still struggling. On the other hand it's kind of encouraging to know that this is a long process and it's okay that we haven't figured everything out already.

4) Autism & Oughtisms post about words and rhetoric is also important, and kind of what I was trying to say here, but as usual said with more precision by A&O.

5) There have been a lot of mommy wars out there lately: tiger moms, working moms, stay at home moms, attachment parenting moms, blah blah blah. Katy at Bird on the Street says she is "Just a Mom" and that's plenty. I agree.

Sunday Digest 43

Time to share the best of the things I've found while floating through cyber-space the last few weeks. I hope you'll visit and enjoy the links below and let them know you found them through The Simple Life:

1) One of my best new finds is Just a Lil Blog by Jim. It is great to get a dad's perspective on special needs parenting. His post People, Not Data really resonated with me and added to what was already brewing when I decided to write my own post "Making it Good" over at 5 Minutes for Special Needs.

2) Varda at The Squashed Bologna always has something to speak to me - several recent posts nailed me actually - but this one, which was a rerun from Hopeful Parents is one of my favorites. We need to start planning for the future of all of these young people now identified with autism or related disorders. The world is going to have to change big time!

3) I LOVED this take on Trisomy 21 by Tammy at Praying for Parker. So many of these "disorders" are naturally occurring conditions that, while challenging, have always been a part of the human condition.When will we accept this?

4) And, while we're on the subject of Down Syndrome, please listen to the testimony of this young man who reminds us that even though we're all different, we're all the same. We all need God. Hear how God used him to reach out to special needs children and their parents and teachers.

5) No matter what you're facing this week, it's good to remember that we each meet the future at the rate of 60 minutes per hour. Some things (the tedium of laundry and dishes) we wish could go by faster, but others, like the wonder of a child exploring the world around them we should stop and enjoy a little more. Tsh Oxenreider shared these thoughts at (In)Courage.

Sunday Digest 42

I've been exploring the new social media space of Pinterest. I've been enjoying "pinning" things that I find all over the internet that might be useful at some time in the future - recipes to try, books to read, pillows to sew (someday). Sunday Digests are like my own more public Pinterest board. I find other blog articles, news pieces, stories and information that I think is interesting, helpful or inspirational and share it here with you. I hope you will enjoy these links as much as I have...

1) Lisa Leonard - jewelry designer, photographer, blogger, and special needs mom shares the story of her son's birth, and the amazing lesson from Psalm 139 that he teaches her. We are all fearfully and wonderfully made. Make sure to read the comments, too.

2) There have been several "What it's Like" posts lately from parents of children with special needs. Maybe there's something in the air. The first one I read was from a mom. She cited her inspiration which was an article written by a dad. I threw in my own three cents on 5 Minutes for Special Needs, and Tammy posted her thoughts at Praying for Parker. Truth is each parent child situation is unique...

3) And for an even more inside view, check out what the first day of school (college) is like for Lisa over at Reports from a Resident Alien. I love reading her posts because I feel like I'm peaking into the child's future (maybe)...

4) Lisa at Hopeful Parents shared about the challenge of filling a prescription for Ritalin for her son who has severe ADHD. Makes me wonder if government run health care is really such a good idea?? It reminded me of a play that was showing at our local theater. Distracted is the story of a mom struggling to help her son with ADHD. I did not get to see the play, but attended a free talk given by a local pediatrician after one of the shows. This program guide is filled with lots of interesting information about the play and ADHD.

I think that's it for this round of "pinning". Enjoy. When you visit these links please make sure to tell them you heard about them through The Simple Life.

Rerun Book Review - When I Feel Angry

Recycling is good, right? I have a movie that I've been wanting to review for you, and I have watched it, but I haven't had the time to really give it all of the attention I usually give to a review. Partly that is because we are back at my mother-in-law's house. You can read a little about how that is going here. Meanwhile this book, which I originally reviewed back in October 2009 would be an excellent read for several members of the household, self included...Since several of you probably didn't know this blog existed back then I will save you the trip through the archives to locate it. Enjoy!

After a day like today I need this book almost as much as my child does. I love the title. It is so realistic. It doesn't say "If I Get Angry" or "When I Am Angry" or "I Shouldn't Get Angry." This book assumes, rightly, that your child will feel angry; it emphasizes that this is a feeling, not a state of being; it even acknowledges that there are times when anger is a fine response. However, it encourages positive ways to work through the anger - taking deep breaths, getting some exercise, or finding something fun to do (distraction!)

I hope I modeled this well at least once today. We were decorating Halloween cookies and my daughter really wanted some of them to have spider webs on them. In my rather limited decorating repertoire this was going to be challenging at best, plus the cookie decorating was supposed to be a structured activity to keep her busy while I was making dinner. Anyway I attempted the spider web but the decorating trip clogged and my attempts to clean it out didn't help. Meanwhile dinner was waiting on the stove and the twins were dancing at my feet wanting attention, too. I said, pretty calmly, "I'm going to have to stop working on cookies now. I'm getting too frustrated." Then I turned my attention to dinner. My daughter was a little upset that we had to stop, but while I finished dinner we processed it a little bit and I emphasized that sometimes when we are getting frustrated we need to take a break.

The story book follows the adventures of a cute little bunny girl as she realizes that some things that make her angry can't be fixed, but some can. She learns to get help figuring it out and to spend time talking and listening to work things out. The pictures are all darling. The text, in my opinion, is written at a great level even for children with language processing issues. The ideas take a little practice to remember and act on in the heat of the moment, but they are all solid re-regulating ideas.

Enjoy!

Remembering To Do What We Already Know

Here's my latest post over at 5 Minutes for Special Needs. I don't always remember to link this up here. I figure people are more likely to find these pages from there than the other way around. This one can be taken from a very practical side (using a visual schedule) but is also a philosophical mindset that I'm trying to apply. If I already know how to help my daughter in many ways, then half of the victory is just remembering to do it, instead of taking the lower barrier approach of losing my temper!