Now I’m not intending this to sound like whining, but it might. Instead, you have to understand that sometimes I just “observe” my life and have a vague recollection of what it would be like if I wasn’t parenting LuLu.

Yesterday LuLu, Kay and I had our semi-annual dental cleaning appointment. The girls’ appointment was scheduled for last week, while we were in Illinois; so we were fortunate that they had time to take them at the same time mine was scheduled on Monday. However, the way they had it set up was that Kay and I were to be cleaned at the same... more

I am curious if “me first syndrome” is one of the symptoms of fetal alcohol exposure. My teenage daughter has always suffered from this syndrome of me first, as did one of my now adult daughters. When they were quite young, I assumed that they would grow out of me first syndrome. I thought back then that it was caused by the depravity they had suffered so early in life. I suppose that may be part of the cause, which is probably compounded by the delayed maturation that many of our traumatized children experience. Then you add in the lack of impulse control so common in children... more

The fact is that many of LuLu’s latest challenges are physical instead of the typical mental, emotional and developmental issues she’s had all her life. And this is definitely shifting things.

I’ll admit that in a strange way, I’m excited. For some time I have half-believed those in the biomed world who believe that all mental and developmental issues have a biomedical root, and that with the right interventions you can put the body back on its healing equilibrium, and heal much of what appears to be emotional, psychological or behavior in nature.

I’ve... more

Some are just more equal than others. When I was in junior high school, we were assigned Animal Farm. Even at the tender age of 13, I “got it” about the dangers of group think and about governments that were not controlled in a democratic way by serving and protecting the people.

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, a day of remembrance of all King contributed toward equality. The news is filled with praises for how far we’ve come. And we have. But there is still a huge minority that is without equality on many levels. That minority is the disabled population.... more

I decided to try Julie’s reverse psychology, of prescribing the behavior that works so well with Lulu, on my teenage daughter. I told her that I had to go into work for a few hours. I knew she was going to want to take something while I was gone. I wanted her to know that it was ok for her to take whatever she wanted. I didn’t want to have that between us. I told her that it was causing a problem with our relationship and I didn’t want that to happen. She was quite upset by my telling her to go ahead and take whatever she wanted. She adamantly said that she didn’t want anything. She said... more

Just as quickly as I finished the tragic story of a mother overwhelmed by her daughter’s special needs who did the horrific…killed her, I read this story in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

I love these two reporters, Alan Judd and Andy Miller, for their tenacity and their tireless championing of the rights of the mentally ill. But, I have a hard time reading these stories. Last year they... more

Every two months I take my teenage daughter to see her psychiatrist. He always asks how she is doing, just as he has done for the past four years. After he asks her, he will ask me what I think. Then, based on our answers, he writes out prescriptions for medication for the next two months. About twice a year, he makes changes in her prescriptions. I have actually been impressed by the maturity of my teenage daughter’s responses over the past year. For example, today she looked right at him when she spoke. She told him that she has been having trouble with lying and stealing.

Whenever... more

A sad story out of Illinois last week as the mother of a 3-year-old with autism who killed the child in May 2006 testified on her confession. The story is a tragic one – horrendous to many readers. But I suspect that many parents of children with challenging special needs, such as autism, have a tinge of understanding for where the mother was coming from.

This mother suffocated her daughter with a plastic bag. It is the ultimate of horrific acts. Yet, she... more

I interrupt this regular blog on parenting special kids to tell you how happy my children are that we returned to Atlanta today. Just after we pulled in this afternoon, it began to snow! Frankly, we had a hard time remembering the last time it had snowed in Atlanta, but then decided it was in 2004.

I have to laugh thinking about what prayers I had asked for from our church family. They wanted to give us “something” in our time of grief. I suggested that prayers for “a safe journey and no bad weather until we returned” were in order. I was thinking of... more

Through our rather challenging week of traveling and funeral with LuLu, we have to say we’re most thankful for ear plugs. Yep…they saved the day on many occasions.

One thing is for sure; we have a family that loves to laugh. And as more of us showed up in Mattoon, Illinois, the laughter reached louder and louder decibels. Super Dad, in an unexpected stroke of genius, remembered he had some ear plugs in his suitcase from his work. LuLu has rejected ear plugs on numerous occasions before; but after her successful trip to Chuck E. Cheese’s , she was willing to... more