Tips to help your child deal with back to school anxiety

Back to school anxiety can really take it's toll on your child. Find out how you can help your child deal with back to school anxiety and make their upcoming school year a great one.
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Should I use medication to treat my adhd child?

Using medication to treat your ADHD child can be a tough choice to make. There are pros and cons for both sides. Read Should I use medication to treat my ADHD child to help you decide.

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Learn all about IEP's

An IEP meeting can be a scary thing to someone that has never been to one before. Parents need to be prepared for their child's IEP meeting. Find out All About IEP's and be ready to advocate for your child.

How to make homemade sensory items

How to make homemade sensory items

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5 tips for a successful IEP meeting

IEP meetings will be starting soon. Find out how you can have a successful IEP meeting by following a few simple tips. Don't let the school make you feel uneasy. You can be ready this year when it is time for your child's IEP meeting. 5 Tips for a successful IEP meeting

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Melatonin helps special needs children sleep

If you have a special needs child that just doesn't want to sleep, you might want to try Melatonin. Melatonin is a natural supplement you can buy over the counter. There is no side effects from Melatonin, and it allows your special needs child to have a good nights rest. Melatonin helps special needs children sleep

5 Tips for helping your ADHD child focus during homework

After along day at school the last thing your ADHD child wants to do is sit down and do more work.
These tips can help you to help your ADHD child stay focused during homework time.

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Using Geodon as a Mood Stabilizer for Children

Geodon is used to treat bipolar. It is also being used to treat mood disorders in children. find out our experiences of using Geodon as a mood stabilizer in our nine year old daughter.

Back to school tips for helping your special needs child adjust to their teacher

Back to school can mean lots of anxiety for your special needs child. Help your child feel less anxiety by following some back to school tips for helping your special needs child adjust tot heir new teacher.

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Keeping an IEP paper trail

You might be wondering why you need a paper trail when dealing with your school. It is simple; schools will say one thing and do another. Having it in writing prevents this from occurring. Find out why you should keep an IEP paper trail.

Prepare for your Child's IEP Meeting

An IEP meeting can be very scary. You are in the room with several strangers. They are telling you what they will or will not do to help your special needs child. Do not let the school intimidate you. Be prepared for your child's IEP meeting.

Picture features my daughter. We as parents are her number one advocate.

Where to find Cheap Sensory Items

If you have a child with a sensory disorder and you are trying to find some cheap sensory items, I can help you. Finding cheap sensory items is easier than you might think. I have offered some suggestions for finding cheap sensory items in Pittsburgh, although they can work almost anywhere.

Picture features my daughter playing in the foam from a foam machine we got on sale at the end of the season for $5.00. It makes a great cheap sensory item.

How to Make a Parent Input Form

Back to school means IEP meetings. This year instead of having the meeting without getting any of your concerns addressed make a parent input form. They are simple to make and can really make a difference. Find out how to make a parent input form for your child's IEP meeting.

Picture features a sample of a parent input form.

Save Money on Back to School Shopping for Kids with Sensory Issues

If you have a child that has a sensory disorder back to school shopping can be very expensive. Here you can find out how to cut the costs of back to school shopping for your child with sensory issues.

How to use a behavior buck system with your special needs child

A behavior bucks system is a great tool to use with special needs children. It gives them a way to earn rewards for good behaviors, while working on eliminating the negative ones. To find out how to use a behavior buck system in your home please read my article How to use a behavior buck system with your special needs child.

The picture features an example of ways to earn behavior bucks.

Not Sure Which Direction Were Headed

Here we go again. Things were going so good for awhile. Now were back dealing with all the problems we had before. Caitlyn is so hyper and wound up she cannot sit still or focus. The aggression and fits are returning. We had her to the regular monthly med check last month and while things were doing alright, she had begun not being able to focus as well as before. She was also having bathroom accidents at night and during school. The doctor felt it was all related to the ADHD and she needed an increase in the medicine. Since that day everything has spiraled out of control.

We are getting letters from school daily about the lack of focus. They want to know if she has taken her meds. When we ask Caitlyn how her day went she completely breaks down. She is frustrated with the other kids in her class. She has all this stuff bottled up and saves it for us.

We got her in to see a doctor this past Monday. Her regular doctor is out of town for a few weeks. The new doctor gave us a couple options. We are trying an increase to one of her meds( Concerta) to see if it can help her to focus and remain seated for more than a few minutes.

Both doctors have mentioned Bipolar. Caitlyn will be so happy one minute and then in the midst of a fit the next minute. Yesterday she was whining and carrying on over homework. In the next breath she was saying she was sorry and then a completely different mood. How can some one's mood change so quick?

We are trying everything we can to help her. We have help from a TSS and BSC. They come to the home each week and we work on ways of dealing with behaviors. They work on teaching Caitlyn ways of expressing her feelings besides having a meltdown.

Each night we know that there will be some type of episode. Homework is a huge issue. It takes us two hours to do what should be done in 40 minutes at most. We will hear all the events of the day. These can be something as small as Caitlyn not being able to use a pen to do her work. It will set her off until she has told us the entire drawn out story. Even after, sometimes hours later, she will go back to that event and start all over again.

I guess I have rambled on enough for today. If anyone has any advice they would like to share feel free.

St. Patrick's Day Activites

Next Tuesday is St. Patrick's Day. Have some fun with your kids. These activities will make your children look forward to St. Patrick's Day each year. After all, why should adults be the only one to have fun that day?

Find out what these activities are by reading my article St. Patrick's Day Activities parents can do for their Children.

Use a Behavior Chart for your Autistic Child

Figuring out how to discipline your autistic child can be a challenge. Autistic children often do not understand consequences like other children do. They may not have an attachment to any items and therefore would not feel anything if the item was taken away. They may not be able to understand if they act out in an inappropriate way they will have to face a consequence. The behavior chart will show your child exactly what will happen. Read more about how to make a behavior chart for your autistic child.

Finding Time to Post

Our life is so busy at the time I hardly ever have time to post. I wish I could blog about everything that happens here on a daily basis but I never seem to make that happen. I am going to try harder. If you like you can keep up with me on Twitter. It seems to be easier to post at least once or twice a day on there.

The latest saga in our life seems to be the PSSA test that is coming up in a few weeks. That is all the school seems to focus on. The kids are drilled daily. They bring home page after page each night to practice for the test. They even have songs to sing about the PSSA test. My daughter is a nervous wreck about it. She is so afraid of failing. The school teaches for the test. They don't seemed too concerned that my daughter still can't add or subtract without the help of a number line or her fingers. They are however concerned about right angles and times tables. Luckily my daughter memorizes things extremely well. She has passed her times tables with flying colors. The angles are a different story.

My daughter is in third grade and does not know what vowels are.How is this possible that the school has never taught the kids the difference between vowels and consonants? I guess that is not something they are going to be tested on. In their English lessons they are learning about adjectives, articles, prepositions, and such. Every few days they begin a new lesson. Does it matter if the child has mastered one of the lessons? No. Each night we do three worksheets and try to get my daughter to grasp the lesson.

Speaking of homework, we spend close to two hours or sometimes more a night on homework. No child should have to spend that much time. By the time my daughter gets home from school she is ready to shut down for the day. She does so well holding it together in school that all heck breaks loose at home. We have spoke with the school several times but they don't care. Her last IEP meeting it was agreed upon that her assignments would be shortened. Guess what they are not. If they are shortened they still send home the whole page and my daughter insists that she must do the whole thing or she will get in trouble.

I never thought school would be such an issue. We are checking into private schooling for next year. I would love to home school, but my daughter's B.S.C. doesn't think it would be a good fit. They are worried about her falling even more behind socially, and getting bored to easy.

So that is it from our place for now. I hope everyone is doing good. The weather is finally improving so soon we will be able to be outside more. Hopefully I will be able to find more time to blog soon too. Take care.