Bullying has always been a problem. But for the cyber generation, with so much going on behind screens, bullying is THE problem. The facelessness of social media has become a breeding ground for bullies.
And kids with special needs make easy targets. Those with autism are especially vulnerable—four times as likely to be bullied as those without the disorder—because of the challenges they experience with social communication.
Autism is growing, and with this latest spike reported in the U.S. (30 percent in just two years), nobody can keep up. All the time and money being invested in finding a cure is creating a vacuum of lost children, most of them boys. What happens to these kids once they get handed their piece of paper? Let me tell you what happened to us. Lots of phone calls with various coordinators, informing us of services we could apply for. Then nothing.
My son’s love affair—and mine for that matter—with LeapFrog began back in 2010 when I stumbled upon a Phonics Pond at a consignment store. Even though my son was only 18 months old at the time, I bought it, figuring the music might amuse him until he got old enough to learn his ABCs. Well, much to my amazement, he quickly learned the sounds individual letters make, and went on to become an early reader.
As much as I’d like to take the credit for that triumph, I know it was partially LeapFrog's doing.
We parents are a weird lot when it comes to traditions, aren't we? Think about it. We urge our kids not only to approach a total stranger in a dodgy-looking red velour suit (an otherwise frowned upon activity 364 days a year), we tell him to climb onto the bearded man's LAP as he Ho, Ho, Hollers. No wonder even the most easygoing kid isn't necessarily cool with the arrangement.
When it comes to special needs, there seems to be two schools of parenting: one that aims to understand and accept and another that seeks to change or cure. My philosophy tends to align with the former. I'm done with laying blame. I'm done with reading up on the latest possible cause or the hottest new "remedy" for autism.
How many times have you seen someone zip into an accessible parking space, and wondered whether the person genuinely needs it? Well, unfortunately, some people selfishly abuse the few systems intended to make life a little easier for those with disabilities.
Other times, people jump the gun, and very occasionally those snap judgments come back to bite them in their ignorant backsides.
Heading off a tantrum is bad enough at home, but when you go out to dinner with a child on the spectrum, you go armed with lots of blind faith and a nest of bunnies up your sleeve. Even typical kids can struggle in a restaurant setting. The usual preparations apply double so with kids who have extra needs.
As moms go, Michelle Gentis is a pretty remarkable one. Not only is she training to run a full marathon, she's going to do it while pushing her wheelchair-bound son.
It's largely the Vancouver-based mom's 'can't beat 'em, join 'em' attitude that sparked her desire to run with her son, Joshua, who is severely physically disabled.
Whether it's playing chauffeur, ferrying your child to after-school activities or special therapies, dealing with the umpteenth meltdown of the day, or just figuring out what the hell you're going to throw together for dinner that's vaguely nutritious, being a parent is freaking stressful. Doubly so if happen to parent a child with special needs.
Back to school. Three words that evoke dread in many kids, and even doubly so in parents who have kids with special needs. Most of last year—my son's first—was spent floundering and getting to know a tricky public system. While there were some ups, my son's introduction into school life was a fairly rocky one.
