Are you scrounging for thankfulness this holiday season? Holidays can be a challenge for those walking through hard days. Perhaps you feel like you've been handed the short-end of the stick; your child is struggling, you’re exhausted and it seems like everybody else has life with a bit more gravy. It’s easy to focus on our circumstances, take stock of what we have and where we are and end up feeling completely void of thankfulness. Is there a cure for this?
I first suspected I had ADHD as a teenager, but finding the right professional to take me seriously was much harder than I expected. Previous attempts only ended in frustration and tears.
Enjoying the holidays with a food allergy sounds like an oxymoron doesn’t it? After all, eating together is an integral component of the holiday season. I looked forward to making our traditional holiday foods until I was diagnosed with a dairy allergy in 2012. What was to enjoy about the holidays when the foods associated with it were off limits to me?
It was a short, ten-minute drive from the hotel to the residential facility. I maintained composure while I navigated the busy public roads, and then residential streets. I had a whole range of emotions racing through my body, mind and spirit as we pulled into the campus. This was not just a pleasure drive or a routine errand, this was a significant milestone in the life of my son and our family.
While Halloween is a fun time of year for many children, it can be a really difficult time for some, including many children with additional/special needs. For them it can be a confusing, anxiety-inducing, or even utterly terrifying time. But it doesn’t have to be like that. If we stop for a moment to think about the things they might find hard and how to put things in place to help them, children with special needs can safely join in the fun, too. So what are some of the things about Halloween that children with additional needs can find hard?
As a writer, blogger and author, I’m well acquainted with the rigors, frustrations and chronic disappointment associated with creating content, getting published, and the awkward process of marketing one’s own material. I am also mom to an adult daughter with complex health and developmental needs. Like other writers and moms of children with disabilities, I’ve fallen prey to negative messages and self-pity. Inspired by Lori Stanley Roeleveld’s strategy, allow me to paraphrase a plan for protecting our hearts, minds and lives from debilitating patterns.
Whether it’s with my neighbors, the people with whom I minister; my family, my friends, the people with whom I disagree, or people I just don’t really care for, I realize that I need to be mindful of my directive: to sincerely want and need to CONNECT more than I want to CONFRONT. Here are some quick and easy steps for each of us to consider and when to take action.
