Special Connection Homeschool

We took Gess to the dentist the other day and she had a very good report: still no cavities!  Gess actually takes very good care of her teeth.  We go for regular check ups twice a year and I worked hard to instill good habits in her.  As I was talking with the hygienist, who also has a child with Down syndrome, I realized it might be helpful to share some of the things we have done. When Gess was younger she made quite the mess using toothpaste.  It's hard to know just how much toothpaste to squeeze out of a tube and sometimes our kids lack the motor skills to squeeze it at all.  I found that the pumps were much easier and neater for Gess to use.  You can find them in many different brands for adults as well as children. One thing Gess always got from the dentist besides a toothbrush was a sand timer.  It's a good visual way for children to see how long they should be brushing their teeth.  We don't use them anymore now that Gess is 11, b...

Today Gess went to the optometrist for her annual check up.  I think it's pretty cool that her appointment corresponded to our study on anatomy (hence the title of this post).  Gess is learning about the human body and while we are currently studying the skeletal system, she loved learning more about her eyes today.  Here she is waiting to see the her eye doctor. She loved doing all the tests and they even photographed her eye (with the help of some software her daddy installed).  She got to see inside of her eyes and how all the nerves looked.  Gess thought that was pretty cool and the doctor said her eyes looked healthy.  Her right eye (the lazy one) is turning in more than ever and she basically refuses to use it at all.  However her left eye has actually improved since her last visit (apparently all that use has strengthened it).  We have ruled out surgery in the past as it would only be cosmetic and not help her vision in any way.  W...

That sure sounds like a fun topic, does it not!?  Well no it's not and it's very sensitive, but for those of us with special kids it's also a very real concern.  My Gess turns 11 today!  She is becoming quite the young lady and impresses me each and every day at just how "grown up" she is becoming.  Still, she does have Down syndrome and there are some areas in which she is still unable to experience some things that most 11 year old kids do.  For instance she can't run down the street to her friends house alone or go to the store by herself.  If she went school, she wouldn't be walking by herself there either.  She just isn't quite ready for that amount of independence as she easily gets distracted and could end up lost or worse yet, injured. Unfortunately puberty comes upon a person biologically without any consideration to their mental state and can sometimes exasperate things.  I noticed early signs of puberty about 2 years ago and immediate...

You know an awful lot about my daughter who has Down syndrome and have shared in some of her struggles and have watched many of her successes.  What I do not usually talk about is me and don't worry, I won't bore you with that now, but I do want to share this one thing.  A few years ago I finally reached my weight loss goal!  That's right, from my highest weight I lost a total of 63 pounds and I have now kept it off for about 3 years.  Even though I have managed to keep the weight off I still struggle with getting enough exercise.   Therefore, when I was afforded the opportunity to review Family Time Fitness I thought, "how perfect!"  Usually I have to find time before or after "school" for my workout, but not anymore.  Now my daughter and I are both getting the exercise we need while spending some quality time together as well.  What could be better!? Gesserine actually loves exercising way more than I do so we were both anxious get starte...

One day while Gess and I were reading a magazine in a doctor's office waiting room (we spend lots of time there) we came across a kid's recipe for making a yogurt parfait.  It made me think, why have I never thought of doing that at home?  The recipe called for either yogurt or cottage cheese.  We love yogurt so we went with that and added to it whatever fruit was sitting in the fridge at the time.  This is a really easy recipe that kids can do themselves and it's not only delicious, it's healthy too! Layered Yogurt Cups 1.  Choose and cut your fruit  (this time we used grapes, bananas, and strawberries). 2. Place your first fruit on the bottom (Gess chose grapes to go in first). 3. Cover that layer with some yogurt (we used a strawberry yogurt but any or plain yogurt will do). 4. Place your next layer of fruit on the yogurt (now she wanted strawberries). 5. Cover that layer with yogurt. 6. Put in your last layer of fruit (banan...

I am one of those moms who has struggled with her weight most of the time.  Before Gess was born I had actually lost weight and kept it off for 5 years.  Then I got pregnant again.  It's a story many mothers are familiar with.  It took me 9 years to get the weight off, but 2 years ago I did it!   I actually blogged about my journey and shared some tips at Lori's Say on Weight Loss , but I got too busy to keep up with it. I am still in a weight loss club.  It's called TOPS which stands for Take Off Pounds Sensibly .  I think having that scale to be accountable to every week has helped me maintain the weight loss these last 2 years.  While in maintenance mode I don't always have to track what I eat, but I try to do so whenever I find myself struggling to stay withing my goal.  I also do it when we have contests or programs at TOPS that require it.  It's good to check yourself from time to time. Anyway, so what does this have to ...

Yes, I realize this is a sensitive topic but it's also very real to those of us trying address it with a child that has special needs. I plan on participating and thought I would share this for other moms with special young ladies. It's only an online survey but I am hoping through the course of this study they will come up with great helps in the future for those of us who have to face these very real and challenging struggles! I have seen his certificate of approval but if you want to learn more before participating just click on the link and at the bottom of the opening page you will find their contact information. ************************************* Survey about Menstruation (period) of Girls with Developmental Disabilities Thank you so much for your interest in this study! Parents/Caretakers are invited to participate in a survey about the topic of Menstruation (period) of Girls with Developmental Disabilities. This survey is being conducted by Hye Ran Park, a docto...

Were any of you aware that allergy medication has the potential to affect a child's behavior? I had read about Singulair some time ago so when Gess was suffering with allergy problems I refused to give her Singulair because of it. According to their own website the potential Behavioral side effects of taking Singulair are: Behavior and mood-related changes have been reported. Tell your healthcare provider right away if you or your child have any of these symptoms while taking SINGULAIR: agitation including aggressive behavior or hostility bad or vivid dreams depression disorientation (confusion) feeling anxious hallucination (seeing or hearing things that are not really there) irritability restlessness sleepwalking suicidal thoughts and actions (including suicide) tremor trouble sleeping Well, what I didn't realize is that ANY allergy medication has the potential to affect a child's behavior! Do you recall last year when I blogged about som...

Now that spring finally has arrived we are taking advantage of playing outdoors. Gess kept asking me to play "hitch" so I thought it was time to teach her the game, as well as the appropriate title, which is baseball. (Maybe she came up with hitch as a blend between hit and pitch, which is not a bad nickname at all!) Gass had played kick ball at AWANA a few times last year and she really had a hard time with the rules. So we took apart some old linoleum, made some bases and just worked on what to do after you hit the ball. We went over which base was first, second and third. Then when she would hit the ball (which she was pretty good at) we would have her run the bases. Now that she is getting that down we are trying to work on teaching her how to determine whether to stop or keep running. For now she is simply to follow the coach's orders. She is having fun, we just need to get a real game going sometime. Here she is learning the game and enjoying the outdoors.

Gesserine has recently discovered certain bodily functions. It is always so funny to hear a child discover these things. Well, for this particular one Gess would be sitting there and suddenly say "It stinks in my private parts!" This really cracked us up, but it also needed to be addressed before she decided to announce this information in public! I have been trying to explain to her that passing gas is something we all do, and that it is perfectly normal, however it's not something we have to tell everyone about. I have recently become a fan of the Doctor Oz show and she loves watching it with me. I thought of writing to him to see if he could address this topic when it occurred to me, he may have already done so. Sure enough, he had a segment titled " Why We All Pass Gas ." Gesserine and I watched this and when we were done she went into the kitchen and got some foods from his video, handed them to me and said "gas." Yep, certain foods can ...

Gess was down with a cold a couple of weeks ago and we used that time to discuss some things about germs and what happens when you are sick. We talked about the importance of proper hand-washing, covering your mouth when you cough and your nose when you sneeze. She does these things most of the time, but we really stressed why it was important. To support what we were discussing, I went online to look for a video that taught about germs. I found one at kidshealth.org . At Kidshealth.org they have a whole series called " How the Body Work s ." This covers many areas such as the Heart & Circulatory System, Brain and Nervous System, Bones & Skeletal System, Digestive System, and many others. Gess and I watched the one on the Immune System . It taught her how a cold virus tries to attack the system and what the body is doing inside to fight it off. She has watched it several times now and really likes it. It is pretty detailed so younger children may not really g...

My daughter will be turning 8 in October and I know that in reality it will not be too many more years before she will head into the wonderful world of puberty. As horrifying as those years are for parents, there is an entirely different element of fear and horror when children with special needs are involved. While I still have time to handle the more delicate issues, I do realize there are some steps we must begin now, specifically in regards to privacy. A toddler running around in diapers is just fine, but at what age does it stop being acceptable for a child to be running around in a T-shirt and panties? Yes, my daughter hates wearing pants and/or shorts, almost as much as she hates shoes. When my daughter enters the house the first thing to go are her shoes, the second thing is her pants! We have several play dresses for just this purpose, but they are not always practical. Still, it is a bit embarrassing when you come home with company and she begins undressing in the livin...

While surfing through some of the blogs I follow I found a great post one day by the Junior Crew 2009 . The article was about Online Books and Videos for Kids . In that blog was a link to Junior Crew Book Shelf which had tons of great website resources for kids. One that we have recently gotten the most use out of was Crawford the Cat . Crawford the Cat is a great site that promotes some basic hygiene, health and social skills. They offer 5 minute videos on various topics like washing your hands , brushing your teeth, table manners , and exercise . There are 13 different videos in all as well as some games , books and coloring pages to print so you can reinforce the theme of each video. This is an excellent resource to teach young kids some very basic, yet essential skills. Last month we spent lots of time watching the Crawford Brushes His Teeth video since my daughter had her 6 month check up at the dentist. We watched this video as we prepared for the visit so that we cou...