As a parent to a child with special needs, creating new habits that support self care can seem like a daunting task, and even the thought of taking 10 minutes out of your morning routine to start a new mindfulness Read more…
When life is going well, it is easy to have gratitude. But what about when your child has been sick or had trouble for weeks (or months); you are physically, mentally and emotionally drained from caregiving, holding down a job Read more…
Parenting a child with special needs has all of the features of a chronic stress experience: It creates physical and psychological strain over extended periods of time, is accompanied by high levels of unpredictability and uncontrollability, has the capacity to Read more…
Turning the clock forward or back for Daylight Savings Time is always challenging. Losing that hour in the spring can leave you groggy and dragging for weeks, and the last thing that a special needs parent needs is to be Read more…
For most special needs parents, our lives have been centered around navigating a life in a way that we did not expect when we decided to have children. From endless IEP meetings, therapies and sleepless nights to visits to the Read more…
As I write this, I am currently recovering from a week long run in with a cold & sinus infection. Even with a daily stress management routine that I practice as regularly as I practice eating & sleeping, I am Read more…
We’ve all read the endless studies on how sleep benefits the brain, immune system and overall mental health; but for many of us special needs parents, the laundry list of worry begins to “pile up” the moment we start to try to reap the benefits of a peaceful night of sleep.
I’ve experienced insomnia for much of my life, and can recall having difficulty sleeping for as far back as I can remember. My mother will be the first to tell you that I was always the child that had a Read more…
Parents and caregivers of special-needs children are especially at risk for heightened stress, loneliness, exhaustion and depression. With more than 11.2 million children with special health care needs in the United States, or one in five households caring for a Read more…