Using teen technology to get them to do something responsible! You gotta love it. According to a CNN report, researchers are looking at whether text messaging might be a good way to remind teenagers to take required medication that they accidentally-on-purpose forget to administer on their own.

Doctors and parents alike have been stumped by the tendency of young people, flush with independence and increased responsibility, to exercise their individuality by going without the medication needed to manage chronic conditions. Noticing that teens from all economic groups seemed to have cell phones and kept texting on them throughout doctor visits, the researchers got the idea of having a clinic employee send a message to teens at a time they chose with a reminder to take those meds.

It's an interesting idea, and the sort of thing that might really appeal to kids. But the talk of texting in doctor's offices gave me another idea. How 'bout some sort of texting service for parents and patients cooling their heels endlessly in waiting and examining rooms? A little "We haven't forgotten you!" or "Fifteen more minutes, really!" from time to time would make us feel less abandoned, and if they threw in a couple of those smiley faces, it wouldn't hurt.

_{Photo: Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images}

You know, doctor appointments with my son are never easy.

Annual check-ups are never easy, because we have to wait a long time, and he knows he might get a shot.

Talking with the doctor is never easy, because my son gets nervous and starts talking in the voice of his imaginary friend, and since he's fifteen years old, this makes the doctor give me that look.

This stuff is never easy, and it's not avoidable. But here's something that is:

When my son pulled down his pants for the doctor to examine him, it became clear that his underwear did not fit him right. And there was a good reason for that. Due to a tragic laundry-sorting mishap, he was wearing a pair of his father's underwear.

Now, you'd think he might have noticed when he put those briefs on in the morning, or said something about it when we got home from school. But that's not my son. He's more interested in the order that his classmates hung up their badges at the end of the day than whether his briefs are sufficiently brief.

He did say something about them fitting funny when he came back from using the bathroom at the doctor's, but nothing like, "Hey, maybe it's because they're two sizes larger than my usual ones!"

So now, I'm sure, somewhere, in his file, is the notation, that not only can this mother not control her son or stop him from speaking as Scooby Doo, she can't even give him the right underwear to wear to an exam.

I hope the doctor at least takes it as evidence that he really is dressing himself.

_{Photo by Terri Mauro}

This site, from a speech-language pathologist, "is for parents and others who want information about how to make play successful, educational and fun for a young child with autism or any child with significant delays in play and language development."

Each game gets a written explanation and a video demonstration, and you'll also find parent tips, learning objectives, links to other sites, book references, and a blog with more good ideas. If you're always looking for inspiration on things to do with your child, this site is worth exploring.

A few weeks ago I wrote about my son's first Special Olympics event, and this Saturday marked his second. This time it was a track meet, and a much bigger deal than the earlier bocce tournament. There were police motorcycles with sirens accompanying a torch around the track, a torch relay and lighting, march onto the field for the teams, and generally much more pomp and circumstance.

The other big difference was that my son went off with his team, rather than sitting with me as he did between bocce bouts. I think this probably made it more fun for him, and definitely more fun for me, because I could just sit back on the bleachers and watch races without constant teen wrangling. Later, I heard that he spent a lot of time whining about how bored he was, which made me especially glad to have been out of earshot. Don't know if it bugged the volunteers, but it would have bugged me.

From my bleacher perch, I couldn't see him do his long jump and baseball throw, but I did have a great view of the 25-meter dash race that he won first place in. That he ran at all was a relief, because at the practice last week, he was not so much racing as moseying. His school aide assured me that he does, in fact, run just fine in gym, and I think she made him practice some, because when the "go!" moment came, he did buckle down and race, just nosing out another runner at the finish line.

Afterward, he allowed as how he had a good time, and since none of the volunteers gave us the stink-eye on the way out, I'm going to assume he wasn't too much trouble. I'd like to see him get as enthused about these competitions as the adult athletes in his group obviously are, but maybe it's too soon. It's new still, and new is hard. But he just needs to be brave in the attempt.

_{Photo by Terri Mauro}

I participated in the Carnival of Family Life again this week, hosted by Write From Karen. In addition to my entry on good goodbyes, here are some more posts from the family-related assemblage that may be particularly of interest to parents of children with special needs:

• "Just Like Peas and Carrots" from Awalkabout's Weblog
• "Christina Read Her First Word!" from Cause of Our Joy
• "The Flame of Blame" from loving-awareness.org
• "Borderline Personality Disorder Awareness Month" from SystemThinker.com
• "The Icky Gooey List of Disgusting Things Only Parents Would Do…" from Parenting Squad

Have you seen any good special-needs blogs, or special-needs-related posts, around the Web? Share them in the comments.

_{Photo by Terri Mauro}

Audacity, free software that allows you to make and edit digital sound recordings through your computer, combines two of my favorite strategies: reading aloud to reluctant readers, and keeping an iPod handy to amuse kids during boring times.

Whether your computer uses Windows or Mac OS, you can use Audacity to record a story and convert it into a format for uploading into iTunes. You can also simply leave your recording on the computer for your kids to listen to, as suggested in the blog Play-Activities.com.

I sure do wish they'd had all this technology when I used to make tape recordings of my daughter's reading homework so she could listen to it again and again for improved comprehension. With my older kids now, I'm thinking they might get a kick out of recording their own messages and stories and hearing their own voices on their iPods.

Give the software a try, and tell me in the comments how you're using it. There are tutorials and quick reference guides on the Audacity site, but if you're having trouble figuring things out, email me and I'll try to help.

Happy Mother's Day!

For today's Sunday Quotation, in honor of a day that makes us feel grateful for our children while reminding us that our lives sometimes wander far from the greeting-card ideal, I'd like to share with my fellow mothers the text of one of the notes in the Love Notes for Special Parents Gallery. You can find a full-size, suitable-for-printing and cutting-out version by clicking on the image at right.

"YOU ARE LOVING. But you understand that love means more than hearts and flowers and candy and pretty words. Love may be enough to move mountains, but it helps if you push, too. Loving your child with special needs means working, fighting, struggling, advocating, teaching, training, modifying, guessing, trying, trying again, analyzing, modifying, accommodating, managing, seeking, pursuing, researching, realizing all the many many things you need to do to help your child and making sure they're done. There may be hugs and kisses and thank you's and ruffly cards and candy hearts along the way, or there may be frustration and isolation and heartache. But your love is stronger than all of that. And somehow, some way, your child will love you for it."

_{Image by Terri Mauro}

A Sunday "Site of the Day" special: Just as Saturday's "Five Fun Things to Do" points you toward amusing and informative places to visit around the Internet, every Sunday morning you'll find a quintet of articles and blog posts of interest to parents of children with special needs from sites around the About network. Learn more today from your guides to:

1. Autism: For Moms of Kids With Autism
2. ADHD: Parenting Your ADHD Child Towards Good Decisions about Alcohol and Drug Use
3. Learning Disabilities: Getting Ready for Your Child's Annual Review
4. Deafness: Odyssey on Deaf Children With Autism
5. Celiac Disease: Look Out for Depression in Children With Celiac Disease

It's the weekend! Stretch! Take a deep breath! And catch up with all that stuff you meant to read on this site over the past week! Here are the new articles, polls, and sites you may have missed from the past week in About Parenting Special Needs.

Articles and Essays

• Getting a Good Goodbye
• Summer Dilemma: Work or Play?
• Five Ways to Have Fun With Body Sox
• An Early Mother's Day Gift
• An Ode to Two Bad Weeks
• When You Can Barely Get a Second to Think
• Book Review: "Sensory Integration: Answers for Parents" and "Sensory Integration: Answers for Teachers"

News and Views

• Bullies Use Peanuts as a Weapon
• Appreciate a Teacher This Week
• Your Comments on Inclusion and the Magical Mainstream

Sites of the Day

• Benefits for Children With Disabilities
• Asthma Screening Program
• Thanks Mom Marrow Donor Drive
• Take a Stand
• March of Dimes Mother's Day

_{Photo by Terri Mauro}

A Saturday "Site of the Day" special: Most days, a single Site of the Day is plenty to keep you occupied. But on Saturday morning, with kids underfoot and a weekend's worth of amusement needed, something more intensive is called for. So be sure to stop by here every week for your super-sized listing of Five Fun Things to Do Today -- including a family activity, a site for the kids, a shopping site, a site offering humor or inspiration about parenting children with special needs, and a site that's just silly or fun. Today's list:

1. Activity: RePlayground
2. Kids' Site: eLearning for Kids
3. Shopping: Salt of the Earth Weighted Gear
4. Humor: "Ode to My Daughter's Socks and the 25 Minutes It Took My Son to Calm Down and Get Dressed This Morning Because Daddy Was Already Gone when He Got Up"
5. Just for Fun: "Three Year Old's Mother's Day Rap"