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Love Notes for Special Parents

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Find a new inspirational message here every day in February, or browse the whole gallery now. Perfect for printing and hanging, or e-mailing to a friend.

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Children With Special Needs Spotlight10

All Sorts of Ways to Say 'I Love You'

Monday February 13, 2012

HandsI asked for your stories about the first time your child said "I love you," and Mama Bear-NOS submitted a response yesterday that made me smile:

My youngest has a host of letters for diagnostic purposes. He has had a ST in his life since the NICU. So, it's no surprise that speech wasn't a strong suit for him. He learned a lot from repeating phrases and scripting. So, one night, completely out of the blue...he repeated "I wuv you" after I did while tucking him in for the night. I know it was just him repeating a phrase...but it is still just as precious. Who says echolalia is a bad thing?!?

Another Valentine-appropriate response this weekend came from reader Donald, who replied to my question about what to do when there's nothing to do with this:

Tell them how much they mean to you and do something that they want to do. Do it and tell them how much fun it was (even if it wasn't). That's true love.

For more ideas along those lines, read my list of 31 Ways to Tell Your Child "I Love You," and add your own. And speaking of love, why not show some to your favorite special-needs blogs, books, apps, and resources by nominating them for Readers' Choice Awards? There are only three days left in this phase of the awards, so give your favorites the support they need to make it to the finals. I'm particularly in need of guidance in the three book categories -- Favorite New Special-Needs Parenting Book, Favorite New Special-Needs Memoir, and Favorite New Special-Needs Children's Book -- to select the books you'd most like to see recognized. Add your support!

Photo by Marili Forastieri/Getty Images

Weekly Round-Up: Week of Feb. 6

Sunday February 12, 2012

Here's your weekend round-up of all the new content you may have missed from the past week on About Parenting Special Needs.

New Articles and Pages

Blog Posts

Updated Pages

Valentine Hugs and More Fun Things to Do

Saturday February 11, 2012

Stop by here every Saturday for 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, all designed to get you through your weekend with kids amused and spirits intact. Today's list:

  1. Activity: Family Hug Valentine
  2. Kids' Site: Alphabetimals
  3. Shopping: Bald Brave Beautiful T-Shirts
  4. Humor: Special Needs Ryan Gosling (and parts II, III, and IV)
  5. Just for Fun: Nominate Your Favorite Resources for Readers' Choice Awards

What's the Nicest Thing Anybody Ever Said About Your Child?

Friday February 10, 2012

Tell Your StoryMost of the submissions to the Readers Respond page on What's the Nicest Thing Anybody Ever Said About Your Child? share lovely comments by relatives or teachers or friends or other adults. A submission yesterday, though, made me laugh for its delightful look at what youngsters find nice to say. Wrote reader Md:

"One of my children's church boys was talking about my 5 year old son, who is autistic and hyperkinetic, and said (without knowing I was standing there) 'Dude. Alex is just beast. The beastest of the beast. He totally rocks.' There isn't much higher compliment from a 10 year old, trust me."

Friday's a good day for sharing happy stories. Has someone said something about your child that filled you with pride or just tickled you? Share it on the Readers Respond page.

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