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 for grownups that's just silly or fun. Today's list:

1. Activity: Sound Bingo
2. Kids' Site: Book Adventure
3. Shopping: MobilityVille
4. Humor: Morph
5. Just for Fun: "Every Indie Romance in a Song"

Here's a list of posts that have received one or more comments this week:

• Accident on the Little People, Big World Family Farm
• Setting Up an iTunes Account Without a Credit Card
• The Latest on Botox for Cerebral Palsy
• Does Mady Gosselin Need Discipline, or a Diagnosis?
• Wordless Wednesday: It's July!
• Wordless Wednesday: What I'll Be Reading in July
• Get Started With That Special-Needs Trust
• Finding the Sites You Seek

What's on your mind today? Speak out in the comments below, or add your opinion to the posts above.

Read more: Special Needs News | Site of the Day | Parenting Special Needs Forum

Read: "I wonder at how much he's changed me, and the ways I'm so much stronger than I ever was before. I wonder if, without the common milestones, we have somehow made a thousand tiny steps, that I appreciate far more." -- Nia Wyn, Blue Sky July, this week's featured book.

Reflect: Do I appreciate how much being the parent of a child with special needs has changed me? Do I think those changes are good or bad?

Respond: Read my Love Notes for Special Parents and consider how many of them apply to you. These are traits you have gained or developed as the loving and advocating parent of a child with special needs. Give yourself a pat on the back, and your child a hug for the help.

Every weekday, take a moment to read, reflect, and respond to a passage from a book, blog, or article. ... More Reflections

Also new today: Site of the Day | Today's News and Views | Tip of the Day

I do my best to make this About.com Parenting Special Needs site a useful place to find articles, information, and commentary on children's disabilities. Part of that is directing you to other resources of interest around the Web, from serious sites on specific diagnoses to advocacy-minded organizations to help you fight for your child to personal offerings that inspire or amuse. For sites about a specific disorder, check my index and refer to those articles for site suggestions. For sites I've found noteworthy on special-needs issues, consult the Site of the Day indexes, which include listings by date, by name, and by topic. Finally, for something amusing or inspiring, check the index of Fun Things to Do, which gathers the entries from my Saturday posts of the same name. Be sure, though, in all your wanderings, that you always check back here for news, articles, and encouragement. I'll miss you while you're gone!

More Parenting Tips: Tips of the Day | Behavior ABCs | Parenting Book Reviews

_{Image by Terri Mauro}

What It Is: "A positive, fun, informative, humorous, forum dedicated to making a positive impact on the lives of Diabetics and their loved ones."

Who's In Charge: Bob Hawkinson, "author of The Joy of Diabetes...a book about living with diabetes and the mindset I have found it takes to THRIVE with this Disease."

Why It's Worth Checking Out: It brings a positive spin and good humor to a serious subject, and may be a good place for teens and young adults to correspond with others dealing with the same issues, or parents to pick up some tips.

Where to Start: Join the group.

More Sites of the Day

+ Page of the Day: Preparing the School for Your Child With Diabetes +

A baby with a severe birth defect, semilobar holoprosencephaly. A doctor's prediction that the child will not survive. A "miracle baby" living to age two-and-a-half, against all odds, with her progress chronicled in the local paper to inspire others. Sounds like the makings of an inspirational memoir or movie. But Imani Joyner's story has taken a turn that sounds more like the makings of an unsettling episode of CSI or Law & Order. Her body was found floating in the Passaic River in Clifton, New Jersey, miles from the Stamford, Connecticut, cemetery where she was buried two years ago. According to a report on NorthJersey.com, authorities believe that someone a little too inspired by her "miracle baby" story may have dug up her body to use in a religious ritual. Given all the worries and struggles parents of special children deal with when their kids are alive, it's hard to imagine having to deal with a kidnapping after death.

More News: Today's News and Views | Weekly News | News by Topic

I asked for your terrible tales of rude things said about your child by loved ones, family members, and random idiots, and reader Anne made a good point that perhaps dwelling on the insults isn't the best use of our energy. She writes:

"There have been lots of hurtful comments (most recently my MIL saying she prays for my son every night...that God might "take away that mountain of autism that the devil has placed upon him." Ummm...) I'd rather focus on the countless other people in our lives who support us unconditionally. There are the neighbors we met when my son (who has elopement issues) walked right into their house--those neighbors insist it's the whole community's job to protect my child. There are the people at church who go out of their way to ask about my son when I show up by myself and who make sure I know he's welcome. There's the woman at the fair who politely ignores his giant sensory meltdown and then tells us--without irony--what a blessing he is when we get up from the table. There are good people out there, you know? Let's focus on those."

Okay, let's! I've set up a new Readers Respond page to celebrate the good things people say and do. Sometimes, that's just as shocking, but in a good way.

New today: Site of the Day | Today's News and Views | Tip of the Day

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Read: "There are so many places where I make a fuss, because his wants and needs are not considered as important as the rest of us, my heart's become a warrior's shield, and the city like a battlefield." -- Nia Wyn, Blue Sky July, this week's featured book.

Reflect: Do I feel like I'm going onto a battlefield each time I take my child out in the world? Who's my enemy -- my child? people who respond cruelly? environments that are inaccessible?

Respond: The only way to change attitudes and accessibility is to pick up that shield, get out in the world with your child, and demand respect and accommodation. But it helps if you respect and accommodate your child, too. Plan trips to malls and restaurants and church services in such a way that your child gets maximum benefit with minimum fuss.

Every weekday, take a moment to read, reflect, and respond to a passage from a book, blog, or article. ... More Reflections

Also new today: Site of the Day | Today's News and Views | Tip of the Day

Every day, I gather news articles and blog posts of interest into a Today's News folder on this site. From there, those links go to a Weekly News folder and then to folders for their particular topics. If you're only interested in, say, autism news or special education news, find your topic on the list and bookmark it to check regularly. Keep in mind that it takes a week for stories to land there, though, so if it's breaking news you're seeking, the daily and weekly folders are still your best bet.

More Parenting Tips: Tips of the Day | Behavior ABCs | Parenting Book Reviews

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What It Is: Got a favorite quote that inspires you, amuses you, or in any way helps you be a better parent of a child with special needs? Got five? Share them on this contest page on the Special Needs Parent Coach site, and if one is used as a Quote of the Week, you'll win a 200-page E-Book called Overwhelmed No More, a "complete system for balanced living for parents of children with special needs." One winner chosen at random will receive an "Overwhelmed No More! Care Package, which includes the Overwhelmed No More! paperback book and spiral bound workbook, relaxing music, delicious teas, and more."

Who's In Charge: Overwhelmed No More! author Joan Celebi "is the Founder and President of SpecialNeedsParentCoach.com. Through her internationally acclaimed teleseminars and coaching programs, as well as her New England area trainings and workshops, she helps parents of children with special needs create manageable, balanced, joyful lives -- for themselves, their children, and their families."

Why It's Worth Checking Out: It's an opportunity to share what inspires you with other parents, and get something inspiring in return.

Where to Start: The deadline is next Wednesday, July 15, so get those quotes in now.

More Sites of the Day

+ Page of the Day: Weekday Reflections +

_{Photo courtesy of Joan Celebi}