Looking Back at 2008: Eli Stone, Bad Big Brother, Allergy Apprentice

These last few days of 2008 seem like a good time to look back at the year we've just lived through -- face it, we're not going to get any sort of meaningful work done in this little between-holidays wedge of week, not with kids underfoot and services closed and half the people you work with on vacation on any given day. I've started a gallery of special-needs news stories to jog our memories, with four months up now, and the rest to come tomorrow and Wednesday.

Check the January, February, March, and April recaps and think back to when Eli Stone, a fictional lawyer plagued by visions of George Michael, was the American Academy of Pediatrics' Public Enemy #1, and every reality show seemed to have a special-needs twist, from food-allergy dad Trace Adkins on Celebrity Apprentice to R-word-spouting roommate Adam Jasinski on Big Brother. Read up on those early 2008 events, and tell us which ones you watched in the poll at right.

Sometimes the biggest stories aren't the ones that get the biggest response from readers. Below is a list of the posts for each month that got any comments at all. Can you guess which ones got the most? Check the monthly recaps to find out.

January:

• Emotional Rescue
• Doctors Admit to Administering Pretend Pills
• Just What Did That Thimerosal-Autism Study Say, Anyway?
• Fear of Escalators
• Site of the Day: Travelers With Disabilities and Medical Conditions
• Is In-Class OT the Answer?
• Another Disorder Blamed on Moms
• Site of the Day: Access Firefox
• Mom of a Girl With Rett’s Syndrome Aces Idol Audition
• Why Doesn't Inclusion Run Both Ways, Huh?
• It Came ... From the Blood!
• Blame, Botox, and More of Your Comments
• Matt Roloff Acquitted of DUI Charge
• Before You Go to an IEP Meeting
• Site of the Day: AAP Takes on Eli Stone
• Fighting Head Lice, and Fighting Over Them

February:

• Site of the Day: Bob's House
• GMA on FASD: Hey, No Big Deal!
• Encouraging Voting, Without Encouraging a Vote
• Two Steps Forward, One Step Back
• Children's Books Stress Acceptance of Differences
• Site of the Day: Generation Rescue
• Extreme Makeover and Inclusive Music Experiences
• Teaching a Child to Slide Down the Stairs
• My Son's Mini-Mart Goes Out of Business
• High Profile for Disabilities on Reality TV
• Sensory Integration International Site Shuts Down
• Site of the Day: Birth Defect Research for Children
• When Clothing Problems Become Behavior Problems
• Site of the Day: OATSoft
• Should Your Child Get a Flu Shot?
• Enterprising Parent Starts One-Stop Special-Needs Shop
• Googling Your Child's Medical Records

March:

• Site of the Day: Get Nate Home
• Failure to MYOB Runs in the Family
• Special Educators Say the Darnedest Things
• Maybe Vaccine Advocates Should Read Behavior Books
• Site of the Day: The Polings on Larry King Live
• Site of the Day: Lil Rinser
• Have Some Fun With Photos
• How Far Would You Go to Help Your Child "Fit In"?
• Easter, Attitude, and More Fun Things to Do
• Site of the Day: Early Intervention Network
• Marlee Matlin on Dancing With the Stars Tonight
• Working to Their Potential, and Mine
• Try a New Behavior Management Scheme With Me
• Dreaming Up a Little Special-Needs Magic
• Adkins Loses, But You Can Help FAAN Win
• Just a Bunch of Normal Wedding Guests
• Epilepsy Forum Invaded by Malicious Hackers

April:

• Adolescence Stinks
• Are Hospitals Harming Kids With Medication Mix-Ups?
• Site of the Day: Little Horizons
• Studies Link Kids' Sleep Loss to Overweight, Depression
• The Best Invisible Care Money Can Buy
• Floortime Versus Applied Verbal Behavior
• Teasing Does Not Compute
• Video Shows Autism Signs and Symptoms
• Today I Am the Mother of an Adult
• Our First Special Olympics
• Can Your Family Live Without TV?
• There's More Than One Way to Communicate With Your Kid
• Setting Up an iTunes Account Without a Credit Card
• May Day, Maps, and More Fun Things to Do
• Sunday Quotations: On Death and New Life
• Tallying the Cost of Special Needs
• Is Your Child Accident-Prone?
• Wordless Wednesday: On My Reading Pile

What news stories meant the most to you in that first third of 2008? Share your memories in the comments.

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