Friday Free-for-All: Sound Off on Resolutions, MRIs, Diagnosis Advice

The opportunities for spouting off on this site have grown over the years from the forum to blog comments to article add-ons. I'm going to take Fridays to highlight a few contributions each week to try and get everybody in on the conversation.

My post on writing resolutions for people in our lives who need to get a clue brought a bunch of great responses.

• Police Liaison: I resolve to learn more about the disabilities of the children in my school, and not to use threatening as a first line reaction when working with children. -- Deb Fjeld
• Grocery Store Lady: I resolve to remember that my true knowledge of parenting is limited to my experience of my own children, and that my unsolicited advice may be totally irrelevant to the situation of the child whose behavior I am judging. -- Katherine
• Parents Who Email Teachers: Please remember that teachers are responsible as professionals for their communications with parents. Their email communications must be carefully thought-out and meticulously phrased or they could put their careers at risk. Please don’t expect instantaneous responses. --Susan Adcox
• Everyone: I resolve to use People First language and treat all those with special needs with respect. -- Elizabeth Kennedy
• Health Insurance Companies: To consider the brain as part of the human body and not be so stingy when it comes to covering anything that smacks of a learning disability. It makes it difficult to diagnose what the issue is since so many tests aren’t covered. -- Laureen
• Restaurant Patrons: I resolve to love dining around toddlers, respecting their interest in touching food and cherishing their desire to communicate their wants and needs to everyone around them. -- Soni
• Everyone I resolve to remember that I add as much pain to the world when I take offense as when I give offense. -- Ann Logsdon

Who would you like to make a resolution for? Add yours to the list in the comments of that post.

A forum member is resolved to find out more about the MRI that's been prescribed for her three-year-old with an ASD diagnosis and global developmental delays. Writes beepbeep1:

He is functioning around 12 months in all areas. We are due to see ot, salt and pt but he is also due to have an MRI scan which I am quite worried about as I don't what they are looking for. He was born at 36 weeks after difficult pregnancy, and at six months he got meningitis which he recovered from very well. I suppose I am wondering what an MRI could show up? I would appreciate any advice from anyone who has been there.

Do you have some MRI experience to share with this parent? Stop by the forum and share your thoughts about this subject.

Sharing some experience on osteogenesis imperfecta is reader tamihelms, a "mom of 2 with OI, grandmom of 2 with OI" who added some good suggestions to my list of First Five Things to Do When Your Child Is Diagnosed With OI, including this bit that's pretty good advice for any parent of a special-needs child:

So hold that baby, learn to fight for what you feel is right, admit when you're wrong and try something else, and find a great doctor who is willing to be your partner. Take care of yourself, eat right, and sleep and play.

Can you offer counsel to a parent just receiving a diagnosis you've been dealing with? Go to the index of First Five Things to Do lists, pick yours, and start advising.

What else is on your mind today? It's Friday, and time's for wasting. Ramble a little in the comments.

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