How well can you hold your temper? Does your child know just what to do or say to get you to blow? With summertime changing routines and increasing togetherness, it ... Read More

Keeping kids safe and happy in the pool is a challenge for most parents, but the parents of children with special needs may have extra dilemmas to deal with -- ... Read More

Like all the message boards on About.com, the Parenting Special Needs Forum got a new look this morning. It's designed to blend in more closely to the rest of the ... Read More

There's been plenty of press lately on postnatal depression for moms, with Brooke Shields' new book and Tom Cruise's criticism of it, but what about dads? Can a new baby ... Read More

It's Sunday, which means it's time for a new weekly quiz. Read the blog entries below, from last Sunday's through yesterday's, and you'll be ready to test your knowledge. Also ... Read More

Do your kids have homework over the summer? Mine both came home with fat packets of work -- reading logs, math worksheets -- that have to be completed by September ... Read More

Looking for a fun beach read? You won't find one in our Harried Parent's Book Club. But you will find lots of good books about disabilities that may help you ... Read More

My daughter hates Harry Potter. She had the first book assigned to her in fourth-grade English class, and though she struggled through that time, she's got no interest in going ... Read More

Today's the last day of school for my kids, and while summer vacation will be less stressful in some ways -- no homework, no morning scramble, fewer events to race ... Read More

She can turn the world on with her smile. She can take a nothing day, and suddenly make it all seem worthwhile. But can she get the government to devote ... Read More

We got our first family minivan last week, after years of lobbying from the kids and in anticipation of a summer in which I'll be driving my son and some ... Read More

A big Happy Father's Day to all the dads of children with special needs out there! I'm lucky to have a husband who is very involved in all the educational ... Read More

About a month ago, I mentioned a cool new trike that turns into a bike as the user pedals and balances. Here's another positive development for the two-wheeler-challenged: the Buddy ... Read More

Do you get your child's teacher a gift at the end of the school year? How about the classroom aide, one-on-one aide, lunch aide, bus aide, bus driver, physical therapist, ... Read More

My son is having his "moving up" ceremony today to mark the end of his elementary school years and the beginning of middle school. I'm way proud of my guy ... Read More

PKD. PKU. PWS. AD and RAD. ADD and ADHD. AS. PAH. Those are some of the alphabet-soup combinations that have been added to our Alphabet Soup Unscrambled page in the ... Read More

It may be bad for your eyes, but Viagra can be good for children's hearts: the erectile dysfunction drug was administered to pediatric patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (PAH) in ... Read More

Warmer weather. Kids with vacation time on their hands. Too much junk food. Scoodgy behavior. Swimsuit season. All good reasons to try one of these 10 Ways to Work Out ... Read More

If you've already taken our Alphabet Soup Quiz to test your knowledge of disability acronyms, here's another challenge: a Famous Adoptive Parents Quiz from Carrie Craft, the About.com guide to ... Read More

Update on the story of the Wernecke family, whose daughter was taken from their custody when they refused radation treatment for her Hodgkins disease (see yesterday's entry): The parents of ... Read More

Who decides on the proper treatment for a seriously ill child? Her parents? Her doctor? The patient herself? That's the question at the center of a battle playing out in ... Read More

You may have seen the warning on diet cola cans or other products: "Phenylketonurics - Contains Phenylalanine." Or you may have come upon the term "phenylketonuria" for the first time ... Read More

My son wants to ride in the front seat of our car in the worst way. I'm getting a daily chorus of, "But so-and-so's mother lets him sit in front!" ... Read More

The terminally ill child who is wise beyond her years and changes the lives of all around her before fading away is a movie staple, always sure to jerk tears ... Read More

Parenting children with special needs took center stage last night at the Tony Awards as Victoria Clark won the trophy for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical ... Read More

Looking for a little fun on a Sunday? Try an Alphabet Soup Quiz to test your knowledge of acronyms that describe child-related diseases and disabilities. There are ten questions, with ... Read More

Problems with the packaging, not the pills, are behind the voluntary recall of three products -- 80 mg Children's Tylenol Meltaways, 80 mg Children's Tylenol Soft Chews, and 160 mg ... Read More

Early in their journey through our district's special education system, my children both went to a school that had wonderful teachers, a healthy degree of inclusion ... and enormous power-line ... Read More

Would you take your child to be vaccinated at McDonald's? It's a little strange to think of getting an immunization with a Happy Meal, but it sure beats hour-long endurance ... Read More

School may be coming to a close, but there's still time to learn your ABCs. If you've been puzzling over the many acronyms that describe children's disabilities, or are looking ... Read More