Special Needs


Sample Reward Chart You Can Customize to Your Needs

I have found a reward chart to be a useful tool in getting my children to do daily tasks, from brushing their teeth to potty training to chores. Here is a sample reward chart I have used. I included items like staying in bed, brushing teeth and keeping underpants dry. I copy and pasted images from real life […]


Celebrating July 4th Fun When Your Child Can’t Tolerate Fireworks 3

I always looked forward to July 4th festivities starting with picnics, family time, and sunshine, capped off with where to find the most spectacular fireworks. Before we had children I imagined how we’d share the magic of July 4th fun with them to make long lasting family memories. But like so many pre-parenthood imaginings, reality […]


Strategies for When Your Child Has a Serious Food Allergy 1

Imagine your little boy innocently nibbling on a pistachio for the first time, relishing the new taste. Five heart stopping seconds later his face turns red and starts to swell, his eyes tearing, red, and his breathing becoming labored. You call the pediatrician in a panic who tells you to get a dose of benadryl […]


Teaching Young Children Sharing and Turn Taking

As we’ve undoubtedly all experienced, young children can find sharing and turn taking challenging, to put it mildly.  It is hard for them to think about consequences and how their actions affect their friends’ feelings. Here are some tips from our Mom experience to help children learn, starting with a simple puppet show script to […]


In Gratitude for What I Have Learned from My Sons

The holidays and heading toward another new year makes me think of all I am thankful for, while reflecting on the past year and what is most important to me. Being mother to my two sons is the greatest joy I can imagine. What I didn’t know at the beginning when I worried so much […]


I Just Found Out Something Is Wrong with My Child, Now What? 2

The pulse raising, thumping in your chest moment when you find out something is wrong with your child is followed by an overwhelming sense of dread and anxiety. You don’t know what to do next or how to look out for the best interests of your child. I know because I’ve been there, more than […]


I’m Worried about My Child’s Speech, Should I Be? 3

— By Jennifer Katz, MS, CCC-SLP A question I hear over and over is, “how do I know if my child needs speech therapy?” My first response is to determine if a speech and language assessment is indicated. Sometimes the answer is a resounding “yes”, at times it’s a clear “no” and often it’s a […]