Category Archives: Parenting

Out from the Clutches of Worry, Fear and Control

Over on @parentingforward, @cindybrandt was talking about the way we worry as parents. She said, “Every parent worries. To love is to worry. What if that doesn’t have to be true? What if we can learn better coping mechanisms for our anxieties so that we don’t exchange them with our children? What if we don’tContinue reading “Out from the Clutches of Worry, Fear and Control”

A ‘Third Way’

Do you ever feel backed into a corner in an argument? Or forced to choose sides between polarizing forces? Perhaps in your intimate partner or family relationships? Perhaps in our wider, increasingly divisive social sphere? One of the biggest relationship-savers that Trevor and I have discovered over the last few years is to recognize whenContinue reading “A ‘Third Way’”

National Coming Out Day

Today is National Coming Out day. This is a picture of my husband and I at our local Pride Parade this summer wearing t-shirts that said “Free Mom Hugs” and “Free Dad Hugs”. But we are more than allies. We are a straight-passing, mixed orientation marriage. That means that, in my case, I am attractedContinue reading “National Coming Out Day”

To A New Special Needs Parent As My Eldest Leaves For University

Welcome to a fantastic journey – one you never asked for, signed up for or (probably) trained for. As much as it feels that your world has come crashing down around you, or that you can’t possibly handle this, the truth is more complicated than that. The truth is that there will be high’s and lo’s to this journey that you may only be able to appreciate down the road. The truth is also that you already have the one key ingredient for success: you love your child.

4 Lessons I’ve Learned as a Disabled Parent of Kids with Disabilities

This post was first published on ‘The Mighty‘ March 11, 2019, but I always like to repost my writings here as well. https://themighty.com/2019/03/disabled-parent-disabled-children/  I’ve spent my entire life in the disabled world, so I’ve seen lots of personal stories about living with a disability and what that’s like, and I’ve seen lots of stories about people’s experiencesContinue reading “4 Lessons I’ve Learned as a Disabled Parent of Kids with Disabilities”

Autism, Cat-munication and Joining

There is a lot of conversation right now in Ontario about autism and about autism therapy. IBI and ABA have pride of place in the autism therapy world, and I know many parents and families who have seen remarkable results. That option needs to remain open for parents and families, and needs to be funded toContinue reading “Autism, Cat-munication and Joining”