Ellen at To the Max posted an interesting blog yesterday about choosing to have another child after having a child with special needs. Were you scared of going for kid no. 2 after having one with special needs? generated 40 moving responses and is worth a read.
Ontario parents may be interested in Born to be Different (see photo above), a British documentary airing on TVO this Sunday, January 10 at 8 p.m. The film follows the families of six children born with a variety of disabilities over a 10-year span. Sunday’s segment covers the first year and I’m delighted to be sitting on a panel afterwards to discuss it with Dr. Wendy Roberts, a developmental pediatrician at Bloorview, and Barbara Muskat, a social worker at SickKids Hospital here in Toronto.
Readers in the UK can watch the entire series at http://www.channel4.com/programmes/born-to-be-different/episode-guide.
A family minister recently contacted me to ask if I knew of a bible study for a group of parents of children with special needs. Amy Julia Becker, mom to a child with Down syndrome and a theology student who blogs at Thin Places, helped me identify these sources:
The Elizabeth M. Bogg Center on Developmental Disabilities (part of the University of Medicine and Dentistry at New Jersey) has created three faith-based publications related to autism, brain injury and other developmental disabilities.
Also suggested were:
Special Strength for Special Parents: 31 Days of Spiritual Therapy for Parents of Children with Special Needs
His Name is Joel: Searching for God in a Son’s Disability and
Resources listed at the Faith Inclusion Network.
Perhaps readers can make other suggestions.
Have a great weekend!
Ontario parents may be interested in Born to be Different (see photo above), a British documentary airing on TVO this Sunday, January 10 at 8 p.m. The film follows the families of six children born with a variety of disabilities over a 10-year span. Sunday’s segment covers the first year and I’m delighted to be sitting on a panel afterwards to discuss it with Dr. Wendy Roberts, a developmental pediatrician at Bloorview, and Barbara Muskat, a social worker at SickKids Hospital here in Toronto.
Readers in the UK can watch the entire series at http://www.channel4.com/programmes/born-to-be-different/episode-guide.
A family minister recently contacted me to ask if I knew of a bible study for a group of parents of children with special needs. Amy Julia Becker, mom to a child with Down syndrome and a theology student who blogs at Thin Places, helped me identify these sources:
The Elizabeth M. Bogg Center on Developmental Disabilities (part of the University of Medicine and Dentistry at New Jersey) has created three faith-based publications related to autism, brain injury and other developmental disabilities.
Also suggested were:
Special Strength for Special Parents: 31 Days of Spiritual Therapy for Parents of Children with Special Needs
His Name is Joel: Searching for God in a Son’s Disability and
Resources listed at the Faith Inclusion Network.
Perhaps readers can make other suggestions.
Have a great weekend!
I enjoyed the book by Susan Senator titled, 'Making Peace with Autism'. It was very well written and she continues to blog about her life with her oldest son and his challenges and triumphs.
ReplyDeleteWhat wonderful resources -- thank you for them. I'll add that I posted about having more children after my first developed a disability over at LA Moms Blog. I don't have the link right now, but I will get it.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that, Louise! I want to mention this post/movie in the post I was going to put up next week about movies about people with disabilities (I saw Avatar, the main character was in a wheelchair, and it got me thinking about disabled people in movies). Can people in the US see this movie anywhere?
ReplyDeleteThank you for these additional suggestion Sunday and Elizabeth! -- Elizabeth, let us know when you have the link to your piece.
ReplyDeleteEllen -- I believe the airing on TVO is the first showing in North America of this British documentary.
I will ask on Sunday about other ways to access it. I tried to watch the clips posted on the British Channel 4, but wasn't able to. I've only seen the first 2 segments (which were sent to me on DVD -- I think they go till the kids are 2, but they've apparently followed them over 10 years, so I'm so keen to see the kids grow up in the series).
Did you read the piece about the depiction of disability in Avatar on ABC -- http://abcnews.go.com/Health/WellnessNews/wheelchair-users-applaud-avatars-parapalegic-character/story?id=9505175
Ben went to see that with my hubby and I didn't realize there was a character using a wheelchair. Look forward to your upcoming piece!
Oops -- it was a post at Hopeful Parents!
ReplyDeleteoops -- here's the link: http://www.hopefulparents.org/blog/2009/11/21/having-another-one.html
ReplyDeleteLouise Thanks for the notice about the show. I PVR'd it not realising there was a live chat at the end. Is the chat archived at tvo? I just looked and could not find it.
ReplyDeleteI really liked what you said in the intro. I was curious if the other two members of the panel have children with disabilities. They seemed a little more distanced from the issue and I was wondering if that was just my perception.
Lisa
Hi Lisa -- Thanks for your message. The chat is supposed to be uploaded eventually, but isn't yet. I will post on the blog when it's available.
ReplyDeleteYes, the other 2 panel guests were professionals in the field of childhood disability -- one from Bloorview and one from SickKids.
What did you think of the documentary? Because they followed them over years, it will be neat to see the kids -- and their parents! -- develop over time.
Sounds like a wonderful read! I think it is best to give this to a friend who's got a special child. I'm glad for her to find out about it soon. They can start him on treatment. I've heard that the earlier the treatment, the easier it is for everyone to adjust.
ReplyDelete