Thriving in the Midst of Chaos: Parenting With Special Needs Kids

Episode 75: Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome With Guests Dr. Thomas Glenn and Tawanna Nishibayashi

In this episode, we discuss hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Dr. Thomas Glenn discussed that the condition is a congenital heart disease where the left side of the heart is underdeveloped. Nowadays, a diagnosis is done prenatally, but once kids are born, the diagnosis is confirmed via an echocardiogram. Doctors also test the saturation around the baby's body before they go home to make sure the baby is ok. If the condition is not diagnosed prenatally, visible symptoms might include blue color to the child, changing breathing pattern, fast breathing, the child having a difficult time breathing, perfusion being different, mottling of extremities, and the child not feeding initially. This is a condition that can only be treated at 10-15 centers around the country, successfully, so it important to catch this condition early.

The main treatments are surgery, transplant, or palliative care. The three main surgeries include the Norwood, Glenn, and Fontan. The goal of these surgeries is to get the right side of the heart to do what the left side would have done and then to redirect the blood from the heart to the lungs. During the early periods, these kids are followed every week and have echocardiograms at least once a week. Medications are always needed. Parents need to be careful about the exposure the children have to other people during the interstage phase.

Dr. Glenn shared his personal experienced with Hypoplastic left heart syndrome. Tawanna Nishibayashi's daughter Avery was also born with that condition. Tawanna shares Avery's story. Avery had a complex case, fraught with complications, including needing a Berlin heart and a heart transplant with rejection, and injury to other bodily organs.

Some possible complications of the condition and surgery include involvement of the liver, kidney, and needing NG tubes for feeding. There is a possible need for a heart and liver transplant in adulthood. A lot of patients have to deal with PTSD, anxiety, and depression. These children may not grow as fast as their peers and may experience developmental delays. Factors contributing to this is frequent anesthesia, lower saturations, abnormal brain development in utero, and spending a lot of time in the hospital.

Tawanna recommends that once you have found out that your child has this condition, take time to process. Begin the morning process early (of a normal pregnancy, baby shower) and the death of normalcy. Process the length of time your child might be in the hospital. Learn the science as much as you can, including treatments, outcomes, mortality, conditions, centers, procedures, surgeons, care teams, follow up, and support. Be an advocate for your child. Develop a relationship with your team. Expect the unexpected and prepare for that as much as you can.

Quality of life is also an issue for children, including ICU psychosis, aspiration, feeding troubles, nausea, and trust issues. Moreover, parents often experience PTSD and CPTSD.

To prepare the children for medical appointments, cluster care, read books with them about the procedure, watch shows about doctors and shots, have the child hold the stethoscope, get their permission, let them know what to expect, bring their favorite things, and maintain a routine.

Be prepared for financial difficulty. Often, one parent is no longer able to work due to helping their child. Sometimes, neither parent can work, in order to care for the child. Treatments, procedures, medical equipment, medications, anything insurance doesn't cover, outside therapies, hospital stays, home health nurses, parking, food, laundry, and groceries all factor into financial difficulties.

For advocacy, use your voice. Ask a lot of questions. Attend all the rounds. Spend a lot of time with your child. Have someone with your child as often as you can. Keep in touch with your support team, even while you are outpatient.

Being a medical mom can be very challenging, as it is intensive, time consuming, people might not understand, and you have less time for fun things. Expect the unexpected. Roll with the punches. Other coping strategies include hospital relationships, carving out your own quiet time, having a routine, learning to ask what you need, taking time outside of the hospital and get fresh air, yoga, and music therapy.

Links:

Dr. Glenn:

[email protected]

LinkedIn

Tawanna:

[email protected]

Website

Instagram

LinkedIn

Hypoplastic Left Heart Symptoms Facebook group

Heart Camp- Camp Delcorazon

Children's Heart Foundation

ParentWise

Email us if you have any questions or ideas!

We are now on instagram!

Check out updates on our website.

Follow Thriving on Twitter.

Check us out on Facebook!

We are also on Pinterest!

Please subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes store, or wherever you find your podcasts, Leave us a 5-star review, to help us know what you like and what you don't like, and to make sure other like-minded people find support through this podcast.

Show Music:

Intro Outro: Intro Outro 2 by Mattias Lahoud under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Theme Song: 90s rock style by monkeyman535 under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Self Care Song: Green and Orange No Water by Duncan Alex under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Hosted by: Jessica Temple

Disclaimer: Our show is not designed to provide listeners with specific or personal legal, medical, or professional services or advice. Parents of children with health issues should always consult their health care provider for medical advice, medication, or treatment.

Copyright 2021 Jessica Temple

Episode 74: Special Education Law During Covid With Guest Catherine Michael

In this episode, we discuss special education law during COVID. Guest Catherine Michael, a special education lawyer, discusses that IEPs and services should not look different during COVID and that all services still need to be provided, although they may be offered in a slightly different format. Cases that have been coming up in 2020 relate to the child not being able to use distance learning due to cognitive impairments or not being able to use a mask due to health or cognitive issues.

For those children, schools are looking into therapeutic day placements or ABA facilities. For children who are missing a lot of school, they are also trying to use google hangouts or zoom meetings. To pay for other placements, schools can use their high cost funds, which is used for alternative placements. Some alternative placements are hiring more staff to accommodate these children and may even be offering a discounted rate. Some schools are having children work with behavior techs to assist with the online schooling.

If the children are not able to access online education and the schools refuse an alternate placement, the schools have to figure out a way to provide education. The IEP should still be fully implemented. If it is not, you can file a complaint with your state, a due process complaint. All therapies and services should still occur at the stated frequency in the IEP. Some school districts have started hiring people to come to the child's home to provide the needed services. If the child has not been receiving the related services, the child may be owed compensatory education. Parents need to document what the child is not receiving and also any regressions. If a parent feels that the child is not being provided with the education he/she is required during COVID, a parent can write a letter to the school, do mediation, or file for due process.

The parent still has the right to have an evaluation for their child. If the parent doesn't think the evaluation was comprehensive, the parent can request an independent evaluation. However, schools may ask to perform another evaluation on their own first.

She noted that although schools could always use more money, the problem is more poor allocation of money to the needed resources. She recommends that schools look at good charter schools as a model of ways to properly use resources.

Connell Michael Kerr

The Exceptional Parent's Guide to Special Education Law and Advocacy

Parental Guidance Podcast

Lindamood Bell

Email us if you have any questions or ideas!

We are now on instagram!

Check out updates on our website.

Follow Thriving on Twitter.

Check us out on Facebook!

We are also on Pinterest!

Please subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes store, or wherever you find your podcasts, Leave us a 5-star review, to help us know what you like and what you don't like, and to make sure other like-minded people find support through this podcast.

Show Music:

Intro Outro: Intro Outro 2 by Mattias Lahoud under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Theme Song: 90s rock style by monkeyman535 under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Self Care Song: Green and Orange No Water by Duncan Alex under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Hosted by: Jessica Temple and Lewis Temple

Disclaimer: Our show is not designed to provide listeners with specific or personal legal, medical, or professional services or advice. Parents of children with health issues should always consult their health care provider for medical advice, medication, or treatment.

Copyright 2021 Jessica and Lewis Temple

Episode 73: Special Education Services Across The World With Guest Jodi Samuels

In this episode, we discuss schooling across two continents for children with special needs. Jodi Samuel's daughter Caila first began schooling in NYC schools, where she was provided with extensive services through the state. She was lucky in that all of her therapies were provided to her during the school day. She attended school in an open-minded community and accepting school. When Caila was 6, Jodi and her husband debated whether to move to NY suburbs vs Israel. In the end, they chose to move to Israel.

They had very little time to pack their bags and move to Israel. Jodi did not speak Hebrew, and teachers did not speak English. To communicate, she used the assistance of Google Translate, friends, neighbors, and her older children. Meetings with teachers and administrators was challenging. Since her daughter started school in Israel at such a young age, they immediately had to start looking for school for the following year. After the first year, finding schooling was challenging, because the first school they tried was a poor fit. Jodi had to go through 11 schools before one school finally accepted Caila. Jodi plans to bring in a consultant when looking for high schools for Caila to help her find choices and figure out what their rights are. School has become more difficult due to speech, cognitive, and language delay, more homework, and learning a new language. As she gets older, Caila spends less time in an inclusion class, depending on where she is educationally with that subject.

In Israel, Caila has an IEP, but does not receive many services in school. She has an in-school shadow 25 hours per week. Her private insurance pays for her other therapies, as schools in Israel tend not to believe in additional services within the school system unless a child is in a self-contained classroom. Due to this, Jodi had to become the CEO of Caila's intervention team. She had to do a lot more driving Caila to therapies and she had to begin guiding everyone on Caila's team.

Although Caila adjusted very quickly, socialization has been more difficult for Caila due to the way families and neighborhoods are set up. Although there has been no bullying, she has been excluded by a lot of peers.

Jodi has found that resources are much more limited in Israel. Finding therapies for Caila was easier than finding schooling, since they had already been using services from those places before they even moved to Israel. She found that social support networks have been key for learning valuable information about finding services for her daughter. She also discovered that natural born Israelis felt that people not from there expect too much and complain a lot and so therapists and staff tend not to communicate with parents much about the children.

To cope with being the coordinator of everything for Caila, Jodi recommends coffee and red wine. Find what gives you a boost and an outlet. She noted that creating a support network is mandatory, including a local, someone who speaks the language, other parents, and pioneers in that area. Don't be scared to ask people for help. Utilize services from advocacy groups. Search for and use all the resources you can find. Use social media for your benefit. Use concierge services upon moving to a new country. Use consultants when you need them.

Guest Links:

Website

Facebook

Instagram

LinkedIn

Chutzpah, Wisdom, and Wine: The Journey of an Unstoppable Woman

Email us if you have any questions or ideas!

We are now on instagram!

Check out updates on our website.

Follow Thriving on Twitter.

Check us out on Facebook!

We are also on Pinterest!

Please subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes store, or wherever you find your podcasts, Leave us a 5 star review, to help us know what you like and what you don't like, and to make sure other like-minded people find support through this podcast.

Show Music:

Intro Outro: Intro Outro 2 by Mattias Lahoud under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Theme Song: 90s rock style by monkeyman535 under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Self Care Song: Green and Orange No Water by Duncan Alex under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Hosted by: Jessica Temple and Lewis Temple

Disclaimer: Our show is not designed to provide listeners with specific or personal legal, medical, or professional services or advice. Parents of children with health issues should always consult their health care provider for medical advice, medication, or treatment.

Copyright 2021 Jessica and Lewis Temple

Episode 72: Free and Appropriate Public Education With Guest Dr. Steve Jacobson

In this episode, we discuss evaluations, FAPE, LRE, nonpublic placements, and giftedness. Guest Dr. Steve Jacobson suggests that if a parent feels something is wrong in the schools, they should talk to the teachers, then request a comprehensive evaluation in writing. Then the district gives something to the parents called a permission to evaluate. Even if a child has gotten an evaluation outside of the district, the school systems still have to do their own evaluation. The district will have 60 calendar days to complete the evaluation. If a district refuses to do an evaluation, let them know that you are thinking of talking to an attorney or plan on doing mediation and then they are more likely to do an evaluation.

It is most appropriate to ask for a private evaluation if you completely disagree with the school evaluation. If you already got an outside evaluation, all the school has to do is "consider it." To increase your chances of it being met with an open mind by the school, let the school know all the outside services your child is receiving, get input from the teachers in some way during the outside evaluation, have your evaluator do an observation in the classroom, have the evaluator be a certified school psychologist, and make sure the evaluator is licensed in the state in which the child is attending school.

If the reports from the school vs the private evaluator are very discrepant and you and the school cannot come to an agreement, you can seek out an attorney, seek mediation, seek the assistance of an advocate, or do a due process hearing. If you ask a district for an outside evaluation, if they say no, they have to request a hearing to defend their decision. Sometimes, the district may agree to pay part of the evaluation or will require you to pick certain evaluators. You can ask to be paid ahead of time or after the fact.

FAPE: Free and appropriate public education. FAPE grants special education students rights that typical students do not have. These student are entitled to a certain level of quality of education, although appropriate doesn't necessarily mean best. The placement has to be reasonably calculated to provide the child with benefit and meet the child's needs. If a parent totally disagrees with the placement, the outcome depends on the reason for the disagreement. First, try to resolve it amicably if possible, and if that doesn't work, one can do mediation or due process.

LRE: Least restrictive environment. Children with disabilities need to be educated with the max extent possible with non-disabled children. This varies by child. The max extent possible is often an inclusion classroom.

Nonpublic placement occurs when a school district is unable to provide the services needed for the child or unable to find an appropriate school system placement that meets the needs of the child of if a child is not progressing in the school system. To have your child enrolled in a nonpublic school, most hearing officers will not order a specific private school. If a school had provided the child with inappropriate education for a lengthy amount of time, the child will be owed compensatory education, which may result in nonpublic placement payment. Otherwise, a parent can start their child in a private school with their own money and the public school may reimburse the parents if the hearing officer agrees that the child needs a nonpublic placement.

Some states do not recognize giftedness. In the states that do, the children are still entitled to FAPE, and the district has to find them and find appropriate placements for the child. An IEP may still be required and must be individualized to that child. Sometimes there is a pullout gifted program. However, independent evaluations will not be paid for or reimbursed. There is also no tuition reimbursement. Moreover, there is also reimbursement for attorney fees for giftedness. The level of quality of a gifted education may vary. School districts have different ways of evaluating giftedness, and a child may not be considered gifted in each district.

Links:

The Education Lawyers

Email us if you have any questions or ideas!

We are now on instagram!

Check out updates on our website.

Follow Thriving on Twitter.

Check us out on Facebook!

We are also on Pinterest!

Please subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes store, or wherever you find your podcasts, Leave us a 5-star review, to help us know what you like and what you don't like, and to make sure other like-minded people find support through this podcast.

Show Music:

Intro Outro: Intro Outro 2 by Mattias Lahoud under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Theme Song: 90s rock style by monkeyman535 under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Self Care Song: Green and Orange No Water by Duncan Alex under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Hosted by: Jessica Temple and Lewis Temple

Disclaimer: Our show is not designed to provide listeners with specific or personal legal, medical, or professional services or advice. Parents of children with health issues should always consult their health care provider for medical advice, medication, or treatment.

Copyright 2021 Jessica and Lewis Temple

Episode 71: Online Speech Therapy With Guest Leanne Sherred

In this episode, we discuss speech therapy in times of COVID for kiddos who are verbal or nonverbal. Guest Leanne Sherred created Expressable, an online speech therapy company, to provide easier access to speech therapy. Speech therapy online is very similar to in-person speech therapy, but can also use additional multimedia and more parent involvement. Online therapy must be decided on an individual basis, as it might be tougher to work on swallowing (to reduce risk of choking and aspiration), or assist children who have a lot of sensory-based needs and have difficulty engaging in sessions.

Pros as outlined by Leanne: Very similar to other speech visits, can be done at home on the schedule that works for them, research has supported for teletherapy, therapists can use other media things (screen share, draw on screen, videos, pictures, animations), sessions online are engaging for kids, also uses a parent as a facilitator to help keep the kid engaged, gets parents more involved in treatment, the therapist can provide more parent coaching, the convenience factor, obtain more consistent therapies, and greater ease of carrying over the skills to home and school.

Cons: May not be a good fit for every child, the family might have limited internet or device access.

For kids to get the most out of the session, parents should be really present during the sessions, have a good understanding of the goals for their child, should speak a lot with their child, and should tell the therapist where they need more help in assisting their child with language. To help in daily life, model, narrate what you see, use consistency, surround the child with speech and language, pause and give them a chance to speak, and be patient.

For children who are nonverbal or have not yet acquired language, online speech therapy is doable, but parents would need to become more involved in sessions. They may also use AAC devices or PECS or a switch.

In therapies, therapists will make a plan to include language and practice throughout the day, potentially use alternative communication modalities, will work parallel with a screen or story, ask/answer questions, work with parents to provide them cues for what to do to work with their kids, and teach the child how to use alternative communication systems if they are needed.

Guest Links:

Blog

Website

Email

YouTube channel

Email us if you have any questions or ideas!

We are now on instagram!

Check out updates on our website.

Follow Thriving on Twitter.

Check us out on Facebook!

We are also on Pinterest!

Please subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes store, or wherever you find your podcasts, Leave us a 5-star review, to help us know what you like and what you don't like, and to make sure other like-minded people find support through this podcast.

Show Music:

Intro Outro: Intro Outro 2 by Mattias Lahoud under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Theme Song: 90s rock style by monkeyman535 under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Self Care Song: Green and Orange No Water by Duncan Alex under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Hosted by: Jessica Temple and Lewis Temple

Disclaimer: Our show is not designed to provide listeners with specific or personal legal, medical, or professional services or advice. Parents of children with health issues should always consult their health care provider for medical advice, medication, or treatment.

Copyright 2020 Jessica and Lewis Temple

Bonus Episode: Living With Auditory Processing Disorder

In this episode, Lewis discusses his experience with auditory processing disorder. Lewis was diagnosed with APD by an audiologist after a battery of tests. As a child, he would have difficulty understanding what his friends were saying to him, but he never knew why. In school, he had difficulty understanding what teachers were explaining. He performed better in classes that were more visually oriented. He had more difficulty understanding people in loud areas, and concerts were physically painful for his ears. At home, he misheard what his family was saying, on a regular basis. There was often miscommunication. Currently, APD continues to be challenging for him. At work, he has difficulty comprehending information provided to him at meetings, especially when there are background noises. At doctor appointments, he sometimes misses information or mixes up the information. When he talks to people on the phone, voices sound like gibberish. It is especially challenging when trying to understand his young children speaking, often in whining voices or talking over one another. Wearing headphones in noisy situations has really helped. Asking people to slow down also helps.

Email us if you have any questions or ideas!

We are now on instagram!

Check out updates on our website.

Follow Thriving on Twitter.

Check us out on Facebook!

We are also on Pinterest!

Please subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes store, or wherever you find your podcasts, Leave us a 5-star review, to help us know what you like and what you don't like, and to make sure other like-minded people find support through this podcast.

Show Music:

Intro Outro: Intro Outro 2 by Mattias Lahoud under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Theme Song: 90s rock style by monkeyman535 under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Self Care Song: Green and Orange No Water by Duncan Alex under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Hosted by: Jessica Temple and Lewis Temple

Disclaimer: Our show is not designed to provide listeners with specific or personal legal, medical, or professional services or advice. Parents of children with health issues should always consult their health care provider for medical advice, medication, or treatment.

Copyright 2020 Jessica and Lewis Temple

Episode 70: Auditory Processing Disorder With Guest Dr. Lilach Saperstein

In this episode, we discuss the ins and outs of auditory processing disorder (APD). Guest Dr. Lilach Saperstein noted that APD occurs when the brain can't properly pick out what is important to hear vs what is noise. APD is more likely to occur in children that have other disorders, such as ADHD or autism, although another possible contributing factor is chronic ear infections between 0-3 years of age. Diagnosis is typically only made starting at age 7, but can be screened starting at age 5.

APD presents differently in each child. Common signs include inattention, not answering to their name, constantly saying "what," "I didn't hear you," "did you call me?," needing to repeat things to the child, the child not being engaged to sounds around them when it is noisy or busy but attends when it is quiet, and the child experiencing frustration in communicating. Before being diagnosed with APD, one must have had ruled out hearing difficulties and ADHD. It is strongly recommended that a child also have a psychoeducational evaluation, speech and language evaluation, and a medical checkup, and the audiologist will also gather information from the teacher and parent. Although only audiologists can diagnose APD, speech therapists most typically do the treatment.

Dr. Saperstein provided the following tips for managing APD:

Tips: Visual cues along with auditory cues

Visual schedules for routines

One direction at a time

Repeat information back verbatim

FM system in the classroom (mic to kid's ear)

Learning an instrument

Preferential seating near front of the room, near the teacher

Pre-teaching key words of the lesson

Chunking information

Play Simon says (start slow, then speed up instructions)

Play chicken dance that gets faster and faster

Copy the beat

Written communication at school and work

Accommodations in the office

Listening to audio books and podcasts (slow down or speed up playback speed)

Guest Links:

All About Audiology

All About Audiology Guide

Instagram

Facebook

Khan Academy Kids

Teachers Pay Teachers

Email us if you have any questions or ideas!

We are now on instagram!

Check out updates on our website.

Follow Thriving on Twitter.

Check us out on Facebook!

We are also on Pinterest!

Please subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes store, or wherever you find your podcasts, Leave us a 5 star review, to help us know what you like and what you don't like, and to make sure other like-minded people find support through this podcast.

Show Music:

Intro Outro: Intro Outro 2 by Mattias Lahoud under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Theme Song: 90s rock style by monkeyman535 under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Self Care Song: Green and Orange No Water by Duncan Alex under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Hosted by: Jessica Temple and Lewis Temple

Disclaimer: Our show is not designed to provide listeners with specific or personal legal, medical, or professional services or advice. Parents of children with health issues should always consult their health care provider for medical advice, medication, or treatment.

Copyright 2020 Jessica and Lewis Temple

Episode 69: Our Crises of Faith

In this episode, Jessica and Lewis discuss their own crises of faith. Jessica's faith varied throughout her lifetime but was strong before having children. After both kids were diagnosed with special needs, the Jewish community in which she lives, her son was kicked out of a Jewish day school (and also abused him), neglected at another Jewish day school, and the community excluded her family. She started to resent the quantity of holidays that she was unable to participate in, and the huge food restrictions that her children were required to follow, when they were already very picky eaters. After seeing the discrimination and huge lack of support, she lost her faith in her religion.

Lewis tried out different religions growing up before he decided on Judaism. He threw himself headfirst into the religion and became very observant. He felt disconcerted after one Jewish day school neglected his son, and again after the other one kicked his son out for having autism. He later saw how LGBT folks were treated in the Jewish community and using bad terms for them in the scriptures and it being outright forbidden. He started to do more research and didn't like what he found. It was the last straw, because his deep down beliefs didn't match up with the scriptures. This led to a lot of resentment toward religion and he lost his faith.

Email us if you have any questions or ideas!

We are now on instagram!

Check out updates on our website.

Follow Thriving on Twitter.

Check us out on Facebook!

We are also on Pinterest!

Please subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes store, or wherever you find your podcasts, Leave us a 5-star review, to help us know what you like and what you don't like, and to make sure other like-minded people find support through this podcast.

Show Music:

Intro Outro: Intro Outro 2 by Mattias Lahoud under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Theme Song: 90s rock style by monkeyman535 under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Self Care Song: Green and Orange No Water by Duncan Alex under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Hosted by: Jessica Temple and Lewis Temple

Disclaimer: Our show is not designed to provide listeners with specific or personal legal, medical, or professional services or advice. Parents of children with health issues should always consult their health care provider for medical advice, medication, or treatment.

Copyright 2020 Jessica and Lewis Temple

Episode 68: Living An Extraordinary Life With Guest Jodi Samuels

In this episode, we discuss living an extraordinary life and experiencing crises of faith. Guest Jodi Samuels' youngest daughter Caila was born with Downs Syndrome. Although she had had testing ahead of time, it was never suggestive of Downs Syndrome, so the diagnosis came as a surprise. Jodi immediately jumped into activism. Once Caila was 2 years old, Jodi decided to place her in school at the same place her older symptoms were attending. However, her family was emphatically told Caila was not allowed to attend there. Jodi began to have community forums and reach out to the media, which led her to find her public voice.

She wanted to make sure that others received a positive message about special needs. She remained positive and proactive. Jodi took the approach of treating Caila as if she is neurotypical and Jodi has high expectations for her daughter. A lot of friends and family are accepting and accommodating of Caila. Jodi wanted to have her daughter in an inclusion classroom. However, most schools blindly said no. There was a lot of discrimination, even within the religious community. In sharing her experience, she found that a lot of parents went through similar experiences. Jodi has gone out of her way to live an extraordinary life even while raising a child with special needs.

She felt she had to choose between victim and victor, and chose to be the victor and live an extraordinary life. She defines this as living the life you want to and choose to live. She discourages living in complacency and mediocrity. The first step to thriving through a crisis is to believe that we can cope. Next, we need support. It is important to talk about what we are going through. Then put on a positive attitude and start taking steps. Being a supermom is having work, community, and family. She recommends making a to-do list and prioritizing things that have to get done. She also recommends scheduling in office time, home time, personal time, and family time. Delegating is really important, and don't forget that we are allowed to say no. She also recommends coffee/caffeine and wine. Balance is key.

Throughout adulthood and parenting, Jodi has experienced a crisis of faith, especially when her daughter was not allowed to attend Jewish day schools. Her husband says "don't judge Judaism by the Jews, judge it by the Torah." She found her faith when she found more accepting communities. Finding role models that she respected was helpful.

Guest Links:

Website

Facebook

Instagram

LinkedIn

Chutzpah, Wisdom, and Wine: The Journey of an Unstoppable Woman

Email us if you have any questions or ideas!

We are now on instagram!

Check out updates on our website.

Follow Thriving on Twitter.

Check us out on Facebook!

We are also on Pinterest!

Please subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes store, or wherever you find your podcasts, Leave us a 5 star review, to help us know what you like and what you don't like, and to make sure other like-minded people find support through this podcast.

Show Music:

Intro Outro: Intro Outro 2 by Mattias Lahoud under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Theme Song: 90s rock style by monkeyman535 under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Self Care Song: Green and Orange No Water by Duncan Alex under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Hosted by: Jessica Temple and Lewis Temple

Disclaimer: Our show is not designed to provide listeners with specific or personal legal, medical, or professional services or advice. Parents of children with health issues should always consult their health care provider for medical advice, medication, or treatment.

Copyright 2020 Jessica and Lewis Temple

Episode 67: Bullying Prevention With Guest Dr. Claire Thomas-Duckwitz

In this episode, we discuss eliminating bullying against students with special needs. Guest Dr. Claire Thomas-Duckwitz defines bullying as being mean on purpose, imbalance of power, being one-sided, and happening over and over again. An enormous percentage of children with special needs reported being bullied in school, so it is even more important to have a bullying prevention program in schools. Bullying prevention programs should include weekly instruction around concepts, embedding those concepts into the classroom discussions, skill building, good/effective playground supervision, noticing good behaviors, communication between paraprofessionals and teachers, parent training and meetings, the school spending time on positive values, and having positive relationships with the students.

Parent education should include educating parents on what bullying is, sending home letters to parents of topics to think about, and training parents on how to be advocates for your kids. It is important that teachers get training on how to respond to bullying. Training kids how to be specific about their words, choosing the right moment to report it, training kids how to be upstanders, explaining to kids what the special needs are/mean and why certain behaviors occur, ensuring that there is no opportunity for retaliation, and adequate supervision of children in the halls are all key. Parents should use authoritative parenting and provide their children with warmth. Schools should have a clear written bullying policy, have an evidence based bullying curriculum, talk about what it means to be an upstander, have advocacy goals should be included in the IEP, teach what bullying is and isn't and use precise language, teach children how to report mean behaviors, and teach them who to report bullying to. After the child has been bullied, validate their feelings, teach the kids to report the bullying, report the bullying yourself, and/or role play with your child what to do.

Links:

Links : A Little Cerebral Podcast

Facebook

Twitter

Website

Bully Prevention in PBIS

Olweus Program

Second Step

Facing History and Ourselves

Email us if you have any questions or ideas!

We are now on instagram!

Check out updates on our website.

Follow Thriving on Twitter.

Check us out on Facebook!

We are also on Pinterest!

Please subscribe to our podcast in the iTunes store, or wherever you find your podcasts, Leave us a 5-star review, to help us know what you like and what you don't like, and to make sure other like-minded people find support through this podcast.

Show Music:

Intro Outro: Intro Outro 2 by Mattias Lahoud under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Theme Song: 90s rock style by monkeyman535 under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Self Care Song: Green and Orange No Water by Duncan Alex under CC-BY 3.0 License (www.freesound.org)

Hosted by: Jessica Temple and Lewis Temple

Disclaimer: Our show is not designed to provide listeners with specific or personal legal, medical, or professional services or advice. Parents of children with health issues should always consult their health care provider for medical advice, medication, or treatment.

Copyright 2020 Jessica and Lewis Temple