Stay Strong, Jonah

A Winner and A Loser

First the winner! The winner of the caption contest is Janet with her suggestion of "No mom, I DON'T have to use the bathroom!". I'm positive that any mothers that read this blog can identify with that caption :)

So Janet, email me with your contact information and I will get the Target $25 gift card sent to you posthaste!

Now the loser. A baby bluejay fell out of its nest in the big maple tree in our front yard, and was immediately attacked by a larger brownish bird. There was so much commotion between the two that I was unable to identify the type of bird that attacked.

But look at this face...We tried to help the little one, but he/she just kept trying to fly away. Since it wasn't able to fly, I was afraid it would hurt itself more by trying. We gave it some space and will check again soon...

In The News....

Why we must all be careful on the big Internet playground. Things are not always what they seem. Even people who write very compelling stories about their child with rare diseases may not be telling the truth…

Blogger Lies About Having Child With Rare Disease


Pediatricians are taking a stand on bullying. We’ve moved past the ‘kids will be kids’ mindset, and real action must be taken. Next month, the American Academy of Pediatrics will publish the new version of an official policy statement on the pediatrician’s role in preventing youth violence. To read more about this very important topic:

Pediatricians Against Bullying


Have you struggled as much as I have trying to get appropriate Braille instruction for your child? Apparently a lot of parents have, and the National Federation of the Blind is doing something about that – at least in Utah. Hopefully the NFB lawsuit will raise awareness and perhaps even help make changes for children across the United States.

National Federation of the Blind Files Suit


This story from my alma mater troubles me. I am quite aware of the fact that parents of children who are deaf have very definite views on whether to let their children have cochlear implants. As I have written many times on this blog, I don’t believe Ashley needs ‘fixing’ with a device implanted in her brain just because she is deaf. However, I respect the rights of other parents to make a different choice for their child.

I am concerned though when doctors and schools appear to make those decisions for families. My school district, for example, embraced an oral deaf program to the exclusion of sign language programs many years ago. As a result, getting sign language support for Ashley has been an ongoing struggle for me.

Is Old Dominion University following the same path as my school district…?

No Middle Ground?

When Is It Bullying?

At the IEP meeting this week for my 16 year old son, Corey, a comment shared by one of Corey’s teachers was that Corey had a hard time knowing when his peers were joking around. Corey would take the joking personally and get upset and frustrated.

Corey is diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome and peer relationships have always been a bit of an issue for him. But, I was seeing a few red flags this time.

The day before the IEP meeting, Corey came up to me as soon as I arrived home from work, and in his typical ‘Corey style’, asked me, “Is it considered assault if someone comes up from behind, pulls back on your throat, and covers your mouth?” I told him yes, that could be considered assault in certain circumstances. He turned and left and appeared not to want to share anymore information.

The IEP meeting comment coming so close to Corey’s question, made me start thinking about bullying. I know most of our school systems are hypersensitive to the issue of bullying, and Corey’s IEP team was very responsive when I broached the subject. But, it just made me wonder. How do you know when joking around becomes bullying?

Normally, I would rely on how my child is feeling – does it feel like joking around or worse than that? But with Corey, and his often inaccurate reading of emotions, I just don’t know.

What are some of the warnings I should be on the lookout for? Have any of you had to deal with bullying and your child with disabilities, and if so, what tipped you off to the fact that it was happening?