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Kelly Preston Speaks About Son’s Autism

Kelly Preston has opened up about the death of her son, Jett Travolta, for the first time. She feels that chemical and environmental factors contributed to his health issues. It was known that he had Kawasaki disease. Kelly Preston has now revealed that he also had autism. Jett Travolta was the son of Kelly Preston and John Travolta. Jett died in 2009 at the age of 16. He had a seizure and hit his head while in the bathtub. He was found unconscious by a caretaker. This occurred while the family was on vacation in the Bahamas. Jett had Kawasaki … Continue reading →

FDA Approves Liquid ADHD Medication

The Food and Drug Administration has approved of a liquid extended release medication for ADHD. It is called Quillivant XR. This could be really helpful for children (and adults) who require medication in pill form to treat their ADHD and who have difficulty swallowing pills. Typically, ADHD is treated with a combination of cognitive – behavioral therapy and prescription medication. Acupuncture has been found to also be helpful in reducing some of the symptoms of ADHD. Others feel that a specific diet can help, and there are some parents who prefer to give their child coffee instead of medication. Prescription … Continue reading →

Homecoming, Halloween, Toy Catalogs, and More!

This Special Needs Week in Review blog just so happens to fall on the very last day of September. A wide variety of subjects hit the blog this week. There are blogs about homecoming rumors, Halloween activities for kids with special needs, a new drug, a new toy guide, and some concern about “clustering”. Arbaclofen May Help Symptoms of Fragile X Syndrome Arbaclofen, (also called STX209), has been approved to treat one of the symptoms of Fragile X Syndrome. It helps with social withdrawal. There is potential that this drug might also help people who have an autism spectrum disorder … Continue reading →

School Worker Handed Child the Wrong Medication

A nine year old boy was handed the wrong medications at school. A school worker tried to hand him ADHD medication. He doesn’t have ADHD. Parents may want to take the time to make sure that their children can visually identify their medication, just in case a mix up like this happens at their school. This incident happened in a school that is located in the UK, but it could potentially happen in a school in the United States as well. A nine year old boy named Alfie was handed ADHD medication when he was at school. The problem is … Continue reading →

Parent Sues Autism Speaks for Disability Discrimination

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A mother of a teenager who has autism has filed a lawsuit against Autism Speaks. The reason is because Autism Speaks rescinded on a job offer after she requested workplace accommodations that would allow her to care for her son. It seems strange that an autism awareness group would deny that that type of request. According to Disability Scoop Simone Greggs was offered a job as a walk events manager at Autism Speaks office in Washington D.C., in May of 2012. To get this job, she had to successfully complete five different interviews, a pre-employment background check, and a drug … Continue reading →

Cat People vs. Dog People

I’ve already debunked the whole cats and dogs can never get along theory. What about whether you’re a cat person or a dog person, and what that says about your personality? I recently caught part of a NOVA documentary exploring that very thing, and I wish I’d seen more of it. The opening was full of cat people and dog people talking about the respective attributes of their favorite mammals, before examining what life is like at home for each of them. Although the concept was fascinating, I felt a little put out. What about me? I love dogs and … Continue reading →

Communication Breakdown

What do you do when your marriage has experienced a communication breakdown? It happens to the best of marriages, so it might be helpful to plan for these occasions ahead of time. I will admit it has been an issue in my marriage lately. When this happens it is almost always because of a stressor, particularly with our children. What we have been dealing with lately is a lot of emotional ups and downs, now that we are facing the departure of our oldest son. He will be leaving in just under three weeks for basic training in the Air … Continue reading →

Nuance Helps Your Child to “Speak Dragon”

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A company named Nuance has created a very special type of assistive software. It is called “Dragon Speech Recognition Software”. It can help children (and adults) who have certain types of special needs to be able to transcribe their thoughts. This might make homework a little less painful! School can be really difficult for children who have learning disabilities. Many schools have reduced the number of teachers and paraeducators due to budget cuts. This means that there are now more children placed into one classroom due to necessity, and not because this is the best way to provide an education. … Continue reading →

Special Needs Blog Week in Review – June 10 – 16, 2012

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Once a week, the Special Needs Blog Week in Review brings you a brief summary of each of the blogs that appeared here in the past seven days. This gives you a really easy way to find everything that went up, in case you missed anything. The Special Needs Podcast Roundup went up on June 11, 2012. This week, I’d like to point out an episode of “Hope Saves the Day”. They speak with Marglit Francus, who is the founder of Autistic Globetrotting. It is a non-profit website that is designed to inspire and encourage autistic families to explore the … Continue reading →

Home Based Business Idea – Caterer

If your friends and family are constantly complimenting the meals and snacks that you prepare, you may be able to share your culinary skills with a larger audience by becoming a home – based caterer. There is always a demand for catering services and while owning and operating a catering business can be very demanding it can also be very rewarding. It’s also a great way to engage your creative talents. Before you get started on the fun part of designing your products and menus, write up a very thorough business plan to make sure that you have everything covered. … Continue reading →