Professional Photo's of your child with special needs

Pictures, pictures, pictures...Well, we all know how beautiful Hailey is, and her mom Natalie takes tons and tons of pictures of her. Everyone who meets Hailey says the same thing. “Wow, she has the most amazing smile”. She really does, her smile is contagious and inspiring, and truthful, her smile is like the sunshine to me, very warm and sensational, it brightens my day.
As many parents of special needs children know, having your child’s picture taken professionally is not always an easy task. Many of our children experience sensory issues and have a hard time with bright lights, maybe they have a hard time sitting in one position or have difficulty with head control. Why not Have a photographer come to the house. They can capture your child in their natural setting. This might make your child feel more relaxed. Well, a couple of years ago I wanted to have Hailey’s picture taken by a professional photographer so I had Jess from Boston Baby Photos come to our house. She was very good with Hailey, at the time Hailey was not very good with strangers and I was nervous that she wouldn’t be too cooperative, Jess did a great job of keeping her distance from Hailey while getting some really, really good shots of Her. You can see them here We have a beautiful photo book that we will treasure for a life time. Not realizing that it had been 2 years since Hailey’s last photo shoot, I figured I better call Jess again. We agreed on doing trade. She would do another beautiful photo shoot of miss Hailey and I would do a painting for her. I had so much fun painting her family, they look like they are having a great walk through the park. So whimsical and fun! If you are interested in a photo shoot from Jess and live in the Boston area you can contact her here. The photographer who has taken the photo of Jess and her family is here.

Have you had trouble taking professional photo’s of your child? If so, do you have any tips on how to make your child comfortable during a photo shoot, maybe he/she has a favorite toy that may help them feel relaxed.

"Good Intentions"

At this time of year reflection on the past and resolutions for the future tend to occupy our minds. Resolutions are hard to keep for everyone. In families with special needs children it is even more difficult. It was my intention to do a post on New Years Resolutions then I decided that I hate making resolutions, to me they feel like added pressure and commitments and who needs more of those? So Instead I decided to post a list of “Good Intentions” I have derived a list of 10 good intentions or things that I will keep in mind in the upcoming year. Then I will post it on my refrigerator as a subtle reminder. Please add your suggestions to the comment section below.

1) Be patient with others who don’t understand and sometimes say thoughtless or hurtful words. Instead of being bitter, channel your energy into educating them.
2) Promote independence by involving your child in everyday activities. Even if it gets done faster by doing it yourself.
3) Ask yourself what small thing you can do in your community to help raise awareness for people who have disabilities.Then make those things happen.
4) Hug your child even more than you do all ready if that is possible.
5) Laugh...If you lost it somewhere along the road, try and find your laughter. It is in fact the best medicine (and you don’t even have to fight your insurance company for it).
6) Get involved in your child’s school. Volunteer to read books, or serve snacks etc. Meeting the parents of your child’s classmates can be a lesson learned.
7) Enjoy the moment. Don’t let the everyday hustle and bustle of life overshadow your precious moments. Savor the moments and enjoy them while they are happening. After all, there is no rewind button on life.
8) Celebrate the smallest of accomplishments. Praise and encouragement are two very important things to do for your child’s development.
9) Share what you have learned in your journey with other parents who have similar struggles, you will teach them and you will also learn from them.
10) Get off the Internet! Make sure that you are prioritizing your time with constructive play and quality time with your child. This is therapy for both of you without feeling like a traditional therapy and so rewarding too. Save the internet for when your child is asleep.

To sign or not to sign THAT is the question

Well I guess we have been thinking whether or not it is a good idea for Hailey to learn more sign language. On ocassion Hailey sometimes says partial words, for example: When I ask her if she wants to read a book she used to comment “a boo” not totally finishing the word but everybody new what she was trying to say. Earlier on we learned a few words in sign language so that ultimately Hailey’s frustration level would be down a bit and also so we could open up the lines of communication, and to give her more choices. It seems since she has learned the sign for book, she no longer says “a boo”. This causes concern for my family. We have to ask ourselves if this is something we want to continue doing. We do not want her to use sign language INSTEAD of trying to use her voice.
Last night we had Christine come to the house, she taught us the alphabet in sign as well as a lot of different signs that might be helpful to Hailey. It was so much fun to learn (my fingers hurt). She has been working with children who have autism for over 10 years and she also had some great ideas to help with speech development and motor skills as well. Christine did such a wonderful job showing us how to sign and she even let us videotape her so that I could share it with all my blogger friends who have children that have a hard time communicating verbally. I hope that some of you can also benefit from these short clips.
In addition to learning sign I also learned that although we were initially nervous about signing preventing her speech development, research suggests very strongly that this is not the case. In fact the opposite occurs, as signing seems to positively encourage speech development.

Tell me your thoughts about American Sign Language and share your experiences with us.

Hailey crosses the finish line!

It's been awhile since my last post, I am just so proud of Hailey! Not only because she is doing well with her gait trainer but also because she is really enjoying showing off her new set of wheels and playing with the other children. In the video you can see and hear the reactions from the other children at the park. At one point she seems to be the envy of a curious little boy (we'll call him George). He thinks what she is riding is like an airplane! He comments that he has never seen a bike like that. He is asking all kinds of questions and at one point he asks why Hailey isn't talking. Another curious girl was just staring quietly at Hailey. I realize that this is probably something that Hailey will have to face her whole life, and at some point she will probably be picked on or even treated mean. I am not quite sure how to handle this, I was not quite sure how we should have answered George's questions. I find it hard to explain to children in a way that they would understand, and at the same time being sensitive to the fact that Hailey is listening to everything that is being said. I'm sure that it is natural for George to be curious about Hailey not being able to walk and talk, but at the same time Hailey must be curious about why everyone around her CAN walk and talk. Educating adults about Hailey's disability is hard enough, not an easy thing for adults to grasp. Talking to children, Hailey included, it's difficult to know the right thing to say. I hope that with today's school system having more inclusive classrooms it will help typical children to understand how to talk and act and play with their peers despite their ability.
(click on the video below)

With the summer here and more things to be done out doors I haven't had much time for painting, but I do have some work hanging at The Mud House. So if any of you are in the Dorchester area, stop by The Mud House 389 Neponset Ave. They serve the best coffee, sandwiches and pastry fresh daily. Thank you to all who purchased Cerebral Palsy stained glass ribbons, and remember we can make any color awareness ribbon that you would like to support.