eSpecially Ben

Artist: Ben, age 6 Made with a painted egg-shaped Styrofoam base, this penguin has felt arms, feet, nose and bow-tie. His googly eyes give him a sophisticated look. Check out more works of art: 5 Minutes for Special Needs

 If you live in the Charlotte area, this is a great event to attend. If you do not live here, it is a great event to copy for your region. Easter Seals UCP presents symposium on navigating mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse services in Mecklenburg County CHARLOTTE, NC (April 16, 2010) - - Easter Seals UCP (United Cerebral Palsy), a nonprofit serving children and adults with disabilities and mental health challenges, is holding an event to educate the community about various mental health, developmental disabilities and substance abuse programs and services available in Mecklenburg County  and how to navigate and gain access to these services.  The Mecklenburg County Service Delivery Symposium will be held on Saturday, April 24 from 10:00 a.m. – 2:00 p.m. at University of North Carolina at Charlotte (UNCC) in the College of Health and Human Service building, room 155 .  Grayce Crockett, Mecklenburg County mental health director, will be the op

  AMBUCS is an organization that offers adapted tricycles for children with disabilities for free. These photos are of Ben on his first Amtryke -delivered in March 2006, when he was three years old. This tricycle did so many wonderful things for Ben. Sitting upright in the tricycle allowed him to get out of the stroller and see everything he'd been missing. It also required him to use his core muscles, helping to build strength. Ben looked his age by riding, and not sitting in a stroller or being carried. His "cool ride" brought independence to Ben for the first time. All tricycles are paid through donations from people around the nation. AMBUCS chapters raise money and awareness. If you are interested in donating, you may view the Wish Lists in two different ways: Wish List by State Wish List by Date Today I received a postcard from AMBUCS asking us to take action. The following words are taken verbatim from the postcard: AMBUCS was chosen this month

 As part of my 12 Month Challenge , I ran the Cooper River Bridge Run on Saturday, March 27, 2010 in Charleston, SC with a good friend. This is my account of the experience. What a beautiful, fantastic, adrenaline-fused race . I have already contacted AAA about reserving a hotel room for next year. But at 4:30am, when the alarm went off, and even 15 minutes before start time, I swore I would never run this race again. EVER!   Image by www.islandphoto.com Then the race began and within seconds, I changed my mind. The excitement of being a part of 38,000+ runners was amazing. Helicopters circled overhead as race participants waved and hooted at them. Music was heard everywhere - from musicians on the side of the road to bands on rooftops. As we headed toward the top of the bridge, the helicopters still flew above us, but no one was waving back now. We were at a steep incline and all focus was on the goal. When I reached the top, I cheered, as did everyone else. It was cause fo

Ben insisted on sitting in this kayak in our backyard. I told him 'no' the first time, but that did not stop him. Later I found out that Ben's baby brother sat in it this past weekend.  Ben just wanted his turn. See more photos at www.5minutesforspecialneeds.com

A few weeks ago I attended a workshop presented by a behavior therapist. As it turned out, I went to a conference on the same topic over a year ago. I will describe what I have taken away from these methods in my own words - but please take a look at the links I have provided below. After I learned about this, life with children made a lot more sense to me. Not that this is earth shattering material, but it helped me to better understand the hows, whats and whys of behavior in children, and occasionally husbands. I am in no way an expert in this - just a parent who wants to share a behavior strategy that has worked in our home. I hope to inspire others to explore it further.  Any errors in information comes from me and cannot be blamed on the presenters. Also, you may have seen ABA - Applied Behavior Analysis - connected most often with Autism - please do not let this deter you if your child is not autistic. I use these methods with all my children, none of which are labeled au

Ben made this at school using a toilet paper tube as the base and then glued on a crayon-colored cut-out. See other works of art at: 5 Minutes for Special Needs .