eSpecially Ben

When my longtime friend, Carla, strongly recommended Ben see a chiropractor during the period when he was not sleeping, I decided it would not hurt to try it. Luckily, the mother of one of Sean's classmates is a chiropractor, and I was able to get him an appointment with Neva Doctor .  At the first appointment, Ben was apprehensive but warmed to Neva quickly. By the second visit, Ben nearly jumped out of the car to get into the building. Once inside the room, he moved his foot pedals aside to get onto the table. To me, he clearly was enjoying the pressure Neva applied with her special tools. Her approach with Ben was gentle. She did not force him to do anything he did not want to do. She asked him if it was okay to massage his feet or face, and then she waited patiently to see if he responded positively. The goals of these chiropractic visits were to help Ben with sleep and breathing. Because we have introduced so many things during the same time period (no dairy, new medici

Between the ages of two and four, most of Ben's therapies were at a clinic. I spent many hours with Logan hanging out in the waiting room while Ben did his thing with the therapist. It was not a favorite time of my life, but a highlight was meeting one other mom, named Shira, who also had a child with special needs who was also the same age as Ben. My first impression of Shira was one of awe. She had a laminated card system explaining her son, Cayden, to anyone who cared to know. It hung from his wheelchair and was brightly colored. Not only was she organized and informative, Shira was also approachable and friendly. Having someone to talk to during the office visit made the time go by much more quickly. After weeks of spending time in an old dark waiting room, we became friends. Now we do not see each other very often, but we have a bond through our children, shared experiences and respect for one another. I truly feel that if I needed something, I could call upon Shira. (

Leave it to Kim, Ben's longtime caregiver and family friend, to catch Ben doing the chair trick and videotape it. It is not for the faint of heart, especially mothers or grandmothers. The camera jumps when it looks like Kim might have to prevent a spill. After witnessing this climb, Kim's recommendation was to leave the tray off the chair so that Ben could get in it properly without risking life and limb. Sounds like a good idea to me.