This was our best special needs family vacation yet—proof that flexibility, preparation, and tiny wins can add up to big confidence. If your family is planning a special needs vacation, these ideas may help. Just before I sat down to write this blog, I was on the phone with two of the people who are […]
Timing is Everything: Planning a Trip and When to Tell Elizabeth
So how do we handle or decide how to tell Elizabeth something that might be stressful to her? Timing is everything! I will let you know what we have done most recently. But to give a bit of context, my husband and I decided to go on a vacation for 3 days to see our […]
Avoiding Backsliding: The Active Effort of Practicing Good Habits
Quick answer: When routines change, even strong skills can “backslide.” Practicing good habits helps us most. I STOP, pause my cues, and remember Elizabeth can do it and knows she can. Practicing good habits has been on my mind a lot lately. I am about 4 months out from the fall that broke my leg. […]
A Parent’s Perspective: The Journey of Feeding & Mealtime
Quick answer: For Elizabeth, feeding was less about food variety and more about the motor planning steps of self-feeding. What helped was breaking utensil use into small steps, practicing often, and staying patient as dyspraxia and sensory needs made habits hard to change. Mealtime today: slow and steady As I watch Elizabeth eat her dinner […]
Special Needs Parenting Newsletter: A Parent’s Perspective Introduction
Quick answer: This newsletter is where I’ll continue sharing Elizabeth’s journey and a parent’s perspective on therapy, growth, and day-to-day life with special needs. Welcome to this special needs parenting newsletter. Hi to everyone! My name is Michele Gianetti, and I am a mother to 3 beautiful children. Meet Elizabeth My middle child, Elizabeth, has […]
Adjusting to so much change!
I hope everyone liked the pictures of Emily’s graduation on my last blog. Especially the ones with Elizabeth in them! It was quite a big day for us all both physically and mentally especially with what it meant to our lives. Emily was done with medical school! We are so very proud of her. Emily […]
What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up?
It is funny but when you are young the one thing you are asked more than anything is “What do you want to be when you grow up?” The answers given are always interesting especially if you ask a three-year-old. They usually respond with an unusual combination like a candy maker and astronaut. But the […]
How to Raise Awareness for Your Child’s Special Needs
One of the phrases that I say a lot is “the gift of Elizabeth.” I use it to talk about the perspective that having her in our lives gives us. I use it to talk about the love she has brought to our world. I use it to talk about the way she has changed our lives and the lives […]
How to Tend to Special Needs Child on Thanksgiving
Raise your hand if you cannot believe we are one day away from Thanksgiving, the official unofficial beginning of the holiday season. I feel like I just shut my door at the end of Halloween and then … BAM, we are talking turkey, stuffing, days off and then … gulp … Christmas. I try to […]
Wrapping Up the First Year of College
So hard to believe that Elizabeth is finishing her first year at her college program. I am so proud of her and all she is doing and all she is pushing herself to do. For the child who once feared the loudness of the cafeteria at high school, it is wonderful to know she heads […]