Special needs
Here's a collection of all of our articles filed under special needs
Long Journey on a Short BusHaving a Sibling With Down SyndromeBy Karen MurphyNathaniel and Serena, Eric’s older brother and sister, arrived in Seattle last week to visit me before school starts. They got in my car, looked around, and then at each other.
“It feels weird without Eric here,” Nathaniel said finally,...
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Long Journey on a Short BusThis Year, He Gets a PonyBy Karen MurphySo your kid’s going to kindergarten in the fall. Congratulations. Quick! What should his college major be? YOU HAVE TO KNOW NOW.
[insert Jeopardy music here.]
What’s the matter, can’t decide? Maybe because Junior still can’t...
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Long Journey on a Short BusHeads: Rocket Science; Tails: BasketweavingBy Karen MurphyMy son Eric is being kicked out of preschool. Kicked upstairs, really — next year he’ll be thrown into kindergarten instead, stepping into the flow of his next 20 years. Public education, special-needs style. Short bus stuff.
The Transition...
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Long Journey on a Short BusI Have Down Syndrome RadarBy Karen MurphyI spot them, the people with Down syndrome, a mile away. There’s something about them that’s instantly recognizable to me, something in the way they hold themselves or the way they look at other people. It’s like they are my son Eric,...
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Long Journey on a Short BusYes, My Kid is RetardedBy Karen MurphyGo ahead. Call my kid retarded. I don’t mind.
No, that’s not a challenge, go ahead call my kid retarded I DARE YOU. (And then WHAM! Off with your head!) It’s not a trick. It’s not. Really. It’s … an invitation.
Retarded.
We...
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Long Journey on a Short BusOff to never never land.By Karen MurphyThey’re talking about school next year. My kid is going to school. Not the special ed preschool he’s attended for the past three years, but school-school. Big Kid School. Short bus school. Maybe even mainstream school.
I don’t...
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Long Journey on a Short BusHe's not quite for sale.By Karen MurphyYou sort of have to admire anyone—even if it’s a child of just five—who honestly doesn’t care what people think of him. A kid who seeks to simply enjoy himself, not at anyone’s expense, but just from the joy it brings...
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Long Journey on a Short BusRevising the rules.By Karen MurphyHe was clearly excited and he clutched his ticket tightly, keeping his eyes on the airport gate agent. From time to time he glanced at other passengers milling about and waiting to board the plane, answering their questions—if they acknowledged...
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Long Journey on a Short BusMy kid's going to die. Is yours?By Karen MurphyThe thing that sets parents of kids with special needs apart from other parents is simple. Death. The rule is that parents die before their kids do. That’s the way it’s supposed to be. Everyone knows it, and everyone accepts it. Kids are not...
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Long Journey on a Short BusThe Club.By Karen MurphyLast year just before Halloween we shopped for costumes. Each and every year for years before that I had lovingly and painstakingly sewed intricate costumes, despite knowing next to nothing about sewing, but now that Eric was of age to wear one I felt...
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Long Journey on a Short BusOutside the BoxBy Karen MurphyI have decided that in my next life I am going to be my son. Of all the people I know he is the one who seems to be having the best time.
Eric goes to a special-needs preschool four mornings a week. Other than some cryptic hastily-scrawled daily notes...
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Long Journey on a Short BusThe support group didn't cover this part.By Karen MurphyI have a secret.
Well, it’s not really a secret. Anybody with half a brain can see that my son has Down syndrome. Of course, anybody with Down syndrome only has half a brain. Ba dum bum.
(I can tell those tasteless jokes because believe...
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The Pool PartyBy Christina DeanneI sat that cold January afternoon by the diving board watching our coats. Mark, his sister Grace and his little brother Vic were at the other end of the high school pool holding on to the side. My husband, Marty, was with them on this scouting party....
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Special Needs of the Gifted ChildExceptional minds have requirements, too.By Kristina AshlockWhen we think of a child with special needs, we tend to think of a child who is autistic, has ADHD or suffers with dyslexia. Rarely does the gifted child come to mind. I don’t particularly like the term “gifted”, nor does my 8-year-old...
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