The Fine Art of Consequences – Part II
–by Julie Beem In my last post, I wrote about a mom in search of an appropriate consequence for her daughter’s misbehavior at school. I suggested that an at-home consequence (taking away Wednesday night church activities) for an in-school behavior might not be the best approach, in part because children with brains affected by trauma […]
The Fine Art of Consequences – Part I
–By Julie Beem A mother called me a while back. “What consequence can I give her?” she started, “She just won’t behave at school and the teacher keeps sending home notes. The only thing I can think of, the only thing she seems to enjoy is going to our church’s Wednesday night events. If I […]
Spring is in the Air
–by Lorraine Fuller If you live in a house with trauma, you know that not all seasons are created equal. Most kids do better with a regular routine, but especially special needs kids. As parents of those special kiddos, we learn how to tiptoe around holidays and traditions. We often clash with relatives, neighbors or teachers […]
Praise – A Double-Edged Sword
–by Julie Beem I read about some interesting research on praise in an educator’s blog that cited a study done by Dr. Carol Dweck of Stanford on praising 5th graders. (These were neurotypical 5th graders, BTW.) The experiment went like this. They gave 400 5th graders a simple puzzle in which everyone did well and […]
Bad Kids = Bad Parenting?
Blog manager’s note: Due to the sensitive nature of this post, ATN has decided, as an exception to our usual practice, to allow the contributing blogger to publish this post anonymously and without images. We trust that our readers will understand. Most parents hear about a school shooting and cry because they realize their kids […]
20 Years after the Fetal Alcohol Diagnosis
–Craig Peterson Manager’s note: you can read the original post, along with many others, on Craig’s own blog at https://adoptingfaithafathersunconditionallove.org/ Craig also has a forthcoming memoir, Adopting Faith: A Father’s Unconditional Love, and you can follow his son Andrew’s story by clicking “Like” on his special Facebook page, Andrew Peterson Goes for the Gold Jan was a gem, a […]
4 Reasons Parenting Trauma is Incredibly Difficult
Note from the blog manager: every once in a while, someone at ATN finds a post that is simply too good not to share. I am so glad that this week’s guest, Monica, agreed to let me re-publish it here. To learn more about this “emerging mama” and her life of faith and as an adoptive mom, […]
Being Investigated? Be Prepared.
Manager’s note: Altogether too many families raising traumatized kids have been investigated on false charges of abuse or neglect. This might be triggered a school retaliating against a family advocating for their challenging child, an ignorant bystander, or even the child himself. Not that it really matters who starts it. The point is, families needs […]
Failure is always an option
by: Lorraine Fuller I have been a special needs parent for almost 24 years. My oldest was diagnosed with Aspergers and dysgraphia. That presented a few challenges, but we were able to overcome them. Then my second son played a big part in helping my older son become super high-functioning, even as he dealt with […]
What if it’s NOT the most wonderful time of the year?!
Greetings from your new blog manager. You will be hearing more from me next week. Meanwhile, does the chaos of this image remind you a little too much of the holidays where you live? Craig Peterson shares some wisdom for helping our trauma kids through a time that can be filled with anything but love, joy, […]