Chicago Special Parent Magazine 2008

PLAYTIME HO HOW WE DO IT “EVERY DAY IS A NEW CHALLENGE, a new triumph and a new heartache. I n often talk about how we get to celebrate of little triumphs every day—those little lit things that our kids learn to do that th other parents take for granted. And I o use every day to … learn more about u my son, myself and love itself.” m Toys for kids who need d p extra help For an easy way to purchase toys for children with special needs, check out the new section on toys lfor children with developmental delays on www.ebeanstalk.com. . el The company’s panel of e experts, which include psychologists, occupah th it l tional therapists and speech therapists, evaluate each toy the company sells. Toys in the developmental delays section are categorized by areas of delays, such as cognitive or social, rather than by specific disabilities. “You can’t pick a toy based on a condition. The spectrum of Downs or autism is all over the place,” says Brian Gordon, one of the company’s founders. “We thought it would be better based on the developmental delay of the child. And it doesn’t have to be a special Wade Rankin, Naperville needs child, it can be a child who’s just a little behind in one area. This is a more inclusive way to deal with what’s going on.” Each toy includes a card describing how to get the most out of the toy and the skills the toy is best at developing, such as locomotion, imagination or dexterity. If parents need more help choosing a toy for their child, the Web site has an “Ask the Experts” section where you can get specific questions on toys answered. For more information, visit the Web site or call (877) 359-3428. “I THINK MY BEST ADVICE THAT I can offer to other parents of children with of special needs is to enjoy each and every sp accomplishment of your child. I rememac ber as Cameron would reach a milestone be I would immediately start to think about the next goal and how much work was ahead of us rather than stopping and just savoring the moment. It took me a long time to realize how important this was and once I did I found that I was more rejuvenated to work towards the next goal.” “MY BEST ADVICE FOR RAISING a child with special needs is: 1. Prayer 2. Don’t re-invent the wheel, reach out to others who have been through what you have. 3. Use books, magazines, newspaper articles as a reference. 4. If you’re a stay-at-home mother like me, it’s important to take some time for yourself. You’re no help to your children if you are stressed and worn out. 5. Have at least one good friend. 6. Have a good babysitter.” babysitter. Becki Enck, Crystal Lake SAFETY Tracking systems give parents rents peace of mind f Families whose children bolt and run may find some peace of mind nology through new technology that s electronically tracks lost people nsmitter. wearing a tiny transmitter. Care nly Trak is available only to parth ents of children with special ck needs and can track a e child up to one mile on the ht, ground, day or night, inside or outside. bile, Care Trak is mobile, rent so as soon as a parent s realizes a child has vanished, she can take the receiver outside and track him immediately. Because it is a telemetry-based tracking system, obstacles or overhead cover, such as clouds, don’t hinder it like GPS-based systems, which can’t track indoors or in bad weather. “It’s a godsend for a lot of parents because of the stress from having to watch this kid all the time,” says Mike Chylewski, vice president of operations. “And the beauty of this is, it runs 24 hours a day.” The 1-ounce transmitter can be worn on the wrist or ankle and features a tamper-resistant band. The system costs $1,400. However, some local police departments, such as Naperville, Bolingbrook and Orland Park, have purchased their own and give families of children with special needs a free tracking bracelet. For information, call (800) 842-4537 or visit www.caretrak. com. Alison Marie Bell, Westchester Kamren, 3 Liz DeCarlo ChicagoParent.com | Specıal Parent 2008 CHICAGO | 7 http://www.ebeanstalk.com http://www.caretrak.com http://www.caretrak.com http://ChicagoParent.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Chicago Special Parent Magazine 2008

Chicago Special Parent Magazine 2008 Contents In Our Shoes Of Mothers and Mission Control A Love Story Keeping the Whole Family Well What Do I Do? Resources God's Special Child Our Kids Inspirations

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.