New Podcast: Guilt is the last thing with which a parent of a child with epilepsy needs to deal, especially on top of the daily challenges taking care of that child and balancing family life poses.  Unfortunately, it’s something that many feel and only a few know how to overcome. 

A parent may feel guilty because:

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In this day and age our kids do more than ever. Gymnastics cheer classes, football, soccer, T ball, karate classes, the list goes on and on. That means a lot of time traveling from place to place.  We assume that businesses and parks which cater to children are child proof and child ready, but that is not always the case. Especially in this day and age of economic uncertainty and recession, more and more people are cutting corners. This means less supervision less supplies and less first aid kit replenishment.

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Parents Learn About The Endless Benefits Of Reading Aloud To Children

Reading to your child is critical for their development. In fact, there are endless benefits of reading aloud to children.

Children who are read to from a very young age grow up with a positive attitude about reading. Because they enjoyed being read to when young, they often have a natural interest in learning to read as they grow up. Not only will children enjoy reading by repeated exposure, children also learn language skills which can do many things for them, including increase their vocabulary.

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Having a child with special needs of any kind can be difficult. Even something as simple sounding as a peanut allergy can be a nightmare to navigate. It sounds simple, right? I mean, avoid peanuts.

Then you start looking at labels because you mention it to the waitress that you need a jelly and jelly sandwich due to your son’s peanut allergy and she gets a serious look on her face.

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Recently I started to blog on another Epilepsy website called EpilepsyOutreach.org based in Chicago. The executive director, Erin Leyden who I was able to meet in person, set me up my own personal blog on her website.  Having dealt with these challenges for 18 years now, I was able to come up with 10 important tips for parents who may be overwhelmed and need a little encouragement and direction.

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At last!  A child-friendly cookbook for preparing delicious meals that don’t contain gluten, casein and many other common allergens.  Banana bread, cinnamon pancakes, chicken nuggets, cookies, pizza and enchiladas. Not foods you’d expect to see in the diet of a child with food intolerances and allergies.  But the Kid-Friendly ADHD and Autism Cookbook, by Pamela Compart and Dana Laake can help any child on an elimination diet fall in love with food all over again!

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Finally, a thorough article outlining the complexities and dangers of having epilepsy. The April 20th edition of Newsweek magazine did a front page story on "The Mystery of Epilepsy - Why we must find a cure". Great to see this kind of recognition from a major publisher.

13 Full pages have been dedicated to the story. The title of the article is "A Storm in the Brain - The toll of epilepsy has been overlooked and research underfunded - for too long. A call to action"

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There has been a lot of talk lately about the Ketogenic Diet in relation to epilepsy, and you may be wondering what exactly it is and what all the hype is about. I know-as a mother of an epileptic child-I did. Of course, as mothers we are always looking for the magic cure to our child’s seizures and distress-that’s only natural. Below, I discuss the main findings I came across when researching the Ketogenic Diet for Epilepsy.

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Homeschooling is one of the best options for us moms of special needs children. Not only does it ensure that our children get the kind of special attention that their condition deserves, but we are the ones to give it to them! What more could a mom want, really? Here are some of the best lessons I’ve learned in deciding to home school my child.

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If you are one of the countless parents who have either had this conversation or are facing it in the future, then my heart goes out to you!

I remember when my partner and I had it. I wasn’t any where near as polite as Meryl Streep is in the clip from the 1998 film ‘First Do No Harm’.

I warn you before seeing it that it is upsetting because a child’s mortality is the hardest thing a parent can ever have to face period.

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So you're a parent of a child who has been recently diagnosed with autism? If you're a parent who does research on the Internet, then it is likely that you've stumbled across biomedical solutions that may help your child. Unfortunately, weeding through the choices of what works for autism can be overwhelming. According to Dr. Kurt Woeller, biomedical treatments are the sure way to help your child improve - roughly 75-80% of children make improvements.

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Medical Disclaimer: This newsletter and website have been developed for information purposes only. They do not provide medical advice, diagnosis, treatment or care. If you have a health problem, medical emergency, or a general health question, you should contact a physician or other qualified health care provider for consultation, diagnosis and/or treatment. Under no circumstances should you attempt self-diagnosis or treatment based on anything you have read in this newsletter or on EpilepsyMoms.com.