Friends Of Quinn Expert Merely Me shares Friends Of Quinn management news and commentary at FriendsOfQuinn.com. The HealthCentral Network, Inc. (www.HealthCentral.com) is one of the top health destinations on the Web, with more than 35 condition-specific, wellness and general health Web properties. http://www.friendsofquinn.com/share/c/10572 http://www.friendsofquinn.com/share/c/10572/rss self application/xml en-us 15 120 19 http://www.healthcentral.com/images/hc_logo_sm.gif http://www.friendsofquinn.com/share/c/10572 http://www.friendsofquinn.com/share/c/10572/1448/caregiver-corner Mon, 22 Feb 2010 14:02:50 -0500 Merely Me The best advice I have ever received about parenting my son who has learning disabilities and autism is to take good care of myself so that I can take good care of him.  It is so easy to be neglectful of yourself when you are the caretaker of a child who has special needs.  In an effort to always meet your child's needs there may be little time left over to get your own needs met.  I am here to tell you to take that time.  It... http://www.friendsofquinn.com/share/c/10572/1448/caregiver-corner http://www.friendsofquinn.com/share/c/10572/1433/disabilities-big-dsm Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:06:31 -0500 Merely Me In May of 2013 the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders will include many revisions for its fifth edition, the DSM-5.  You can view all of the proposed draft revisions to the DSM disorders and criteria by going to the American Psychiatric Association web site.  There, you will be able to submit your comments on these proposed changes until April 20, 2010.  After this time, they report that the site will be... http://www.friendsofquinn.com/share/c/10572/1433/disabilities-big-dsm http://www.friendsofquinn.com/share/c/10572/1429/pets-disabilities Thu, 11 Feb 2010 20:08:40 -0500 Merely Me I thought it might be fun to talk about our pets.  Here are two of our beloved family pets in the photo.  Although we have always had cats, a family dog was a new adventure for us.  Our son Max has always had a fear of dogs since he was a toddler.  So it was with some trepidation when we decided to get a family dog.  We made the decision to get a dog because I had hope that Max could learn to not only tolerate having... http://www.friendsofquinn.com/share/c/10572/1429/pets-disabilities http://www.friendsofquinn.com/share/c/10572/1407/caregiver-disabled Mon, 01 Feb 2010 13:06:58 -0500 Merely Me What is that old saying?  The apple doesn't fall too far from the tree.  I believe this is true to some extent.  Everyone on the planet is unique but we all also come from a certain gene pool where some traits and even disorders and disabilities are more likely.  There does seem to be a genetic component to learning disabilities as it has been noted that learning disabilities tend to run in families.  The Learning... http://www.friendsofquinn.com/share/c/10572/1407/caregiver-disabled http://www.friendsofquinn.com/share/c/10572/1396/integrated-community Mon, 25 Jan 2010 10:02:53 -0500 Merely Me If you have a child with a learning disability or special needs you may wonder about how to get them more active and social with kids their own age.  In addition to school, there are also marvelous opportunities to get them out and about in your community. One of the best ways I have found to get my Max involved with the community is through classes and programs offered by our Parks and Recreation, local businesses, and non-profit... http://www.friendsofquinn.com/share/c/10572/1396/integrated-community http://www.friendsofquinn.com/share/c/10572/1387/prompts-independence Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:36:00 -0500 Merely Me Last week I wrote about the emotional aspects of letting go to allow your child to become more independent. But this week I am going to tell you how to actually do it.  Bear with me as I am going to get a little technical on you. The following information includes behavioral techniques you can use to teach your special needs child to become more independent with whatever goals you happen to be teaching.  I consider this to be a low... http://www.friendsofquinn.com/share/c/10572/1387/prompts-independence http://www.friendsofquinn.com/share/c/10572/1373/disabled-independent Mon, 11 Jan 2010 14:27:31 -0500 Merely Me Maybe it was simply my hormones, but I was watching a scene from the TV show, Desperate Housewives when I began to sob. One of my favorite characters on this show is named Lynette. Lynette is a parent of multiple children, including twins, who appear to have ADHD. In recent episodes she is pregnant again with another set of twins. Something happens with one of the twins during her pregnancy and there is a fear that this twin will be challenged... http://www.friendsofquinn.com/share/c/10572/1373/disabled-independent http://www.friendsofquinn.com/share/c/10572/1361/caregivers-shopping Mon, 04 Jan 2010 16:50:00 -0500 Merely Me Hey everybody! I am going to be starting a new weekly feature here on Friends of Quinn just for parents and caregivers who have a child or children with learning disabilities and/or special needs. And the title of this feature as you can see is The Caregivers Corner. I have been parenting my son who has autism and learning disabilities for over thirteen years now so I have lots of stories and experience to share. We would love to hear from... http://www.friendsofquinn.com/share/c/10572/1361/caregivers-shopping http://www.friendsofquinn.com/share/c/10572/1357/child-disabilities Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:16:00 -0500 Merely Me It is hard to believe but it is time to get out a new calendar.  The New Year is almost here.  My house is can now be declared an official disaster zone of holiday mess.  My son Max has created a maze of train tracks throughout the house complete with plastic characters circling our Christmas tree like the Who's in Whoville.  I don't have the heart to clean it up yet.  Perhaps I will wait for the New Year.  As I... http://www.friendsofquinn.com/share/c/10572/1357/child-disabilities http://www.friendsofquinn.com/share/c/10572/1346/activities-holidays Mon, 21 Dec 2009 09:52:00 -0500 Merely Me So your tree has been trimmed, the gifts have been wrapped, and the rush to get everything done is finally subsiding.  Now the waiting begins.  You may be feeling a greater sense of calm this week but your child with special needs may be winding up with anxiety as the big day approaches.  How do you help your child to wait for what may be one of the most exciting days in a kid's life?  Here are five fun activities to help... http://www.friendsofquinn.com/share/c/10572/1346/activities-holidays