G is for Gift

(Excerpt from my book, “D iz for Different – One Woman’s Journey to Acceptance”)

Each and every person on this Earth is unique, and holds a gift to share with the World . . . our true selves. This includes those in our society who have a handicap, disabilities, and those with special needs. Many of us keep our true selves buried deep within, as I did, for fear that we will be considered different and unaccepted. Some of us just need a little extra help in the form of guidance to nurture and grow our special gifts. Okay, maybe a lot of extra help! Everyone benefits when we let our differences and gifts radiate and glow.

Our differently-abled children simply process the world, information, and life, differently than we do; but they are in good company. There have been many throughout history who also processed differently; like Albert Einstein; Michelangelo; Thomas Edison; Amelia Earhart; and Steve Jobs, to name a few. They had amazing, life changing, life improving gifts, and were successful in spite of their label as freaks and kooks. Today the labels may have changed, but the thoughts still remain.

Lillian is a young lady who shines like no other, and has a beautiful inspiring energy about her. She and children like her teach us lessons about acceptance and change. This is one of their gifts. As an integral spoke in the wheel they can turn around societal and stereotypical views that they don’t have anything to offer; are a drain on our country’s resources; or views that they, and their family are unhappy and should be pitied.

Another one of Lillian’s gifts is showing us the benefits of embracing technological innovation, and the shift in the way we communicate. Technology can be life changing and life improving for some amongst us, and should be approached with an open mind. We no longer solely communicate with our mouths and voices as a society. A great majority of us use technology and social networking sites to stay connected, communicate, and conduct business.

On a beautiful summer day in 2009, I visited Lillian at school. Her class was at recess. As I stood chatting with Lillian’s teacher, I was scanning for Lillian among the sea of kids. My eyes landed on a petite young lady pulling a cart behind her. Yes, that was my Lillian, pulling a cart loaded with her DynaVox unit. Tears welled in my eyes, a lump formed in my throat, and my knees got weak. I thought, “There has to be something better.” I made a firm commitment to myself and to Lillian in that moment that I would find something more mobile and compact for her to use to communicate, something that did not make her stand out. I began monitoring the use of keywords and phrases like speech impaired, nonverbal, and AAC on Twitter and Google Alerts. Almost immediately I came across Twitter mentions of an application for the iPhone and iPod touch by the name of Proloquo2Go that had just been released four months earlier. Proloquo2Go is a communication solution with natural sounding text-to-speech voices for people who have difficulty speaking. I researched a bit more, went to the Apple store, and bought Lillian an iPhone. With Proloquo2Go installed, I gave it to her that day when I picked her up at the bus stop. A meeting with the school followed that same week to inform them she would no longer be using the DynaVox and would be using the iPhone instead. Lillian figured out the iPhone and Proloquo2Go within a week. This was technological innovation at its absolute best! Turning Views Foundation’s Gift-a-Voice Project was birthed from this experience (Learn more at www.TurningViewsFoundation.org).

Today, our communication methods have shifted and are literally evolving to include more of our society than ever before. When a mother of a speech impaired, or nonverbal child “hears” “I Love You” or “Mom” for the first time, it touches their heart like nothing else can. According to the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, 7.5 million people in the United States have trouble using their voices for one reason or another. This includes people who are nonverbal, speech impaired, autistic, hearing impaired or who have dysarthria, apraxia, or aphasia due to chromosome abnormalities, Multiple Sclerosis, stroke, Cerebral Palsy, brain injury and many other conditions.

To fully grasp the impact technology has in your daily life, take note throughout your day just how often you communicate using technology via email, text or social networking sites. If you still conduct many of your conversations over the phone, or face to face, stop and think, “How would I be having this conversation if I did not have the use of my voice, or if I could not articulate what I’m trying to say?” There are options now that weren’t available years ago. One of Lillian’s gifts is using my voice to show how technological innovation is benefiting society.

Our children with special needs are not broken, and do not need to be fixed. When we use negative words like “problems”, “cannot”, and “deficits” to define disability it is difficult to see the positive gift our child possesses. Focusing on what our child cannot do, is a barrier to seeing their gifts. When we accept that it is their “normal” to have special needs; our eyes can be opened to see our child’s gift that probably has been right there all the time.

Some will continue to only view those differently-abled as having something wrong with them and being limited. These same people won’t take the time, nor would have the patience to connect with those who are differently-abled. Unfortunately, they miss the experience of being on the receiving end of a unique heartfelt gift, a gift that only those with patience and peace can receive.

Until we have moved past the guilt stage and are well on our way to acceptance of ourselves and our children, it will be impossible to see the gift in situations, and the gift of our children, with and without special needs. No matter what, guilt gives power to the wrong thoughts and is a barrier to acceptance. Even in our most painful lessons there are hidden gifts whether we see them as such or not. The process requires patience with ourselves and not forcing the process to get over the guilt and “why” questions quickly. Guilt is a stage we simply must make our way through. Rest assured, when you arrive on the other side of guilt, you will realize the gift you hold, the gift your child holds and the gifts revealed through situations.

Tip for the Journey:

Identify and embrace your child’s strengths, needs, interests, fears and motivators. Focus on your child’s strengths and be open to providing opportunities for them to express themselves and their thoughts. Remember; don’t discount qualities that you or others find odd, irritating, or annoying. That just may be the wrapping paper around the gift they hold. Provide opportunities for them to paint, play an instrument, make crafts, dance, practice yoga, swim, play sports, write and use their hands to create.

Heartfuly Inspired,
Camilla
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

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Z is for Zigzag

(Excerpt from my book, “D iz for Different – One Woman’s Journey to Acceptance”)

Conventional wisdom says “do it this way, this is the way it’s always been done.” I am the type of person who questions conventional wisdom. I pause to think about whether the way it’s always been done is really the right way for me and my family.

Conventional wisdom says that the best path for Lillian is to attend traditional public school to benefit from what she’s entitled to according to federal laws and what’s established in her IEP. Well, that worked for us through fourth grade, but it doesn’t work now. You see, I simply believe with all my being that this little lady will not follow any conventional route in her life, or in her career. I believe she will be self-employed, and I don’t believe she will reach her full potential staying in a traditional public school. Of course, I will accept whatever career path she chooses, but for now, I choose us to zag instead of zig.

I’m not saying that we should always zag when others zig. But, that we pay attention when something inside us is saying, “not so fast there, find a different way,” or “don’t keep doing that.” We may hear these messages, but dismiss them due to doubt, fear, or laziness. As these messages bounce around in our mind, we find that we have invited another person’s voice telling us we are crazy for thinking that way.

Happy and successful people didn’t get where they are today by making the same choices as the masses. If you take time to study them, you will find there’s something different in the way they think, their attitude, and how they make choices.

One of my kids made a statement once that we are poor. I explained that I don’t agree and here’s why. We may be broke at the moment, but we are not poor. I consider us to be rich because of our relationships with one another, our adventures, and the joy we experience. I believe there’s a fundamental difference between being poor and being broke. Poor vs. rich is all in how you look at it. Being broke is temporarily having no money. Being rich depends on how our attitude and thoughts perceive our reality. How do we measure “rich”?

It is most important to me that I try to not take myself so darn seriously. I fully understand that we have some serious situations to deal with, especially as parents of children with special needs. I’m not advocating that we ignore serious medical conditions. I’m only suggesting that we become aware of our attitudes and thoughts concerning serious matters. Do your best not to dwell in the past, or get stuck in the “why” questions. Accept the present moment for what it is. Really and truly listen to your gut. Listen even if you don’t understand why it’s pushing you in a certain direction.

The bold overriding theme of this entire book is the ability to accept ourselves, listen to our intuition, and live in the present moment. That’s why it is repeated throughout this book. I know I need to be continually reminded of this. I forget. Acceptance, courage, flexibility, and our view of life all comes back to how we think. Our emotions are an expression of our thoughts. Take it slow and have patience with yourself.

Tip for the Journey:

Awake each morning and realize with awe that you have been given a very special, unique gift. You have been given a precious gift of another full twenty four hours to make your own. Twenty-four hours to do with as you choose, to experience joy and happiness, and to share with those around you. I truly believe the more we share joy and happiness, the more it will spread. Every day you get another twenty four hours to work toward your dreams and goals, and another day to enjoy the heck out of while you’re on your journey. I like to refer to this as a Sunrise Gift and no two Sunrise Gifts are the same. You choose the nature of the gift and what you will do with it. Make the most of your Sunrise Gifts.

Heartfuly Inspired,
Camilla
See It. Share It. BE IT … Spread Love Everywhere You Go!

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Special Needs: Lilac’s Angel Visit

Lillian’s class participated in NaNoWriMo and she chose to write a collection of short stories. Reading her notebook brought my eyes to sweating … xoxo

Here’s one of them:

Lilac’s Angel Visit
Written: Lillian

Once upon a time, Lilac’s prince had died and Lilac was a poor queen but one night, Lilac had been visited by Lilac’s prince angel. He had said, “Respect all other angels like you do with me.” And so her father, stepmother, stepsisters, and their princes’ angels came along with Lilac’s prince angel and they had said, “Keep your confidence and hopefully you will strengthen your courage.” Then one night they stopped visiting and left Lilac alone because she had enough courage to be super-duper happy. To this day, she’ll tell you to keep confidence and you will soon build up courage to be super-duper happy.

She Flew Into the World on September 14 2001

……. And she Blew out all 12 birthday candles on September 14 2013 …

Lillian literally came flying into this world on September 14 2001. She wasn’t supposed to arrive here until sometime in October 2001, but I was induced a month early as “they” were worried that she had stopped growing and assumed my placenta had quit nourishing her. If we had known then what we discovered three years later (that she has a chromosome difference called 18p- or 18p deletion), we would have known why she was so small and not growing much.

I had planned on having a natural birth in the gigantic jacuzzi style tub at the Birthing Center attached to my Ob-Gyn’s office. I had my room all picked out and had attended all of the birthing classes leading up to the big event. I was the type that when I decided I was going to do something I put my all into it. I studied everything I could find and get my hands on about natural birthing. I practiced meditating and visualizing what would be happening in my body as the birthing process began and progressed. I read about and studied Natural Childbirth the Bradley Way: Revised Edition (amazon affiliate link) and was on my way to having this baby girl the exact way in which I wanted.

Then, one month before her due date at my regular check up, they were worried that she had not grown. I was sent to a specialist who put me on bed rest for two weeks to see if that helped her grow. I used to be a full blown Type A personality and this was devastating to me. I had planned on working right up until she was born so I would have more time off. I had planned on birthing her in the birthing center. My plans were getting all screwed up and I didn’t like it! (I DID get to have Thomas at the awesome birthing center and DID get to experience a water birth for him!! I arrived at about 9:00 pm on November 13, 2005 and went home a few hours later around midnight!)

After two weeks of bed rest, she was checked again for growth. There had been no growth so it was advised that I be induced right away. We agreed and I gave instructions that I did not want any medications as I still wanted to experience natural child birth, even if I wasn’t getting to experience it in the way I originally wanted.

I kept reading my books and studying right up until we checked into the hospital on the morning of September 14, 2001. I even took some of them with me! After we got settled, the pill was inserted that would induce contractions. Later that afternoon I began having contractions. The contractions didn’t have a pattern really .. coming and going with no consistency at all.

I was doing pretty good at not giving in to the pain, instead focusing on what was happening in my body and with that precious little body  and soul inside of me about to make it’s way out into this World. At times when I began to lose focus, Lillian’s dad did a really good job at bringing my focus back to what was physically happening instead of my mind focusing on the pain.

Of all things, I worked through each contraction by chanting the vowels. I know. Crazy! I had read about the chanting and just skipped over it as I knew that was just something I would not be doing! I went with it. It was working in keeping me relaxed and letting the contraction happen instead of tensing up. I also visualized what was actually happening inside of me. That helped a great deal also.

My Ob-Gyn visited one more time before leaving and told me I would most likely be there through the night and would birth in the morning. When she left, I looked at Lillian’s dad and told him there was no way in heck I was doing this for that long. I was going to relax and have that baby NOW!

The hospital did not allow water births. However, they did allow you to sit in the tub during contractions and up to the birthing moment. I got into the tub and it felt sooooooo good. The contractions sped up rapidly as I was able to relax more and relax into the contractions. We could see Lilian moving down the birth canal headed towards the exit! I had already decided that for me and my baby and our birthing experience, a water birth was the right thing for us. I am a rule follower too, mostly. So I stayed in the tub until I knew she was about to make her exit.

When I felt her head very close to emerging, we notified the nurse that Lillian was about to be joining us. They said they’d be right down and I will never forget the look on that nurse’s face when she entered the bathroom! She said, “Oh my goodness. You’ve got to get out of the bathtub!” My immediate response was “No” as I was about to have a contraction. She reminded me that I couldn’t birth in the water and I said I’d get out after the next contraction.

I didn’t even get a chance to get my gown back on before lying down, having one or two more contractions and that little girl flew out! Literally! My Ob-Gyn didn’t make it back in time and the attending doctor had just come into the room. He said, “Don’t push yet” and I said, “Are you freaking crazy? My body says to push!” So I did and out she flew still in the safety and warmth of her amniotic sac. He had to catch her. Nature did not care if they were not ready!

I felt absolutely amazing after that .. euphoric! I kept thinking, “Oh my good golly! I just had a baby. And I did it naturally!” I felt so strong and full of energy … Like I could do anything! It’s a feeling like no other and one I have not felt since then. I have come close but nothing can match that feeling.

I was ready to go home shortly after that and they would have released me after 24 hours but Lillian needed to get her temperature and blood sugar regulated. We still didn’t know at the time that she had 18p-. I was walking down the hall a few hours after delivery and one of the nurses said, “Who are you? You are something else!”

We stayed in the hospital for 4 days waiting for Lillian’s temperature and blood sugar to normalize. We were finally released and headed home with a beautiful little 4 pound 5 ounce fairy angel!

Now as I watch her dance around the room, singing words that only she understands, talking with her imaginary friends, I think back to the night that she flew into the World.

Lilian is 12 years old now and for the first time ever at her birthday party she blew out her candles on the first try .. ALL 12 candles! This may not seem like much, but because of the shape of her mouth and lips she has not been able to blow like you and I can … Until NOW!

Lillian’s brother, Thomas, was so excited for her! You can see him about to jump with excitement in this picture. He gave her a big hug afterwards. He couldn’t help himself! Lillian does not like hugs but I think she understood and was a little embarrassed with all the fuss that he and I were making in front of her friends! I kind of like that it’s blurry because I thought for sure I’d be taking more than one and didn’t steady my hand before taking this one. I didn’t get a chance to take another … She blew them candles out!!

Here’s a video of her trying to blow out a candle from January 2011. You can see how far she’s come with this skill!

A fairy angel FLEW into the World at 11:27 pm on September 14, 2001 and twelve years later she BLEW out 12 birthday candles. On. The. FIRST. Attempt! You Go Lillian Paige Darnell, You Go!! I love you unconditionally, forever and ever, to eternity, and to the moon and back!

Special Needs Book Review Interview: Hope and Guidance

Hope and Guidance to Parents of Children with Special Needs: Interview with Camilla Downs

Since her book’s publication, Camilla Downs has undergone her own professional transformation with a career change from social media consultant to special needs parent coach and mentor, offering hope and guidance to others parenting kids with special needs. Congratulations Camilla on all your achievements! Thank you so much for introducing your book, D iz for Different: One Woman’s Journey to Acceptance in a guest post you can find here. I am looking forward to learning more about Camilla Downs and her next book in this post for our Author Interview Series.

Lorna: When asked what is your book, D iz for Different: One Woman’s Journey to Acceptance about? What do you answer?

>> Camilla Downs >> In general this is a self-help book for anyone looking to reach acceptance of themselves, those needing to dig down deep for the courage within themselves, or someone looking for guidance on finding the gift in a situation or event. Specifically, this is a book for parents of children with special needs to reassure them that they are not alone and to encourage and inspire them. Each chapter is a letter of the alphabet and each chapter concludes with a Tip for the Journey. Read the entire interview by clicking here.

Thanks Lorna d’Entremont for the pleasure of having you interview me!!

Renown Scribbles Guest Post – 8 Tips to Smooth the Special Needs Parenting Journey

This Special Needs Parenting Journey is going to be full of up and down moments. I’ve put together a few tips in the hopes that you find a thing or two that will help smooth this journey. I realize these may not be helpful directly in the midst of a “down” moment. I suggest you put these aside and focus on them when you are having an “up” moment. Or, at least a calm moment in between the ups and downs ….. Click here to read the entire article.

Renown Children’s Hospital Scribbles …. Journey to Special Needs Parenting

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I recently got the privilege of guest posting on our local children’s hospital blog. Head on over to the  Renown Children’s Hospital Scribbles blog to read the full posts y’all! Part 1 – It began one December evening in 2004 while … Continue reading

Lillian and Being Different Presentation

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It’s that time of year again … Lillian’s Birthday!! Happy Birthday Lillian!! Every year, except last since I homeschooled her last year, I give a “Lillian” presentation to her classmates. This began in the first grade because her classmates kept … Continue reading

Spreading Acceptance and Kindness

I’m so excited!!! Prepping for my annual “Lillian Presentation”. Every year I present to Lillian’s classmates about her differences. This year I’ll have a larger audience as all of the 4-6 grade teachers want me to present to their students instead of just Lillian’s class! WOW!! I’m thrilled to be given the opportunity to have these little minds to inspire and educate … My desire is that I say just the right thing, in just the right way to inspire at least one of them, hopefully more, to accept themselves just as they ARE and to carry that forward to acceptance and kindness towards those with differences … The magic happens this Friday, the 14th … not just any Friday and not just any 14th …. It’s a very special inspiring little ladies birthday that day too …. Rock on Ms. Lillian … Keep on shinin girl …. ♥ ♥ ♥

Time To Just Be

For the first time in about six years I scheduled a “date” with myself … no plans, no appointments, no errands, no networking events … nothing. When I was married, I scheduled a date day with myself once a month, just as I did with Lillian and my spouse. Thomas was not yet 1 year old so I had not begun date days with him yet. I haven’t done that since 2006 (scheduled a date with myself, that is … I have a date with Thomas and Lillian alone once a month).

You see, I’ve just recently realized what *respite means, the true meaning and it’s true purpose. Since 2006, I have used my time away from Lillian and Thomas to go to personal appointments, run errands, attend networking events and work. I really did not think of myself as a *caregiver and one who needed respite. I didn’t really know the definition of a caregiver or respite. (See below for a definition of “caregiver” and “respite”.)

In the last couple of months I decided I absolutely must have some time to myself … time to just BE. I finally scheduled someone to come stay with Lillian and Thomas on July 12, 2012 for 4 hours, not knowing how I would pay for it. But, I knew this had to be done for my own sake and for the sake of Thomas and Lillian. (***Update*** After I wrote this article, I found out, without my asking or saying anything, that grant money was going to be used to pay for my respite for this month. Hmmm … Coincidence??)

I have read, heard and believe that we each must have time to ourselves, caregivers or not. Time for doing what we like to do, want to do or time to do absolutely nothing at all … with no commitments. Taking respite allows us to refuel and refill our cups so that we can come back to our families and our obligations and serve to them from what overflows. Having this time infuses us with creativity, patience and resourcefulness. I understood the concept and thought I was doing good, giving myself 15 and 30 minutes of it before Thomas and Lillian wake up in the morning and after they go to bed.

Today, when I finally left the house, thirty minutes after the scheduled time, I still didn’t know what I was going to do. I knew I wanted to write … I have been craving to write …. articles, quotes, poems … whatever, my soul has just been screaming … “Write, Write, Write!!” But, when I left my stomach was screaming, “Feed me first before you write!”

I found myself at the Summit Sierra outdoor mall as I didn’t want to waste any of my 4 hours (now 3 and a half) driving somewhere. I then got extremely confused … where do I eat, I don’t know what to do. I posted on facebook asking local friends which of two restaurants I should eat at. I sat in the car and pretended like I was reading for about 30 minutes, all the while getting more and more confused … wondering what in the heck I was doing. I finally decided I would just go to a fast food restaurant. I pulled up to a handwritten sign that the debit card machine was not working and I didn’t have any cash on me. I couldn’t back up as someone was behind me and couldn’t go forward as people were waiting for their food. I was forced to wait, all the while wondering what the heck I was doing!! For me, this was a reflection of what was happening in my mind. When I was finally “free” from the drive through lane, I parked the car. What do I do? My intuition said to go back to the original restaurant I had chosen, so that’s what I did.

And you know what? I had one of the most blissful meals and experiences I have ever had! I was on the verge of tears, hoping the waiter didn’t come ask how I was doing while I had tears welled in my eyes. I was thinking, so this is what it’s like? I had forgotten

I’ve heard that this is a common experience with caregivers … We have forgotten what it’s like to have time to just BE. The second we leave our loved one we become confused and are not sure what to do with ourselves. I didn’t think it would be like that for me … I even wrote about giving yourself quiet time in my book, “D iz for Different”, in Chapter Q: Q is for Quiet … Now, I understand

…. And watch out because now my passion is welling to the point of overflowing to educate and help other Moms/Parents/Caregivers of special needs kids understand too …. to include a new project brewing over at the Turning Views Foundation and Different iz Good. Oh and you better believe that scheduling respite or a date day with myself or whatever you want to call it will become a permanent part of my life!

For those of you attending 19th Annual Chromosome 18 Conference, this is what I’ll be speaking about, Taking Time for You, in addition to three 15 minute Proloquo2Go sessions.

Stay tuned as I’ll be writing a post detailing a bit more statistics and facts about caregiving and respite.

*Who are Caregivers? 

Caregivers have often been called the backbone of America’s long-term care system. On a daily basis, family caregivers assist relatives and loved ones of all ages with routine daily tasks like bathing and homemaking to carrying out more complex health-related interventions like medication adminstration and wound care and managing complex needs of children and adults with disabilities.

In 2009, it was estimated that 29% of the population, or nearly 67.5 million people, provided some type of care to children and adults of any age, including the elderly, with special needs. These caregivers provided nearly 20 hours of care per week and often do so at the risk of great phsyical, emotional, and financial hardship. (Source: Caregiving in the U.S.: 2009. National Alliance for Caregiving/AARP, November 2009. https://www.caregiving.org)

*What is respite?

Respite is a key component of family support and home and community-based long-term services and supports. Respite services strengthen family systems while protecting the health and well being of both caregivers and care recipients. The Lifespan Respite Care Act of 2006 defines respite care as “planned or emergency care provided to a child or adult with special need in order to provide temporary relief to the family caregiver of that child or adult.” Respite services may be provided in a variety of settings, including the home, adult day care centers, or residential care facilities. (Source: Fact Sheet from The Lifespan Respite Care Program)