Lisa: Sophie and I are very grateful to the organizers of Leadership Geauga for allowing us to speak at last month’s Human Services Day seminar. Our presentation entitled “Reach Higher,” was a chronicle of the family’s journey with Sophie and our quest to help her reach her full potential. Sophie...
The first 3 images below represent handwriting samples from about 2 years ago through the present. Sophie is now tracing her signature in cursive so that, one day, she can do her banking independently. Lisa: NACD (National Association for Child Development) did not allow us to...
Lisa: Hello all! A few years ago, John initiated a very bad tradition of buying super-thick chocolate “milkshakes” from that well-known fast food chain with whom we are all too familiar! Even worse, he lured Sophie into participating in this ritual! Grrr….Well, no more! Sophie and I have discovered our...
Lisa: After all these years of pushing to further Sophie’s development, even I sometimes find myself imposing limitations on her. Parents of special needs children, have you ever found yourselves stuck in the status quo because it’s comfortable? I believe we subconsciously allow ourselves to remain stuck because we fear failure. Fear...
Lisa: Here is one of the many recipes from Chef Sophie’s repertoire: Shrimp with Pomegranate Sauce Ingredients 8 medium-sized shrimp 1 small onion, diced coconut oil salt, lemon pepper, paprika to taste 1 tsp freshly grated ginger drizzle of pomegranate molasses juice from one lemon Directions Sauté the onions in...
Lisa: When I was younger, my parents would get upset with me for watching too much TV. However, my “excessive” habit doesn’t even compare to the video/handheld device addiction of today’s youth! Is all video bad? Absolutely not. In fact, if strictly limited and utilized in the correct way, video...
Lisa: My family and I have been searching for ways to live healthier, less toxic lives. Thus our efforts to grow our own organic food (see previous posts about Sophie’s vegetable garden), cook from scratch, and exercise regularly. I have also been researching levels of toxins in the average American household,...
Lisa: For the past year, Sophie has been going to the grocery store with her tutor about once weekly. As a homeschooled student, she welcomes any opportunity to leave the house. But why the grocery? Because as Bob and Ellen Doman taught me: Math must MATTER. Grocery shopping is a...
Lisa: There was a time when Sophie was so fearful of the water that her crying would clear out a public pool! Fortunately, she worked hard to overcome a myriad of issues (sensory, tactile, etc.) and now loves the water! Sophie’s swimming instructor Stella is currently working...
Lisa: If you are a speech therapist, or if your child needed speech therapy before the age of 4, you will not like this post. Because Sophie was speech delayed, her therapists recommended we begin signing to her when she was about one year old. The well-intentioned “experts” rationalized that,...