tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9143183467843522582024-03-12T21:24:46.050-07:00The Festive OkapiDaniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11938876503764937231noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-914318346784352258.post-39480167640367699692018-11-15T02:57:00.000-08:002018-11-15T02:57:07.802-08:00What happened to doing the right thing?Some say I'm liberal, some say I'm a Democrat? What do I say? I say that I follow Jesus and believe in doing the right thing.<br />
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When did it become so hard for people to do the right thing? To do the thing for the greater good? I don't want to have some big drawn out political conversation but so many people in our government are choosing money and power over the good of our nation and it is showing.<br />
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People terrorizing schools, places of worship, workplaces, yoga studios, concerts, etc etc. No where is safe anymore. How can we combat this? Better mental health options and gun control. However, since the government is unwilling to do either of these things, what can we do? Try to love one another without fear. Teach our children kindness, compassion, helpfulness.<br />
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I find it difficult to parent a child right now. I tell him it is unacceptable to speak to people harshly, rudely, condescendingly. Then we turn on the TV to our President bullying a person doing his job. In the recent interaction with Jim Acosta from CNN, the nation's President said that he didn't like him, he openly disrespected him, he never actually answered any of the questions he was asked (by reporters who were doing their job) and so on. How can we preach kindness, acceptance, love with this disgrace doing the opposite for the whole world to see nearly every day.<br />
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My heart hurts for what other countries think of Americans. My head hurts from thinking about where our country will be if this continues.<br />
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Harsh words, divisiveness, greed, hatred.<br />
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So many people try to throw Christianity into this debate saying that Evangelical's won Trump the election. It's actually caused me to distance myself from my church. So many "Christian's" support Trump and his actions. Jesus would be appalled by what the government is doing with the asylum seekers and minority children, to say the least. How can you be a Jesus follower and support Trump? It makes no sense to me. None. None. Jesus has always sought out the "least of these." Trump wants them gone, wants to turn their back on them. Jesus flocked to those in need. Not Trump, take away funding for Planned Parenthood, take away Obamacare. Can you imagine Jesus sitting in that rally when Trump openly mocked the man with a disability? As a momma of a child with a disability, it broke my heart. My child will grow up in a culture where this is accepted. Not only accepted but accepted by someone in a position of power and authority. I know that as my heart was breaking, so was His. He was beside me, crying along with me. So, please, if you support Trump we don't have a difference of political opinion, we have a difference in morality.<br />
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I can't solve Americas problems. But, I believe deep in my heart that if our politicians put money and greed aside and listened to its people, we could begin mending this nation. If we could find a way to lean into our neighbors. To speak kindly to those who are "other." If we could serve one another and want whats best for all, we would be better for it. If only those in Washington wanted what was best for America and the American people. If only.Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11938876503764937231noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-914318346784352258.post-17018995368078243232018-11-14T09:07:00.001-08:002018-11-14T09:07:57.675-08:00I'm feeling a certain kind of way...Hi there strangers,<br />
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I know, I know. I haven't written in years. But today I just feel like I have something to say and so I'm going to send it out into the vast void of the interwebs.<br />
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Labels.<br />
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A label is technically defined as "<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Roboto, arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">a small piece of paper, fabric, plastic, or similar material attached to an object and giving information about it."</span><br />
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Why are parents so afraid of them? I have heard several people say how they are dragging their feet in getting neurological testing done for their child because they don't want their child to have a label. I have major qualms about this and I've decided that I'm going to talk about it because enough is enough.<br />
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1. Let's imagine... your child is exhibiting all the symptoms of Type 1 diabetes. Increased thirst, increased urination and so on and so forth. Someone suggests taking them to the doctor to get a blood test to find out if your child has this disease. You decide that you don't want to because the testing could provide your child with a label and you don't want him labeled. This is the EXACT SAME THING AS NEUROLOGICAL TESTING. If your child has been exhibiting traits that make you think, "hm, maybe there's something going on neurologically," then he needs to be tested. IT IS NOT ABOUT YOU, THE PARENT...IT IS ABOUT YOUR CHILD. You dragging your feet (sometimes for YEARS -- I'm serious, YEARS) is at a detriment to your child. You are the one worried about the implications of a label but seriously, your child is getting labeled in other ways anyway. It may not be ADHD or OCD or Anxiety or Autism but someone is labeling your child as quirky, mean, aggressive, strange, non-compliant - you name it. So in your quest to make yourself feel better sans label, they are getting labeled in a non-productive and hurtful way.<br />
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2. Can you imagine what life is like for your child? Just take a minute. If they are exhibiting this problematic behavior that is making you question things, imagine how it feels for your child. For them to have to try so hard to fit into this world that doesn't make sense, for them to do whatever it takes to regulate themselves because they don't have the tools to do it safely, for their frustration and fear. Have you ever stopped to see life from their shoes? Honestly, is getting a label hurting them? No, it's upsetting for you. That is so SELFISH. There are tons of therapies and strategies and resources out there for your child. Your child can be on a completely different path where they feel understood and aided.<br />
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3. Why the fear? Your child will still be the same child you've always known and loved. Get the testing and at least you'll know yes or no, one way or the other. If it is a yes in some capacity then at least you can try to get the adequate support your child needs. The earlier your child can get interventions the better. Yes, my son has autism and his early childhood years look different than many other kiddos - but do you know what? Now that he's in full-time public school with neurologically typical peers, he needs no 504, no IEP to thrive. He's doing it all on his own. Those difficult years doing behavior therapy for 35 hrs/week plus 2 hours of speech and 1 hour of food therapy (so a grand total of 38 hrs/wk) have paid off. Society won't change so it was my job to accept my child as he was and get him the help he needed to be able to adapt and thrive in this one. We still have issues and hurdles as life always ebbs and flows, but I have the resources and knowledge to help him navigate these things as they arise and if it is beyond me I know who to ask. Daredevil has a Psychologist that specials in ASD/Anxiety and has a background in disordered eating. I still have connections with his old ABA company if I need support for a particular issue.<br />
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After being in this world, it isn't scary. It is loving, it is supportive. The other parents get it. It's just so nice to not have to explain yourself to them, because they always understand.<br />
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The only one you're hurting but not getting the testing and possibly the label is your child. I think it is detrimental and selfish. Sorry, not sorry. I have been where you are. It is scary. You don't want anything to be wrong but the fact of the matter is you need to find out. You wouldn't want your child to have Type 1 Diabetes either, but you'd get the blood test so you could help them get better as soon as possible. So why won't you help them get better as soon as possible now? Why won't you get them into the doctor? They don't have the words to express that everything seems so overwhelming or loud or smelly or hard or confusing. It's how the world has always been for them ad they just know it doesn't feel right. They need your help.<br />
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I beg you, put your own feelings aside and do it for your child. Enough is enough. Seriously.<br />
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<br />Daniellehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11938876503764937231noreply@blogger.com0