A year of reflection

It's been just over a year since I published my last blog post. I still get emails and questions from the blog so I thought I'd give an update. In January 2016 I became Clinical Coordinator for Speech Pathology in the Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics  (DDBP) at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center. This…

About Down Syndrome from a Woman with Down Syndrome

I woke up this morning and started a long Facebook post on what World Down Syndrome Day means to me. Then the site crashed and those words disappeared before they posted. I have many, many thoughts on Down syndrome. However, my sister April shared her thoughts on Down syndrome and with her permission I want…

Growing Up and Thankful

For the last nine years my husband, our two sons, and I have lived about 2 miles down the road from my parents and three youngest siblings. Like in many households, growth is measured in height. When I was younger we were measured on the door frame leading to the basement, but over the last…

Resources from the Down Syndome Diagnosis Network 1st Annual Rockin’ Mom Retreat

On Saturday, September 12th I had the privilege to speak at the 1st Annual Down Syndrome Diagnosis Network Rockin' Mom Retreat in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Unlike other conferences focused on parent education, this one was all about nurturing mothers who shared a common bond - a child born with Down syndrome. While I do not have…

Do I Buy the (Fill in the Blank) Program? Evaluating at Home Speech Programs/Products

Today I had three separate parents reach out for my opinion about a specific program making the rounds on social media discussion threads. I'm not going to name the program because I honestly haven't used it. I do have concerns after looking into it because the program follows a fairly predictable pattern: inflated claims, weak…