Comments on: How Not to Be a Therapy Mom

By: 7. Pursue Speech, not Sign

7. Pursue Speech, not Sign — Mon, 08 Jun 2009 13:09:17 +0000

Both a game of ping-pong and a conversation are frustrating if one side always drops the ball.

By: Miriam

Miriam — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 01:50:06 +0000

Tina,

I have to assume that you have read nothing else on this site, or you would not have written that. I refer you to the links in the sidebars and in the header.

Sigh.

So let me say this here, to all the moms of 2 1/2 year old sons. Therapy is great. Nutrition is great. Go for it and reach for the sky!

But there is more to life and motherhood than therapy. Your child is a person first, and an object of therapy last. You are a mother first. You have a family, a whole family which exists for far more than therapy. When therapy takes over your life, when you are overwhelmed with guilt for not “getting it all done”, then you need to stop being a therapy mom and focus instead on being a mother who has a heart-to-heart connection with her child.

By: Tina

Tina — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 18:51:36 +0000

You have a lot of good advice on communication but you should speak for yourself when it comes to the importance of therapy. There’s a lot of evidence about the impact of movement and vision that build important connections to the brain. We wouldn’t want to discourage other parents from trying other things.
My son has Downs Syndrome, he is 21/2, has been walking since 2 and says over 50 words, understands 0ver 250 and is beginning to put two words together. He was not by any means what some people call High Functioning. We also use nutritional supplements(TNI) which are expensive but I FEEL worth the money) and even though im not extremely religious i ask a lot of people to pray for him. There are also some studies out there that suggest that children born with DS are not necessarily born retarded and that a toxic reaction due to the extra chromasome happens at around 6 months that begins inhibiting brain function. When I am told there’s no evidance that something works I ask if there is evidance that it doesn’t work, that way i will never have to look back and ask myself if there was something more i could have done. (Thats just me).
For those who have faith……..The sky is the limit.

By: Barbara Mitchell

Barbara Mitchell — Fri, 30 May 2008 21:00:15 +0000

Miriam,
Your “How Not to be a Therapy Mom” was very good. Dr. MacDonald would love it! I hope everyone will join our Communicating Partners listserv. It’s at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/communicating
Dr. Jim frequently writes and answers questions too.
Mark is 20 years-old now and loves to talk to everyone!
Barbara Mitchell

By: Liz Trone

Liz Trone — Wed, 21 May 2008 00:45:50 +0000

Hello Miriam,
Although Kerri stated that this article would be more aimed at people with ds children who are younger…
I was curious.
This was a terriffic reminder to just spend time continuing to communicate with our kids to boost their communication skills and also their self Esteem. Time equals care, love and being valued for who they are as an individual and many times I have neglected or even just forgotten to communicate with My child because they were not the ” squeaky wheel ” …the one able to clearly gain my attention.
My Ds Daughter is 10 and the second child of four.
As a result sometimes my other children have gained my attention simply because of their better communication skills.
Thank-you for your insightful, practical article and I’m sure it will be of great help to some others who are in the early years !
All the best ,
Liz Trone.

By: Elvina

Elvina — Sun, 04 May 2008 22:21:52 +0000

Hi Miriam

I just wanted to say thanks very much for the excellent article “how not to be a therapy mom”. I love it and I have learnt a lot from it which I am going to start trying tomorrow with Gianna, I will pass it on too.

Best wishes

Elvina