How Can I Make This Fun?
When I wake up in the morning, one of my first thoughts is, what do I need to get done today? I don’t think that thought has ever gone through Aurora’s head. She is much…
Math and the Magical M&Ms
M&Ms are magical. Didn’t you know? In many ways, homeschooling Aurora has become a huge blessing. We school from about 9:00 am until about 1:00 pm with a break for lunch. I work with Aurora…
Homeschool? No thanks. Well…I guess…maybe.
I remember joking one day with my sister-in-law that I would probably enjoy homeschooling all of my children...except for Aurora. I had tried to give her piano lessons, and it just was not a good…
A Hug is Worth a Thousand Punishments
Discipline. This is a scary word. Everyone has opinions about how it should be done. I’m going to try to not voice an opinion on what is or isn’t appropriate discipline. Instead I will stick…
Forgetfulness Equals Expensive
Raising an ODD/ADHD child can be expensive. ADHD children cost, on average, about five times as much as neurotypical children. I’m sure there are various factors contributing to this, but in my house, one of…
There’s a Fine Line Between Curious and Destructive
Among the many things my pre-children self could never have predicted I would say are various versions of “we don’t bring _____ in the house”. In fact I can distinctly remember walking into my guest…
Daughter of God
Of all the Harry Potter characters, I mostly closely relate to Hermione Granger. What do I do when I have a question? “When in doubt, go to the library.” I knew very little about ADHD…
Renegade Puppy
Aurora’s psychiatrist suggested we get a dog. Naturally, Aurora LOVED her psychiatrist. I wasn’t so sure...about the dog or the psychiatrist. Aurora had been asking for a dog for years. From age 3 to 4…
Invisible Challenges
Around the time we began therapy with Aurora we began experimenting with her diet a little to see if anything would affect her behavior. We tried eliminating various things like sugar, red food dye, and…
Don’t Say Ok
Driving to the university where Aurora could be tested to see if she qualified for Parent Child Interactive Therapy took about 30 minutes. I was hesitantly hopeful that maybe we would be able to get…