From The Heart “Summer Heat!”

A few days ago I went to get into my car. A seemingly, simple thing to do, right? It was a typical, mid-afternoon Summer, but as I opened the door, the “wave” of heat that poured out of the car caught me off guard for a secondhand I live in Florida, no less! So, after I opened every door to let as much extra heat out, I got in and “maxed-out”the A/C. As I sat there, my reality check hit me: easy for me to do this; not so easy for so many others. How many things do we all take for granted….every single day? Little things? Simple things?

I was lucky that day it was only me. I didn’t have to help anyone into the car; didn’t have to deal with a wheel chair, for example;didn’t have to rush to be anywhere.That isn’t always the case for each of us. That day, the biggest hurdle to my ability to be independent was a little heat that I had to deal with. The heat went away quickly and I almost forgot about it entirely until I started to put this issue together. One of the key themes of this issue is teaching life skills for independence. We all want our special loved one/s to be as prepared as they can be for a life that is full of wonderful possibilities even if there is a little “heat”in the process.

All the best,

Chantai Snellgrove
Founder and Editorial Director
[email protected]

5 THINGS I LEARNED FROM THIS ISSUE

1. Fun ways to get a workout in while at the playground (p.34).
2. Sometimes you have to look beyond the title for some really great resources (p.28).
3. Our Real Mom this issue shares a wealth of knowledge twice this issue: p.21 and again on p.40.
4. Things parents should do for Themselves, after a child’s diagnosis. I am still trying to incorporate many of these 6 things in my life and my daughter is 18. (p.60).
5. How apps are being used to help Nathan reach his educational needs (p.48).

Next Issue: School Solutions