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What’s F.O.F. syndrome? Okay, I made it up. But I’ve seen it countless times, and so have you. FOF syndrome is Fear of Failure. FOF syndrome kicks in when we put something in front of [...]

Well, have you ever tried to start a car without turning on the ignition? Aha! You see my point. Long ago and far away, in 1989 when I taught my son to read, no materials existed that suited his [...]

Relax. Everything’s going to be fine. We moms often tend to judge ourselves harshly when we look at the needs of our children with Down syndrome, autism, or more. We want to help our [...]

Let me say at the outset, as I wrote in my last blog, that it’s never too late to learn to read if you have Down syndrome! Never. With older nonreaders, we’re even more careful to use [...]

My child/teen/adult with DS can’t read yet…is it too late? No, it’s not too late.  My oldest “starting student” with Down syndrome was 33 and legally blind. He is learning to read. This is [...]

A mom messaged me recently on Facebook. Her 10-year old daughter with DS, in a fully inclusive setting, has had great teams for several years and her reading level was assessed at Level O (on the [...]

the gift that gives twice We all know that we open the world to our children when we teach them to read. I felt that wonder first-hand when I taught my son Jonathan to read 29 years ago. And I [...]

I’ve been where you are. When my son Jonathan was 5, I was busy with PT, OT, ST, and a 3-year-old daughter with severe asthma. The idea of me teaching reading to my 5-year-old with Down [...]

Help for Picky eaters and non-chewers Aw, c’mon…try it! You’ll like it! No way, Jose. Never. No. Forget it. Not on your life. Nyet. Option 1: Wait til he’s 34. LOL. [...]

This week was a bit unusual as far as giving personal consults goes: I met with one mom in Sweden as well as a mom and dad in New Zealand. Typically, my consults stay a bit more stateside! But [...]