There are many adoptive children diagnosed everyday with disorders like PDD, autism, ADHD, ADD, FAS, OCD, PTSD, etc. I could go on forever and list a myriad of alphabet soup. But many parents have no idea what some of the acronyms mean when their children receive the diagnoses.
Because of AJ’s issues I have done a lot of research on autism, institutional autism and PDD but what exactly are PDD’s, or Pervasive Developmental Disorders? And, what is it when it is Not Otherwise Specified PDD-NOS?
Pervasive Development Disorders actually refer to the group of disorders characterized by delays in socialization and communication.The …read more

I spoke to one of my readers via email and she stated that she would LOVE some information on how to make her classroom more special needs friendly even through she has a regular education classroom.
I also thought that some of you would love some information for your children’s teachers…I know that finding information on FAS is difficult. Please print out some of these great resources to help your kids.
Classroom Strategies

Meet with parents, the student and professionals in the community to determine individual needs of the student.

How to do a Back to School Sensory Check-up:
1. Check all clothing for scratchy tags, nubbies from over wearing, and elastics are not too tight.
2. Make sure all new clothing is washed and all clothing that was possibly washed in another type of detergent (not a gluten/casein free detergent is rewashed.
3. Check that all school clothing fits correctly. I know that in our house AJ will not wear clothing that does not fit correctly. He won’t wear pajamas that do not fit snuggly or have “nubbies”. He was once up until 4 a.m. until I realized he did not …read more