Parents Helping Parents Blog

Have you really sat down and taken a solid look at the evaluations provided by the school district or other sources? Have you researched the evaluations to understand what the categories mean on an evaluation and what they are assessing? Knowing what these evaluations mean and becoming an educated consumer when it comes to your child’s future is a critical and valuable investment of time. Here are six steps to consider while reading your child’s evaluations:

1. Once you take the time to do your research on the assessments used, sit down with a pad of paper and go through all of...

Discouragement is something we all experience in life. Nobody is exempt from it. The question becomes how do you deal with it when it comes your way and how to set an example that will help your child to overcome it too! The past few years have been beyond difficult. Many people are struggling to come back from the pandemic, economic downturn, and the exhaustion that comes from trying to back into everyday life. What steps can you begin to take to overcome discouragement?

Discouragement is Choice

Everyone gets discouraged at some point in their lives. You are not a lone if you feel that...

I had the absolute pleasure of talking to a wonderful young lady last night by the name of Ariel Franzone. Ariel’s biological mother was addicted to drugs. Consequently, she was born with the same addiction and multiple medical problems. Ariel has struggled most of her life in school, especially when it comes to reading. Her parents were strong advocates for her and spent most of their time, money, and emotional effort trying to get her classified and the services she needed. Can you relate? One of the things that struck me most when talking to Ariel was her ability to self advocate....

Let me introduce you to Steve and Michelle Franzone and let them tell you their inspiring story about their daughter Ariel. 

Our History

Ariel was first our biological niece. She was born very premature and addicted to drugs from the biological mom. At the beginning, many tried to steer us away from the adoption due to her medical issues and future surgeries she would require . In addition, Ariel suffered from severe night tremors that would keep us all up through the nights.  As she grew we began to see developmental delays. We reached out to Early Childhood Intervention, but...

As parents of children with special needs, we are all too familiar with the word “failure.” I heard it all the time. My son was failing at almost everything when he was measured by everyone else’s standards. That was the biggest obstacle that I had to overcome. Living up to everyone else’s standards and the world’s expectations for my son. When I began to look at at my son’s true potential, my expectations began to shift. I began to care less about everyone else and focused all of my attention on helping him to become the best HE could be. As is typical,...

Last week we talked about why is it that so many people throw in the towel with New Years Resolutions? Within 3 weeks of starting most people have quit. This week let’s look at some systems you can set up that can help you stay on track toward your goals. When it comes to meeting my goals, here are a few things I use that help. 

1) In my Face Reminders:

I am a busy person with lots of distractions and little fires I have to put out daily. In order to stay on track I need reminders ALL day. For example, I have a goal to drink 72 ounces of water a day. In order to meet this goal, I...

Let’s face it, we are 2 weeks into 2023. How many of us have already lost our New Year's resolutions and stopped making progress toward our personal development and goals? Why is making goals and sticking to them so hard?

Develop an Awareness

Don’t just haphazardly make a goal.  Before making a goal, take a closer look at it. Ask yourself, why am I making this goal. What bad habits do I have that can sabotage the goal and what are the good habits that can help me reach the goal. Become more aware of the goals you make and the building blocks you will need to reach them.

For...

When my son was born, I got immersed in disability.  Over the past 30 years, I have seen a lot, but one area we need so much more help is building our own leadership. We need people who are making an impact, transforming lives from the inside out, and making lasting and meaningful change in our families, schools and communities. The question is where are those leaders, and as a community, how do we train and raise up the kind of leadership we so desperately need?

Why Leadership?

John Maxwell who is the world’s guru in leadership says, “Everything rises and falls with...

I often listen to a personal growth guru by the name of Brendon Bruchard. One of his mantras that I have always found helpful is “Live, Love, and Matter.” If you think about this mantra it covers a lot of bases. I would challenge you to start your new year thinking about these three words. What do these words mean to you and how can they change your life? Isn’t that what we are all looking for - to live, love and matter? How are you doing with putting these words to work for you?

LIVE

I tend to be an over achiever who thinks the longer my  "to DO” list gets and...

I am always excited as one year closes and another one begins. I don’t see it as a year to get older, but a year to become better and do more! At 62 years of age, I am still rearing and ready to go!  How do I keep my energy and zeal for life? For the past five years, I have made a vision board over Christmas break. I love doing this and cannot tell you how much this helps give me, not only tremendous hope, but a road map for opportunity and growth.

Make it a Family Affair

My kids also make their vision boards so this process has become a family affair. Around the first of...