Terri's Parenting Special Needs Blog

• Special-Needs Business Profile: OZMO
• Book Review: Speech & Language Development & Intervention in DS and FXS
• My Son, the Working Stiff
• Cap Your Cookout With Some Safe Sweets
• Virtual Fireworks Take the Scare Out of Sparklers
• What We're Reading This Summer: Secret of Abbott's Cave

• All About Parenting Blog Carnival: "Do-It-Yourself Day Camp"
• Teen Rights, Creative Minds, and More of Your Comments
• Calling All Penny-Pinchers for Next Month's Carnival

• Disability Etiquette
• AMC Summer Movie Camp
• Angela's Angels
• Autism Free Zone
• Family Gathering Survival Kit

1. Activity: Make a "Lift the Flap" Book
2. Kids' Site: Kids.gov
3. Shopping: Specialized Care Dental Products
4. Inspiration: "Fifteen Reasons Mr. Rogers Was the Best Neighbor Ever"
5. Just for Fun: Candy Bar Identification Quiz

My son and I finished our first book of the summer this week: Secret of Abbott's Cave by Max Elliot Anderson (compare prices). Anderson's books are intended to be good tween reads, especially for boys and reluctant readers, and I have to say after reading this first one, he hit the mark pretty well for my son.

The book's story was simple and straightforward. Four friends form a detective club, get a police scanner, and plan a trip to a cave. Before going to the cave, they hear about a bank robbery on the scanner, and wind up bumping into those runaway robbers while they're on their cave expedition. The boys show a lot of responsible behavior in planning their outing, some irresponsible behavior in not letting adults know what they are doing, and some careful courage in their confrontations with the bad guys. There's enough peril to keep the story moving, but not enough to make this Mom uncomfortable.

The reading level was manageable without being simplistic, and though the morals were a little heavy-handed, that's preferable to me than the sort of beat-down despair that so many books for teens and tweens revel in these days. Some parents may be wary of the strong religious thread running through the story; I had no problem with that, but I did wish the group dynamics hadn't fallen so strongly on one boy being Always Right and another being Always Whiny. All in all, though, it was a pleasant way to kick off our summer reading.

We have another Anderson book to read this summer, but my son's determined that his next book up should be his summer reading for school: Treasure Island. I remember struggling through that with my daughter a few years ago, and ... you know, this might be a good book for his dad to read with him, don't you think?

What books are you reading with your child? Share in the comments, and when the book's finished, don't forget to enter it in our Summer Reading Club. We need a minimum three patches to get our reading quilt started.

_{Cover image courtesy of Max Elliot Anderson}

The Fourth of July -- and at least judging by my area, the couple of weeks before and after it -- is a time for fireworks, big booming displays of color in the sky. But not every kid finds the loud booms and snaps and sizzles to be thrilling. If your child is upset by those loud noises and flashing lights, some easy-to-control online fireworks may be a fun way to get into the spirit of the day without the scariness.

Find play displays online at these sites:

• Yahoo Kids
• Maylin.net
• UptoTen.com
• National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences
• British Council
• NOVA Online
• Ezone.com
• Bored.com
• FireworksPop.com
• BERR

Unlike real fireworks, for these, you can hit the mute button and just enjoy the colors.

For those of us in the U.S., today is Independence Day, a holiday to celebrate our freedom from tyranny. Ironically, it often involves getting together with people who make us feel oppressed.

Spending too much time this weekend with unsupportive relatives, stressful situations, inappropriate foods, and scoodgy kids can leave you longing to make your own declaration of independence. Since it's not likely you can secede from the family, have a little fun imagining what you could do with the Family Gathering Survival Kit to get you through those grueling gatherings.

Even if you mostly get along with your extended family, you'll probably find something here you wish you could stash in your bag of tricks. Who hasn't wished for a little duct tape when the conversation gets out of hand?

What would you like to pack in your imaginary Family Gathering Survival Kit? Share your additions in the comments.

_{Photo by Terri Mauro}

"Fun is important!!! Don't wait until he is a little better, or wait until his therapy is done, or make him work more with less fun than other kids."

That's advice from Dee Carrick, the mother of an adult with autism and the proprietor of OZMO, an online store dedicated to providing fun products and a stress-free shopping experience to people with autism and their families.

According to the site's menu, the fun includes Cool Fun, Light Fun, Relaxing Fun, Gross Fun, Fantasy Fun, Machine Fun, Dinosaur Fun, Space Fun, Puzzle Fun, Sound Fun, Animal Fun, Bug Fun, Weather Fun, Water Fun, Numbers Fun, Earth Fun, and History Fun.

OZMO is the latest parent-run business to be the subject of an Enterprising Parents profile. Read more about it, and think about how you might translate your own approach to the challenges of special-needs parenting into an entrepreneurial opportunity.

Do you have an online business related to your child's special needs? Tell us about it in the comments.

Preparing for a Fourth of July barbecue tomorrow? If you're in need of treats that fit your child's special dietary needs, check these recipes and recipe round-ups from around this Parenting Special Needs site:

• Gluten-Free Cookies
• Gluten-Free Brownies
• Allergy-Safe Fudge Sandwich Cookies
• Allergy-Safe Oatmeal Raisin Cookies
• Dairy-Free Brownies
• Diabetic Cookies
• Sugar-Free Brownies

_{Image by Terri Mauro}

Looking for supplies for your child with autism -- or to unload supplies you no longer need? Autism FreeZone is a swap spot in which those who have can find those who haven't and make everybody happy.

Register with your name, e-mail address and zip code, and you can participate in forums for offering and requesting items and posting wish lists. Additional forums allow companies, health-care professionals, and organizations that might want to reach parents of children with autism to post their invitations and services.

Yesterday saw the debut of the July All About Parenting Blog Carnival, on the theme of "Do-It-Yourself Day Camp," and now the word is out on the August event: The host site is About.com Single Parents, the theme is "Money-Saving Tips," and the rules are right here.

At the moment, it looks like my summer money-saving tip is going to be "Get your children paying jobs." But I'll probably think of something better than that by the July 27 deadline.

_{Photo by Terri Mauro}

It's a banner week at our house: My son has his first-ever job. He's doing odd jobs at the high school next door, working in a small group under the supervision of the high-school transition coordinator and the watchful eye of several paraprofessionals.

The first day, he came home full of mud and scratches after doing battle with weeds in some flower beds around the school. Day two, he was painting lines in the faculty parking lot, and had the paint-smeared clothes to show it. I don't know what he's going to look like when I pick him up today, but I know he'll need a shower.

I wasn't sure he was actually going to be able to pull this off, but so far, reports from the bosses are good. And after some initial reluctance, he's warmed to the idea of earning money to buy some expensive keys for his collection. Plus, more episodes of SpongeBob for his iPod. Hey, whatever gets you through that long working day.

His job is coordinated by our county's workforce development program, which places teens with special needs in summer jobs and pays them minimum wage. My daughter also has a job through this program, though a less heavily supervised one, as befits her higher ability.

If you think a job like this might be a good plan for your special-needs teen next summer, a couple of places to check to find out what's available are the special education department at your high school (the one that serves your town, even if your child is placed out of district) and agencies in your county government that deal with jobs, human services, or disabilities. It may take some calling around, but adding your child to the workforce -- in a safe, protected way, for all us invasive parents -- is a worthy goal.

What's your teen up to this summer?