http://www.therapals.com/

Congratulations to Mollie...creator of Therapals, for being recognized as an "emerging leader." She is extremely innovative and motivated and I strongly recommend her site therapals.com. She has also featured QCharm and I hope that together we can greatly improve our outreach efforts to help those who live with special needs. If you want more information on Therapals or QCharm, please visit our websites or contact me via this blog. I look forward to hearing from you. Plus, if you have a website that serves members of the special needs community, please let me hear your story. 

Taming temper tantrums: Are you doing it wrong?

Taming temper tantrums: Are you doing it wrong?

When I saw this segment on the Today show, I thought: It's about time we saw the Positive Support technique on TV. As an Occupational Therapist, I have been blessed to receive education on this technique and have been thankful for my son's Autism that mandates we use the most effective techniques. Check out this segment and let me know your thoughts.

http://www.therapals.com/

For Professionals and children of special needs, I highly recommend this website Therapals.com. I just attended the workshop (at the Texas Occupational Therapy Assoc. conference) and was completely inspired by the creator (Mollie). This site is an innovative resource the includes a friendship section and a therapy activity section...both of which are so cool! Try it!!

When Being an Entrepreneur Isn't Sexy

When Being an Entrepreneur Isn't Sexy

I'm composing this post on my iMac...which makes me think of Steve Jobs...and how he lived his life courageously. Being an entrepreneur is something I became once I realized I needed to provide my QCharm Portable & Visual Cueing System to other caregivers. I look up to people like Steve Jobs because when I see what type of obstacles he overcame (including being fired from his own company), I get a reality check and reference point. Just because I have obstacles to overcome and challenges to be creatively solved, doesn't mean I am the only one who has been in any given situation. Being a parent of a child with Autism is often times isolating. Being an entrepreneur of a small business can also be isolating. Combine the 2 and it's easy to feel like you're the only one who has faced uncertainty, steep learning curves & feelings of inadequacy. Steve Jobs was quoted as saying (paraphrased) is that we are on this planet to "make a dent in the universe. Otherwise, why be here." If I could make even a microscopic dent in our universe, I would be pleased. I started my journey (of making a dent) by creating the QCharm and forming QCharm, LLC. I thought those were the 2 finish lines. It's becoming clear to me that they were just the starting lines to a journey that would eventually lead me to blogging, publishing articles (http://www.autismcommunitymagazine.com), and public speaking on life and lessons learned as someone who is both a mom and an Occupational Therapist. I can give insights from both sides of the child-with-Autism equation: as the caregiver and as the professional. If you are a caregiver of a loved one with special needs, I would love to hear from you. What lessons have you learned? What unexpected joys has your loved one brought to you? If you are a therapist/medical professional, I would love to hear your opinions and stories of working with a caregiver. (Being a medical professional can also be isolating and "isn't [always] sexy.") If you are an entrepreneur, I am very interested in your stories of working through challenges. What was one of your most creative solutions??? Thank you, Steve Jobs, for not only revolutionizing our technical world, but also our creative thinking model.

Try Decorating for Sensory Processing

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If you have children or family members that have a difficult time tolerating environmental conditions (loud colors, bright light, clutter, furniture layout, etc), you may want to check out the new HGTV magazine offer. You get the first issue free and then the other issues at a reduced rate. I don't have time to sit and watch tv so I like to thumb through magazines for ideas while I "chill" with my son. My son, with his autism, has joined me in our efforts to create a living space that is calm yet creative. The other night, when I thought he was sleeping, he actually moved the fish tank! That thing is heavy:) What will he do next???

Inside AdSense: +1: Now making Display ads more relevant

Inside AdSense: +1: Now making Display ads more relevant: Earlier today we announced several exciting new additions to Google+, including open signups. We’d like to announce one more addition fo...

For us "older" people, learning about the new marketing strategies can be both exciting and frightening. For me, I am of the belief that we are to do for others w/o expecting anything in return. So the new online marketing options bring out the conflict within me. How do you deal with the speed and reduced face-time of today's marketing techniques. Is there a way to sincerely do for others without looking like you are doing something just to get more web traffic?

What are some of your stories of Courage? With the 10th anniversary of 9/11, I would like to focus on the good we saw on that day and the good we see today.