I don’t have a child with special needs, but I’m in awe of those who do. Not because parents of special needs children are perfect or super-human (I take that back, they are super-human), but because my friends with special needs children consistently overcome challenges that continually humble and teach ...

{mosgoogle} The Boy Who Cried DiapeeAlex doesn't always drift peacefully off after we bolt him into his bedroom for the night. He's honed many tactics for getting us to open the door. First and favorite seems to be ...

{mosgoogle} Overnight ChangeThree months ago, a doctor asked me how Alex sleeps. "Great!" I replied, with the enthusiasm common to those about to stride into spinning propeller blades. "Eleven hours a night!" Overnight, Alex has gone from 11 ...

{mosgoogle} Biting FredI've always wanted Alex to eat a Flintstones vitamin. I wanted to tap one out of the bottle, place it in his fingers, watch it disappear into his mouth, and listen to the crunching. I figured he'd like ...

{mosgoogle} Table MannersWe're trying to get Alex to eat only at the table. Not in front of the TV, not beside the TV, not on top of the TV. At the table. At the table where family dinners will be ...

{mosgoogle} The AggressorsKids shove kids. Brothers shove brothers. I know this, but ... Monday, May 12th, 7:23 a.m.: Suspects' Father was emptying the dishwasher while suspects watched "Sesame Street" in the living room. Suspects' Mother had left for ...

{mosgoogle} Word CountWe've been trying to string three or four words together. Not me and Jill, although it's difficult for us to do that lately, too. I mean Alex. "Pretzul!" "What do we say, ...

{mosgoogle} PuzzlingAlex has puzzles of a garbage truck, a tow truck, and a dump truck. Each has 49 pieces, each piece a little bigger than a quarter. In the dump truck scene, there's also a guy laying bricks, a red-headed ...

{mosgoogle} Dinner HourJill gave me a child-rearing book, Blessings of a Skinned Knee, which, among other tips of real sense, advises that dinner hour is sacred. I looked across the living room. Alex munching chicken nuggets by hand ...

{mosgoogle} Getting Over ItAlex seemed better over the weekend. Last Wednesday and Thursday the symptoms had been nagging but at least familiar: Ned brings a cold into the house on Tuesday, Alex is lethargic and a little feverish by Wednesday ...