Hi Everyone,
I thought it might be a great idea to take advantage of all the brains and energy we have on this site and
start our first ever community project! I know that every single member has something to contribute.
In light of the summer "travel season" that will begin soon, this a great time to reflect on successful and unsuccessful trips that you've taken with your children and share your hard-earned wisdom.
The question is, how can a parent make traveling with a child with spe…
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Added by Deb on May 5, 2009 at 3:00pm —
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1. Click on the "Members" tab.
2. Enter a term of interest into the search box. For instance, you could search for "autism."
3. Click "search members". The search engine will return results for all the members who have the keyword in their profile.
4. View member profiles by clicking on their pictures.
5. If you'd like to introduce yourself, you can leave a public comment on the member's profile, or you can make a "friend request" by clicking on "Add as friend" (on the right hand side of the mem…
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Added by Deb on February 20, 2009 at 12:00pm —
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I recommend that everyone skim through these help sections. It will definitely give some more ideas about cool stuff you can do on this network!…
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Added by Deb on February 20, 2009 at 11:46am —
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One of the docs we know at Medical Home, Dr. Kimball, recently went to a training about dental caries. Dental caries is a serious dental health condition that can have serious consequences for children. Dr. Kimball sees a lot of children with this issue in her practice and she is passionate about spreading the word that parents can make simple choices that will vastly improve their children's dental health. I eagerly took the opportunity to interview Dr. Kimball and pick her brain.
Wh…
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Added by Deb on February 19, 2009 at 12:46am —
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There are a lot of healthy lifestyle resources designed to be used directly by kids and teens. Here are just a few:
BAM! Body and Mind is a website designed for kids that includes an inspiring section about fitness and exercise for children with asthma and physical disabilities.
Kidshealth.org from the Nemours Foundation is always a great source of hea…
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Added by Deb on January 9, 2009 at 5:37pm —
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Physical Fitness is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, but children with special health care needs can face numerous physical, social, and financial barriers to involvement in fitness activities. Here are some resources for inclusive physical fitness:
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KidCamps.org is one of the most comprehensive directories of camps and summer experiences, listing over 24,000 camps and summer programs, with over 100 programs listed for chi…
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Added by Deb on December 19, 2008 at 5:02pm —
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Hi Everyone!
I’m excited to announce that our community has grown to over 100 members!
This network is a “Web 2.0” application, which means that it is designed to get better as more people use it. We want you to participate!
Because of this, I just wanted to encourage everyone to do a few things that will improve the user experience for you and for others in the community:
1. Completely fill out your profile.
Why: One of the best reasons to belong to a social network is that i…
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Added by Deb on December 17, 2008 at 2:00pm —
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We all keep hearing about the ‘obesity epidemic’, and even if you take obesity out of the equation, there is still a lot of concern about preventing children from developing unhealthy lifestyles that could affect them for their entire lives. Fortunately, there are a lot of resources available for parents, kids, and health professionals!
Each week, I will post some of the resources I've heard about in various categories. (Please feel free to add more recommendations by replying to this blog post…
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Added by Deb on December 16, 2008 at 1:42pm —
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Siblings of children with special health care needs were a hot topic at the EPIC IC Fall Conference. One of our speakers, Jodi Miscannon, Children’s Services Director at UCP, gave an insightful presentation into what it’s like to have a brother or sister with special health care needs. Jodi runs a
Sibling Support Group in the Philadelphia area. After all the discussion, it seemed like a good time to follow up on this topic. Here's a l…
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Added by Deb on November 24, 2008 at 12:00pm —
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If you or someone you know is the parent of a child with autism, you have probably heard about a new law that will change the way your child’s autism-related services are covered. The Autism Insurance Act, or Act 62, will go into effect July 1, 2009. This Act will make changes to the way that autism services are covered through the Medical Assistance program and private health insurers.
A new
website is now available provid…
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Added by Deb on November 14, 2008 at 3:32pm —
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Wow! It's hard to believe that it's time for another Medical Home conference.
This conference will feature many fabulous presenters who will address Family Centered Care from multiple perspectives:
• Liz Healey from The Parent Education & Advocacy Leadership (PEAL) Center will begin our day with a talk on Family Centered Care.
• Molly Watson of Parentspeak, will share her unique perspective on the care of children with severe neurological impairments.
• Pat O’Connor, RN and Margie Wood, RN…
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Added by Deb on October 14, 2008 at 10:49am —
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Want to know something amazing? Anyone can add an event to the calendar. Whether it's a bowling fundraiser or a community resource night, please feel free to promote your event.
You can send invitations (even to non-community members) and manage RSVP's. You can add a picture, time, place, location, and contact information.
Please see the links below and find out how to…
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Added by Deb on September 30, 2008 at 2:21pm —
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I’m so glad to get questions from our new members! Some of you have been asking about when to start a forum vs. a group.
A
forum is just a…
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Added by Deb on September 29, 2008 at 12:30pm —
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If signed up using your full name, but would prefer to use just you first name or an alias, you can change your user name by going to the "Hello" box in the upper right hand corner of the screen and clicking "My Settings". Then change the name displayed in the "Name" text box.
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Added by Deb on September 29, 2008 at 11:20am —
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...or so the saying goes. Anyway, please
add a picture to your profile. The picture is helpful because it makes it easier for o…
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Added by Deb on September 26, 2008 at 4:33pm —
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Are you the parent of a child or youth with special health care needs?
Do you have questions to ask or thoughts to share?
Do you think you could benefit from the perspective and experience of others?
Please dive in! Post your profile, start a discussion, answer a question, create a group, and invite your friends!
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Added by Deb on September 18, 2008 at 12:30pm —
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I'd like to thank everyone who has supported the creation of this network. In order for a virtual community to flourish, community members need to participate by: reading, posting, asking, answering, sharing, inviting new members, and role-modeling community standards.
While participating in a virtual community has lots of fun aspects, these networks can also serve a larger purpose by educating the public, raising awareness, helping different groups work together, demonstrating support for cert…
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Added by Deb on September 17, 2008 at 4:15pm —
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