Keep Moving
Learn how children with special needs benefit from sports, dance, swim and other types of physical activities.
Championing Differences, Celebrating Abilities
Uplifting and motivating tales of special needs organizations and individuals with disabilities who have overcome challenges and achieved remarkable things in their lives.
Editor's Picks
A True Warrior
Local mom Vanessa Warrior helps children with developmental delays improve their gross motor skills while offering hope to families…
Journey to Ukraine
An Orange County couple shares their story on their trip to Ukraine to bring home their newborn in the midst of the Russian invasion…
Recent Articles
Robot Learning
How robots are helping kids on the autism spectrum. Children with special needs coming to the Santa Ana Public Library are meeting robots ready to help.
Keep Moving
Learn how children with special needs benefit from sports, dance, swim and other types of physical activities.
Inclusive Adventures
Photo Courtesy of Disneyland Disneyland and Legoland have made some improvements — for children of all abilities. New and Improved Mickey’s Toontown Mickey’s Toontown has reopened at Disneyland and while the land has been updated extensively in design, there’s one big focus underlying many of the changes: inclusivity. “We got a lot of guests who utilize our parks in different ways, who see, hear, feel our experiences in different ways. And we wanted every child to know that when it came to this land, this land was designed for them. That they were seen and that this place was welcoming...
A True Warrior
Local mom Vanessa Warrior helps children with developmental delays improve their gross motor skills while offering hope to families…
Journey to Ukraine
An Orange County couple shares their story on their trip to Ukraine to bring home their newborn in the midst of the Russian invasion…
To the Rescue!
(Photo by A Future Superhero And Friends) Local juvenile correctional officer spends his free time bringing superheroes to life to put smiles on faces of all ages. Not all heroes wear capes. Some, like Yuri Williams, wear a Deadpool costume. Williams is the founder of A Future Superhero And Friends, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that allows him to visit the elderly, veterans, the homeless and ill children dressed as Deadpool, SpiderMan, The Mandalorian and even a Stormtrooper. The Orange County Deputy Juvenile Correctional officer was inspired to start A Future Superhero And Friends after going through one of the most challenging...
Optimism Crusaders
Irvine mom battling cancer is on a mission to pay-it-forward while moving forward with her 10-year-old daughter by her side…
Special Needs Through the Pandemic
(J.F. Shea Therapeutic Riding Center) We profile some local families with special needs and the challenges they’ve faced through the pandemic. J.F. Shea Therapeutic Riding Center San Juan Capistrano Parents: Krysti and Brendan Crafts Kids: Olivia Griffin, 7, Brooklyn Griffin, 5, Juliette Crafts, 3, Savannah Crafts, 20 months City: San Clemente Special needs background: Juliette was born weighing 5.5 pounds, a week early, with low muscle tone and developmentally delayed. She began physical therapy at 6 months because she was not able to sit on her own. At about 14 months she started walking, but she still was not talking....
Parenting a Child with Asperger’s through a Pandemic
(Photo Courtesy of Mick Haupt/Unsplash) A local expert offers advice for parents of children with Asperger’s to help them thrive through challenging times. By Michael Uram Kids can thrive in the face of incredible challenges — including a year-long stay-at-home order — with the right tools. So long as we listen to them, respect their boundaries, understand their needs, and guide them to healthy activities, they have a great chance of success. It’s so much work as a parent to support their success and growth and have a balanced life. Over the past year, we have had to let go...
Special Needs Programs Adapting due to the Pandemic
(Lona Cooking/Photo Courtesy of April Swerdfeger) The pandemic has had a real impact on special needs families and programs. Here’s how they adapted and what they’ve learned. Chinh Tuong Nguyen’s son, Patrick, was born on July 5. He rarely cried during his first 8 months, even when he had the chickenpox. “I thought it was very normal and I was a lucky mom at first,” says Nguyen. But after his first birthday, Nguyen started to question why Patrick did not respond to his name or eat, talk and play like other kids in her extended family. After seeking out answers...
The Power of Hope
These are chaotic times. How do I find light in the darkness and share it with my family? All ages With so much uncertainty swirling around the pandemic, paired with the pain, passion and raw energy sparking a new movement for social justice and equity, daily life is anything but routine. As a larger community, we are charting all new paths to what will be altered realities in many aspects of our lives. Through all of this, I keep finding hope. Full disclosure, unearthing and experiencing hope is part of my job. I lead the regional chapter of an organization...
Dialogue on Diversity and Racism with Multiracial Families
Illustration from Vecteezy.com George Floyd’s death in May set in motion protests so large and powerful — even international in scope — that the sound of marching, charging feet has at least temporarily drowned out our anxiety about a deadly global pandemic. History teaches us that history rarely happens in tidy and convenient ways. So it is no surprise perhaps, in the year 2020 A.D., that a new plague to humanity has been eclipsed by a very, very old one. What a unique moment in history we are living in. And what an inescapably shameful one. Yet it’s not a...
All Children Are Special
Special needs children offer important lessons to parents and the community. Indeed, the term special needs is associated with disabilities and implores parents as well as stakeholders in the community to ensure their children get special assistance and accommodations for their medical, psychological and learning deficiencies. However, the use of the term special needs has led to the creation of a cloud of darkness over children and is making them feel that their needs can only be addressed if they have certain deficits. All children have special needs at different stages of their development and require effective accommodations to allow...
Establishing a Healthy Relationship with Autism and Anxiety
A young Orange County man establishes a healthy relationship with autism and anxiety. “I’m feeling pretty good about myself right now.” That’s my son talking. My son, Drew, the 22-year-old movie blogger and aspiring screenwriter who happens to be on the autism spectrum. Yes, those words and that self-awareness have been a long time coming. But now they are music to my ears. It’s not a constant state, mind you, but when it does come around it’s ever so sweet. And the fact that he clues me in to it is pretty cool, too. He was yukking it up with...
Disneyland Make-A-Wish
No request is too extreme for the Make a Wish Foundation of OC and IE, which celebrates 35 years of wishes granted Disneyland style. Thousands of children have not had to wish upon stars to see their dreams come true thanks to the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Orange County and Inland Empire. The local foundation is celebrating 35 years of granting more than 6,000 wishes to children, between the ages of two-and-a-half and 18, who are confronted with critical illnesses. While the OC and IE foundation’s roots date to 1983, the first Make-A-Wish foundation was initially launched in 1981 with its...
Special Olympics Swim Meet
Santa Margarita Catholic High School shared photos with Parenting OC from the school’s eighth annual Special Olympics Swim Meet on Saturday, March 24. Over 70 athletes with special needs from five Orange County swim teams participated in the Special Olympics event at Santa Margarita Catholic High School, making it the largest Special Olympics swim meet in the school’s history. Participating clubs included the Irvine Eagles, OC Barracudas, OC Dolphins, OC Sharks and the Surf City Swimmers. Approximately 70 students, including Santa Margarita swimmers from both the boys and girls swim programs, helped put on the event and served as personal...
Special Needs Family Stories
Four OC families of special-needs children share their struggles, acceptance and happiness. The Jackson Family Teresa Jackson was almost six months pregnant when she was told her unborn baby boy will have Down Syndrome – coincidentally on March 21, 2016, World Down Syndrome Day. When she received the final diagnosis, she searched online for parent support groups and found the Down Syndrome Association of Orange County (DSAOC). She was connected to a kind volunteer that encouraged her to come to a Circle of Friends Parent Support Group. “I was very emotional and scared driving to the meeting, but upon arriving,...
The Power of a Wish
Taylor Mayes is the spunky Make-a-Wish child who graced our cover last April. We met Taylor and her family as we joined forces with businesses and organizations across Orange County, and Ellen K of 103.5 KOST FM, to help make Taylor’s wish of becoming a singer and living the popstar experience come true. Taylor had been fighting Ewings Sarcoma, a cancer of the soft tissue, and had only been released from the hospital after a grueling final round of chemo a few days before our cover shoot. We have had so many readers want to know how she is doing,...
Inspiring Families of OC
Sometimes life can seem overwhelming, even in the idyllic environs we enjoy in Orange County. As reflections about the past and new year kick in, we wanted to share the inspiring stories of a few OC families. The Brown Family 100 Miles and Counting Last December, Kelly and Allen Brown sat their small children, Eden 5 and Elijah 3, around the kitchen table. They felt it was important to teach their kids about the rewards of hard work and began an elementary conversation about goals. As January approached with resolutions soon to follow, the Brown family comtemplated setting a goal...
“I Will Make this World My World.”
Diagnosed with Sickle Cell at birth, Alyssa Simmons is on a crusade of compassion for sick children. A typical Saturday night for most teen girls might bounce between boys, bantering on social media, and blasting beats through their earbuds. However, Alyssa Simmons, Laguna Hills High School freshman, is not your typical teenager. Her weekends are spent selecting the next hospital to visit in order to lift the spirits of children suffering through illness and pain. Afterall, Alyssa can relate. At birth, Alyssa was diagnosed with Sickle Cell Disease, a chronic blood disorder which is extremely painful and incurable. She has...
Talk About Curing Autism This Holiday Season
The Sensitive Santa program is ideal for those who struggle with the chaos of meeting Santa at a nearby mall. Launched more than 14 years ago in November 2000, the Talk About Curing Autism (TACA) organization began as a local support group for OC parents with autistic children. Founded by Lisa and Glen Ackerman, parents of an autistic son, the grassroots program had its humble beginnings in Huntington Beach, with TACA's first meeting held in the Ackerman's living room amongst 10 other families. Since then, it has spread to over 45,000 families, becoming a nationwide non-profit organization focused on supporting...