Chattahoochee Mama

Toys With Purpose

My brother-in-law's sister is a teacher to autistic children, as well as other children with special needs. Over the years, Merissa has noticed how difficult it is for parents of special needs children to get toys that are educational and better suited for their kids.

Recently, she started her own on-line store called Fundamental Toys featuring the best of the educational toys available! If you check out her site, you will see in the left-hand column that she has broken the toys down by age, skill, and manufacturer to make it easier to search for what you're looking for. 

Most of the toys on her site are great for all kids, not just those with special needs. Also, whoever places an order of $50 or more before March 31st will get a free toy added to their order. The sale isn't listed on the site, but Merissa has guaranteed that she will do this automatically.=)

New book from Jenny, Mother Warriors

Not that I'll be tearing myself away from New Moon (yes, already halfway through) anytime soon... but I am looking forward to reading Jenny McCarthy's newest book, Mother Warriors. Here's a short description about the book:

No two autistic children heal in exactly the same way. And in her new book, Jenny expands her message to share recovery stories from parents across the country. Mother Warriors, shows how each parent fought to find her own child’s perfect “remedy of interventions” and teaches parents how to navigate safely through the many autism therapies.

Along the way, Jenny shares her own journey as an autism advocate and mother as well as the progress of her son, Evan. Emotional and genuinely practical, Mother Warriors will inspire a generation of parents with hope.

I think mothers can learn a lot from the inspiration of other warrior moms, no matter what it is you're currently facing.