April is Child Abuse Prevention Awareness Month. We have reposted this episode to bring awareness and give you tangible tools to speak with your kids about child abuse. Today’s guest expert is Jane Donovan, who is a child abuse prevention advocate. "And like we say in...
Episode 130 | Belinda’s Story – A son with autism, low tone and epilepsy [A BELOVED MENTOR]
Podcast Show Notes
“Never listen when they tell you your child will not, encourage them to do the best they can do”- Belinda Hammond, CCLS
Belinda shares her son’s journey with low tone, epilepsy and autism and how her professional and personal experiences collided, giving her an invaluable perspective as a parent and professional. This episode is in our top 5 most downloaded episodes to date.
[4:39] Belinda notices her son is not meeting some major developmental milestones
[5:17] Receiving a low tone diagnosis as an infant
[10:00] Belinda shares a touching moment in her son’s journey to run a 5k
[12:39] Finding activities your child likes to incorporate into therapy
[13:34] She gets a phone call from Justins school, Belinda begins to search for answers
[14:57] Additionally, she learns her son is having absent seizures and after a neurology referral learns he has Epilepsy
[15:41] After hearing feedback from her son’s school, Belinda decides to homeschool Justin
[19:53] Getting her Masters degree helped her become a stronger advocate for her son and patients
[22:45] In addition to low tone and seizures, Belinda shares about Justin’s mild autism spectrum diagnosis at age 5
[24:50] Belinda describes how going back to school was self-care for her
[28:54] Working on self-confidence
[30:09] Justin’s amazing attitude and ability to push forward is inspiring to Belinda
If you would like to connect with Belinda, you can email her, or connect through her website and Facebook pages.
Whether you are a parent or professional, we want you to join our community.
Sign up for our newsletter here.Parents, download our free parent starter kit.
When you download our starter kit, you’ll learn how to:
- Give medicine to your child without it becoming a wrestling match
- Prepare your child (and yourself) for a shot so they can feel less anxious
- Create and use a coping plan for any medical appointment or procedure
The first sign of sniffles, or worse, shouldn’t send you into a tailspin. Feel confident in your role as a parent and advocate, no matter what medical situation you’re facing.
Child life specialists, get affordable PDUs on-demand here.
Shop for your CLOC gear here.
Catch up with CLOC on Instagram, Facebook and meet Katie for a Q+A every Monday at 10 AM CST.
You Might Also Like…
215: Ruptured Appendix: Emergent Surgery, 6 Days in the Hospital & Struggles to Discharge
"I've learned so much in this whole process. It's like you have a depth inside of you that resurrects as an advocate and high alert, and it lives inside of you when you need it." -Aspen, Willa's Mom In this episode of Child Life On Call, host Katie Taylor and guest...
214: Sacrifice, Advocacy, Joy: Raising a Son with End Stage Kidney Disease – The Ransome Family’s Story
"Sometimes it's really therapeutic though to remember all that you have gone through because I feel like there are times when we look at each other and I'm like how did we get here?" Taylor Ransome We're grateful for our sponsor for this episode, Nestle Health...