Well, since I was thinking about my last post, I decided to elaborate on that theme of recommendations we don't normally think about but might come in handy if your kids is sick or disabled.  So here are a few of mine in no particular order.

          1)  Make a list of all meds, allergies, doctors, therapies etc. Also add anything you want the ER to know but may not think of at the time.  (Feisty Pants' list includes instructions about certain hospitals and which emergency procedures we will or will not consent to.) Make copies of this list. Stash them everywhere.   I put this in my last post but it bears repeating.  It is nigh on impossible to remember your last name when the paramedics are standing in your living room at 3 am.  Harder still to remember again 4 hours later when you are vainly trying to mumble it at the five hundredth medical personnel member once the adrenaline wears off. I got this idea from my friend Celtic Pants.  She once had a severe asthma attack and when the paramedic started asking questions and she couldn't get the breath to answer, she just whipped her driver's license with half of the info they wanted all neatly written down.  (Pretty ingenious for someone who couldn't even stand up straight at the moment.) 

          2) Ask all the therapists where they get their equipment, toys and games etc.  You'll end up with a good list of special needs  toy and therapy equipment specialists.    They are great sources for ideas (not the items, mind you)    THEN-search regular stores and amazon for a better price.  Toys R Us even keeps a list of recommendations for special needs kids based on age and particular special need (fine motor, cause and effect, etc) which they will send you if you request it.  Search their website to ask.  You can even find good ideas to adapt everyday things for a disabled kid at the hardware store.

           3) Can't figure out how to adapt something for your tyke?  Ask an OT (occupational therapist).  ALWAYS.  They are incredible at that sort of thing. I swear they could cobble together a space shuttle out of a rubbermaid tote and three rolls of duct tape.

           4) Lay off the stuffed animals.  Really. If you have a disabled kid, everybody on the planet will give them a cute little teddy bear at some point. Especially, if like Feisty Pants, your tyke is a girl.   It's sweet, it really is.  They see a cute vulnerable child and they have soft fuzzy feelings for them.  So they get them soft fuzzy toys.  Except, soft fuzzy toys harbor dust and dust mites and allergens. Not good for kids with asthma or imunnocompromised kids or kids with trachs or breathing issues of any kind. So they have to be washed and dried regularly.   I have literally given away hefty bags full of stuffed animals.  And we still have a bazillion floating around here.

            5) I mentioned an emergency bag in the last post, but Hippie Pants says that isn't always helpful.  ("What if you cannot grab it for some reason?")  Her tip is keep a sample of shampoo, deoodorant, tylenol and an instant coffee stick (like Via) or a teabag in your purse at all times.  She says that kept her looking like an actual human being on many an occasion.

             I am sure there are many more.  But this is what pops into my mind first. Anyone else have a great tip they'd like to share? I'd love to hear it.