Comments on: Finding Dory Made Me Nauseous, and Not Just Because I Get Sea Sick

By: Patricia Tice

Patricia Tice — Fri, 01 Jul 2016 11:55:52 +0000

I too struggle with these issues. My 13 year old (with DS) is also independent, but I struggle more on the other side of it. I feel like I’m constantly fighting for her independence.

Two years ago, Katie walked home from school every day with her friends. One day, her feet hurt in some new shoes, so she started asking everyone driving by for a ride home. The school was horrified. I wasn’t, because I knew that the people driving by were the parents of the rest of the kids in the school and this could be a great teaching opportunity for Kate. Instead of teaching her what to do and what not to do, they just banned her from walking home. This year, half-way through and after talking with the police about the potential risk of abduction (very low in our community; not so low in the next city over) she started biking to school and had no problems at all.

I work to teach her better boundaries, but it is the failure of those boundaries that gives me the best teaching opportunities. I hope Katie and Sophie can meet up some day. They sound like they would be best friends. If you’re coming to NDSC this year, let me know. We live here in Orlando and are really looking forward to it.

By: Jess

Jess — Thu, 30 Jun 2016 01:32:23 +0000

I love to read what you write. I love that I am able to connect with your experiences in a very personal way. That seems like a simple statement, but it’s not. I had a panic attack and had to step out of the theater, thankfully big brother and Twinkie twin were there.

By: Amysilverman

Amysilverman — Thu, 23 Jun 2016 18:24:50 +0000

I can’t express how much I love this. Thank you, Noan.

By: Noan

Noan — Wed, 22 Jun 2016 00:53:01 +0000

Oh my gosh, I love this post! It brought back such memories. It was 2003 and I had sent my 12 year-old daughter to art camp 5,000 miles away. She had just gotten out of the hospital. Her doctor reassured me that this was the perfect time for her to go to camp – she had finished 3 weeks of IV antibiotics and her lungs were in peak condition. I arrived back home from Interlochen Arts Camp in Michigan and immediately received a call informing me that the camp doctor had sent my daughter to the ER because they “didn’t like the way her lungs sounded”. I was freaking out. I knew her health was fine but was afraid they would mess with her in some hospital far, far away. I was waiting to hear from the hospital and was in desperate need of distraction so I went to see “Finding Nemo.” It turned into a Dory intervention:

Marlin: I promised I’d never let anything happen to him.
Dory: Hmm. That’s a funny thing to promise.
Marlin: What?
Dory: Well, you can’t never let anything happen to him. Then nothing would ever happen to him. Not much fun for little Harpo.

The hospital called shortly after we left the movie theater. The ER doctor said Elizabeth was healthy as a horse. They said they were impressed at how well a 12 year-old was able to communicate her health status and navigate the ER. They said they would be talking with the camp physician and explaining that they should listen to Elizabeth if they had any further concerns about her health.