Welcome to “On the Horizon”
Issue
43: Slowing Down to Speed Up
On the Horizon is an award winning weekly ezine for parents of children with developmental disabilities who want simple, effective strategies to reduce stress, support their child’s development, and improve quality of life for the whole family.
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Help for the New Year
A Note from Nicole: Note From Dallas; Facebook Friend
Idea of the Week: People Puppy Chow
Feature Article: Slowing Down to Speed Up
The Horizons Team Recommends: RDI Program and Explorations in Eating Program
Upcoming Events: Sibshop; CORE Approach Parent Teleseminar; Parent Chat
Hi Everyone!
I’m writing to you from Dallas this week, where I am finishing the last phase of my residency for my doctoral program. It’s good to get away from very cold and snowy Michigan for a couple of weeks and enjoy a bit of sunshine and warmer weather! My middle son had his 7th birthday at the end of December, and we recently celebrated with a Darth Vadar birthday party and cake. The boys are really into everything Star Wars right now, so they were very excited about the theme for the party. Some of you know that my husband is quite the cake decorator. You can check out his Darth Vadar creation on my Facebook page. If you aren’t a friend of mine on Facebook yet, send me a friend request and I’ll be happy to add you!
Last week I wrote about changing our perspective from “I should” to “I could.” Erin’s article this week is a great follow-up to that topic, as she discusses the pace of life and how we can slow down to speed up. Sounds like an oxymoron, right? Read the article and you’ll see how slowing down can really be in our best interest, and the best interest of our children.
Enjoy your week!
Looking to the horizon,
People Puppy Chow
What a yummy snack this is! In a microwave safe bowl melt ½ cup butter, 1 cup peanut butter, and 12 oz. chocolate chips for 2-3 minutes until it is smooth; making sure you stir once while it is cooking. In another bowl put a 12 oz. box of Crispix or Chex cereal and pour the melted mixture over top and stir until the cereal is coated. In a large plastic or paper food bag, put 2-3 cups of powdered sugar in and then put the coated cereal inside. Shake the bag, making sure it is closed so you don’t have powdered sugar everywhere! Once the cereal is coated with powdered sugar, pour it onto wax paper to cool. Enjoy eating this wonderful people dog treat!
Slowing Down to Speed Up
By:
Erin Roon, MA CCC-SLP
Why
does it seem that everything has to be done at warp speed these
days? Everyone is in a rush to get where they are going
and to do what needs to be done. It seems the older a
person gets, the faster the years fly by. Is it because
we get so busy and are in such a hurry that we miss whole periods
of time, caught up in meaningless tasks? Why, when we
were children, did it seem like there was so much time and it
went so slowly? Think back to when you were a child, and
summer vacation seemed to stretch on forever. Was that
because our lives weren’t packed with things to do from
the time we got up until the time we went to bed? Was it because
we had the whole day just to play, have fun, and be creative?
No schedules, no responsibilities, no worries all seem to have
played a part in the “time” we then had.
In
a previous article I wrote about slowing down to assist in processing
communication; but in this article I want to talk about the
broader concept of slowing down our lives in general. I will
admit right from the start I am guilty of being one of those
fast paced people that needs to take some of my own advice,
and slow down. I have been working on this very hard over the
past few months, and feel like I have made some progress; but
it has been difficult. When you find yourself thinking, “I
can’t even sit and watch a 30 minute TV show without doing
something else at the same time,” you need to stop and
assess the pace of your life.
I know we are all busy, and there is so much to be done every day; but sometimes the key to speeding up and getting things done is to slow down. So many parents tell me that they find themselves running here, there, and everywhere transporting their children to any number of sporting events, therapies, hobbies and other outings that they feel like they live in their car. How can this be a healthy way to function; and what kind of relationships are we establishing by rushing around all the time?
Explorations in Eating Audio Program, Calendar and Journal Set
Making Eating an Adventure and Expanding Your Child’s Food Preferences.
If your child is a picky eater or has feeding issues, mealtimes can feel like a battle zone. Try to introduce a new food and you’re surely buying a front row seat to a meltdown. His limited diet makes it difficult to enjoy a meal out or eat at friends and relatives’ homes. And you can’t help but worry about the impact such a limited diet will have on his health and development.
But there is hope. Over the years we’ve found that if a child has the opportunity to explore new foods in a non-threatening and playful way, she will eventually taste it—and often, ends up liking it. So, we’ve created a few easy-to-use tools to help you follow the same process at home.
Discover how to start broadening your child’s food preferences by ordering your Explorations in Eating Audio program, Calendar, and Journal Set for just $49.95 today!
For more information, click here
CORE Approach Program!
Finally – Hope and Real Improvement is Possible for Individuals with Autism and Their Families!
If your child has been diagnosed on the autism spectrum, or with a related neuro-developmental condition, you simply cannot afford not to investigate the CORE Approach Program. If you are ready for a change; ready to step away from the status-quo; ready to stop doing things that aren’t getting you where you want to be; ready to really understand the core deficits creating obstacles for your child; ready to significantly impact your child and your family for the better – then you are ready for CORE Approach.
Watch the video and learn more here
Please join us!
- Sibshop – Horizons Sibling Network
Open to everyone!
Saturday January 17 2009, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM EST
- CORE Approach Parent Teleseminar with Nicole & Erin – Get your Questions Answered (Horizons Families Only)
Thursday January 29 2009, 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM EST
- Horizons Parent Chat: Objective Support with Michelle & Courtney (Horizons Families Only)
Monday February 2, 12:30 PM to 1:30 PM EST
- Sibshop – Horizons Sibling Network
Open to everyone!
Saturday March 14 2009, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM EST
- HANDLE® Intermediate Training
April 6-11, 2009 and May 4-9, 2009
- Sibshop – Horizons Sibling Network
Open to everyone!
Saturday May 16 2009, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM EST
- Sibshop – Horizons Sibling Network
Open to everyone!
Saturday July 18 2009, 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM EST
See our Event Calendar for more details…
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