Learning More in '24

If you’re anything like me, you’ve already got a long list of aspirations for 2024. If it includes more learning and growth for yourself and those you care for, please consider the following:

Starting tonight.

Beginning January 8 at 6:30pm, my good friend and special needs planning expert, Michael Beloff, is offering a series of free Zoom webinars for parents of young people with disabilities. Our family has benefitted greatly from Michael’s guidance and expertise over the years. I can’t encourage you enough to avail yourself to his experience as a special needs parent and financial advisor.

Check out the full schedule here and start learning tonight.

No place like home.

My friends at Together For Choice are also starting the new year off learning and teaching. This powerful advocacy group advances the rights of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) to live, work and thrive in a community or setting of their choice. TFC has been immensely helpful to our family and many others.

Join them on January 11 from 1-2pm EST for an open forum and Q&A to address and share ideas on living/housing options for individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). This virtual event is sure to offer helpful advice and collaborative discussion on a topic that often challenges young people with disabilities and their families. Register here.

Special dads.

Eric Jorgensen has also been an amazing source of support to me over the past year. His Substack newsletter is chock-full of well-researched and actionable guidance on long-term planning for children with disabilities. This comprehensive post on “how everything works” is a powerful example of the truly exceptional resources Eric provides.

You can check out the full archive of newsletter topics here and listen to Eric on the Dad to Dad podcast. It’s part of the Special Fathers Network, a mentoring program for fathers raising children with special needs. Learn more here.

Embracing Another Normal.

Delighted to share that my new book with resilience expert Dr. Linda Hoopes is being well-received by readers. So honored to get this review from a mom in the U.K.:

This is the book I longed for when my son, James, was small. James is autistic and our life has certainly not been what I had excitedly anticipated when I fell pregnant. Navigating life with a child who has complex needs felt so far from normal. This book helps you reframe your thoughts as well as delivering practical advice around curating your ‘normal’. At last - a book written by two incredible women who truly ‘get it’. If you have a child with additional needs, or you want to support someone who has, DO buy this book - it’s a game changer.

 

Building community and resilience.

If you live near Fairfield, Connecticut, I hope you’ll join me at the public library on January 25 from 6:30-8pm EST for a free event on “Building Resilience in the New Year and Beyond.” Hosted by our friends at Team Woofgang & Co., it promises to be a wonderful evening. Register here please, as space is limited.

I also will be conducting a virtual webinar on this topic from 6-7pm EST on Tuesday, January 30, hosted by Chapel Haven Schleifer Center, Inc. You can learn more and register here.

Speaking of books.

Click here to receive my top five reading recommendations for the new year. I hope these books help you as much as they’ve helped me.