2012’s Top Special Needs Posts Countdown, #2

by JoleneDec 31, 2012Advocacy, Special Needs Parenting4 comments

The 2012 countdown of popular posts continues even on New Year’s Eve. To celebrate the occasion, we’ll take a look at the second most read post of the year. It went up on January 4—which is in EA/TEF Awareness Month—in which readers discovered 10 reasons to raise awareness about this birth anomaly.

Posts #3–10

In just a minute, those ten reasons will be briefly reviewed. But first, for your convenience, here’s a list of the 8 posts already covered in the countdown:

#10: The Welcome to Holland Thing and The Big Bad Thing
#9: Handwriting Help for Kids with Special Needs
#8: Friendship—The Perfect Gift for a Special Needs Parent
#7: Down Syndrome: A Teacher of Life
#6: Teachers Who Loves Our Kids with Special Needs, We Thank You
#5: Support for Parents of Adults with Special Needs, Pt. 2
#4: A Medically Fragile Child’s Perfect Ending
#3: 5 FREE Early Intervention Speech Apps

Post #2: Ten Reasons to Mark EA/TEF Awareness Month

Now, on to the list of top ten reasons to raise awareness of EA/TEF:

Most people haven’t heard of EA/TEF
9. About half of babies born with EA/TEF will have trouble with GERD.
8. Children with EA/TEF tend to vomit often.
7. Children with EA/TEF are born with some form of tracheomalacia.
6. Because treatment of EA/TEF hasn’t improved by leaps and bounds.
5. Because EA/TEF is rarely prenatally diagnosed.
4. Grey’s Anatomy recently featured EA/TEF in an episode.
3. Different Dream guest blogger Christine Lester’s son Billy was born with EA/TEF complications.
2. DD guest blogger Lori McGahan’s son Brandon is an EA/TEF kid, too.
1. My son Allen was an EA/TEF baby, too.

Of course, the original post has links to definitions of the medical terminology (and to the Grey’s Anatomy episode), so get the full scoop at Ten Reasons to Mark EA/TEF Awareness Month.

Shout Out Time!

Okay, EA/TEF parents, what more would you add to the list? Now’s your chance to give your child a shout out in the comment box.

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By Jolene

Jolene Philo is the author of several books for the caregiving community. She speaks at parenting and special needs conferences around the country. Sharing Love Abundantly with Special Needs Families: The 5 Love Languages® for Parents Raising Children with Disabilities, which she co-authored with Dr. Gary Chapman, was released in August of 2019 and is available at local bookstores, their bookstore website, and Amazon. See Jane Dance!, the third book in the West River cozy mystery series, which features characters affected by disability, was released in October of 2023.

4 Comments

Jolene on January 5, 2013 at 12:11 pm

Welcome home, little Gia!The first year is the hardest. Best wishes to your family. Keep posting updates about how things are going, Mike.

Jolene
Mike R. on January 5, 2013 at 12:23 am

My wife and I finally brought home our baby girl Gia from the hospital after 7 months. We made it thru xmas without any setbacks. I wouldnt want any other friend or family member to experience what Ea/Tef families go thru, especially the 1st year. We love our baby and will forever be on her side.
Jolene on December 31, 2012 at 1:58 pm

Yeah, it’s too bad that Asperger’s is now lumped in with autism. I’ll keep my eyes open for more resources for Asperger’s/autism. Is there a reader out there with experience or expertise in the subject who would like to guest blog about it? Please contact me if you do.

Jolene
Lori on December 31, 2012 at 11:04 am

Would love to hear more about aspergers! Such a shame it will no longer be part of the DSMV.