Welcome! I'm glad to see another member of the special needs community. I'm not sure that others understand the challenges that we face daily. We just need to keep building each other up and reminding ourselves and each other that we are important too!

Hi everyone, my name is Melissa and I'd like to join your group! :flowerforyou:

I'm 38 years old and a SAHM to 3 kiddos, ages 5, 4 and 3. My oldest son, Nikko, has classic autism and is in Kindergarten. He's in the special ed program in the mornings and is in regular K in the afternoons with an aide.

I totally know what it's like to care for your kiddos and never put yourself first. In fact, when I first joined MFP, I specifically went searching for moms with special needs kids because I wanted to share support. Other moms really have no idea how much more difficult it is to have a special needs child, but the moms who do just put on their armor every day and deal with it.

Regarding the whole weight loss journey, I'm pasting the link to my success story: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/374412-finally-after-6-months-37-lbs-i-m-ready-to-share

I have lost 37 pounds to reach my goal weight and I'm currently in maintenance mode, trying to figure out how to stay here. I hope this group can grow and help other moms to have hope, despite all the curve balls that life throws at us.

My name is Lori and I have 3 boys. My oldest was diagnosed with adolescent bipolar and ADHD at about 8y/o, and now at 16 we are finding out that he may have Asperger's. Schooling has been a challenge since pre-school but we have always done our best to be a advocate for him, helping with school work, talking with schools and teachers, finally in 5th gd. we got an IEP set up for him which still took much working/talking with teachers to help him succeed. He still struggles with grades and social environments. Since he can not "read" social interaction well or at all, he has always seemed to have anger/frustration issues that can trigger great out burst. He also has mild sensory issues, as well as some mild OCD. We have been through a lot with this boy and it hasn't always been easy. Especially as a mom/woman, the emotions can run very high at times. Until this very new finding of Aspergers, I was feeling as though I had nothing left to give, I felt burned out. But now I have more hope that as we continue to work through counseling and meds and lead by example and even changes in diet, he could very well live a "normal" healthy life.
Our youngest, 10y/o, also has been diagnosed with ADHD and as I look at the symptoms of Aspergers I can see some in him. The difference between the two boys is that this one doesn't struggle in school work, and can usually talk to us about his feelings even if he almost always cries while doing it. But its nice to not have to worry about his school work as he is getting A's n B's.
Our middle boy, 11y/o, seems "normal" and hasn't had any diagnosis' YEAH!! He really helps out a lot but we can see that dealing with the other two sometimes drains him as well. So we try to take some extra time with him just to let him know he too is important.
In closing, I love all my boys with a love that is unexplainable. And I stand in my faith that they all will surprise me one day by over coming these problems and live out a healthy life as well as having close relationships with each other and not be seperated by these issues. Thanks for listening!

Hi my name is Melissa and I am happy to have found this group. It seems quiet right now, but I am hoping we can change that I am a 37 (almost 38) year old mom of 3. 19, 8, and 6. My oldest is in college and besides having some difficult events in life was really easy to raise. Now my younger two are a completely different scenario. My 8 year old son as Asperger's and we knew at a pretty young age so with early intervention and lots of therapies is doing pretty well. We still have good days and bad days and of course even within those good days there are some very trying moments. I thought raising a child on the Autsim spectrum was dificult until my daughter. We are in the process of her official diagnosis right now, but she is most likely ADHD with comborid anxiety and possible ODD (oppositional defiance disorger). To say she is a handful is an understatement. She knows everything that sets off her Aspie brother and relishes in seeing him upset. Not to mention what she has done to me emotionally.

My stress and emotional upheaval has led to years of yo-yo dieting and 20 pounds lost and then regained every year, I was always skinny growing up and cant believe I am as heavy as I am right now. Every year I swear that I am not going to regain the weight I work so hard to loose, but as soon as the holidays hit I start gaining and dont stop on january 1st like most people. For whatever reason Jan and Feb seem to be horrible food months for me. I eat emotionally and snack and munch all day.

Back in January I thought I stopped the vicous cycle and got back on track, but it only lasted 2 days. Today I start fresh, stop beating myself up, and start loosing again! My kids may have special needs but that does not have rule my weight!!!

Hi everyone, I'm the special needs Mom to my daughter who is 9 years old with cerebral palsy, and is completely wheel chair bound. This last year was a really hard year for us, as my daughter had 5 surgeries, and was down for recovery most of the year. She was home-schooled for years because the school district we lived in didn't really have a good special education department, but thankfully we moved to a good school district and now she is in public school.
So now I've got a little bit a free time for myself, the first free time I've really gotten in 6 years, so I'm being productive with my free time and working on finally improving myself. I'm using my time to work out and finally start to eat healthy, as well as I will be starting college this fall.
Right now I'm the heaviest I've ever been and it really bothers me. So I've got my goal set to get back down to my weight before I had my daughter.

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Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Calorie Counter

Hello my name is laur a and my son matthew who is 8 was born with downs he goes to school with other kids and is going to be in 3rd grade this fall.

I'm Tara, and I have five kids, ages nearly six to just fourteen. My oldest has no formal diagnosis but has severe intellectual disabilities, seizure disorder, and autism. My second and fourth have ADHD and anxiety, but are otherwise typical. My third and fifth are completely typical, yay!

I struggle with stress eating and prioritizing myself last. I am a SAHM. I had always pictured myself returning to school and then gaining a paying job in the medical field (nursing or pharmacy), but I am currently thwarted by circumstance and a DH who feels that I would be more gainfully employed in the IT field despite the fact that I have zero interest in that area, despise sitting down, and wrote my last program in FORTRAN 77.

To keep myself in shape I currently practice taekwondo, in which I recently earned my provisional black belt. I also swim, run, and do weight training reluctantly. I bike when I get a chance, too. I want to lose about 15 lbs so that my feet will stop hurting, though I suspect that part of the pain has to do with my penchant for breaking wood planks with my bare foot.

My user name means "black belt" in Gaelic, if you were wondering.

Hi, my name is Rose, and my 10 year old daughter Laura has Down Syndrome.

hello my name is laura and my son matthew who is 8 also has down syndrome.

Hi my name is Vanessa. My middle child Michael was born with a rare gene mutation which caused him to have developmental delay and macrocephaly. He also has severe ADHD. Raising him has been the biggest but most rewarding challenge of my life. Some days he exhausts me so much, I wonder how I'm able to function, let alone work on my health.

I also have 2 other kids who are typical: a 19-year-old daughter and a 2-year-old son (huge age gap ). Anyway, it would be nice to have some other mommies in the same boat as me to talk to. Feel free to add me!

Vanessa