My Special Needs Board on Pinterest

image via: http://pinterest.com/about/goodies/

I have noticed since my last post about Pinterest that the Special Needs community has embraced the online pin board. I may be because it is easy to monitor your kids and walk away from a computer when you are needed, rather than attend a resource group or a parent training in the evening.
I've discovered great resources like Apps for Children with Special Needs, Siva Techined, and the Friendship Circle Blog. Teachers are active on Pinterest, and there are some very creative special ed. teachers, and speech and OT therapists active on the site. Another one of my favorites is TxTerriSweeps, she has a child with Sensory Processing Disorder and has been a source of new ideas for me.
I have found it is a great place to store links and to share information. Be wary if you tend to be obsessive, it can be a time suck, but no more than Twitter or any other social networking site. I have gained access to many experts I may have missed if I was just doing a blind Google search.

image via: http://www.madisonaditude.com/tag/pinterest/

 The images help in guiding you and then you can form links to other Special Needs parents because you  and others may not search special needs, but look for toilet training or IEP, these are pinned on my Special Needs board with many other subjects that I find along the way. This is my catch all board, I sort things out  into discreet categories later by repinning. Its nice since others may find a gem while looking for something else on the board. You may not realize that your toilet training struggle with your autistic kid may be due to interoception, which you would find if looking for Sensory Processing Disorder, but not autism. Special needs kids have many similar struggles along the way, as do their parents. Using a pin board to connect is a way to form a community when it is hard even get out of the house for an evening. It sometimes takes up the slack when it is to hard find an understanding neighbor or friend to ask for advice or information.
                                                       

• Special Needs

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• Savvy Advocate Mom and More

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That being said, I had to split my Special Needs board into other boards, since it grows bigger every day. I have tried to keep most of the pins and repinned others onto SPD/Sensory and some other things go onto the "for the kids" board.  So for now my Special Needs Board is the landing pad for the pins and sorting them comes later. If you are not on Pinterest, and would like to be, contact me and I will send you an invite or you can ask for an invite and they will send you one in a week or so. Happy Pinning!