Thats right... I ♥ Facebook!

Yes Yes I know a lot of people have a love hate or a total hate on for facebook. Yes it can be full of a bunch of totally worthless information, pictures, comments, and ideas. However, since having Alistair...actually NO prior to having Alistair and he was still content in utero it became a bit of a mental life saver for me. I was only suppose to be up on my feet for 20 minutes at a time, I had to move down to Vancouver on my own at 30 weeks gestation, and prepare for all the unknown. So what did I do...played mindless facebook games ie farmville was a great one, and kept in touch with friends and family. Now with Alistair out in the world and obviously a "higher needs child" I find a lot of times I'm quite housebound as I'm always working with him on something, he can entertain himself but he's basically laying on his back unless I work with him otherwise and I feel incredibly guilty leaving him lying there with the same old stimulation over and over and over. So to promote exploration, change, and interest I have to be his motivator. So ya...it can be tough to get out and about. So facebook has been a saviour in a lot of respects. It keeps me in touch with friends and family and provides me a social atmosphere from my home. But one thing I've found lately is groups within facebook that have been very helpful for me. Especially a group called  "SWAN UK" which stands for "syndromes without a name" which is obviously based out of the UK. I've been on the group for a good couple of months and find it incredibly supportive. As parents we can relate, support each other when times feel overwhelming, give each other ideas, brag about our little ones accomplishments, and just be there for each other. I also started a SWAN Canada facebook page as it would be nice to share more medical and supportive information that relates to being Canadian. So if you read this and would like to try and make a community click on the link and join! The other beauty of facebook is you can "sign out" when you've had enough. No ones forcing you to read, interact, or joing anything... it truly is up to you. Another group I've joined is "Hypotonia (awareness)" Again another great group. All the parents children have hypotonia for different reasons but again it provides a huge support network as there are over 800 members on this site. Again it allows one to share where there child is at whether its for grieving purposes, bragging purposes, or just plain day to day support. I also find these sites provide me a lot of hope for Alistairs future as you see gets accomplish amazing things, parents cope with amazing challeges, and in the end finding a way to normalize your life. On the hypotonia site one mom posted this link on "9 Ways You Can Help A Special Needs Parent." For the most part this article really hit home for me. NUMBER 8 SOOOO SOOO SOO true. It aches me when people go to interact with my kid and he doesn't react "normally" so they just pull away and pretend he's not there. Also if you have kids let... them touch, drop "small" toys on or around my kid, interact or convince them to. As my little guy gets NO interaction with kids otherwise. The only one I really don't relate to is Number 1. I want friends and family to brag of their kids accomplishments. It hurts sometimes..makes me jealous or sad but it helps me deal with the reality of Alistair's situation. But all that being said..be aware of Number 5...don't complain about your kids "bad accomplishments" as I would pay the world to have my kid throw a can of soup down a grocery isle!