Erin lives in Fairview Park and has two children.

How are you and your family dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic?

As a family, we did have a lot of changes with the pandemic. My husband is an essential worker so he was working overtime every week and was not home a lot. My daughter struggled for several months to get used to it. With her sensory issues, she had a difficult time not being around people because she definitely needs the contact with others for her sensory input. But we finally found a comfort area for her and us that worked after lot of phone calls with her OT. After a year of the pandemic, I feel like as a family we are all just getting into the swing of things.

What do you do to relax?

Crocheting

What else would you like to tell us about yourself?

I am very active in many of the school PTAs.

What benefits has Connecting for Kids brought to you and your family?

When we found out my daughter had sensory issues, Connecting for Kids helped us to set up services. It was a huge relief after years of trying to figure out what we could do to help her.

Which Connecting for Kids resources have you tapped into to help your child?

Music Therapy & More. Before the pandemic, we attended in person at Westlake Porter Public Library and recently have been doing the virtual Zoom sessions online.

If I could go back in time and talk to myself, I would say...

I am so glad I advocated for my child. I was a special needs kid and my mom is my strongest advocate. When my daughter was born I knew something was up because she needed a little more than her sister and everyone kept telling me to wait that she’ll just get through it and be fine. I had a dear friend, Elizabeth Malik, who I talked to many times because she was very active with Connecting for Kids and she told me to make the call and see how they can help us figure things out for Emma. I am so glad that we spoke up because she is thriving now with the help she received and I do not know where we would be without it.

When my child's behavior gets out of control, I feel...

Very frustrated. I want to help her but somehow it just seems that she is in so much pain there is nothing I can do to help her get to the other side. Because Connecting for Kids helped us find Abilities First for OT services, we have found some ways to cope and help her but there are still good and bad days.

The hardest thing for me to learn was...

That her behaviors and response are not my fault. Sometimes there’s just nothing we can do to help and that’s OK because we will get through them either way.

Do you have any recommended resources such as blogs, websites, or books that we can share?

The Connecting for Kids newsletter and Facebook page