FRIDAY FACTS!

As the President of Knowledge Safari I am taking a little license to veer off the path for this weeks Friday Facts!

This week, I am going to highlight PANCREATIC CANCER. Why? Because 3 years ago today in fact, my young and vibrant mom (that's her in the picture!) died from this dreadful disease. She was a big proponent of my work within the special needs community and would have been so proud of this new venture... www.knowledgesafari.com launching soon! :)

So allow me a moment to tell you about this disease and where you can find out more information.

- 95% of people who are diagnosed with pancreatic cancer die within one year, most within 3-6 months, my mom died in 5 months.

- There are no early detection tests for pancreatic cancer. Unlike breast or prostate cancer which can be treated and oftentimes cured because of early detection - no such test exists for pancreatic cancer.

- November is National Pancreatic Cancer Awareness Month.

- Purple is the color that represents Pancreatic Cancer.


There are many more facts and figures and they can be found on the following websites:

www.pancan.org
www.lustgarten.org
www.tgen.org
http://pathology.jhu.edu/pancreas

Facts and figures will never define who my mom was in this world and what she meant to me and my family. She was the best of everything - the best daughter, sister, wife and mom. I miss her!

Thank you for allowing me to go "off topic" for a moment and if you have a suggestion for next week's Friday Facts! with regard to a special need you are dealing with in your life - please let us know in the comments or email us at blog@knowledgesafari.com

HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

We are thankful for you!

We thank you for joining us as we build our new social network - www.knowledgesafari.com!

We thank you for joining us here on the Knowledge Safari Blog in anticipation of our launch - early 2010!

We thank you for your comments, suggestions and letting others know about us!

Most importantly - we thank you for the great things you do on a daily basis to support your children, grandchildren, siblings, family member, student and friend who is living with special needs.

And, if you are living with special needs yourself - we thank you for being you!

We hope that you are enjoying a relaxing day with your family and friends!

TAKE TIME FOR YOURSELF - RECHARGE YOUR BATTERIES!

I bet you are thinking....yeah right!

This is the beginning of a busy week for everyone! While it is supposed to be filled with family, friends, food, shopping and fun - it is often a difficult time for those dealing with special needs. It can be extra stressful.

It can be a time of hightened awareness that things are different in your family. It can be a time when caregivers are on a break and you are feeling the weight of that. Feel free to vent here about what you are going through right now!

We want to suggest that if at all possible you take a moment for yourself. Even a short amount of time to refill your cup will be worth it.

Here are some suggestions:

Have 5 minutes: Pop in your favorite CD, listen to your favorite song!

Have 15 minutes: Take a walk around the block - the fresh air will do you good!

Have 30 minuets: Pour yourself a cup of tea/coffee/etc. sit down, read an article in a magazine or chapter in that book you haven't picked up in ages.

Have 1 hour: Lucky You! How about do all of the above? Or, nothing at all! Take a breather.

Get your week off to a great start and let us know how you are doing!

HOUSEKEEPING

No...not that kind of housekeeping - that is for another time!

This time we are talking about our own housekeeping here at the Knowledge Safari Blog. We have some posts scheduled for you throughout the week as we take time to work on our new site and to spend time with our families.

Please feel free to comment and rest assured that they will be published as soon as we can - but it may take a bit! We know you understand.

HOW IS YOUR WEEKEND GOING?

Are weekends stressful or stree-free for you?

As soon as we have our official launch we anticipate the COMMUNITY section of www.knowledgesafari.com to be a great place for you to spend a bit of your weekend. Either sharing the victories of the week or venting about what is happening right now!

In the meantime, please feel free to share in our comments section. We are here for you!

Have a few moments? Take a look at and visit the blogs on our sidebar - they are great reads!

Visit us on Twitter @KnowledgeSafari

FRIDAY FACTS! EPILEPSY

It's Friday Facts! time at the Knowledge Safari blog. We have received some great responses regarding our previous Friday Facts! posts. We know that you are learning about new things and sharing the information through social media, like Twitter!

Today we are shining the light on Epilepsy.
November is National Epilepsy Awareness Month.

What do you want people to know about Epilepsy? What can the community do to support you or your loved one? Please discuss in the comment section.

The following information is from the Epilepsy Foundation for more information you can look at their website http://www.epilepsyfoundation.org/

What is Epilepsy?

Epilepsy is a medical condition that produces seizures affecting a variety of mental and physical functions. It’s also called a seizure disorder. When a person has two or more unprovoked seizures, they are considered to have epilepsy.

A seizure happens when a brief, strong surge of electrical activity affects part or all of the brain. One in 10 adults will have a seizure sometime during their life.


Seizures can last from a few seconds to a few minutes. They can have many symptoms, from convulsions and loss of consciousness to some that are not always recognized as seizures by the person experiencing them or by health care professionals: blank staring, lip smacking, or jerking movements of arms and legs.

Additional information can be found at:

http://www.talkaboutit.org/

http://www.epilepsymatters.com/

People we follow on Twitter - who tweet about epilepsy!

@FrAnKiCakaPinKy

@AutismMomExpert
@epilepsyfdn

@greggrunberg - A "Hero" for Epilepsy

@talkaboutitorg

@arizonaepilepsy

@epilepsynews

@EpilepsyPro
@theepilepsyguy has a campaign going to try to get Ellen DeGeneres to raise awareness and lessen stigma about epilepsy.

To Follow us on Twitter: @KnowledgeSafari

Please follow all of us on Twitter to support the cause! Many more people who tweet about epilepsy can be found by searching #epilepsy.

KNOWLEDGESAFARI.COM - UPDATE

Phew! We have been BUSY! We are working hard at developing the best social network dedicated specifically for families and those who have children with special needs in their lives.

As we get closer to our launch date, we want to share with you what we have in store!

Today we want to tell you about a section that will be called KS2!

KS2 will be the place for young adults and adults living with special needs to connect with their peers. We hope that this will be a place for you to feel comfortable discussing the ups and downs of your life, make friends and learn from each other.

We are planning an all inclusive social network including those living with special needs.

You can get a sneak peek at http://www.knowledgesafari.com/

Do you have any suggestions? Let us know in the comments or email us at blog@knowledgesafari.com

ANISSA

For those of you active on Twitter or the Blogs you might already be aware of the Anissa Mayhew. Anissa has many blogs - one she has kept for her daughter who had cancer http://www.hope4peyton.org/.

Unfortunately Anissa has suffered a stroke and is in need of your thoughts and prayers. You can learn more about the situation at: http://http//aiminglow.com/2009/11/hope-for-anissa

Anissa's friend Heather is also cross posting since the servers keep crashing from all of the love being sent -- you can visit her site at: http://thespohrsaremultiplying.com/help4anissa/ We have added this site to our sidebar for your convenience. If you are not familiar with Heather's family - she keeps a great blog about her family and is a big supporter of the March of Dimes.


We here at Knowledge Safari are sending our thoughts out to Anissa and her family.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO WEDNESDAY!

It's that time again....time for What Would You Do Wednesday!


Ok, we are fudging a little bit - because this week we are asking What Do You Think?

www.fox.com/glee

Did you see last week's episode of Glee? There was not as much chatter about it as we thought there would be on Twitter and Blogs, but we can't stop thinking about it!

Here is the gist...Glee is a campy musical TV show on Fox...another episode airs tonight. The show is quirky, fun and covers interesting topics. Last week it added a student Becky who happens to have Down Syndrome and included a musical number with everyone in wheelchairs - one of the main characters Artie - is paralyzed and in a wheelchair.

As we were watching the show we wondered how this would be received by the special needs community. We thought it was well done.

What did you think?



Have a situation that you would like others input on? Submit your idea for What Would You Do either in the comments or email us at blog@knowledgesafari.com

AUTISM - INTERESTING INFORMATION

There is so much information out there about Autism - it is hard to catch everything! The following are two items that we thought are interesting. Have you seen these documentaries or films? If so, what did you think of them? Are there other articles, pieces of information, films, programs, etc. about Autism that you would like us to know about?

Let us know in the comments section!

Also...do you Twitter? Let us know your @Name and we will follow you! You can find us at @KnowledgeSafari


http://www.horseboyfoundation.org/

http://www.thesunshineboy.com/

TRAVELING WITH CHILDREN WHO HAVE SPECIAL NEEDS

With all of the talk about going here and there for the upcoming Holiday Season...it got us thinking about the added stress of traveling with a child who has special needs. There is a whole site dedicated to this topic - you can view it here:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/yjjemu3

Some good tips that we have found:

1.) TAKE SOME HOME WITH YOU. Take a little bit of your normal routine from home. Not only your routine, but a few toys, foods your child enjoys and the like. The more familiar the easier it will be.

2.) RENTING A CAR? Many agencies have cars that are adaptable for your special needs, check ahead of time to make sure that you will have what you need once you arrive!

3.) TALK ABOUT THE TRIP! Preparation is key! Talk with your child about where you will be going and what he/she can expect. Whether you talk only or use pictures, the internet or other tools to talk about the upcoming travel - it will surely help in making your vacation...well, a vacation!

Do you have any travel tips to share? Let's discuss in the comments section.

WEEKEND

Hi there - glad you stopped by!

How is your weekend going? Pretty soon when our site www.knowledgesafari.com has launched you will be able to head to the Community section where you will be able to chat or vent about how your weekend is going.

In the meantime, feel free to post your thoughts, comments or questions here in the comments section.

Here is a question, for those that have help caring for your kids - whether it be a nanny, nurse, friends, etc. do you have the same level of help on the weekends?

And, if you don't have daily help - are weekends any different for you than a weekday?

Also, if you are a young adult sibling, grandparent, aunt/uncle or friend do you help out the family in any way over the weekend?

We'd love to hear a little bit about life in your world.

KADYN - SENDING GET WELL WISHES YOUR WAY!

Little Kadyn is not having a good day! Currently in the hospital awaiting a CT to read more about Kadyn's journey visit: (also linked on our sidebar for future visits)

http://kadynsmommy2007.blogspot.com

FRIDAY FACTS! - CRANIOFACIAL SYNDROMES

Every Friday on the Knowledge Safari Blog we will be highlighting a particular segment of Special Needs. We hope that by doing this it will raise awareness of the particular issue and be an easy way to learn more so that we can support each other while we navigate the winding roads of special needs.

The following information is from www.ccaakids.org - please visit their website to learn more! Connect. Discover. Share.

If you have a suggestion for future Friday Facts! please leave them for us in the comments section!


What is a craniofacial disorder?
A craniofacial disorder refers to an abnormality of the face and/or the head. Craniofacial differences can result from abnormal growth patterns of the face or skull, which involves soft tissue and bones. A craniofacial condition may include disfigurement brought about by birth defect, disease or trauma.


Thanks to www.sneakpeekatme.com for suggesting this week's Friday Facts!

50 FREE PHOTO CARDS!

Here is a GREAT freebie offer for you - a little pre-holiday gift from us to you!

Go to www.seehere.com


**UPDATE - A blog reader has informed us that this offer may have changed to be for the 4x8 cards vs. the 5x7 cards. The 5x7 worked for us but if your promo code does not work try the 4x8 cards!

**ANOTHER UPDATE - A blog reader has informed us now that if you prefer the 5x7 cards use the promo code newbaby - hope one of them works for you! :)

Register
Choose the 5x7 Photo Cards (Envelopes included!)
Design your card
Choose an amount of 50
Go to check out
Use Promo Code: freebies4mom-1109 (case sensitive)
Your total will turn to $0!

Expires 11/30/09

Many people have their holiday cards already - you can make any type of cards you want! Thank you Notes, Birthday Greetings, All Purpose - use a great picture with the text - "Love, ...." and you can use these cards all year round!

Enjoy!

GRANDPARENTS, AUNTS/UNCLES, SIBLINGS, TEACHERS ...

...We are looking for you!

www.KnowledgeSafari.com is still being built, but once it is we expect it to be a vibrant community for those with children who have special needs in their lives.

Just like any child who enters the world - they also enter the family and extended family or friendships. Everyone uniquely affects a relationship in one way or another and what happens when the child has special needs is what we are interested in exploring and supporting.

We want to hear from you here on the blog and then continue the conversation in the Community section of our website once we launch in early 2010!

How does having a family member, friend, student who has special needs affected you? Let's discuss it in the comments section.

WHAT WOULD YOU DO?

Welcome to "What Would You Do" Wednesday's here on the Knowledge Safari Blog!

We've all been there. Out for a meal at a restaurant and there is a screaming/crying/generally acting up child that is interrupting the mood...well what if that child was yours? What Would You Do?

This can of course happen whether or not your child has special needs! How do you handle this situation? If you have any tips to share, please do so in the comments section! We can't wait to see what you have to say.

Do you Twitter? If so, leave your Twitter addy in the comments and we will follow you!

WHAT DO YOU WISH?

I was looking at my calendar and noticed that tomorrow is 11/11. Whenever I see 11:11 on the clock - I think I need to make a wish. Which got me thinking...

...What are your wishes for your child? Has the fact that your child has special needs changed your wishes? I think that we all wish that the children in our lives live the best life possible and are happy...but what about beyond that?

Please share your wishes for your children with us in the comments section.

STELLAN UPDATE x2 (GREAT NEWS!)

Stellan and his family could use your support! Head over there to see the latest update.

www.mycharmingkids.net

HOLIDAYS AROUND THE CORNER

Hi everyone! We hope that you enjoyed your weekend. Our weekend was filled with movies, exercise, birthday parties, laundry and then it hit us...the holidays are right around the corner. The fun, food, cooking, shopping and the STRESS!

We were speaking with one of our friends who has a child with special needs and she mentioned how large family/friends events can really be an added stress to her daughter who is intellectually disabled. The break from routine, the extra stimulation and the pressure of wanting things to go "right" start mounting up about now.

We spoke about some ways to handle this the top three are:

1.) Expect that not everything will go correctly - then the more things that go right are a bonus!

2.) Start discussing the plans now. Discuss who might be coming for a visit or where you might be going. Give your child a chance to get used to the idea.

3.) Set up a reward system. Several benchmarks that you set up througout the day that are at the expected behavior level for your child.

4.) Bonus number 4! Try to plan now to give yourself moments of time for you to recharge. We know that is hard to do but so important!

What are your strategies? We would enjoy hearing about them in the comments section.