BEFORE MEDICATION

AFTER MEDICATION

NEED I SAY ANYTHING MORE??

Girls Night Out: An Empowering Discussion about
Women and Aging

Girls Night Out
Thursday, October 1, 2009
6-9 pm
Fairmount Boathouse
#2 Boathouse Row
Kelly Drive
Philadelphia, PA 19130

Wesley Enhanced Living (WEL) will host Girls Night Out, a special evening of lively discussion, savory hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, wine tasting and chocolates on Philly’s renowned Boathouse Row.

As women, we have our plates full when it comes to aging – wrinkles and sagging (ugh!), planning for retirement, caring for aging parents and managing our health. Gather and network with women of all ages for an engaging panel and an empowering roundtable discussion on our relationship with aging.

A Girls Night Out panel discussion will feature leaders in healthcare policy and media. The panel will be emceed by Daily News/Philly.com Columnist Ronnie Polaneczky and will feature Renee Chenault-Fattah, NBC10 News Anchor; Anne Tumlinson, Senior Advisor, Avalere Health LLC and Nathalie Bartle, Professor, Department of Community Health & Prevention, Drexel University School of Public Health.

Ticket prices are $75 per gal. Free parking is available. Proceeds from Girls Night Out will benefit hundreds of Philadelphia seniors who call WEL at Evangelical Manor home.

Registration: Please contact Lisa Birton at 215-354-3193 or lbirton@wel.org or visit www.wel.org

Press: Please contact Holly Mantle (215-825-9633 or hmantle@levlane.com) or Caroline Pennartz (215-825-9644 or cpennartz@levlane.com) at LevLane

Wow, the response to last week’s post, What I Would Want a Mother of a Typical Needs Child to Know” (http://www.lipstickwisdom.com/2009/09/15/what-would-i-want-a-mother-of-a-typical-needs-child-to-know/), has been tremendous. I have seemingly been able to verbalize in my post what many mothers of special needs children feel in their daily life. Frustration with a lack of understanding and consideration is a common feeling among those of us with special needs children.

What, in my opinion, are the two most often cited sources of frustration and lack of understanding? I feel they are extended family and the school system. So I have been asking myself for days – how can I help to educate those who don’t know and don’t understand?
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Recently a question was posed on the web which asked, as a mother of a special needs child, what would you want a mother of a typical needs child to understand? As a mother to both a special needs child and a typical needs child, I found the question very difficult to answer.

Recently there was a discussion question put out on the web which asked what I would want a mother of a typical needs child to know about mothering a special needs child. As a mother to both a typical needs child and a special needs child, this question is really difficult to answer. Our son has both learning disabilities and ADD.

I have to say that I have written and re-written my answer probably a dozen of times. Finally, I think my answer comes down to what I feel is obvious. What mothers of typical needs children, family and friends need to understand is that we, families of special needs children, need understanding and consideration of our situation. Not unlike those with physically visible handicaps, those with invisible to the eye special needs require consideration, accommodations, respect and understanding. Invisible special needs can make daily situations no less daunting than for those with physical handicaps.
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