Parenting

Can A 504 Plan Be Used In College?

Can A 504 Plan Be Used In College?

This is a question I often hear, and it’s one that I also hear and see answered incorrectly. The short answer is: yes. Colleges must provide accommodations through section 504.

In case you don’t know what a 504 Plan is or what it does, here’s the full definition, per the U.S. Department of Education.

In a nutshell, it is this: a written plan that ensures that a student who has a disability identified under the law receives accommodations to ensure the student receives the same access to academic success as everyone else. 

It levels the playing field for students who have a disability - no matter how large or small, and no matter if it’s permanent or temporary.

6 Books You Need To Read Right Now To Help With Your Kid’s Anxiety

6 Books You Need To Read Right Now To Help With Your Kid’s Anxiety

Do you feel like you hear about anxiety in kids and teenagers more than ever before? I just don’t remember hearing about my friends or classmates dealing with anxiety when I was growing up. 

Granted, I know there was considerable stigma surrounding mental health back in the day, so surely there was plenty of it happening, considering all the brown plaid that parents were dressing their kids in, and I guess we didn’t hear about these struggles because people just didn’t talk about it. 

Community in Crisis Over Child Walking Home From Bus Stop Carrying Elf With Bare Hands

Community in Crisis Over Child Walking Home From Bus Stop Carrying Elf With Bare Hands

Trouble continues in a local neighborhood, where a mother is accused of allowing her daughter to walk down the street carrying her elf with bare hands in front of all the other children.

It all began last week when the incoming-text-notifications of eight moms’ phones and that of one stay-at-home-dad rang out simultaneously from an angry group text, initiated by Kayla’s mom, Patricia, stating that “FYI, the kids just got off the bus and there’s a little girl walking in the middle of the pack, carrying her elf. IN HER HAND, right out in the open where all the kids can see.”

A flurry of texts ensued, with everyone trying to figure out “who the hell is it?” and causing a data bottleneck that ultimately knocked out the nearby cell tower.

“We all suspected that it was that one lady’s bratty daughter,” one mother said, “because that woman always gives in to her child, and sure enough, my neighbor texted to confirm it after pulling out her binoculars.”

PANDAS: The Illness Behind My Son's Thoughts of Suicide

The original version of this post was shared first on Austin Moms, where I am a regular contributor, in March 2020. By then, my son was fully recovered from PANDAS - Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal infections (good ol’ strep throat). But it was a scary road getting there.

PANDAS

My son is the clown of our family. He was born with the gift of a cheery, optimistic outlook and a funny sense of humor that’s wittier than most kids his age. He’s the youngest, eight and a half years younger than his brother, and because of his hilarious showmanship, he’s always had a bit of an audience with us.

It’s why it was so startling when he pulled me into his room at bedtime one night to tell me he had been having scary thoughts. Thoughts of suicide.

He had just turned 11.

PANDAS-KristanBraziel.jpg

About a month prior, he had started a new school, but had missed nearly the first two weeks because he woke up on the first day with what turned out to be a strep infection that his little body just could not shake.

He was beginning to get into a rhythm with his school routine and started finally getting back to himself when he told me about the thoughts that were scaring him.

Thankfully, I was able to get my son in for an emergency appointment with a psychiatrist. He requested blood work, specifically to check for strep antibodies as well as for mononucleosis.

The doctor suspected PANDAS, a pediatric autoimmune disorder caused by strep infection that causes your body’s immune system to attack its healthy cells in the brain, stemming from inflammation in the basal ganglia, one of the most central, primitive centers of the brain.

The result is an almost overnight change in the child’s behavior, ranging from obsessive-compulsive behaviors to tics to moodiness and depression, the sudden onset of eating disorders, and even a decline in fine motor skills. 

Our son’s blood tests showed that he had highly elevated strep antibodies, as well as those for mono, so the truth is that we aren’t sure if he had PANDAS or its ugly big sister, PANS, which is essentially the same condition, but instead of strep, it’s triggered by another infection or other metabolic disturbance.

Regardless of the trigger, there was an overnight personality change in our son, and the antibodies in his blood proved that his body was still fighting two infections from a month prior.

After the psychiatrist notified me, he reached out to my son’s pediatrician so they could collaborate on a diagnosis – which they both agreed was PANS/PANDAS – and an appropriate treatment plan, which was a round of strong antibiotics and close monitoring. 

Once armed with the diagnosis, we met with the school administrators to have accommodations added to our child’s 504 Plan. We wanted to make sure he had access to the counselor and school nurse at any time he felt he needed to talk.

The treatment of antibiotics worked and within a few weeks, our son started to return to his normal, happy self, although it would be a few months before we would feel like he was completely back to himself.

We were lucky to have medical professionals willing not only to work collaboratively on behalf of our son, but who were willing to listen to me as a mother. Doctors who believed me and – despite never having diagnosed a case themselves before, were willing to investigate further and start treatment on my son.

If you have noticed sudden distressing behaviors that started over the course of just one to three days, make an appointment with your child’s doctor right away and request blood tests to check for Antistreptolysin O (ASO) titer and the Anti-DNase B antibody.

Both are antibodies that your body produces in response to a strep infection. 

It’s important to note that while searching for elevated levels of strep antibodies is an important piece of criteria to help diagnose your child, it’s only one piece of a bigger puzzle, because a different illness could be the reason for an onset of PANS, and because the illness manifests differently in each person.

The most important step in getting treatment for your child is to trust your gut as a mother and if your doctor pushes back on what you believe to be PANS or PANDAS, find another provider. One who is willing to take the time necessary in investigating whether your child has this rare and complex illness.

My son hasn’t had any symptoms since his recovery, which took a good six months, but our doctors warned us that he could have a relapse with any future strep diagnoses. In fact, he’s at risk of returning PANDAS symptoms if he’s even exposed to strep in the future, although the risk declines as he ages.

Because he’s susceptible to this type of inflammation, he’s also at higher risk for a similar illness, MIS-C, if he’s exposed to COVID-19. MIS-C stands for Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome in Children, and - although children are at a lower risk for the typical symptoms of COVID, it’s this syndrome in particular that I’m afraid of my son developing with any COVID exposure.

It’s very rare, but it is a very real illness.

In 2020, Texas Governor, Greg Abbott, created an advisory council on PANS, which is an important step in the right direction toward better understanding this illness and effective treatments.

It’s also validation for all the families who have experienced symptoms, only to be told by a doctor that they’re imagining things, or that their child has some other psychiatric disorder.



Interview With Writer And Comedian Toni Nagy

Interview With Writer And Comedian Toni Nagy

Several weeks ago, I had the opportunity to interview the smart and hilarious Toni Nagy, writer and comedian responsible for creating sketch comedy videos based on current events, which were - at the time of our interview - all very COVID-19-centric.

Weren’t we so cute when we thought all we had to deal with was a global pandemic?? When our heads could stay firmly planted in the ground and remain blind to systemic racism?? Hahahahaha, adorable!

What To Do When You're Worried About COVID-19

What To Do When You're Worried About COVID-19

A few weeks ago, my friend told me about a children’s book contest hosted by the Emory Global Health Institute. The submissions they were looking for were to be targeted toward kids ages six to nine years old, and the purpose was to explain the virus using science-based facts.

You know I’m all about the mental health side of things, and helping calm anxieties when I’m able to, so I chose to frame my submission from that standpoint.

Austin's Newest Murals (And Phrases I Never Want To Hear Again)

Austin's Newest Murals (And Phrases I Never Want To Hear Again)

If I hear the phrases, “uncertain times,” “trying times,” or my most dreaded, “unchartared territory,” because FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THAT’S HOLY, it’s un-effing-CHARTED, I AM GOING TO SET MYSELF ON FIRE.

orry for all the yelling, but sweet fancy Moses, can we come up with new terms?

And is it too much to ask to GET RIGHT the ones we’re over-using??

The Corona Chronicles Project

The Corona Chronicles Project

When I was growing up, my parents would take me to the library and set me to work going through reels of microfiche films to help them work on our family genealogy project. They taught me how to look up census records, and birth and death records, but I became fascinated with all the stuff in the middle.

I wanted to find out about what my ancestors did between those two events. The dates on their vital statistics records announced that they were born and then died.

Their stories showed us that they lived.

How To Manage Boredom During Quarantine

As we enter our 49th week of quarantine, I thought I would--- Hm?. What’s that? We’re only on **checks notes** week one?

Is this a joke?

Our new quarantine meal plan consists of mostly Ruffles and Cadbury mini eggs, so even though we’re only ten days in, I’m up 32 pounds and drunk, thanks to starting a drinking game based on hearing the words, “I’m bored.”

Grab This Homeschool Daily Schedule

Grab This Homeschool Daily Schedule

We got our e-learning email from my son's teachers this morning and I am SO HAPPY to see that - in our school district, anyway - they’re making the focus about REVIEWING what the kids have learned this year, as opposed to learning new material.

This is fantastic news for all of us, but especially for those parents who still have to work outside the home and worry about how to help their kids with schoolwork, and for those of us who are just overwhelmed in general by the responsibilities of teaching our kids.


I wanted to share with you what we're doing in our home.

When Your Kid Is A Perfectly Fine Loser

When Your Kid Is A Perfectly Fine Loser

As my son came off the ice yesterday following his hockey game, he looked at Mark and me, shrugged up one shoulder a bit and gave a, “meh, what are you gonna do?” expression.

They’d lost another game - they've had plenty of experience losing this season, which has been hard on the team’s morale.  

Except for my child’s.

He still comes off the ice with a smile.

It drives Mark insane.  

“It would be nice if he was just a little more competitive,” he’ll say.

Putting Yourself Out There & Finding Your People

Putting Yourself Out There & Finding Your People

Do you ever wonder what you’re here for?

Not like when you walk to your pantry, fling open the door and think, “Wait, what did I come over here for?” then you have to retrace your steps and go aaallll the way back to the couch, sit down, and get comfy, and THAT’s when it comes back to you, so you sigh really hard, heave yourself back up off the couch, schlep back to the pantry, muttering curse words at yourself about how this is happening more and more frequently, and then - because alzheimer’s runs in your family, you convince yourself this is a sign of early onset dementia, then you launch immediately into a panic attack (because naturally anxiety also runs in your family).

No, I’m talking about: do you wonder bigger picture what you’re here for?

I do.

Best Classroom Craft: How To Make A Scrapbook For Each Student

Best Classroom Craft: How To Make A Scrapbook For Each Student

When my youngest was in elementary school, I got a wild hair and started doing a class scrapbook each year. 

Here’s what that looked like: going into his classroom twice each month of the school year - once to take pictures of each student doing a certain activity, then - after having the photos printed - going back a second time to hand out the photos, along with a scrapbook page for them to decorate.

At the end of the school year, I assembled the loose pages into books for each student to take home, and they absolutely loved it.

It wasn’t technically my idea.

My sister-in-law was doing it for her daughter’s class, and - not to ever be outdone by her - I immediately stole the idea and took it to my son’s school, claiming all the credit for my own, WHICH IS HOW I ROLL.

The 7 Best Texas Historic Landmarks That Your Kids Need To See ASAP

The 7 Best Texas Historic Landmarks That Your Kids Need To See ASAP

Having given birth to my first-born on Texas Independence Day, March 2nd, it’s only natural that I’d be somewhat of a Texas history buff.

But alas, I am not.

History buff? Yes. Texas history? Meh.

I really only know about these historic sites because my dad IS a history buff - all the history, and I grew up being dragged around the state to visit these places, and they were always accompanied by a long and mind-numbing lecture, which I only now can appreciate.

Tween Boy's Bedroom Update

Tween Boy's Bedroom Update

We’ve only lived in this house for two years, but we’ve already ruined it. 

Am I the only mom who’s raised a bunch of filthy animals who shove things onto shelves and set things aside to “deal with later,” creating piles everywhere, until, before you know it, you’re surrounded by so much clutter, you can’t escape and your family’s had to carve their names into the sides of the cave that used to be their bedroom, just so that someone knows there are humans inside, if they’re ever rescued?

No? Just me?

I had a few projects planned to tackle this summer, to rein in the clutter, and I’ve finally completed the first one: my 11-year-old son’s room.

He had a hodge-podge of furniture from his Texas-themed room at our old house that didn’t match his new Texas Stars hockey theme here at the new house.

Also, he’s not into toys. So all the toys he’s gotten for Christmas and birthdays have just gotten shoved onto shelves, where they’ve sat collecting dust.

Why I Am Not Teaching My Kids To Be Color Blind

Why I Am Not Teaching My Kids To Be Color Blind

Scrolling through Instagram recently, I came across a post that bothered me so much, I have to address it here.

It was from a mom who said that her daughter told her, “Yesterday I played with a really nice black girl,” and the mom was mortified, and commented that she’d failed as a parent.

She replied to her daughter, “That’s not nice,” and then admitted that her daughter was confused by this comment from her mom.

Death Of The Photo Album & How It's Killing Our Connections

Death Of The Photo Album & How It's Killing Our Connections

As a little girl, I remember spending the summers on my great-grandmother’s farm with my cousin, who’s only five months older than me.  

Most of our childhood was spent far, far away from each other because of her dad’s career in the oil business. His job had him living all around the world, in fancy places like France, Africa, and Switzerland.

But we would spend much of our summers together there on my great-grandma’s farm in southern Oklahoma, just right on the other side of the Red River from my childhood town.

We would play outside in the early mornings, when there was still dew on the grass. We would walk out to the hen house and collect eggs, and walk down the lonely red dirt road, telling each other spooky stories about what might be hiding in those tall rows of corn on either side of the road.

A Father's Day Wish For My Sons

A Father's Day Wish For My Sons

A version of this post first published June 9, 2016, when my oldest - now 20 - was still a teenager.

My teenager was forced to emerge yesterday from his dark hole of a bedroom because it was the first day of summer break, and we had to go get his passport renewed.  

Just a few days before, I'd stood on the front porch, bantering with him as he walked out to his car, watching him pull out and waving goodbye to him as he left for one of his last few days of his junior year.  

He hates when I do this.  

"Why do you do that?  It's so weird," he'll say in a tone that makes it clear he's disgusted by the whole thing.

Best Books To Inspire Travel In Teens And Tweens

Best Books To Inspire Travel In Teens And Tweens

Years ago, when we first started working with our financial planner - which sounds very fancy, but I assure you it’s not like that.

Our decision to work with a financial planner came about when we were living paycheck to paycheck, and Mark and I finally acknowledged that we are children when it comes to being financially responsible, because we like shiny stuff, and we needed a non-biased person - who’s also smart with money - to tell us what we should spend and what we should save.

In the beginning of our working relationship with him, we were tasked with writing out our family’s priorities so we could finagle a budget that would work for us.