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Channel: Special Needs – JIllian Lauren
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My Tedx Talk!

Here is the talk I gave at Chapman University, about adoption and the role of imagination in forming our identities. Hope you enjoy it! Please pass it along if you do.

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On Special Needs…

When I was stuck in traffic after the camp drop-off this morning, I found myself musing about the day I first heard the words “special needs” applied to T. It seems a lifetime ago. I remember the...

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Why I Sing Loudly at Whole Foods

“She used to sing musical theater loud in the grocery store,” said Scott, when we and the other people in our foster parent training were talking about what sort of strategies we might use to address...

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Real Life and Its Skunks

I’m sitting at the very far corner of the coffee shop this morning, because I still smell vaguely of the skunk that sprayed our dog for the fourth time in a month. We’re calling the movie of our life...

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L.A. Sunday Funday

We had a crazy fun family day on Sunday, inspired by The Industry’s Hopscotch Opera, which Scott and I were lucky enough to experience the day before. Hopscotch is performed entirely in cars that drive...

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10 Ways I Take Care of Myself While Parenting Wild Pirates

A friend stopped by the other night and as I was busy burning some chicken for us all, I caught her looking at me with a combination of horror and pity. It turned out my bright lipstick (the shade I...

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Learn by Teaching

This past weekend, I had the privilege of delivering the keynote at the Parenting in Space conference, a fantastic therapeutic parenting conference. I followed up my presentation with a workshop on...

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An Open Letter to Parents of Well Behaved Children

Dear Parents of Well Behaved Children, I just spent the summer traveling around the country with two spirited children and I have met lots of you. You usually like the idea of us. You start out eager...

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A Letter to Jovi Starshine on his Gotcha Day

To my Starshine on his Gotcha Day A year ago you showed up here in your red-and-black sweatsuit, with pleather stars in a semicircle across the chest. You didn’t know what they were called yet, but...

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Happy National Adoption Month…a Day Late!

It’s been a while, I know. I’ve missed you! As we barrel headlong into the holidays, I wanted to reach out and tell you how thankful I am, always, for entrusting me with your precious time and...

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