Episode 130 | Belinda’s Story - A son with autism, low tone and epilepsy [A BELOVED MENTOR] - a podcast by Katie Taylor, Certified Child Life Specialist
from 2022-07-27T06:00:53
"Never listen when they tell you your child will not, encourage them to do the best they can do"- Belinda Hammond, CCLS
Belinda shares her son's journey with low tone, epilepsy and autism and how her professional and personal experiences collided, giving her an invaluable perspective as a parent and professional. This episode is in our top 5 most downloaded episodes to date.
[4:39] Belinda notices her son is not meeting some major developmental milestones
[5:17] Receiving a low tone diagnosis as an infant
[10:00] Belinda shares a touching moment in her son’s journey to run a 5k
[12:39] Finding activities your child likes to incorporate into therapy
[13:34] She gets a phone call from Justins school, Belinda begins to search for answers
[14:57] Additionally, she learns her son is having absent seizures and after a neurology referral learns he has Epilepsy
[15:41] After hearing feedback from her son's school, Belinda decides to homeschool Justin
[19:53] Getting her Masters degree helped her become a stronger advocate for her son and patients
[22:45] In addition to low tone and seizures, Belinda shares about Justin’s mild autism spectrum diagnosis at age 5
[24:50] Belinda describes how going back to school was self-care for her
[28:54] Working on self-confidence
[30:09] Justin’s amazing attitude and ability to push forward is inspiring to Belinda
If you would like to connect with Belinda, you can email her, or connect through her website and Facebook pages.
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Further episodes of Child Life On Call: Parents of children with an illness or medical condition share their stories with a child life specialist
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