I was so excited to be asked to be PTPA tester for HOPELight magazine.  I waited patiently for our 3 magazines to arrive!

As a mother of a special needs child, I was always on the search to find tools to find ways in which to teach and connect with my son.  When the monthly magazine arrived with Zack’s name on the front, I was eager to see what was inside.  The personalization of the magazine made it so special for me as a mom and I know older children would also find this a special treat when it arrived in the mail. While he was not quite ready to grasp some of the concepts, he sure did love to look at the vivid photos and colours that graced every page.  I could see that the activities on these pages would be used by me and likely his other speech therapists as well, as he entered school.

Then I learned that the magazine was created by Dawn Grosvenor for her daughter, I was even more impressed.  She saw the need for simplier activities for her daughter and she couldn’t find them….so instead, she created them!  Like so many Warrior Moms, she found a way to not only reach her own daughter, but also connect other parents with their own children. 

HOPELight takes a theme each month and creates very simple images and activities to work on skills like writing, colouring, matching, colour recognition, shape recognition, language skills, social skills and hand/eye coordination.  One month was swimming, so the greens and blues were used to stimulate learning but were kept simple so that the photos and images were not distracting.   I really appreciated that HOPELight used a very non-traditional way to teach our kids. Perhaps these kids need new ways to be taught…this was a great way to realize that there are more ways to reach out and connect with special needs children.

While I really loved the books and the simple way that it allowed “OUR” kids to have a magazine just for them, I was even more impressed with the website that Dawn has created as a resource to other families.  She reaches out to kids with Down Syndrome, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, Spina Bifida and a multitude of other special needs.  The website provides resources and links for a variety of topics that parents would be interested in learning more about.  She even has a blog to follow and hear about the HOPELight news or other ways in which to connect the special needs community.

I was not surprised to also see that on the HOPELight website, there is a store where you can not only purchase a subscription for your child, but you can also purchase inspirational cards for gifts and for yourself.  Dawn not only thought of something for the children, but wanted to reach out to parents for support and encouragement. 

I’m so happy that PTPA has approved this amazing magazine  for children with special needs!