A Little About Us
I am Sandy. I am author, entrepreneur and digital content creator. I have two children: a sweet little boy called Lennox and the precious little girl in the picture, Mara. Mara was prenatally diagnosed with Down syndrome when I was 11 weeks pregnant. Her diagnosis came as a shock, but it only took me 4 days to get back on my feet and take charge of the situation to make sure that my little girl would have all the resources and support she may need.
I spent my entire pregnancy learning about neuroplasticity and how we can improve the physical and cognitive abilities of our babies. Since Mara’s birth, I have spent countless hours implementing a routine that includes daily physical, cognitive, visual, and tactile stimulation. I keep getting surprised by how much we can assist our children and equip them to conquer anything they want if they receive proper early stimulation.
My motto as a mother, and more specifically as a special needs mom, is “information is power”. That is why I decided to create this website. I know that every single child can reach their maximum potential if we, as parents, have access to the right information.
about us
How We Got Started
After repeated requests from many of my loyal @Instagram followers for more information about what we were doing to help Mara in her development, @MaraTheWondergirl Instagram was born. It was a great way for us to share Mara’s progress, her infectious smile, and her huge personality. It was also a great way to connect with other mamas who had questions and were seeking advice.
Little by little, the “How did you do _____?” questions grew. And it was becoming increasingly clear that one-on-one messages did not allow me to serve the needs of our growing community in the way I wanted. We knew that the impact could be bigger and that we could reach more families. And so, MaraTheWondergirl.com was born. It is an important next step to provide a new home for all of us. Thank you for being a part of it.
Glad You Have Joined Us On Our Adventure
Top Posts
Children with Down syndrome are particularly vulnerable to sexual abuse. Here is why.
After seeing parallel bars used for young children to assist them in walking, PVC seemed like a good option. There were no resources we found with plans for making them for Mara. But we used a few pictures we found and relied on the advice of our friend and therapist Kailee @themovementmama to determine the height of the bars to make this for Mara.
Do you know how much heartache and tears I could have saved if ANYONE would have told me this? Breastfeeding is not the best thing ever.
When Lennox was about one and a half, I bumped into a lady that complimented him for how verbal he was. I told her that I spoke to him all the time and he seemed to really be passionate about language. She then told me about a book called “How to Teach Your Baby to Read”. I asked her about the author and put all the info as a note in my phone.
The book is FASCINATING. I highly encouraged you to read the book, but here are a few points summarizing what the program is all about.
Oh, potty training! When it comes to delays in children with Down syndrome, I have read a lot about potty-training. I must confess that I found it really intimidating. But that did not stopped me from continuing to research. During my time trying to learn more about successful potty-training experiences, I learned about “elimination communication”. I found stories from many moms talking about how by using this method, they had been able to get their kids with DS potty-trained within a neuro-typical range.
I have a HUGE problem with pediatricians telling moms that it is just OK for a baby to skip crawling. And it makes me crazy when this is said to a mom with a child who has special needs.
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