INPUT ARTICLE: Article: An occupational therapist can help the child build skills needed for writing, such as fine-motor skills and muscle control. If your child attends school, they may qualify to see an occupational therapist while at school. You can also schedule an appointment with an occupational therapist through your insurance provider.Find an occupational therapist by calling a local health clinic or getting a referral from your child’s physician. Parenting is always hard, and it can be especially hard when you have a child with extra needs, and you may deal with other adults' lack of understanding or unwillingness to help. It's normal to sometimes feel overwhelmed, stressed, or discouraged. If you're having a hard time, consider therapy sessions for yourself or your family.

SUMMARY: Work with an occupational therapist. Get the emotional support you need.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: In order to figure out what you need to get from the store, you need to make a list of what you already have.  Knowing what you already have will also help guide your meal planning for the month.  For example, if you have a lot of pasta in your pantry, you should utilize this ingredient in a number of recipes for the month.  Be sure to take stock of everything you have in the pantry, refrigerator, and freezer, including any separate freezer chests if you have them. Unless you are able to take inventory, prepare to go shopping, and actually go shopping all in one day (unlikely!), you will need to update your inventory list as you use items.  This will ensure that your shopping list is the most current version and will also help track frequently used items and items that tend to go unused.  Keep this list somewhere visible, like taped onto the fridge. Try painting a cabinet front with chalkboard paint as a modern alternative to a paper list. Leading up to your first once-a-month shopping trip, or even as you continue to hone your savings skills, keeping receipts is a great tool for gauging your progress.  Ideally you should have all of your shopping receipts from a typical month.  Go through them all and highlight the essentials (the stuff you ended up using or eating completely). Underline items that you didn't get through that month so you can track items you tend to buy impulsively and then not use. Check the back of the receipts for special coupons or promotions you can use. Be aware that this step can take a little time for beginners, but once you plan your first month of meals you can use it as a general outline for the following months.  Some meal planning tips:  Look at your calendar and plan around any commitments and activities.  For example, if you know you're going out to dinner for a friend's birthday this month, that's one less dinner you have to plan for. Plan theme nights. For example you can have an Italian themed meal (think pizza) every Friday or Taco Tuesday. If you block in themed meals it's easier to do the menu planning. Once you feel comfortable meal planning you can add more variety to your menus. As you look at cookbooks or find recipes online, be realistic about the amount of time you have available to make each meal. Think about cooking a complicated dish paired with an easier one. For example make a meat loaf, then toss in some baked potatoes to bake along with the meat loaf.  Serve a green salad on the side. Not only will this make cooking easier, but it will save energy as you are using the oven to bake the meat loaf; and potatoes at the same time. Try to utilize canned or bulk ingredients a lot as these items are often cost-effective and non-perishable. Take perishables like fresh fruits and vegetables into account. Try to choose recipes that can be used for several different dishes, such as preparing a large batch of chili that can also be used as taco meat, pasta sauce, etc. Look at the grocery store ads for stores you frequent, either looking online or going to the store for a savings book.  See what items are going to be on sale during the time you are going to shop, and update your meal plans if necessary. You can organize coupons you don't use for a given month in a booklet to use another month; just be sure to check expiration dates before planning on using them. Look at what needs to be replaced from your inventory list and what needs to be purchased to make your meal plans.  Write everything down in a list, organizing the list into a way that makes the most sense to you.  For example, some people like to organize their list into the different stores they are going to while others group them by type of item (e.g., dairy, canned, etc.).. During the days before your monthly shopping trip, start matching the store sales, discounts, and coupons to each applicable item on your list.  This will help you get an idea of how much you are going to spend and also help the transaction process to be more seamless. If you find a great deal at a rival store, call your grocer to see if they price match local ads; some stores allow this, and others only offer it on some days or on certain items.

SUMMARY: Take inventory of what you have. Update this list continually. Save all of your receipts. Plan out your meals for the month. Accumulate coupons and local store ads. Make a shopping list. Match sales and discounts to your shopping list.


INPUT ARTICLE: Article: This has been left open purposefully, so judge using your cooking intuition.   Add the slices to each taco, on top of the chocolate pudding. This can be ice cream syrup or the chocolate topping that hardens when poured. The dessert tacos are now ready for serving.

SUMMARY:
Use filling amounts appropriate for the number of tacos you'll be making. Arrange the tacos on a flat working surface. Fill each taco with chocolate pudding. Cut the banana into slices. Pour chocolate sauce over the bananas. Sprinkle shredded coconut over the top.