When I think back to when I gave birth to my son, 17, with special needs, I clearly remember quickly learning about the laundry list of milestones my son may be delayed in achieving. I also learned there was so much information that solely focused on the challenges.
It was overwhelming, and the information overload was like drinking from a fire house. No human could possibly take in that much information that quickly. It was too much, and to some extent, I am glad I couldn’t take it all in. I am glad I couldn’t take it all in because it allowed my son to be the author of his own story.
He took us on this beautiful journey- not the journey we thought we were going on, but a beautiful journey nonetheless. No booklet or pamphlet was going to tell him what he could or couldn’t do. Did he have some delays?
Yes, and we enlisted the help of many awesome professionals to help us (OT, Speech, PT, Mental Health therapists, etc) but we learned to balance that with appreciating all that our son WAS accomplishing!! We celebrated the small things in a big way, and the big things in a bigger way. Our son, and this journey has been the most unbelievable blessing in our lives. We wish we could change the world for him, but we wouldn’t change him for the world.
He has no limits, and we won’t place any on him. He is musically gifted, and is a joy to be around. The journey has had its ups and downs, like raising any child, but we had a village of people who supported us along the way. Do not go it alone. You were not meant to “do life” alone, and reaching out for support is something you can do to equip yourself with the tools you need. I would be honored to be part of your story, and encourage you to reach out if you could benefit from some support from someone who can really relate.
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