I wanted to share something that I hold close to my heart as a hurt and a reality for families out there as well as our very own. But before I share what’s on my heart here is insert from the author Levi Lusko: “God trusted me with this trial for a reason, just as he saw fit to give you your cross to bear. And the more impossible your pain, the more incredible the power he will bring out of it. It’s his rattaouille-his specialty, a signature move that he has mastered. I heard someone once say that God gives his toughest assignments to his most trusted soldiers.”
Have you ever been in a public place and your child has a meltdown and you feel people’s stares and judgmental comments? That is a hard thing for a parent, as each parent’s reaction and approach is different than our own. But as a parent of a child who does not speak and has autism it becomes a little more anxious and hard. It is automatically assumed since he looks normal that he is acting spoiled in which is not the case. What they do not know is that he cannot express himself; sometimes he cannot transition for one thing to another especially if it was something that he really loved to do. There have been videos that have surfaced of families of special needs children who are treated wrong or are even looked at if they are bad parents because they cannot handle their own children. Little do people know what these families go thru on a daily basis behind closed doors. These families refrain from going out just so they do not have to deal with the looks and or comments. If we all would look beyond that and see that every child, every youth and adult that have special needs are special people. We can learn so much from them if we would take the time to see beyond the obvious. Our son has taught us to look at life through his eyes and sometimes that is the best way for us to be a part of his world and for a split second see a glimpse through his eyes. Many people can’t see that glimpse because they do not want to see how special these kids are. They have feelings and aspirations just like we do, so if there is something I could suggest when you see a family going through a hard time with a child, do not make it uncomfortable for the families. Families have it hard enough than to feel uncomfortable and frustrated because someone is next to them giving them a hard time. If you are at a restaurant offer if you could assist them or offer a simple smile that says don’t worry it will be ok. Before I had children, I always said it took special parents to have children with special needs because not everyone could handle it; never thinking that I would be one myself. There are days that life seems more complicated and that we do not think we can handle this path that God has chosen for our family. We did not ask for this journey but God thinks and knows that we can handle it and hope never to disappoint him.
Have you ever been in a public place and your child has a meltdown and you feel people’s stares and judgmental comments? That is a hard thing for a parent, as each parent’s reaction and approach is different than our own. But as a parent of a child who does not speak and has autism it becomes a little more anxious and hard. It is automatically assumed since he looks normal that he is acting spoiled in which is not the case. What they do not know is that he cannot express himself; sometimes he cannot transition for one thing to another especially if it was something that he really loved to do. There have been videos that have surfaced of families of special needs children who are treated wrong or are even looked at if they are bad parents because they cannot handle their own children. Little do people know what these families go thru on a daily basis behind closed doors. These families refrain from going out just so they do not have to deal with the looks and or comments. If we all would look beyond that and see that every child, every youth and adult that have special needs are special people. We can learn so much from them if we would take the time to see beyond the obvious. Our son has taught us to look at life through his eyes and sometimes that is the best way for us to be a part of his world and for a split second see a glimpse through his eyes. Many people can’t see that glimpse because they do not want to see how special these kids are. They have feelings and aspirations just like we do, so if there is something I could suggest when you see a family going through a hard time with a child, do not make it uncomfortable for the families. Families have it hard enough than to feel uncomfortable and frustrated because someone is next to them giving them a hard time. If you are at a restaurant offer if you could assist them or offer a simple smile that says don’t worry it will be ok. Before I had children, I always said it took special parents to have children with special needs because not everyone could handle it; never thinking that I would be one myself. There are days that life seems more complicated and that we do not think we can handle this path that God has chosen for our family. We did not ask for this journey but God thinks and knows that we can handle it and hope never to disappoint him.
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