Looking back, I wonder if as a child I subconsciously learned that I should to be unhappy with my weight because so many of the women I looked up to felt that way. Maybe I learned it's just what women do -- part of our female heritage. We can't fully like ourselves, especially if we aren't a "perfect" weight.
None of my friends had gone through anything remotely similar with their children. And honestly, if they had, they probably wouldn't have shared such a sensitive thing with me for fear of embarrassment.
This is the second installment in a three-part series, where one mother relates her family's journey to accept and understand Annie's Autism and Sensory Processing Disorder. To read the first article, click here. We pick up where Morgan and her family received Annie's...
I am a pretty laid back mother. I don't fret about possible food allergies. I don't check to make sure my children are still breathing at night. I let my kiddos play in the back yard unsupervised. In fact, there...
Looking around, I saw other moms of newborns with Down syndrome who were where I was three years earlier. Doing more than it all; feeling lonely, isolated. Attending local events and still feeling alone. Where were the moms of color? Surely we weren’t the only ones in the area? So I started the African American Parents of Children with Down Syndrome - DFW group. I became a special education teacher. My students are mostly minorities. Their parents know I get their struggle -- of being a “special parent" to a special child.
I thought it was time to share some of the things you should NOT say to the mom of a special-needs child. Please know my heart in this -- not to shame you, but to help you re-think your words when trying to show you care.
While the primary goal was saving Casey’s life, there was always the thought that once he achieved all the major survival milestones, he would then have to cope with one of the most common late effects from treatments: infertility. While the infertility may not have been top-of-mind for him when he was 12, it was a concern as he got older.