The struggle of raising a child with special needs.
We all have dreams and aspirations when our child is born. We all want to do the best for them. The whole dynamic changes when you realize your child has special needs. All of a sudden you feel there is a big responsibility on your shoulders to provide the best possible care for your child. It is a journey you have to undertake for a child you have not for a child you thought you will have.
There are many challenges a family has to face when they have a child with special needs. All of a sudden your life revolves around your child. One of the big struggles is your friends and family do not understand your situation and all of a sudden you feel so lonely and isolated. They talk about different milestones their kids have achieved but yet those milestones seem to be so far away from our kids. It hurts at times even though we are happy for them as to why our child has to struggle to achieve the things we take for granted. They talk about how their children cannot stop talking whereas most of us have kids who are nonverbal where we are waiting to hear their first sounds.
It has been extremely hard on me and my husband in the beginning when our son got diagnosed but as they say time makes it better. Today we are in a much better position in dealing with these feelings. In the end we are all human and we have to be strong for our kids as we are in a better position to cope with our emotions than them. The goals and dreams we saw for them when they were born changes to our kids being able to lead a good and meaningful life to the best of their abilities with maximum independence as most of our kids won't be able to live alone.
The other reality which we cannot deny is we as parents won't be their forever in their lives and who will care and love them the way we do. I am sure all of us struggle with this thought every single day. So it is our job to teach our kids to be as independent as possible so they can lead a good life. It is very important for us to take care of ourselves so we can be healthy and hopefully be around for a long time to take care of them even though no one knows about the future.
We have to teach our kids so they can interact with a wide range of people so as they do not depend only on you as it will be very hard for them once you are not around. We should teach them to advocate for themselves and that their feelings and opinions matter. Every accomplishment of theirs must be celebrated as we all know the amount of hard work that has gone into it.
The other thing I struggle with is whether I do enough for our child. Our journey is different than other parents. We should accept our children for who they are and not try to change them. It does get better with time. Our children are worth it. We have to believe in them and their potential as parents so others can.
There are many challenges a family has to face when they have a child with special needs. All of a sudden your life revolves around your child. One of the big struggles is your friends and family do not understand your situation and all of a sudden you feel so lonely and isolated. They talk about different milestones their kids have achieved but yet those milestones seem to be so far away from our kids. It hurts at times even though we are happy for them as to why our child has to struggle to achieve the things we take for granted. They talk about how their children cannot stop talking whereas most of us have kids who are nonverbal where we are waiting to hear their first sounds.
It has been extremely hard on me and my husband in the beginning when our son got diagnosed but as they say time makes it better. Today we are in a much better position in dealing with these feelings. In the end we are all human and we have to be strong for our kids as we are in a better position to cope with our emotions than them. The goals and dreams we saw for them when they were born changes to our kids being able to lead a good and meaningful life to the best of their abilities with maximum independence as most of our kids won't be able to live alone.
The other reality which we cannot deny is we as parents won't be their forever in their lives and who will care and love them the way we do. I am sure all of us struggle with this thought every single day. So it is our job to teach our kids to be as independent as possible so they can lead a good life. It is very important for us to take care of ourselves so we can be healthy and hopefully be around for a long time to take care of them even though no one knows about the future.
We have to teach our kids so they can interact with a wide range of people so as they do not depend only on you as it will be very hard for them once you are not around. We should teach them to advocate for themselves and that their feelings and opinions matter. Every accomplishment of theirs must be celebrated as we all know the amount of hard work that has gone into it.
The other thing I struggle with is whether I do enough for our child. Our journey is different than other parents. We should accept our children for who they are and not try to change them. It does get better with time. Our children are worth it. We have to believe in them and their potential as parents so others can.
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