From the article: Special-Needs Advocacy: Seven Ways to Get Involved
Children with special needs rise to unimaginable challenges every day, and often do so with grace and humor. Through their struggles, they often grow into strong and caring individuals with a unique perspective on life. How has your child's experience shaped his or her character? Share Your Story
Strengths
- My son Michael has learned that life is not perfect and that when life gives u lemons (special needs) make lemonade (be the best you).
- —Guest april robinson
my son robert
- robert has down's syndrome. he is a thrill. my majpr problems is convincing special care teaching to not give up on him.Too many special kids get limited by the education system. if you take time they learn and fit in well. they learn from other kids. our public school system confines them because they don't want all the work it takes to develop them. our family witnesses this. we continue to show robert normal and he continues to learn at his pace. he is being denied inclusion. He is being denied his home school placement
- —Guest shirley
My son has such a strong fighting spirit
- Our son, Ryan, was born at 30 wks, and has faced lots of challenges including club feet, limited vision, asthma, low muscle tone and speech issues. At 5, one would never guess every thing he has been through. He faces every therapy session and doctor's appointment with such enthusiasm, and his fighting spirit has really shone through. He has come up with issues like "Why are things so hard for me?" and "Did you adopt my sister because there is something wrong with me?", but his clear questions really show us where we aren't explaining things clearly enough. Thanks to therapies, he is physically strong, and he really is mentally strong too. As his mom, one of my favourite quotes is by Helen Keller, "I have never believed that my limitations were in any sense punishments or accidents. If I had held such a view, I could never have exerted the strength to overcome them." We have tried to instil this belief in Ryan, that the Lord made him wonderful, but his early birth has raised challenges
- —Guest Riva
My Son is Strong in Values
- Over the years, I have stressed following the rules and honesty with my son who has PDD. Although sometimes this is a problem, especially when it comes to "white lies" and bending the truth, he has maintained a level of honesty and integrity that is amazing because the concept has no grey....there is only right and wrong to him. This has helped him to stick with the rules and regulations in the classroom, the commandments that we follow in our faith, and the values of love and family over material goods. We are trying to teach him to understand that there are instances when the rules are just guidelines, but it is funny to hear him tell his dad that it is not right to smoke or swear, and to say that he knows some of the things he sees or hears on TV are awful. I only hope that carries over to situations when he is offered drugs or alcohol as he grows up, but we can only have faith that the things we teach them will be instilled as their own values....I pray for that for him daily.
- —Guest Momonamission
