WHEN IT HITS CLOSE TO HOME
As I sat watching my six-year-old daughter play with her three younger siblings, it would appear as a normal scene for anyone outside looking in.
For my husband, our three other children, and myself, there is a reality behind the scenes we must deal with everyday. Our daughter, and their sister, has a disability.
As many other parents out there, we have had to endure the painful process of fighting to have her properly diagnosed, and ensure she receive the special help she needs in school.
It started with Attention Deficit Disorder and Central Auditory Processing Deficit. Now, we are waiting to have our suspicions of Pervasive Developmental Disorder confirmed.
The hardest part of all is dealing with it alone. Neighbors, family and friends do not mean to isolate us, they just don't know how to react, what to say, or what they can do to help.
Hence, the reason for my first article in a series of many about Children and Disabilities. I would like to provide a special place on the Internet for parents, siblings and grandparents of disabled children to turn for information, support, and resources. It might make their struggle seem a little less lonely, and a lot easier to conquer.
The effect a disabled child can have on parents, siblings, and even grandparents, is a topic I felt should be covered first, before addressing the wide spectrum of disabilities out there. It is often shrugged off as nothing to worry about, but to a family dealing with it, it is never that easy.
I don't have to look far to know what goes through a parent's mind when they first discover that their child has a disability. Your dreams for that child are shattered, facing the fact they may never live the life they could have had. The anger can tear you apart, if you let it. Denial and trying to pretend things are normal, when you can't deny what you see in front of you. What have? What if? and what did we do wrong to deserve this - how could God let this happen ? The pressure is intense, as you try to evenly divide yourself between your child who needs extra time and help from you, along with the siblings who don't, but feel neglected because they don't get it.
Then, a light at the end of the tunnel, as you begin to discover other parents in a similar situation with similar feelings, and a wealth of resources to help. It hits home - WOW! My child can live a normal life and reach their full potential!
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