Special Needs

“Mama? What’s college?” she asked a few months ago as we passed LSU on the interstate after I pointed out where I went to college. I explained in seven-year-old terms that college is where people go to learn how to do their jobs. I went to learn to be a teacher, and her daddy learned to be a nurse. That satisfied her, and I quickly forgot the exchange. Simple things haven’t always come easy to my girl. She hit most major milestones on the late end of the normal range. Her speech wasn’t clear to most people until well into her third year of life. When we expressed concern, it was dismissed time and again, because she sat on the...

Dear Moms of "typical" kids, I'm writing this letter because I want you to know a few things about how it feels to be a special needs mom in what feels like a world of moms with typical kids. I want to clear the air on a few things that I think might be weighing on all of our minds. But mostly, I want you to hear a few things from my heart that I've been thinking for the past year following my son's autism and subsequent diagnoses. Mostly I want you to know that I see you.  I can see you hesitate when you are about to celebrate one of your child's accomplishments in front of me, wondering if it...

What follows is a post by my friend and fellow mom, Kimberly Tatum. In observance of World Clubfoot Day, she recounts her experience when she and her husband realized their baby would be born with clubfoot and the subsequent treatment that would follow. On a personal note, her calming smile helped to keep me sane (and a little less scared) throughout the deliveries for both of my children. I don't know how I would have handled those experiences without her, and I'm glad I'll never have to know. I'm so lucky to call this great mother my friend. ---Kristen   June 3rd is World Clubfoot Day. Clubfoot affects approximately 1 in every 750 births and is twice as common in males as...

April is Autism Awareness Month and, if I am being completely honest, a few years ago I probably felt like it was just another month of the year that we bring attention to some cause or issue that everyone already knows about.  The reality is- lots of people have heard of autism, but very few people actually understand autism. Autism wasn't really on my radar for most of my life. I had heard about autism, but my understanding of it was as limited as having seen the movie Rain Man. Yikes. And then our son was diagnosed with autism and my need to engage with the autism world changed. We adopted our son  in March 2014. He had been in our care...

Why I Encourage Curiosity About My Child With Special Needs After the reality of having a child with very complex medical and developmental needs sank in, I decided that I was going to bring my sweet Connor in his bright blue wheelchair everywhere I could. I wanted to introduce him to everyone and everything that makes this world go round. I knew it'd be tough (like places that are not handicap accessible, which by the way STINKS), but I was prepared. I was going to teach the world about my son. I started noticing the stares from others fairly quick, from adults and children. I know they are curious stares, but what hurts the most for me is when certain parents reprimand their child for staring at mine and...