Welcome!
To you whose child spent months in ICU, welcome.
To you who fields daily sensory meltdowns, welcome. To you who scours the internet trying to find recipes for meals that your child isn’t allergic to, welcome. To you who carts your kid to weekly doctor’s and therapy appointments, welcome.
To you who battles insurance panels, school systems, and well-meaning medical professionals to get your child what they need, welcome. To you who is waiting for your child to finally talk, or walk, or eat, or sleep, or say your name, or get potty trained, welcome.
To you who wonders what level of independence your child will ever achieve, welcome. To you who struggles to make sure your neuro-typical kid feels treasured and supported while the lion's share of your time and energy goes to the one with special needs, welcome.
To you whose brain usually runs 100 miles per hour trying to manage ALL THE THINGS, welcome.
Come sit awhile with me. This is a place for parents of special needs individuals to find joy, solace, and inspiration.
Maybe your child has a diagnosis (or twelve!): Autism, Developmental Delay, Tracheomalasia, ADHD, Prader-Willi Syndrome, Sensory Processing Disorder, Asthma, a Congenital Heart Defect, a Feeding Disorder, a Mood Disorder, a Learning Disorder, or a thousand other possible things.
Maybe your kiddo faces what society calls “normal” challenges--Food Allergies, Sleep Issues, Picky Eating, Toddler Defiance--but these challenges have you on the run and at the end of your rope.
Maybe something’s off with your little one (or big one!), and you’re searching for answers, treatment, a strategy, anything to make things just a little easier for your family.
Extraordinary families like us walk daily through water and fire, it seems. Some days you can skillfully prance over those hot coals, but some days the rushing water is over your head, and you think you just might drown.
But now, this is what the LORD says... Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you...and they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze.” Isaiah 43:1-2.
I’ve seen this promise show up over and over again in our journey. It is real and tangible and gives me the strength I need to put one foot in front of the other. Keep climbing.
My hope is that sharing my perspective with you--our family’s struggles and solutions-- will set your feet on more solid ground. There is a feeling that comes when you learn that there is someone out there with the same struggle, where the thought, “I’m not the only one!” clicks into place. When someone, through their own story, shows us that they get it, that we’ve climbed a mile in the same shoes, the heart swells, and hope is allowed to bloom. May this be such a sacred space.
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