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Claire's publications:

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Short Stories

"Sister Secrets" (Kaleidoscope Magazine, issue 87)

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Essays

"Behind the Window" (forthcoming, We Are Brave Together Anthology)

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Micro Nonfiction

"First Fight" (forthcoming, Five Minutes literary magazine)

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Online Articles

Mine Is The Child In The Wheelchair 

Ten Things Your Special Needs Mom Friend Might Not Be Telling You

How A Child's Diagnosis Should (And Shouldn't) Go

Rett Syndrome is Half Our Family's Story

What I've Learned About Communication From My Non-Verbal Daughter

How I've Learned to Talk Openly and Honestly About My Disabled Child

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Writing Awards

2023 Finalist, Women on Writing Creative Nonfiction Essay Contest 

2023 First Prize, Johnson County Library Nonfiction Essay Contest 

2022 First Prize, Johnson County Library Nonfiction Essay Contest 

2022 First Prize, Kansas Author's Club Memoir/Inspirational Essay 

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About

Welcome! This blog is written by a parent of a child with disabilities for other parents and caregivers of children who have differences, disabilities, or diagnoses. It doesn’t focus on the day-to-day of raising children, or even on the children themselves. Instead, it is meant as a space to explore the feelings and emotional struggles that go along with special needs parenting. I use my experience raising a toddler who has Rett Syndrome and a rare chromosomal microdeletion to examine these emotions and struggles, but I hope my posts will resonate with parents of children who have a variety of disabilities and differences. Each post covers a single, focused topic. Because my greatest desire with this site is to create community and connection among parents, I have listed discussion questions at the end of each post. 

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Many people are only comfortable with special needs parents when we focus on the silver linings and positives of our situations. However, in this blog I aim to cover the full spectrum of emotions we experience. Read about the topics that interest you and let me know how you feel about them. I look forward to hearing from you!

 

*Disclaimer: You'll notice I use a variety of terms (disabled, children with disabilities, special needs) on my site. I realize that many people have strong feelings about their own language preferences. However, my personal philosophy is that I never want word choice to detract from the ideas people are trying to convey or the connections they are trying to create with others. I will not judge the language you choose to use, and I ask that you do the same for me.

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