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A BLOG FOR PARENTS OF CHILDREN WITH DIFFERENCES, DISABILITIES, AND DIAGNOSES


An Important Tool That Has Helped Me Heal from Trauma
In the world of medical and disability parenting, sources of trauma abound. There are, of course, the terrible things that can happen to...


Anxiety: Why Special Needs Parents Feel It So Intensely
If, like me, you are one of the forty million Americans who experience anxiety, you know what it feels like to truly worry. I’m talking...


My Daughter: Beautiful, Complicated, and Imperfectly Perfect
Though she is present in every essay I write, I have yet to describe my youngest daughter in all of her beautiful, complicated glory. My...


Sympathy, Empathy, Pity, and Compassion
When it comes to special needs families, the topic of sympathy can involve a surprisingly diverse range of emotions and elicit a wide...


A Life Half Told: How It Feels When People Only Want to Hear About Silver Linings
I am a writer whose subject matter sometimes horrifies people. Yet, there are no guts, weapons, or gore in my essays and stories. My...


Depression and Special Needs Parenting
Many special needs parents battle unspeakable things under unimaginable amounts of pressure. It’s no wonder we sometimes suffer from...


Anger: Yes, Special Needs Parents Get Angry Too
When JJ received her Rett Syndrome diagnosis, I asked the therapist I was seeing what to expect in terms of grief. I wanted to have an...


What, What Will We Do?
This creative non-fiction essay won first prize in the Memoir/Inspirational category of the Kansas Authors Club state-wide writing...


Breaking Points: How Those Little Everyday Things Can Send You Over The Edge
The first time I became aware of breaking points as a special needs parent was when I was sitting in the dentist chair one month after my...


Transformations: Things that change after a Diagnosis
Since my daughter’s diagnosis many things in my life have transformed. It’s not only my hopes, dreams, and plans for the future that are...


Happy Ends: How we define a happy end for ourselves, our child, and our family
I am in a writing group with three other women. The genres we prefer are very different, but our stories have one thing in common: They...


Connections: How special needs parenting changes our relationships with others
Christmas cards are an inescapable fact of life these days, especially if you have young children. Like us, most of our friends have...
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