RISE UP TUESDAY!
We hear a lot of offensive language as parents of kids with special needs. It hurts, period. I would not trade this life for the world, but it gets hard. And when someone piles on more hurt on top of a struggle, it can strike the anger cord very easily. While some of these actions or words hurled at us or our kids is intentional, I have found more times than not these words are spoken from people who just don’t know better. And I remember once upon a time I did not know better. I said things I would take back a million times over. May I never, ever forget that and have compassion for that fact within myself and others. Anger may make us feel strong, and empowered in the moment when we lash back, but we are rarely effective in making lasting change. And isn’t lasting change what we are after? It’s not about hurting back a certain person, but opening minds to acceptance. Even the slightest opening in a window is many times better than a sealed closed one. Yes, we can be strong and straightforward in our education to others, and much more effective in opening more windows to acceptance, when our words and actions are backed with compassion.
Stories of Wil, my son, who has Down syndrome 