“To raise someone with special needs—it really takes someone special to do that.”
What does that mean exactly? Did I need a certain number of qualifications to be certified as special? Or was there some checklist I filled out? Who does the interviews anyway? I’m really confused as to how I qualified. I mean, I didn’t ask for this. But I do have a son, and I love him. Does that make me qualified? We might take a different route sometimes. So is that it? But don’t you take the routes that you need to when you love somebody?
If only those of us who have passed some invisible test raise a child with special needs, when will there be acceptance? I won’t deny the challenges are there. I won’t deny that many need to rise to an entire new level of dedication. And I do revel in the inspiration I derive from other parents who do rise to such levels. But when it comes down to it, are any of us qualified as more special, because we are doing what we need to for the love of our children? Isn’t that what any parent would do? Would I do less for my child with special needs just because that journey looks different?
I was talking to a mother who has adopted multiple children with special needs. She gets asked all the time how she does it. Her answer is: “We just do it. Anyone could do it.”
There is a teenaged girl on our Challenger baseball team. She is in a wheelchair and has very little function of her arms and none of her legs. Her mother stands over her daughter’s wheelchair at home plate, wraps her daughter’s hands around the bat, and they both hit the ball as it’s pitched to them. Her mother then grabs the back handles of her daughter’s wheelchair and makes an all-out sprint to first base. The mother and daughter both laugh on their way. (you can’t help but laugh with them) When the next batter comes up, while the mother and daughter wait at first base, the mother will make conversation with her daughter. Her daughter, who is non-verbal, will make head nods or noises in response. They talk back and forth this way until the batter hits the ball. As this is Challenger baseball, and the kids all have varying levels of abilities, it may take some time before the ball is hit. Once the ball is hit, the mother once again makes a mad dash with her daughter, both laughing, to second base. This goes on until they make it to home plate. It’s a joy to watch.
Do I find this situation inspiring? Absolutely. Do I think this mother is someone special? You betcha. But, here’s the thing: this is their normal. This mother did not pass some kind of test or interview to be qualified as special. This mother is doing what she does because she loves her daughter. Her journey quite likely looks different than yours and mine. Her journey may be more challenging than yours and mine. But she loves her daughter just like you love yours. This is the way they have fun and connect with all of the capabilities she and her daughter have. Isn’t that what we all do in our own way?
The challenges may be higher, and the situations may look different, but when it comes down to it, we are all parents who love our kids. The love for our kids is special, and it lives inside of all of us. Not just a select few. We are all doing the best we can, with the capabilities we have, in the villages we surround ourselves with.
We just do it. Anyone could do it.
Stories of Wil, my son, who has Down syndrome 