I am a mom!
I am the mom of an amazing daughter who has special needs but I am not a special needs mom!
My needs are not specials.
What I want for my daughter is what you want for your kids.
I want her to learn and grow
I want her to reach her full potential
I want her to be happy and a little silly
I want her to have friends and be part of a team
I want her to fall in love
I want her to contribute to society
I want her to mater
I want the world to see her the way I see her
What I want for my daughter is not special at all.
I am not a special needs mom!
I am a mom!
What is special is what I had to and still have to do to get Emily anywhere near what we both (you and I) want for our kids.
What is special, is the people that we will need to help her get there.
Many doctors will continue to stare at her, study her, poke her.
Many hours of therapies will be required. Physiotherapy, Occupational therapy, Speech therapy…
While you were buying soccer equipment or ballet shoes, we were looking at walkers and communication devices.
Because, just like you I want my child, to walk, run, play, jump around… Just like you I want my child to talk to me!
When we dropped Emily off for kindergarten, we already had many meetings to discuss Emily’s abilities and challenges. We met her specialized educator (or educational assistant) and knew she would be safe. We do that, every year. This year will be her 13th year of school and I will still do that. Because, just like you, I want my child to be safe and comfortable at school. I want her to learn and grow.
A specialized education plan is required. Your child will follow the group, mine will fall behind. But regardless how far back she is, she is still learning and she deserves the opportunity to continue to learn.
When you are thinking about how you are going to pay for college and university, I’m thinking about how I am going to pay for tutoring.
When you will help your kids relocate for school or work, I will be teaching mine life skills and we will be looking at moving to a house where she can have her own space.
When your child will go for a job interview and start their career, I am hoping mine will too.
Because when all is said and done, I am a mom and what I want for my girl is what you want for your kids.
I want her to learn and grow
I want her to reach her full potential
I want her to be happy
I want her to have friends
I want her to fall in love
I want her to contribute to society
I want her to mater
Nothing special, really!
Next time you look at a kid with special needs and feel like the world has to bend backward for him or her, please take a second to think that what we want for our kids is no different than what you want.
What is different is what we will do to get there.
I not a special needs mom!
I am a mom!
Lessons from my daughter 
That hit the nail on the head. This is what we all want. Love it.
Thank you!!!!
Moving words from an amazing mother 😊
Thank you 💜
You are so very welcome 😊
Reblogged this on Lessons from my daughter and commented:
I firmly believe in naming a person before stating a diagnosis or other identifier. Emily is Emily! She has Cri du chat syndrome but she’s not a Cri du chat syndrome kid or a special need kid… She a young lady with special needs, the same goes for me, I am not a special need mom. I am a mom, the mom of a daughter who has special needs… Does that make sense?
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Great post – and thank you for signing up to follow me on aspiblog 🙂
Beautiful! Mum and daughter duo is doing a fab job!
Thank you!
Powerful! 🙂 and you’re a wonderful mama!
Thank you. I try! 🙂
Good words. Something to think about 🙂
Thank you
That last sentence should say “I am a GREAT mom”, because you are!
Thank you Kent. I sure try my best!
yes, and what a wonderful mom you are!
Thank you. I try!
Very beautiful and sweet post! I wish you both all the best 🙂
Thank you
Thank you so much for the Follow! I will follow back have a wonderful weekend! 🙂
Thank you! You too!
Great post!
Thank you
Thank you for the wonderful post!
Thank you for reading. I am really passionate about my daughter and our journey is the reason for my blog. I’m glad you found it and even happier that you found this particular post wonderful.
Well said Mom! Beautifully said in fact .
Merci. It means the world to me that you read, comment and like my posts!
thumbs up
Merci!
I absolutely agree! Everyone is equal, regardless of what you have written about…. I know all about this. I was never one to make friends easily – still happens today. All I need is someone to understand and support me through the hard times….
I think at our core, we all want the same things… It’s just more difficult for some. It’s humbling to tackle life along side my daughter. She has changed me in many ways.
I think it’s what defines us as well… I am stronger in life. I help people understand mental illness (I suffer from anxiety) and the day-to-day struggles we have as sufferers
AMEN my dear! Amen! And I am a DAD! Could not have said this any better. Thank you for doing so!!!
My pleasure! It works for dads too!
Absolutely it does!
Very well said. Every child is special in any number of ways. The demands on the parents may be different, but they still will need to sacrifice many things. It’s just that some parents must dedicate more time, money and effort to give their children the possibility of the dream. And that’s okay also when we love that child more than life itself.
Thank you! I see my brothers with their kids and the bottom line is, we love our kids and all want what’s best for them.
Reblogged this on Never Less Than Everything and commented:
“Next time you look at a kid with special needs and feel like the world has to bend backward for him or her, please take a second to think that what we want for our kids is no different than what you want.”
Beautiful! Please comment on the original post. Comments are disabled here.
Thank you!
Thank you for such a lovely thought, and one that many mothers share. 🙂
🙂 Thank you. I’ve had this post in the back of my mind for awhile now. Thank you for Reblogging. I really appreciate!