Narratives, Poems, & Reflections
Home Up Health Syllabus Health Syllabus ONLINE Health Readings Health Links Assignment: Waiting Room Analysis Assignment: Recent Health Experience Notes: Caregiver Perspective Notes: Social Support Notes: Cultural Conceptions Notes: Illness Narratives Notes: Health & Media Narratives, Poems, & Reflections Assignment: Worksheet Wittenburg Article Assignment: Special Needs Assignment: Drug Ad Analysis Student Comments on Narratives Assignment: Film Analysis Paper Guidelines Assisngment: Survey Special Needs Project Study Guide: Final Exam SP 07

Here you will find some narratives, poems, and stories written by parents of children with special needs. They were taken from the following sources:

Poems, Stories: The Autistic Spectrum: http://stevens_mom.tripod.com/id7.html

Children’s Tumor Foundation: http://www.ctf.org/cgi-bin/bb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=002477

TimesOnline: http://timesonline.typepad.com/india_knight/reader_stories/index.html

1. To You, My Sisters
By Maureen K. Higgins
http://stevens_mom.tripod.com/id7.html

Many of you I have never even met face to face, but I’ve searched you out every day. I’ve looked for you on the internet, on playgrounds and in grocery stores.

I’ve become an expert at identifying you. You are well worn. You are stronger than you ever wanted to be. Your words ring experience, experience you culled with your very heart and soul. You are compassionate beyond the expectations of this world. You are my “sisters.”

Yes, you and I, my friend, are sisters in a sorority. A very elite sorority. We are special. Just like any other sorority, we were chosen to be members. Some of us were invited to join immediately, some not for months or even years. Some of us even tried to refuse membership, but to no avail.

We were initiated in neurologist’s offices and NICU units, in obstetrician’s offices, in emergency rooms, and during ultrasounds. We were initiated with somber telephone calls, consultations, evaluations, blood tests, x-rays, MRI films, and heart surgeries.

All of us have one thing in common. One day things were fine. We were pregnant, or we had just given birth, or we were nursing our newborn, or we were playing with our toddler. Yes, one minute everything was fine. Then, whether it happened in an instant, as it often does, or over the course of a few weeks or months, our entire lives changed. Something wasn’t quite right. Then we found ourselves mothers of children with special needs.

We are united, we sisters, regardless of the diversity of our children’s special needs. Some of our children ungergo chemotherapy. Some need respirators and ventilators. Some are unable to talk, some are unable to walk. Some eat through feeding tubes. Some live in a different world. We do not discriminate against those mothers whose children’s needs are not as “special” as our child’s. We have mutual respect and empathy for all the women who walk in our shoes.

We are knowledgeable. We have educated ourselves with whatever materials we could find. We know “the” specialists in the field. We know “the” neurologists, “the” hospitals, “the” wonder drugs, “the” treatments. We know “the” tests that need to be done, we know “the” degenerative and progressive diseases and we hold our breath while our children are tested for them. Without formal education, we could become board certified in neurology, endocrinology, and physiatry.

We have taken on our insurance companies and school boards to get what our children need to survive, and to flourish. We have prevailed upon the State to include augmentative communication devices in special education classes and mainstream schools for our children with cerebral palsy. We have labored to prove to insurance companies the medical necessity of gait trainers and other adaptive equipment for our children with spinal cord defects. We have sued municipalities to have our children properly classified so they could receive education and evaluation commensurate with their diagnosis.

We have learned to deal with the rest of the world, even if that means walking away from it. We have tolerated scorn in supermarkets during “tantrums” and gritted our teeth while discipline was advocated by the person behind us on line. We have tolerated inane suggestions and home remedies from well-meaning strangers. We have tolerated mothers of children without special needs complaining about chicken pox and ear infections. We have learned that many of our closest friends can’t understand what it’s like to be in our sorority, and don’t even want to try.

We have our own personal copies of Emily Perl Kingsley’s “A Trip To Holland” and Erma Bombeck’s “The Special Mother.” We keep them by our bedside and read and reread them during our toughest hours.

We have coped with holidays. We have found ways to get our physically handicapped children to the neighbors’ front doors on Halloween, and we have found ways to help our deaf children form the words, “trick or treat.” We have accepted that our children with sensory dysfunction will never wear velvet or lace on Christmas. We have painted a canvas of lights and a blazing yule log with our words for our blind children. We have pureed turkey on Thanksgiving. We have bought white chocolate bunnies for Easter. And all the while, we have tried to create a festive atmosphere for the rest of our family.

We’ve gotten up every morning since our journey began wondering how we’d make it through another day, and gone to bed every evening not sure how we did it.

We’ve mourned the fact that we never got to relax and sip red wine in Italy. We’ve mourned the fact that our trip to Holland has required much more baggage than we ever imagined when we first visited the travel agent. And we’ve mourned because we left for the airport without most of the things we needed for the trip.

But we, sisters, we keep the faith always. We never stop believing. Our love for our special children and our belief in all that they will achieve in life knows no bounds. We dream of them scoring touchdowns and extra points and home runs. We visualize them running sprints and marathons. We dream of them planting vegetable seeds, riding horses and chopping down trees. We hear their angelic voices singing Christmas carols. We see their palettes smeared with watercolors, and their fingers flying over ivory keys in a concert hall. We are amazed at the grace of their pirouettes. We never, never stop believing in all they will accomplish as they pass through this world.

But in the meantime, my sisters, the most important thing we do, is hold tight to their little hands as together, we special mothers and our special children, reach for the stars

2. A Trip To Holland
By Emily Perl Kingsley
http://www.ctf.org/cgi-bin/bb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=002477

I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability -- to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this...

When you're going to have a baby, it's like planning a fabulous vacation trip to Italy. You buy a bunch of guide books and make your wonderful plans... the Coliseum, the Sistine Chapel, Gondolas. You may learn some handy phrases in Italian. It's all very exciting. After several months of eager anticipation, the day finally arrives. You pack your bags and off you go. Several hours later, the plane lands. The stewardess comes in and says, "Welcome to Holland!" "Holland?" you say. "What do you mean, Holland? I signed up for Italy. I'm supposed to be in Italy. All my life I've dreamed of going to Italy." But there's been a change in the flight plan. They've landed in Holland and there you must stay. The important thing is that they haven't taken you to a horrible, disgusting, filthy place full of pestilence, famine, and disease. It's just a different place. So, you must go out and buy new guidebooks. And you must learn a whole new language. And you will meet a whole new group of people you would never have met. It's just a different place. It's slower paced than Italy, less flashy than Italy. But after you've been there for a while and you catch your breath, you look around. You begin to notice that Holland has windmills. Holland has tulips. And Holland even has Rembrandts. But everyone you know is busy coming and going from Italy, and they're all bragging about what a wonderful time they had there. And for the rest of your life you will say, " Yes, that's where I was supposed to go. That's what I had planned." And the pain of that experience will never, ever, ever, go away. The loss of that dream is a very significant loss. But if you spend your life mourning the fact that you didn't get to Italy, you may never be free to enjoy the very special, the very lovely things about Holland.

3. Celebrating Holland- I'm Home
By Cathy Anthony
http://www.ctf.org/cgi-bin/bb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=002477

(my follow-up to the original \Welcome to Holland\ by Emily Perl Kingsley)

I have been in Holland for over a decade now. It has become home. I have had time to catch my breath, to settle and adjust, to accept something different than I'd planned.I reflect back on those years of past when I had first landed in Holland. I remember clearly my shock, my fear, my anger, the pain and uncertainty. Inthose first few years, I tried to get back to Italy as planned, but Holland was where I was to stay. Today, I can say how far I have come on this unexpected journey. I have learned so much more. But, this too has been a journey of time.

I worked hard. I bought new guidebooks. I learned a new language and I slowly found my way around this new land. I have met others whose plans had changed like mine, and who could share my experience. We supported one another and some have become very special friends.

Some of these fellow travelers had been in Holland longer than I and were seasoned guides, assisting me along the way. Many have encouraged me. Many have taught me to open my eyes to the wonder and gifts to behold in this new land. I have discovered a community of caring. Holland wasn't so bad.

I think that Holland is used to wayward travelers like me and grew to become a land of hospitality, reaching out to welcome, to assist and to support newcomers like me in this new land. Over the years, I've wondered what life would have been like if I'd landed in Italy as planned. Would life have been easier? Would it have been as rewarding? Would I have learned some of the important lessons I hold today?

Sure, this journey has been more challenging and at times I would (and still do) stomp my feet and cry out in frustration and protest. And, yes, Holland is slower paced than Italy and less flashy than Italy, but this too has been an unexpected gift. I have learned to slow down in ways too and look closer at things, with a new appreciation for the remarkable beauty of Holland with its tulips, windmills and Rembrandts.

I have come to love Holland and call it Home.

I have become a world traveler and discovered that it doesn't matter where you land. What's more important is what you make of your journey and how you see and enjoy the very special, the very lovely, things that Holland, or any land, has to offer.

Yes, over a decade ago I landed in a place I hadn't planned. Yet I am thankful, for this destination has been richer than I could have imagined

4. Trip to Holland? Not us. A Little ‘Musing’
by Jennifer Armerding
http://www.ctf.org/cgi-bin/bb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=002477

It seems every parent with a child with special needs has read the little story equating having a child with a disability to an overseas trip. In this analogy the parents having a child assume they are going to Italy, like every other parent they know, and, lo and behold, they discover that they have gone to Holland instead. A slower, equally enjoyable place, but a new language must be learned, new activities engaged in, and with the knowledge that they were supposed to go to Italy, but never quite made it, always in the backs of their minds. Well, last night I came to a realization that my experience hasn’t been quite that. I love Holland (metaphorically speaking). Always have. I like life a little slower than some. However, I just discovered that my kids and I are not IN Holland! A mistake has been made. We are definitely Dutch. No argument there. But we are in Italy. And we are there to stay, like it or not.

Let me explain.

My children were born with disabilities. I was blessed to be their foster/adoptive mother from the time they were each about two years old. Now they are 8 and 11. I love the ‘Holland’ story, and have read it on numerous occasions. However, last night I came home from a Halloween carnival in tears as it sunk in once again that our family just does not fit in when we go out in society. Usually we are in quite a protected environment. Family that loves and knows us. Friends who’s families are also dealing with disabilities. The world of therapies, doctors, equipment issues. Sometimes I think we ‘fit in’ beautifully. Then we go out. I laid in bed thinking back to that lovely Holland story, and somehow it did not fit, so I made up a new story, that is closer to what I perceive as the experience of many families with children with disabilities.

Hey! You are having a baby! Sure enough, you are told by the doctors that you have a baby, but apparently the baby is Dutch, rather than Italian, which is what you were expecting. (Let’s make the silly assumption that nationality brings with it different care needs!) Woah! Now you need to learn to care for a Dutch baby. New lingo, new physical care, etc. But… you are IN Italy. Your friends are still Italian. Your grocery store is still Italian. Your church is still Italian. And most of them haven’t met anybody Dutch before. They are intrigued by your child. However, Dutch babies are pretty adorable, in general, like any other baby. You also find that there are a league of professional people swarming around whose entire job is to help your baby adapt to become more Italian as he grows. You meet other families who ended up with Dutch babies and live in Italy. You all hold out hope that your babies will become more Italian as time goes on. As your baby grows, you read magazine articles and see television features about babies ‘just like yours’ who beat the odds and became Italian! Yours doesn’t.
He isn’t a baby anymore, and the former swarm of professionals becomes a few here and there. People aren’t saying it, but you get the feeling they don’t think there is much chance he will gain too many Italian skills as time goes on. He is slower, can’t seem to learn the language, looks different, etc. Ok, you tell yourself! Dutch is good! This kid is the greatest! People from Italy and Holland can coexist! We will call it inclusion! Then you learn that inclusion means that the Dutch kids have to be able to do what the Italian kids are doing or they are deemed ‘inappropriate’. Some of your friends’ Dutch kids manage to do this. Some of them don’t. Apparently they belong with other Dutch kids in a separate place. Italian kids will visit them from time to time, maybe reading to them or playing games, and then they will leave. Other kids have ‘friends’. Your kid has ‘helpers’. The Italian kids might even earn points and rewards for volunteering to do this!
Your child is now not a ‘little kid’ anymore. You and he walk down the street in your wooden shoes and realize all of a sudden that everyone rushing past you is wearing the latest styles; leather, silk, designer clothes. They are talking madly on their cel phones. They are laughing and drinking their espressos in sidewalk cafes. They are speaking Italian, which you used to know. In fact you were fluent. Now you wonder what happened. Dutch is now your language. The Italian seems…. foreign somehow. When did YOU become Dutch? Well, the hard part is that, far from being an adorable baby, your child is now a challenge for Italian people to accept. Unless they know other Dutch children or have known you for a while, it is hard for them to know what to say to you, how to treat your child. If they invited your child to a birthday party, for example, what would they do with him? They only speak Italian. The games will all be ones Italian kids play. So they don’t invite him. The Italians are big hearted, warm people, in general, but still, you are a foreigner. Other kids stare and sometimes even worry that they might become Dutch if they get too close. So they don’t. You stand in a crowded hall with your wonderful, sweet child with a 10-foot parametre of empty space around you, and that is when it hits you.

We are not in Holland. We are never going to Holland. This is it

 5. WELCOME TO BEIRUT
© Susan F. Rzucidlo
(Beginner's Guide to Autism)
http://stevens_mom.tripod.com/id7.html

"I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with autism-to try and help people who have not shared in that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It's like this.."

There you are, happy in your life, one or two little ones at your feet. Life is complete and good. One of the children is a little different than the other but of course, he's like your in-laws, and you did marry into the family. It can't be all that bad. One day someone comes up from behind you and throws a black bag over your head. They start kicking you in the stomach and trying to tear your heart out. You are terrified, kicking and screaming you struggle to get away but there are too many of them, they overpower you and stuff you into a trunk of a car. Bruised and dazed, you don't know where you are. What's going to happen to you? Will you live through this? This is the day you get the diagnosis. "YOUR CHILD HAS AUTISM"!

There you are in Beirut, dropped in the middle of a war. You don't know the language and you don't know what is going on. Bombs are dropping "Life long diagnosis" and "Neurologically impaired". Bullets whiz by "refrigerator mother" " A good smack is all HE needs to straighten up". Your adrenaline races as the clock ticks away your child's chances for "recovery". You sure as heck didn't sign up for this and want out NOW! God has over estimated your abilities.

Unfortunately, there is no one to send your resignation to. You've done everything right in your life, well you tried, well, you weren't caught too often. Hey! you've never even heard of autism before  You look around and everything looks the same, but different. Your family is the same, your child is the same, but now he has a label and you have a case worker assigned to your family. She'll call you soon. You feel like a lab rat dropped into a maze. 

Just as you start to get the first one figured out ( early intervention) they drop you into a larger more complex one (school). Never to be out done, there is always the medical intervention maze. That one is almost never completed. There is always some new "miracle" drug out there. It helps some kids, will it help yours? You will find some if the greatest folks in the world are doing the same maze you are, maybe on another level but a special-ed maze just the same. Tapping into those folks is a great life line to help you get through the day. This really sucks but hey, there are still good times to be had. WARNING! You do develop and odd sense of humor. Every so often you get hit by a bullet or bomb not enough to kill you, only enough to leave a gaping wound.

Your child regresses for no apparent reason, and it feels like a kick in the stomach. Some bully makes fun of your kid and your heart aches. You're excluded from activities and functions because of your child and you cry. Your other children are embarrassed to be around your disabled child and you sigh. You're insurance company refuses to provide therapies for "chronic, life long conditions" and your blood pressure goes up. Your arm aches from holding onto the phone with yet another bureaucrat or doctor or therapist who holds the power to improve or destroy the quality of your child's life with the stroke of a pen. You're exhausted because your child doesn't sleep.

And yet, hope springs eternal.

Yes there is hope. There ARE new medications. There IS research going on. There are interventions that help. Thank God for all those who fought so hard before you came along. Your child will make progress. When he speaks for the first time, maybe not until he is 8 yrs old, your heart will soar. You will know that you have experienced a miracle and you will rejoice. The smallest improvement will look like a huge leap to you. You will marvel at typical development and realize how amazing it is. You will know sorrow like few others and yet you will know joy above joy. You will meet dirty faced angels on playgrounds who are kind to your child without being told to be.

There will be a few nurses and doctors who treat your child with respect and who will show you concern and love like few others. Knowing eyes will meet yours in restaurants and malls, they'll understand, they are living through similar times. For those people you will be forever grateful. Don't get me wrong. This is war and its awful. There are no discharges and when you are gone someone else will have to fight in your place.

But, there are lulls in wars, times when the bullets aren't flying and bombs aren't dropping. Flowers are seen and picked. Life long friendships are forged. You share and odd kinship with people from all walks of life. Good times are had, and because we know how bad the bad times are, the good times are even better. Life is good but your life is never normal again, but hey, what fun is normal?

from their guest(s) with Autism.

6. Someone I Love
by: Lori Hickman
http://stevens_mom.tripod.com/id7.html

Someone I love relies on me in ways you will never nderstand.

Someone I love endures pain and challenges that break my heart and renew my pirit at the same time.

Someone I love is unable to advocate for themselves for things that most of us take for granted.

Someone I love will never have the opportunities that every child should have.

Someone I love will need unconditional love and support after I am gone - this frightens me to the core.

Someone I love encounters pity, stereotyping responses, and prejudice at every turn, because they look, act, and/or learn differently than others.

Someone I love has needs that require me to allow "outsiders" to have power and input in areas that should be mine alone to meet.

Someone I love will continue to look to me for everything in life long after other children are able to assume a place as part of the world.

Someone I love has needs that require more time and energy than I have to give.

Someone I love has needs that mean I am not able to meet basic needs of my own.

Someone I love has needs that have become the driving force behind major decisions my family makes.

Someone I love has changed me in ways I will never be able to describe.

Someone I love has taught me about love and about the really important things in life. . . .


"Living In My Skin: The Insider's View of Life With a Special Needs Child" ~ Copyright (c) 2000 by Communication Skill Builders, a Harcourt Health Sciences Company.

 7. You have Taught Me
By Anne Maclellan
March 1998
http://www.ctf.org/cgi-bin/bb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=002477

You have Taught Me

You have taught me patience
to rejoice in small gains which others take for granted.
You have taught me tolerance
to accept that your perspective is different
and deserves respect.
You have taught me courage
to fight for you when no one else will.
You have taught me endurance
to go on when I feel I can't any more.
You have taught me humility
to accept when I can't make things better
but can only be here for you.
You have taught me to love
at a deeper level than I ever thought possible.

8.
The Woman in the Mirror......
By Cheryl Veenstra
February 2001
http://www.ctf.org/cgi-bin/bb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=002477

I saw an unfamiliar face in the mirror today. She caught my eye as I rushed to start the day. I hardly recognized this woman. What had changed in her eyes? She was no longer young, naive and viewing the world through rose-tinted glasses. What had caused the worry lines and thoughtful brow? How could she look so fragile and weary, yet also determined and strong? Around some corner on the road of life.......she had been shaken to the core of her very being.

There was a time when only tears and fears were reflected in those eyes. A doctor's unexpected words, the future suddenly uncertain......gray, shadowy images of the vague and scary concept of her child coming into the world as "disabled". An incredible journey began that caught her by surprise and would take her places she never thought she would go. The journey had been long at times and she had shed tears of pain and tears of joy. She'd had hopes and dreams dashed in the blink of an eye. She'd asked the question WHY? She'd had friends fail her and not know what to say or how to help. She'd seen her child suffer. She'd cried silent tears into her pillow at night. Tears of exhaustion and fear. Tears of helplessness and longing. Tears of thankfulness and relief. Tears that are choked back during the day, but are unleashed like floodwaters in the safety of the night to wash away any walls being built up to protect her heart. Nights of worry blurring into days of endless responsibility. But then slowly, but surely, her broken heart begins to heal and mend.

The same pity she had once felt as she watched a mother hold her 'special child' close was now looking back at her in the eyes of strangers. But a smile tugs at her lips as she suddenly realizes that now she knew the secret! The hard-fought, carefully guarded secret that was slowly revealed in the depths of her heart.....but only after the tears and anguish of the first days and weeks of this new life. The illusive truth that mothers of special children discover as they take their first faltering steps down this
new path........It was okay. She and her child could survive, even thrive! It was not as grueling and unforgiving a road as she had imagined. The fog, confusion, despair and fear were being slowly replaced by peace, acceptance, contentment, joy and gratitude. A mother's unique, unconditional love changes the equation that may look hopeless and tough from those outside, looking in. She will fight for, live for and die for her child. These special children transform those around them into different people. Stronger people. Dare I say it......deeper people. Long gone are the days when all they had to worry about was where to vacation or what color mini-van to buy. They now struggle with life and death medical issues. They must answer their child's questions about life's unfairness and pain. What remaining strength and energy they have is spent trying to make their
'family life' as normal and happy as possible.

A twinkle returns to the eyes of the woman in the mirror as she takes a deep breath and remembers what she's been fighting for. How very worthwhile this journey has been! This child is an incredible gift and it is a privilege to be given the task of raising her. Her child is beautiful and perfect in her eyes. She longs for her child to be seen by the world through this filter of love, acceptance and potential. Could others take the time to see past this little girl's slower steps to see the life and love reflected in her eyes? Would her child be able to see herself through the filter of contentment that the woman has journeyed so long to discover?

Hope was rekindled as the woman's eyes grew brighter. The future remained uncertain, but the incredible, protective love she felt for her child threw a warm blanket over the cold, dark storm clouds that used to threaten her very soul. As she threw open the doors of her heart, she felt the warm sun on her face and she beheld a beautiful rainbow of intense beauty and unmistakable peace. Hope still comforts this woman who cries in the middle of the night. Love gets her through each day. Faith takes her hand and leads her around each corner and through each deep, dark valley. Peace soothes her heart as she relinquishes control of their destiny to One wiser and all knowing. Joy brings laughter and smiles to those tired eyes once again. Each day is recognized for the gift it is.

I gave that woman a smile as I left her at the mirror today. I'll see her again soon and I'm curious to see how she will continue to change and grow. She's not the same young, carefree woman she used to be, but that is okay. I like who she is becoming and I feel comfortable in her life. The sun is shining, the day is brand new, my child is humming and God is so good!

9. The Silent, Constant Scream
By Pat Linkhorn, from FIN FACTS
http://www.ctf.org/cgi-bin/bb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=002477

Most parents who have kids with disabilities usually seem to be fairly normal people. Others, who don't have children with disabilities, sometimes tell us what saints we must be to do all the things we do. Those of us who have been at this for several years know we're not saints. We know how long it took us to get to this place. This place where we appear to be capable and normal. Each ways. Some accept it as God's way. Others accept it as a challenge to grow. Some are angry. Some are sad. Most of us bounce back and forth between. We each cope in different ways too. Some advocate. Some scream. Some hide behind humor. Some silently accept. Some use their spouses as whipping boards. (As well as any other person who happens to be close.) It's a mixed up, jumbled up mess whenever you try to figure out what or how you are handling this. Most of us never actually figure it out. We just continue to plod along, hurdling each new obstacle as it arises. Never fully understanding exactly what it is that drives us. Perhaps it's better that we don't know. Sometimes I have moments of startling clarity. The other night while talking to a bunch of friends, someone said that it was okay to scream. Most did their best jungle scream, but I couldn't. The conversation had been about kids and Christmas. I shared with this group that Christmas was the worst for me because my youngest couldn't see all the lights. Somehow her blindness always seems worse during this season when the full impact of blindness and all it entails really tears at my heart.
Suddenly I knew there is a silent, constant scream within me. I do my best to muffle its vibrations. I keep busy. I do what has to be done. I advocate. I write. I try to keep the scream buried. Sometimes I think I fear that if I do scream, I will never be able to stop. Some people may say that I still haven't totally accepted my child's disability. Maybe I haven't. Maybe I never will. Maybe the scream is my way of not accepting. Who knows? Many of you will understand what I am trying to convey here. I'm sure many adults with disabilities also have the silent scream within. It's caused by all the unfairness and frustration that always tags along with disabilities. It's the force, the adrenaline, the vibration that keeps us moving, whether it be in mind or in body. It can be channeled into constructive areas or it can lead straight to destruction. The person who feels it must make the choice--whether to scream aloud or to continue to scream silently

10.
No Longer Alone
Written April 10 1996
Copyright 1996, Lori Kutnink
http://www.ctf.org/cgi-bin/bb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=2;t=002477

I stood at the fork in the road and I could no longer move. I could feel a
loss from within. I felt so alone.

I felt weakend and then I felt a kindered spirit, but I could not see it. I
some how felt a small speck of hope.

I felt ashamed of my failures and then I felt a gentle hand reach to me and
touch my shoulder, but I could not see it. I some how knew I was not alone

I felt fear of the unknown, and then I felt a hand take mine. But I could
see no one. I somehow knew I could face the fear now.

I felt drained and withered, and then I felt a hug. I could see no one
around me. But I knew now I could go on.

I shed a tear and it rolled down my cheek. And then I felt a tear of
another. But I saw no one. I felt I could be whole again

I walked forwared and I knew I would not walk alone. I heard the whispers of
many in my ear "We are here."

11. Isn't She Talking Yet
by India Knight
http://timesonline.typepad.com/india_knight/reader_stories/index.html

We have a daughter with an unusual chromosomal disorder and Asperger's syndrome-she is now 26 and living semi-independently. Over the yeas she has brought us both enormous joy and also feelings of despair. However, all is well-she is now happy working part-time in a charity shop and our family and marriage have survived these difficulties.

I just want to pass on one tiny bit of advice for new parents of a child with special needs, which may be helpful. I used to find my daughter' birthday party very sad when she was little because it high-lighted how far behind her peers she had fallen - developmentally. After a couple of traumatic years when I did what people normally do - that is, invite her contemporaries to her party and watch them crawling, speaking, walking and doing everything way in advance of her - I then decided to have a party inviting children and adults of all ages - grannies, older cousins, siblings' friends, favourite people etc etc. It made the whole occasion far easier and happier.

The other thing which I wish i had been more aware of is how difficult it was for her sisters. They were both brilliant and very helpful, but my 'special' daughter took up so much time, energy, brain-space etc etc that I feel we under-estimated how over-shadowed the others were. Often there is not much one can do about this, but being aware is a step in the right direction. A psychologist once told us to stop trying to do everything as a family, and give more time to each child individually. This was very helpful advice."

 12. I am for mothers 
© Michelle Guppy
http://stevens_mom.tripod.com/id7.html

I am the little engine that did. When on my journey in life, my tracks led me to a mountain - a diagnosis of Autism - I looked at it with defeat - thinking there was no way I could climb over it. I then pondered the obstacle before me, and I then said to myself over and over, "I think I can, I think I can...," then I slowly started climbing the mountain saying to myself over and over, "I know I can, I know I can,...." and then I made it over that ominous diagnosis of Autism and continued my journey. I am the little engine that did.

I am more devoted than Noah's wife. I am cooped up in this "houseboat" for 365 days and 365 nights a year, constantly taking care of and cleaning up after my "herd of animals." And when the storms of isolation and monotony become most unbearable, I do not jump ship. Instead I wait for the rainbow that is sure to come.

I am Xena. Real life warrior goddess of Autism. With my steel plated armor I can fight anyone who gets in the way of progress for my child. I can fight the stares and ignorance of typpies - those without autism in their lives - and educate them as to why my child is the way he is, and why he does the things he does. I can fight the schools to have them properly educate my child. And I can fight denied insurance claims to get coverage for my child. Yes, I am Xena - and I am armed for battle...

I am Betsy Ross. I am part of History by my contribution to the Autism Awareness Quilt -- many pieces of fabric representing many states, stitched together, that will collectively symbolize Freedom. Freedom from the lack of information about Autism, Freedom from not knowing what causes Autism, and Freedom from the lack of funding and research to treat, overcome, and live with - Autism. Like Betsy's piece of fabric, my piece of fabric will someday sit in a museum, for others to see my 12.5 x 12.5 inch memorial of a battle well fought. Whether my child is "cured" in my lifetime does not matter, in the end what will matter to me and to my child, is that I never surrendered.

I am the Bionic Woman. I have X-Ray vision - I can see through the mask of autism on my child's face, and see the beauty in his soul and the intelligence in his eyes --- when others can't. I have super-hearing - I can look at my child when he smiles at me, and hear his voice say, "I Love You Mommy," --- even though he can't talk. Yes, I am thankful to be Bionic.

I am Mary. A not so well known mother of an Autistic child who was brought here to touch the souls of those around him, in a way that will forever change them. And it started with me. By teaching me things I would never have known, by bringing me friendships I never would have had, and by opening my eyes as to what really matters in life. Things like keeping the Faith, never losing Hope, and knowing a Love that that words cannot express. Yes, I too am blessed by a special child, just like Mary.

I am Superwoman. I am able to leap over tall loads of laundry in a single bound, and run faster than a speeding bullet, to chase my child as he dashes out the front door and heads for the busy street. Oh yes, without a doubt, I am Superwoman.

I am Moses. I am doing my part in leading other parents and society to more awareness, knowledge, and resources, and most of all - Faith. Like Moses did, I too, will sometimes meet with resistance from those who don't believe. And like Moses, God will give me the small Miracles here and there, needed to accomplish my mission.

I am Stretch Armstrong - a mom that can be stretched beyond belief - and still somehow return to normal. I can stretch limited funds to cover every treatment and therapy that insurance won't. I can stretch my patience as I explain my child's biomedical issues with yet another uneducated doctor. I can stretch what time I have, and share it with my husband, my
children, my church, and still have some leftover to help others. Yes, my name is Stretch. And I have the stretch-marks to prove it!

I am Rosa Parks. I refuse to move or waver in what I believe is right for my child --simply because my view is the minority, not the majority. I refuse to believe "What can one mother do?" But instead, I will write, call, and rally to the government, and do whatever it takes to bring equality for my child.

I am Hercules. The Greek god known for strength and courage. The heavy loads I must carry would make others crumble to the ground. The weight of Sorrow, Fear at uncertainty of the future, Injustice at having no answers, and from Tears of despair, would alone possibly be too much, --- even for Hercules. But then the Joy, Laughter, Smiles, and Tears of pride, - at my child's accomplishments, - balance the load to make it easy to bear.

I am touched by an Angel. An Angel who is often described as living in a world of his own. And it's true. He lives in a world of innocence and purity. A world without hatred or deceit. A world where everyone is beautiful and where no-one is ugly. A world where there is always enough time. A world where he goes to bed with no worries of tomorrow and wakes up with no regrets of the past. Yes, I most certainly am touched by an Angel, and I sometimes think that his world is better....

I am a mom of a special needs child, all the above, and so much more. Somedays I will want to be none of the above - and just be a typical mom with a typical child, doing typical things. On those days I will know it's o.k. to be angry, and to cry, and to lean on my friends for support. Because after all, ---the most important thing I am, ..... is human.

 13. Mothers who get something more
Lori Borgman
http://stevens_mom.tripod.com/id7.html

Expectant mothers waiting for a newborn's arrival say they don't care what sex the baby is. They just want it to have ten fingers and ten toes.

Mothers lie.

Every mother wants so much more. She wants a perfectly healthy baby with a round head, rosebud lips, button nose, beautiful eyes and satin skin. She wants a baby so gorgeous that people will pity the Gerber baby for being flat-out ugly.

She wants a baby that will roll over, sit up and take those first steps right on schedule (according to the baby development chart on page 57, column two). Every mother wants a baby that can see, hear, run, jump and fire neurons by the billions. She wants a kid that can smack the ball out of the park and do toe points that are the envy of the entire ballet class. Call it greed if you want, but a mother wants what a mother wants. Some mothers get babies with something more.

Maybe you're one who got a baby with a condition you couldn't pronounce, a spine that didn't fuse, a missing chromosome or a palette that didn't close. The doctor's words took your breath away. It was just like the time at recess in the fourth grade when you didn't see the kick ball coming and it knocked the wind right out of you.

Some of you left the hospital with a healthy bundle, then, months, even years later, took him in for a routine visit, or scheduled her for a well check, and crashed head first into a brick wall as you bore the brunt of devastating news. It didn't seem possible. That didn't run in your family. Could this really be happening in your lifetime?

I watch the Olympics for the sheer thrill of seeing finely sculpted bodies. It's not a lust thing, it's a wondrous thing. They appear as specimens without flaw -- muscles, strength and coordination all working in perfect harmony. Then an athlete walks over to a tote bag, rustles through the contents and pulls out an inhaler.

There's no such thing as a perfect body. Everybody will bear something at some time or another. Maybe the affliction will be apparent to curious eyes, or maybe it will be unseen, quietly treated with trips to the doctor, therapy or surgery. Mothers of children with disabilities live the limitations with them.

Frankly, I don't know how you do it. Sometimes you mothers scare me. How you lift that kid in and out of the wheelchair twenty times a day. How you monitor tests, track medications, and serve as the gatekeeper to a hundred specialists yammering in your ear.

I wonder how you endure the cliches and the platitudes, the well-intentioned souls explaining how G-d is at work when you've occasionally questioned if G-d is on strike. I even wonder how you endure schmaltzy columns like this one -- saluting you, painting you as hero and saint, when you know you're ordinary. You snap, you bark, you bite. You didn't volunteer for this, you didn't jump up and down in the motherhood line yelling, "Choose me, G-d. Choose me! I've got what it takes."

You're a woman who doesn't have time to step back and put things in perspective, so let me do it for you. From where I sit, you're way ahead of the pack. You've developed the strength of a draft horse while holding onto the delicacy of a daffodil. You have a heart that melts like chocolate in a glove box in July, counter-balanced against the stubbornness of an Ozark mule.

You are the mother, advocate and protector of a child with a disability. You're a neighbor, a friend, a woman I pass at church and my sister-in-law. You're a wonder.

You can read more by Lori Borgman at
http://www.loriborgman.com


14.
Where Are the Parents?
Adapted from a paper By Sue Stuyvesant -The author of this adapted version wishes to remain anonymous.
http://stevens_mom.tripod.com/id7.html

Where Are the Parents?

They are on the phone to doctors and hospitals, fighting with insurance companies, wading through the red tape in order that their child's medical needs can be properly addressed.

They are buried under a mountain of paperwork and medical bills, trying to make sense of a system that seems designed to confuse and intimidate all but the very savvy.  They are weary because everyone says they cannot help them, and oh, Autism is excluded from your health insurance policy because it is a psychological problem, not a physiological problem.

Where are the parents?

They are on the phone to school districts, teachers, special education administrators, trying to get what is just for their children.   They are buried under a mountain of regulations and lawsthat purport to help them, but just serve to confuse them.  They are trying to become school house lawyers just to get what the law already says they are their rights.  They try to explain why it is not acceptable for Johnny or Mary to sit in the chair without stimulation for four hours a day, or why circle time is just not something that a child with autism can understand.

Where are the parents?

They are at home, diapering their 6 year old son.  They are chasing their child, who does not understand the need to eat, or who is allergic to food, because of the exorbitant behavior the allergies to food bring on.  They spend hours trying to convince a child to eat that has no interest.  They are administering medications, hoping and wondering if there is anything that science will do to help.

Where are the parents?

They are sitting, bleary eyed and exhausted, in hospital emergency rooms, waiting for tests results to come back and wondering: is this the time when my child doesn't pull through?

It seems that Johnny ran out into the road because he did not know any better.

Where are the parents?

They are incapacitated, after the sleeping aid the doctor prescribed for Johnny had the opposite effect, and caused the child to stay up for 10 strait days. Somehow, they were not able to come to the meeting.

Where are the parents?

They are home reading books about behaviorism and psychology, hoping to learn enough to make some difference in their child's lives, because the professionals have told them that discreet trial or 40 hours a week of intense behavioral intervention is not appropriate for a child. "The child needs to play" they say  but the child does not know how to play. "The child needs to socialize" they say, but the child does not know how to play.

Where are the parents?

They are sleeping in shifts because their child won't sleep more than 2 or 3 hours a night, and must constantly be watched, lest he do himself, or another member of the family, harm.  They have not slept in years.  They are sitting at home with their child because family and friends are either too intimidated or too unwilling to help with child care and the state agencies that are designed to help are suffering cut backs of there own.

Where are the parents?

They are trying to spend time with their non-disabled children, as they try to make up for the extra time and effort that is critical to keeping their disabled child alive.  They are struggling to keep a marriage together, because adversity does not always bring you closer.  They are working 2 and sometime 3 jobs in order to keep up with the extra expenses.  They cannot make the meeting because it was only acceptable to the professionals to hold it during the day, when the parent has to be at work. There is no vacation left, or sick days. And sometimes they are a single parent struggling to do it all by themselves.

Where are the parents?

They are trying to survive in a society that pays lip service to helping those in need, as long as it doesn't cost them anything. They are trying to patch their broken dreams together so thatthey might have some sort of normal life for their children and their families.

15. Autism and Holiday Gatherings ~ Viki Gayhardt
http://stevens_mom.tripod.com/id7.html

Dear Family and Friends:

I understand that we will be visiting each other for the holidays this year! Sometimes these visits can be very hard for me, but here is some information that might help our visit to be more successful.

As you probably know, I am challenged by a hidden disability called autism or what some people refer to as a pervasive developmental disorder (PDD).

Autism/PDD is a neurodevelopmental disorder which makes it hard for me to understand the environment around me. I have barriers in my brain that you can't see but which make it difficult for me to adapt to my surroundings.

Sometimes I may seem rude and abrupt, but it is only because I have to try so hard to understand people and at the same time, make myself understood. People with autism have different abilities: some may not speak, some write beautiful poetry. Others are whizzes in math (Albert Einstein was thought to be autistic), or have difficulty making friends. We are all different and need various degrees of support.

Sometimes when I am touched unexpectedly, it might feel painful and make me want to run away. I get easily frustrated, too. Being with lots of other people is like standing next to a moving freight train and trying to decide how and when to jump aboard. I feel frightened and confused a lot of the time, like you would if you landed on an alien planet and didn't understand how the inhabitants communicated. This is why I need to have things the same as much as possible. Once I learn how things happen, I can get by ok. But if something, anything changes, then I have to relearn the situation all over again! It is very hard.

When you try to talk to me, I often can't understand what you say because there is a lot of distraction around. I have to concentrate very hard to hear and understand one thing at a time. You might think I am ignoring you--I am not. Rather, I am hearing everything and not knowing what is most important to respond to.

Holidays are exceptionally hard because there are so many different people, places and things going on that are out of my ordinary realm. This may be fun and adventurous for most people, but for me, it's very hard work and can be extremely stressful.

I often have to get away from all the commotion to calm down. It would be great if you had a private place set up to where I could retreat.

If I cannot sit at the meal table, do not think I am misbehaved or that my parents have no control over me. Sitting in one place for even 5 minutes is often impossible for me. I feel so antsy and overwhelmed by all the smells, sounds, and people--I just have to get up and move about. Please don't hold up your meal for me--go on without me and my parents will handle the situation the best way they know.

Eating in general is hard for me. If you understand that autism is a sensory processing disorder, it's no wonder eating is a problem! Think of all the senses involved with eating: sight, smell, taste, touch AND all the complicated mechanics that are involved with chewing and swallowing that a lot of people with autism have trouble with. I am not being picky -- I literally cannot eat certain food as my sensory system and/or oral motor coordination are impaired.

Don't be disappointed if mommy hasn't dressed me in starch and bows. It's because she knows how much stiff and frilly clothes can drive me buggy! I have to feel comfortable in my clothes or I will just be miserable! Temple Grandin, a very smart adult with autism, has taught people that when she had to wear stiff petticoats as a child, she felt like her skin was being rubbed with sandpaper. I often feel the same way in dressy clothes.

When I go to someone else's house, I may appear bossy and controlling. In a sense, I am being controlling because that is how I try to fit into the world around me (which is so hard to figure out!) Things have to be done in a way I am familiar with or else I might get confused and frustrated. It doesn't mean you have to change the way you are doing things -- just please be patient with me and understanding of how I have to cope...mom and dad have no control over how my autism makes me feel inside.

People with autism often have little things that they do to help themselves feel more comfortable. The grown ups call it "self regulation," or "stimming'. I might rock, hum, flick my fingers in my face, flap my arms or any number of different things. I am not trying to be disruptive or weird. Again, I am doing what I have to do for my brain to adapt to your world.

Sometimes I cannot stop myself from talking, singing, or partaking in an activity. The grown ups call this "perseverating" which is kind of like self-regulation or stimming. I do this only because I have found something to occupy myself that makes me feel comfortable, and I don't want to come out of that comfortable place and join your hard-to-figure-out-world. Perseverative behaviors are good to a certain degree because they help me calm down.

Please be respectful to my mom and dad if they let me "stim" for a while as they know me best and what helps to calm me. Remember that my mom and dad have to watch me much more closely than the average child. This is for my own safety, preservation of your possessions, and to facilitate my integration with you tippies (what we autistics fondly call you neurotypical folk!) It hurts my parents' feelings to be criticized for being over-protective or condemned for not watching me close enough. They are human and have been given an assignment intended for saints. My parents are good people and need your support.

Holidays are filled with sights, sounds, and smells. The average household is turned into a busy, frantic, festive place. Remember that this may be fun for you tippies but it's very hard work for me to conform. If I fall apart or act out in a way that you consider socially inappropriate, please remember that I don't possess the neurological system that is required to follow tippy rules.

I am a unique person--an interesting person. I will find my place at this celebration that is comfortable for us all as long as you'll try to view the world through my eyes!

16. Just For This Day
©Sally Meyer ~ 1998
http://stevens_mom.tripod.com/id7.html

1
Just for this morning I am going to smile when I see your face, and laugh when I feel like crying.
Just for this morning I will let you wake up softly in your flannel p.j.'s and hold you until you are ready to stir.
Just for this morning, I will let you choose what you want to wear, and I will say how beautiful you are.
Just for this morning I will step over the laundry to pick you up, and take you to the park to play.
Just for this morning I will leave the dishes in the sink, and let you teach me how to put that puzzle together.
Just for this afternoon I will unplug the telephone and keep the computer off, and sit with you in the garden blowing bubbles.
Just for this afternoon I will not yell once, not even a tiny grumble when you scream and whine for the ice cream truck and I will buy you one, if he comes by.
Just for this afternoon I wont worry about what you are going to be when you grow up, or how you might have been before your diagnosis.
Just for this afternoon, I will let you help me make cookies, and I won't stand over you. . . trying to 'fix things.
Just for this afternoon, I will take you to McDonalds and buy us both a 'Happy Meal' So you can have two toys.
Just for this evening, I will hold you in my arms and tell you the story of how you were born, and how much we love you.

2
Just for this evening, I will let you splash in the bathtub, and I won't get angry when you your water over your sisters head.
Just for this evening I will let you stay up late, while we sit on the porch swing and count all the stars.
Just for this evening I will bring you glasses of water, and snuggle beside you for hours, and miss my favorite t.v. show.
Just for this evening when I kneel down to pray, I will simply be grateful for all that I have, and not ask for anything,
Except ...
Just one more day.

17. I WAS LIKE YOU.......ONCE (for Dhylan)
©Sally Meyers
http://stevens_mom.tripod.com/id7.html

If you see me at the supermarket,
And my child is screaming, rolling on the floor
With anger seeping from his pores.
Please don't blame me, I was like you once.

If you are in a restaurant and my child throws food
And it hits you in the face, please, don't be angry,
I can't handle any more rage.

If you see my child climbing over a very tall fence
With nothing on except his hat.
Please don't call the police, I only looked away for a minute.

If you see me crying, as you pull up next to me at a stop light,
At a busy intersection, honk and smile, I need a friend.

If you see me, running down the street with curlers in my hair
Chasing a small child who runs so fast, I can't catch him
Help me chase him down.

If my child grabs your child, or pushes him or bites or
Kicks him, or says words that make your hair curl,
Please forgive him, and me too.

If you happen to see us, walking in your neighbourhood,
Or in the malls, or at the park,

Please don't turn away,
I was like you once.
 

18. Every Silver Lining Has a Cloud
by India Knight
http://timesonline.typepad.com/india_knight/reader_stories/index.html

The central problem is seems to me is this: how do you come with daily life am talking about The Aliens-that is, all the people who have no idea what parents like us are going through or how we feel, and-quite understandably, really, because everyone is pre-occupied with their own problems - don't want to know?  Like all parents of severely disabled children, I am consumed by 'anxiety, sorrow and blind terror', as you so eloquently put it.  I don't like to whine or sound self-pitying, so I never talk about how I feel, to anyone. Some friends and family may disagree, but what I've said to them is only the tip of a very deep, very frozen iceberg. 

19. Telling it Like it Is
By Jo Pearson

http://timesonline.typepad.com/india_knight/reader_stories/index.html

“I never wanted to be the mother of a special needs child. Well, who does? I didn’t know much about disability, and I came from the sort of family who weren’t very tolerant of it. The disabled kids (Down’s Syndrome, in the main) that I saw in the 1970s were universally appallingly and inappropriately dressed. So when I gave birth to my son and he wasn’t ‘normal,’ my first, shameful thought was ‘Oh God, I won’t be able to dress him in anything nice’. How shallow is that?

20. Keeping Things in Perspective

© Mary Gorman, April 1999
jbgorman@juno.com

http://stevens_mom.tripod.com/id7.html

I hear a mother complain about her child "talking back to her" and think... I wish my child could talk. I see two brothers playing tag at the park and think... I wish my child could do that.

I hear a mother complain about her daughter's choice of wardrobe and think... I wish my child could choose and dress himself. I see my son line up his legos and think... I wish he would build something with them.

I complain about my child's picky eating... and think about all the children who have to be fed through tubes. I see my child climbing on the table... and think of the children who can't walk or climb.

I see a child with leukemia and think... at least my child is physically healthy. I receive from and give hugs to my son... and think of the mothers who've never received a hug from their child.

I hear my son say "Mama" for the first time and I thank God.
I look at my son and wonder at the beautiful gift God has given me.

God only gives us as much as we can handle. Sometimes it seems as though we cannot cope with all the struggles, but we must remember we are CHOSEN as strong parents of very special children.

Mary Gorman
Mom to Nathan (autistic) and Jesse (speech delayed) -- 3 year old fraternal twins, and Luke (9 months)


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This page last updated August 21, 2007

Arkansas State University