This Topic is one of the most important to me. I truly believe and hope that every parent who has a child with special needs can benefit in some way from what I have to say. For many years after Ethan’s autism diagnosis, I suffered from a loss that I couldn’t quite understand. I certainly did not want to admit it to anyone, especially myself. However, the feeling was always there, and it brought a sense of sadness to my soul.
I will never give up hope when it comes to Ethan. Even when I’m old and gray I will still have hope. That’s just a mother’s love. I will stay waiting and hoping for the day that he speaks his first words and never lose faith in that. My son is eleven years old now, however, and if I’m being honest that hope has shifted a bit…
What most of us won’t tell you is that we have been spending money on pull-ups for far longer than anyone should ever have to. Because our little big ones aren’t fully potty trained even though they are eleven years old. That most of us still listen to the same Doc McStuffins or Mickey Mouse Clubhouse episodes that our kids have been watching since infants. Over and over again because that’s all our eleven-year-old wants to watch. It brings “Oh Tootles” to unimaginable levels.
The Board of Education I ultimately learned makes it extremely challenging for families like mine to get the support our children need. I fought so hard to get more services for Ethan. By the time he was 3 and 4 years old, he still wasn’t talking or eating solid foods. They still wouldn’t allow us to have more than 3 sessions of Speech/Feeding therapy a week. Three times a week for an hour. In what world would that ever be enough if your child wasn’t eating or speaking?
