Making friends. Playdates. Sleepovers. Birthday parties. Rites of childhood, true? Not so much. Not for everyone. Not for my daughter. One of the things I grieved most in her growing up years was how her brain disorder impaired her socially and communicatively, tremendously hampering her ability to make friends. And, much of her childhood years, as an individual living with autism, she had none. There were a few classmates throughout her school years, (usually those who were also different in some way, such as those who were of another race or culture,) who showed her kindness, and then there a few who even bullied her. But their gestures began and ended with the ringing of the school bell each day, never transfering outside the school building, with one exception in kindergarten.
A lot of how our sons and daughters treat others with differences starts with attitudes at home and parenting intentionally to instill values of kindness and inclusitivity. So, I polled other families like mine and asked them what they’d say to parents of children who are typically developing about reaching out to their children with special needs. I received an earful. Read what parents of special needs sons and daughters want other parents to hear over at The Wishing Well, where I’m blogging today for Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt.
Leisa Hammett writes about the heartaches and the struggles, and the joys and blessings of parenting her daughter who turns 21 this month. Follow her stories documenting her “Journey with Grace,” on all social media platforms as “Leisa Hammett,” including her blog, LeisaHammett.com.
