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Roberta's Corner
Holiday Season
I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season—my family sure did! The last few months have been amazing for me. The video that I created about disability awareness drew such a positive response that I have been asked to speak at child development classes in several local high schools. My goal is for the kids to ask questions, so I try to create a very relaxed and open forum. It's not easy. I think nowadays people are so afraid to ask the wrong question, that instead they don't ask at all, which doesn't help them understand the issues. I'm at the point where I personally prefer when someone asks me about Down syndrome, or what is it like to raise a child with a disability rather than being uncomfortable and skirting the issue. I'm amazed when I think back at how far both my husband and I have come. Like most new parents, we were scared and inexperienced about bringing a child into this world, let alone a child with a disability. At the hospital, one thing would change my perception forever. I remember the nurse telling us "he's a baby—treat him like one." I think about what she said every day because from that point on, all we have ever done is treat Jack like a baby, a toddler, and now a 'tween. Sometimes I chuckle to myself because not in a hundred years would I have thought that I'd be educating kids or speaking to large groups of people about my Jack, about bullying, or about embracing differences. And just to think, it all started with the words from a nurse that have grown with me through the years to become "he's a 'tween—treat him like one." How do you respond when asked about your child's disability? Any situations that you can share that might help other parents ?? I would love to hear it and share it in my newsletter.
Roberta Some photos of Jack and his brother Jase over the years:
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