What's it like raising a child with special needs? A question that I have been thinking a lot about lately and I finally have an answer. What's it like being a parent? Because I don't look at Calvin or any other child that has "special needs" any different. Technically everyone has special needs. We all have a specific way we brush our teeth, nightly routine, or just any daily action. No one is the same. Even though Bentley and Calvin are twins and do a lot of things exactly the same, they do a lot of things so differently. For example, they both would die without their binkies but when it comes to eating from a bottle Bentley doesn't mess around. Calvin works really hard to do so, but can't quite do it as well as Bentley. So he has a G tube. whatever he can't finish from his bottle, gets pumped into his belly. That doesn't make him special needs, it just makes him a child who does it different from his sister. Bentley is the sassiest baby ever, Calvin is much more relaxed and go with the flow. So when it comes to bath time or even changing time, we treat them very differently in order to help them stay happy during these fun times, doesn't that make them both have special needs?
Why would I treat Calvin any differently because he does things differently than most babies? I won't. He is a human being that deserves respect and love just like anyone else. Bentley and Calvin have a Great Uncle Jim, who has down syndrome, and he is the nicest and one of the most respected men I know. Justin's grandmother not once treated him different, she had rules for all of her children, and they were all expected to follow them the same.
I don't have a special needs child, I have 2 children who have different wants and needs. and that makes them special and unique in their own way.
No comments:
Post a Comment