First off, a disclaimer. I do think it is wonderful that there isn't such a stigma attached to having a special needs kid. I'm glad that parents are finally accepting that it is not an awful thing to have a child who is differently abled (this is what they call people with special needs in India. I think it is better than disabled).
However, I have been a little bothered by the recent posts where people are using photoshop and whatnot to turn their differently abled children into superheroes and whatnot. I think it's cool when people do fun stuff like that. But one thing that bugged me about the link that I just posted is the fact that the family has 5 kids. One was born with Down Syndrome, and he is the one who gets the special photos. The other kids are in the photos, but they are doing normal things, such as reading books, or riding bikes and such while their little brother flies above them.
I don't know what this family does with all of their photos. Maybe each of the 5 has a photoshopped album where they are doing cool stuff that they couldn't do in real life. But often, people who are doing this stuff say that they do it to inspire their special needs child, and remind them that they are amazing. But shouldn't all of your kids feel like they are amazing? Shouldn't all of them have something to inspire them when they face hard times in life? Because, special needs or not, we all have sucky days.
I get the feeling sometimes that we are trying to hard to be PC and be sure that no one thinks that we look down on special needs kids, or make sure that no one thinks we're racist, agist, sizeist, etc., that we go too far the other way. Have you ever noticed someone trying so hard to not be racist that they come across as pretty much the most racist person you've ever met? We often get that whenever people are afraid that they will belittle a certain people group. But then it ends up lessening the importance of everyone else.
I have often seen families who have a special needs child, and the other children, because they don't need as much extra assistance, end up being left to fend for themselves. It isn't that the parents don't love them, it's just that they don't think they need as much, and there isn't enough time left over after caring for the one child who needs more.
By all means, make your special needs child feel special. But make sure that all of your children feel special. Do a special photo shoot with the other kids, or take them swimming or horseback riding. Especially if they see a sibling doing those things every week for therapy. Kids don't necessarily understand that things like riding and swimming are necessary. They just see that one kid in the family gets to do it. I understand that it could get expensive to take everyone swimming or riding every week, but see if you can at least do it occasionally. Or take up another hobby with them. Scrapbooking, or hiking. Something that gives them a special time making memories with you.
However, I have been a little bothered by the recent posts where people are using photoshop and whatnot to turn their differently abled children into superheroes and whatnot. I think it's cool when people do fun stuff like that. But one thing that bugged me about the link that I just posted is the fact that the family has 5 kids. One was born with Down Syndrome, and he is the one who gets the special photos. The other kids are in the photos, but they are doing normal things, such as reading books, or riding bikes and such while their little brother flies above them.
I don't know what this family does with all of their photos. Maybe each of the 5 has a photoshopped album where they are doing cool stuff that they couldn't do in real life. But often, people who are doing this stuff say that they do it to inspire their special needs child, and remind them that they are amazing. But shouldn't all of your kids feel like they are amazing? Shouldn't all of them have something to inspire them when they face hard times in life? Because, special needs or not, we all have sucky days.
I get the feeling sometimes that we are trying to hard to be PC and be sure that no one thinks that we look down on special needs kids, or make sure that no one thinks we're racist, agist, sizeist, etc., that we go too far the other way. Have you ever noticed someone trying so hard to not be racist that they come across as pretty much the most racist person you've ever met? We often get that whenever people are afraid that they will belittle a certain people group. But then it ends up lessening the importance of everyone else.
I have often seen families who have a special needs child, and the other children, because they don't need as much extra assistance, end up being left to fend for themselves. It isn't that the parents don't love them, it's just that they don't think they need as much, and there isn't enough time left over after caring for the one child who needs more.
By all means, make your special needs child feel special. But make sure that all of your children feel special. Do a special photo shoot with the other kids, or take them swimming or horseback riding. Especially if they see a sibling doing those things every week for therapy. Kids don't necessarily understand that things like riding and swimming are necessary. They just see that one kid in the family gets to do it. I understand that it could get expensive to take everyone swimming or riding every week, but see if you can at least do it occasionally. Or take up another hobby with them. Scrapbooking, or hiking. Something that gives them a special time making memories with you.
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