“For a long time, I blamed myself. The signs were right in front of me, I was just oblivious.”
‘This is who they are supposed to be.’: Mom opens up about accepting her 3 kids’ autism diagnoses
‘Remember my son’s name, because he taught the world that there is no shame in being autistic or being different.’: Mom expresses need for understanding after mean comment
“’He’s wearing earmuffs, and it’s warm out so I’m guessing he’s a r*tard.’ Days like these make me realize there is so much work to still be done.”
‘In the children’s ward, I learned to play the piano by ear. I discovered a whole new side of me, and there was no going back.’: Visually impaired DJ, musician shares sight loss journey
“If my vision fails, I know I can still play and teach. That is what keeps me going. There is no plan B. There is only this.”
‘You’re going blind.’ I thought I would wake up one day and see nothing but infinite, inky blackness.’: Woman shares sight loss journey, new perspective on blindness
“We are adventurous, we use smartphones, and not every one of us has a guide dog or uses a white cane. Everyone’s experience of blindness is unique and valid.”
In Our House, We Chose The Dinner Table
“Autism makes you choose things. It makes you look at your life and decide what matters—what you’re willing to work for and sweat for and defend and build. Through all the chatter and the plates and the food, we told this boy that here, in this house with this table and this family, he matters. He matters.”
‘Never hearing her call me ‘Mommy’ is something I will never be able to completely accept.’: Mom opens up on caring for daughter with chromosome duplication, special needs
“Sleeping in hospital chairs, riding with our child in the back of an ambulance, learning to understand a non-verbal child…we wouldn’t change it for anything.”
‘Yes, you are neurodivergent, but you’re an adult so you can deal.’ I am anticipated to pour from an empty cup.’: Neurodivergent mom expresses the impact of labels, lack of support
“Without my label, I wouldn’t have the family, life, and job that I love and I wouldn’t be writing this very article that illuminates it.”
‘She’s always using it to her advantage,’ one of my classmates said. I would never be ‘normal,’ and I hated that.’: Woman with Cerebral Palsy shares journey to self-acceptance
“Realizing that I did not have to hide who I was allowed me to feel pride in everything that made me, me.”
‘When we got our mobility van, I felt intense gratitude, but also overwhelming anxiety. Every day is a painful paradox.’: Special needs mom shares dealing with complex emotions
“When my boys got their first powerchairs, I felt immense joy as they sped around the cul-de-sac racing together, but I also felt like someone had punched me in the stomach. How did we get here so fast?”
‘The world wants to tell me who to be, but I won’t stay quiet anymore.’: Autistic mom of autistic kids talks identity
“You don’t fully fit with other parents. And you don’t fully fit with autistic people either. It feels like you cannot be both.