Special Needs

‘She was born into a disastrous emergency. Her mother was dying, and she was dying.’: Mom shares daughter’s journey to thriving with cerebral palsy

“She wants everyone to SEE people with disabilities. I want that too.”

Edited By Sonia Beltz

Teacher Starts ‘Inclusive Theatre’ For Special Needs Students To Shine And Build Lasting Friendships

“We became a family. They were crying on closing night because they had to part ways for a bit.”

Edited By Elizabeth Grow

Adorably Protective Big Sis Nurses Sibling With Down Syndrome Back To Health, Shows Unbreakable Bond Of Sisterhood

“Hannah insisted she visit her sister in the hospital twice a day, and was the only one who could successfully feed her. The doctors and nurses worked around the clock to make sure Arabella was okay. But Hannah was the surprise helper we didn’t know we needed.”

Edited By Anna Steingruber

‘His diagnoses read like the a la carte menu at a restaurant. Our lives became an endless stream of acronyms.’: Mom shares 16-year journey to son’s rare SYNGAP1 diagnosis

“There, for the very first time, was Andrew’s entire diagnostic story. The decoder we’ve been searching for most of his life. Every milestone missed, every seizure suffered, every hospitalization, every moment his body betrayed him, every detail down to his clumsy gait, summarized in 12pt Times New Roman.”

Edited By Elizabeth Grow

‘To the mama who is doing EVERYTHING, but feels like it’s never enough.’: Special needs mom pens open letter to parents with ‘difficult journey’

“I know this is not the parenting journey you had imagined when you chose to start a family, but it is the one you were born to do.”

Edited By Devon Ledbetter

Mom’s Survival Tips, Words Of Encouragement For Other Special Needs Parents

“You might feel like a failure sometimes, I know I do, but you’re not. You keep fighting every day, and that alone makes you amazing.”

Edited By Elizabeth Grow

‘OH MY GOD,’ I heard. ‘Hmm?’ I looked up from my computer. ‘THERE’S A MAN POOPING OUTSIDE.’: Teacher shares heartbreaking realization ‘all schools are not created equal’

“I finally reach the window, and sure enough, there is a man taking a dung five feet away. He is smiling at us. A weird, creepy smile. At this point, I’m desperately trying to close the blinds so none of my other students get a glimpse, but the classrooms were old and everything sucked. As I was trying to put the blinds down, they broke. THEY BROKE.”

Edited By Sophia San Filippo