“I stepped in front of her to ‘shield’ her from their questioning, gaping eyes.”

‘Don’t stare at my little girl.’: Mom of ‘differently abled’ daughter pleas others to ‘diversify your feed’

‘Autism WON today.’: Mom of autistic children details highs and lows, ‘We return to the fight stronger each time’
“I sat in the car after carrying a kicking and screaming Luca, who yelled, ‘Help Me! Listen to me! I don’t like you!’ clawing at my arms and pulling my hair as we passed a security guard.”

‘You pick up the broken pieces. You give us your all, even when you’re falling apart. Your commitment to this life is nothing short of amazing.’: Mom shares sweet ode to special needs fathers
“I truly could not do this life without you. You dads are the real MVPs.”

‘My mind is always racing, and I can’t turn it off.’: Special needs mom gets candid about mental health, urges ‘find the joy’
“I know immediately when someone is being genuine with me, and when someone is just ‘getting along to get along.'”

‘You’re newly pregnant and this little girl is a lot of work. If you need us to find her a new home, it’s okay.’ I didn’t want an ‘easier’ kid. I wanted her.’: Foster mom shares special needs adoption
“The social worker said, ‘This is the largest file I have.’ So much was going on. There was an intense amount of outer, anger, and lies. It broke me she was legally an orphan.”

‘Your daughter tested positive.’ I asked, ‘What does this mean for her?’ The reply? ‘You can Google it.’ I was HYSTERICAL, but we didn’t give up.’: Woman becomes advocate after daughter born with Trisomy 18
“They told me, ‘She’ll grow out of these issues.’ If they didn’t see the potential in our daughter we weren’t having it. She fought like CRAZY to be here, and we weren’t giving up because of a piece of paper.”

‘All the progress he made is gone. We’re back to square one.’: Mom to son with nonverbal autism discusses impact of COVID-19
“6 years of coaching, teaching, and planning went down the drain. When the world goes back to normal, we get to start all over again.”

‘This is a mistake! She CAN’T be mine.’ I turned everyone away from the hospital. I thought I ruined our lives.’: Special needs mom details Down syndrome journey
“My vision of perfection vanished and I felt disconnected. It was painful to say the words. But it had been her all along.”

‘My daughter was born different, but her. life. is. not. sad.’: Special needs mom urges ‘normalize disabilities’
“Don’t just be kind, be inclusive. Be friends.”

‘I saw a 5-year-old being transferred to an institution. ‘We might not get him in time.’ He HAD to be ours.’: Couple adopts special-needs children, ‘Every heart needs a home’
“Our baby had his first open-heart surgery at 3 days old. The timing couldn’t have been worse for adopting someone else. We began the process shortly before heading back to the hospital. Every child deserves a chance.”