The Challenge of Raising Special Needs Children

Raising children with special needs is a unique challenge to families all over the world. I myself am mother to two young boys both of who are affected with autism spectrum disorders. As a young girl I certainly dreamed of having a family someday and imagined myself with three or maybe even four children. The way you imagine your life to be and the reality it becomes are often nothing alike.
That couldn't be more true for parents like myself who find themselves immersed in an entirely different kind of world from that of parents raising 'typical children'. The world changes when you become a parent, and when you are faced with even greater challenges such as having to evaluate each new environment you bring your child into, for the hidden dangers, and how you can navigate your family thru an event without causing a scene that raises way to many eyebrows.
So parents like myself, may just opt to stay home. It's easier to control, or maybe ignore, a meltdown in your own home than it would be in aisle 5 of the local Wal-Mart. Living life unrestricted from social events and family centered activities is a luxury parents like myself envy with extreme greenness.
Sure as they get older phases will come and go allowing (hopefully) greater opportunity to be out in the community, but its a lifestyle significantly altered from that of which we daydreamed. I know that the tone hear may sound grey but I assure you that is not the case. I merely point out the fact that the club to which the special needs parent belongs is an exclusive one, only and best understood by others who live it.
As a stay at home mom I am able to better control the environment for my boys, but the day to day can sometimes make you feel a little nuts. So in an effort to relieve some of my insanity I began a blog to which I now refer you. Its my hope that through sharing experiences, other parents will find a different an unique sense of community thru interaction with other special needs parents. During the early years when we were uncovering the diagnosis for my older son, I wished I had another parent to turn to for advice, one that had blazed the trail ahead that I was now facing. But I didn’t have that peer to confide in, or to question. So here is my blog, use it as you would like. And although I am no expert, I am more than willing to help with questions or advice in any way that I can.
Please refer here for additional information, thank you!
http://countingdown2crazy.blogspot.com/