A Father’s Powerful & Extremely Personal Thoughts on Parenting

When I started my own blog, I didn’t know a lot about autism. I still don’t. My first experience with it was the series finale of St. Elsewhere. The series ends with an autistic child, who we have seen on the show before, but with a different character as his father. His father is not a doctor in this reality, but a construction worker. The autistic boy is looking at a snow globe of a hospital called St. Elsewhere. We are left with the impression that the autistic boy imagined the entire series in his mind.
I happened upon this post through Twitter, where I have been trying to educate myself with all disabilities. This post rang very true with me, as I have my own struggles in dealing with a child with Tourette’s Syndrome, ADHD, OCD, Sensory Processing and more. God bless this father for saying the words we all should be saying.

Emma's Hope Book

*This was what my wonderful husband, Richard, wrote as a comment on my post the other day.  I asked him if I could make it a post all on its own.  He gave me permission…

“Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional.”

There are plenty of difficulties in life. Parenting is hard, but “childering” is harder. Parents usually have some experience in navigating the complex social expectations of the world. Children must gain that experience with each passing day, hopefully with the guidance, support and unconditional love of parents who put their children’s needs ahead of their own.

But there are a lot of parents who aren’t like that. Mine for example. I was taught from birth that my obedience and subservience were more important than my own needs and desires, or personal considerations. When I didn’t do what I was told to do, or didn’t do it fast enough with a “good attitude”…

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Sheltered Workshop Eligibility Reduced by Bill in Congress #netde #eduDE

The United States Congress passed a bill on Wednesday, July 9th, to limit the availability for disabled citizens to work in what are called Sheltered Workshops. The entire act is called the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act, and it would prohibit any individual 24 years or younger from working a job that pays less than the Federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour. Many individuals who works these types of jobs are disabled individuals who may have a hard time finding work elsewhere. The law would require these citizens to obtain vocational rehabilitation training. The agencies that provide these types of services must work with schools to provide this training for disabled citizens called “pre-employment transition services”. These agencies must also use 15% of their federal funding to provide these services for people with disabilities. The bill passed 415 to 6 with both sides coming together, in what has been hailed as a victory by disabled citizen advocates. The bill will need to be signed by President Obama next.