“The spirit of a man will sustain him in sickness, but who can bear a broken spirit?” (Proverbs 18:14) He didn’t cry why they showed him to me. Not right away. The nurses rubbed and patted and turned him head down and rubbed some more. When they finally coaxed a cry from him, the relief pressed…
Posted by Sarah Anderson | Three years ago, when I found out I was pregnant with my second boy, I was relieved. I already had one, so the immediate thought in my mind was, “I got this. I know boys. This will be my oldest son—version 2.0.” But literally, from the moment I was able…
Posted by Sarah Anderson | On a good morning, the bananas I give my boys to eat don’t have any brown spots, the color plate they request is clean, the eggs are cooked just past the sliminess stage, their favorite shirts aren’t at the bottom of the dirty clothes hamper and every request I make…
Dear special needs parent, Some people will never get what it is like to walk in our shoes. No matter how many times we try to explain our situation, our child, the challenges our family has to face—no matter how many details we share—the reality is that most people won’t get it. And some people…
My son, Sam, always best handles instructions or requests of him if he feels he has a good, solid understanding of what’s going on. Not just the nuts and bolts of the situation, but most importantly, the reason for it. If we ask or tell him to do something, one of his first responses is usually,…
I am reading Sealed Orders, an autobiography by the Christian mystic and healer, Agnes Sanford. Sanford was an amazing woman of God—writer, speaker, healer, founder of a school of healing—who struggled for years with depression. She writes, “The basic trouble was that I had forgotten whence I came, and I did not know the sealed orders…
Those of us caring for children with disabilities are used to hearing people say things like, “They look fine to me.” There are, indeed, some children with disabilities that have few visible appearances that would make them stand out as special in some way. But even when there are noticeable things and people say that to…
SYMPOSIUM 2017: RESILIENCE & RECOVERY Saturday, March 11, 2017 from 9-12 at the Raleigh campus Seating is limited. Pre-Registration Here “RECOVERY & RESILIENCE” SPEAKERS ANIMAL-ASSISTED THERAPY Ronnie Sadoski: Veteran and owner of Wags4Tags Amy Duffy: Granddaughter of a veteran, LPC, and Founder of Harbor Reigns RELAXATION THERAPY Jody Probert: LCSW and Yoga instructor Patrick Boyle:…
My kids were never good sleepers. Children with high functioning autism rarely are. But last night something strange was afoot. I can sense it before it happens—before the audible shuffle and bump. My spidey senses, that with which we mothers are all graciously endowed after growing people between our innards, had me dead asleep one…
Failing my children with special needs in some important, life-altering way used to be one of the looming fears over my life. Myriad problems not easily solved triggered anxiety and misplaced guilt. The quest to be a good parent put me (and maybe puts you) on edge because the stakes are high, and it’s hard…