Have you ever been treated unfairly or judged because you or your family can’t attend an event because of your child’s special needs?
I recently found out that someone in our life is frustrated with us because we can’t attend certain events. Not hugely important events. Nothing major. Just get togethers.
I sorta laughed when I first heard the so called gossip about us. That so-in-so was mad at us because we couldn’t attend something they hosted. I almost didn’t believe it. I figured everyone in our life just knew how hard we work to fit in.
I mean, our son struggles to leave the house. We try…daily. We push when we can. We practice when we can. But it’s going to take time.
And good golly has he come a long way. We are light years ahead of where we were when he was five.
But the truth is, we are mostly home bound. Parties are a no-go. Holidays are stressful. Restaurants are a never. If we do go we may last 10 minutes. But we are trying.
And we do our best to balance. Always balancing the autism world with the typical world. We get sitters when we can.
We split up, my husband going one place and me staying home with Cooper, or vice versa. We make it work. And yes, we miss our old carefree life and even feel pangs of jealousy when other families attend something carefree. That isn’t our life. It may never be. And honestly, it sucks. But we make do. And we believe in the power of yet.
But until ‘yet’ happens, this is our life. Love us or hate us for it.
I wonder if others have had this happen to them. Have you been judged because you simply can’t go…
Finding Cooper’s Voice is a safe, humorous, caring and honest place where you can celebrate the unique challenges of parenting a special needs child. Because you’re never alone in the struggles you face. And once you find your people, your allies, your village….all the challenges and struggles will seem just a little bit easier. Welcome to our journey. You can also follow us on Facebook.
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