Posts by Kate Swenson
To My Adoptive Parents, I’m Thankful for Your Love
Dear Mom and Dad, It’s nearly February when families will take down the snowmen scenes and begin decorating their home with red and pink hearts to symbolize the month of love. This year as we enter into the month, I realize, no symbol expresses or explains the love you have shown and continue to show me. About a year and a half ago, you gave up your dream, the one you worked your entire adulthood for, to help in mine. My dream of being a mom. It hasn’t gone quite…
Read MoreAmanda Owen, Creator of Puzzle Pieces, is Changing Lives for People With Disabilities
To truly know what a special needs life is, you have to have a deep understanding of it. You have to see it in every way and every aspect. It has to be your life. As the younger sister of Nick Boarman, 36 year-old Amanda Owen has known special needs life her entire life. At Nick’s six month check-up the doctor told their mother, Sharon Boarman, that Nick had a rare chromosomal disability. The Syndrome was so rare that there were only ten other cases at that time and those…
Read MoreLove Comes in Many Forms
What is love, “a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person.” Love comes in many forms. As a child, we think of the soft, tender love that sits amongst family. As an adolescent, we think of our rich friendships that are filled with late-night talks. As adults, we think of our romantic relationships that form foundations of growth, beauty, and struggle. The choice to love not found in common ties of biology is where I often land when thinking about love. I found pieces of myself in each person who…
Read MoreTeacher’s Aide Staples Piece of Paper to a Disabled Child’s Head as a Reminder
From the minute you become a parent, the overwhelming fear and concern sets in. You constantly question whether every choice or decision you make on your child’s behalf is the right one. When your child has special-needs, the endless self-doubt triples. The options for schooling seldom are plentiful or a perfect fit, so when an appropriate placement is agreed upon, it is not done without careful planning and discussion among all involved. As the start of each school year draws closer, I often think to myself “I hope Skyler doesn’t become the…
Read MoreThe Extraordinary Goodness All Around Us
Hi. My name is Carrie. I have five kids, and my second son has autism. His name is Jack. Jack is sixteen years old now. Theoretically, he is a junior in high school. Theoretically, he can drive a car. Theoretically, he should be studying for the SAT’s and maybe looking at colleges and trying to decide what the next chapter of his life may hold. There is nothing theoretical about autism though. That’s the thing. Autism is a concrete set of symptoms that, like a set of parentheses around a…
Read MoreTurn Your Worry Into Wonder
There is a term I like to use. It’s blissfully unaware. It’s a place and feeling rolled into one. Many of us do this at different times in our lives. We live blissfully unaware. For example, I knew nothing of the emotional pain of a miscarriage until I lost my first baby. I knew nothing of the worry that comes with a child that isn’t developing typically until it was my own son. I knew nothing of the cruelness and brutality of cancer until it took my stepmom. I knew…
Read MoreWe are Raising Him to be Proud of Who He Is
Every morning I wake up to messages from people. Most are well-meaning. Many are kind. A few are awful. Some are bizarre. And some, tell me how to raise my son. And how I’m doing it wrong. They tell me what I should be doing, how I can do it better, and what I can and cannot say about him. I’ve gathered a list of what I cannot say. I cannot say he has autism. Or is autistic. I can’t say he is nonverbal or nonspeaking. I can’t say he…
Read MoreWhat I Need You To Know During Feeding Tube Awareness Week
I entered the world of special needs when my son was three months old. He is a twin and his brother also has special needs, they were premature. Lucas developed an airway disorder called Laryngomalacia when he was a few weeks old. When this happens, you can hear your baby breathing from across the room. They also can turn blue and stop breathing. They may also require oxygen and other life saving measures. It can be terrifying. We figured out at 3 months from tests, that he was aspirating his…
Read MoreYou are an Amazing Special Needs Sibling
Dearest Daughter of mine, I don’t know how I would do this thing called life without you! Having a little brother with a disability isn’t an easy job. But you do it with such grace and empathy. Every day from the moment we wake up you start caring for your brother. Before I even make it downstairs you grab him a drink and make sure he has gone to the bathroom. You do these things without me even asking. You bring so much light and joy to our family. I…
Read MoreMy Son, You Have Taught Me Amazing Things
A letter to my son, As we approach your 3rd birthday I can’t help but reflect back on these past years. It’s just been you and I from the start. And although some day’s feel like an eternity, I still catch myself wondering ‘where has the time gone?’ God made me the luckiest woman alive when he chose me to be your mom. Thank you for your tender kisses, and for your ferocious hugs. For showing me in return all the heart and soul I have poured into you,and for…
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