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..how many of you really understood the obstacles ahead of you when your child was just an infant? I know that I didn't. Most autism and bipolar children don't even show symptoms until after infancy. Sometimes years later. In the case of down's syndrome, how many of those difficulties do you really see at 4 months old? These conditions and many more are something that parents struggle with as a child grows, the challenges get more difficult as they get older and struggle with learning things that other children mastered years before them. There are so many issues in learning, socialization, misunderstandings of others, and health that we deal with as the child get's older.
This is why I get annoyed when Sara Palin is portrayed as understanding what it's like to be a parent of a special needs child. She is just getting the tip of the iceberg. She won't have a true understanding until she's been through the formative years. Struggled with the difficulties and obstacles that these children face and conquered them. I think she really has no idea of what's truly ahead of her. To be fair, none of us really do until we actually experience it. It's an emotional rollercoaster and until you've ridden the ride, don't tell me you know what it's like.
Location: Pelion, South Carolina/orig. from Cape May, NJ
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Quote:
Originally Posted by geekduo
..how many of you really understood the obstacles ahead of you when your child was just an infant? I know that I didn't. Most autism and bipolar children don't even show symptoms until after infancy. Sometimes years later. In the case of down's syndrome, how many of those difficulties do you really see at 4 months old? These conditions and many more are something that parents struggle with as a child grows, the challenges get more difficult as they get older and struggle with learning things that other children mastered years before them. There are so many issues in learning, socialization, misunderstandings of others, and health that we deal with as the child get's older.
This is why I get annoyed when Sara Palin is portrayed as understanding what it's like to be a parent of a special needs child. She is just getting the tip of the iceberg. She won't have a true understanding until she's been through the formative years. Struggled with the difficulties and obstacles that these children face and conquered them. I think she really has no idea of what's truly ahead of her. To be fair, none of us really do until we actually experience it. It's an emotional rollercoaster and until you've ridden the ride, don't tell me you know what it's like.
Well said...I have a daughter with autism and unless someone also has a child with autism (or special-needs) they have no clue what it's like and I don't care to hear their "opinions".
were just going through it ourself with daughtlers my oldest is 8 she is 2to 3 years delayed she in 2nd grade and she is having problems with the kids in her class making fun of her because she is alot more slower then the rest of them in her class her special ed teacher is considering on putting her in specail ed class room a lot longer hours . my other daughtler has adhd she doing alot better now since she been diagnosed other then that their usually happy . but it makes me sad when seeing go through thease issues.
We didn't find out about our son's cerebral palsy until he had went past 6 months old,and still wasn't rolling over. He was a preemie (35 weeks gestation) and we thought "Oh,he'll catch up!" We had almost lost him at 6 days old,& he was in the NICU for a week. The MRI showed brain damage,but we didn't really believe it,as he seemed like such a sweet,happy,normal baby (and I had 3 before him).
He is now 16 months old,and just learned to crawl 2 weeks ago. You're not kidding about the emotional roller coaster!! You go thru a lot of fear,sadness,grief that your child's life isn't ging to be "normal" and all the difficulties they will face later in life. How will people treat him? Kids in school? Will he ever get married,have kids,have a good job?
WILL HE WALK???
It is heartbreaking,and SO frustrating. Trying to get the proper care,dealing w/ doctors,Early Intervention,therapy,etc. In my case,I decided not to go back to work,as I don't trust anyone to give him the love & attention that I do. SO, we are BROKE. More stress. And it is lonely,staying home all the time,no money to go to a movie,buy a new outfit,etc. And I hate to complain,(as I am right NOW lol) as I don't want to look like I'm whineing. But Yes,it IS hard. Only someone who has gone thru it can "get it".
I didn't know about my son's BP until he was around 6. There were issues before then, but that is hindsight. He is my first child, so I didn't know better. It is true. You just don't know. Even when the disorders are different, you can't understand it completely. However, we can still sympathize with each other.
This whole thread is so true (except Sarah Palin... I do like her). This morning, I was watching the activities in the children's church. I could see from a mile away that one little boy, who was playing with a string of beads, was not trying to be desctuctive. Those beads were a tactile focusing tool from him. I didn't see when, but at some point, the beads were confiscated as punishment because he kept playing with them. When he was approached again, the person offered to let him have them back if he would just sit down. I wanted to badly to tell them that if he didn't get them back, he would be unable to sit down. Since this is a new church for me, and I was unknown to these people, I decided to stay quiet. The boy got the beads back, and he was able to calm himself.
Unless you've dealt with someone with similar issues, it's logical for one to assume that this is just an antsy kid who doesn't feel like following the rules. You're all correct... you have to have been there to truly understand. Otherwise, it's just empathy (which is not a bad thing, either).
Sarah Palin really doesn't have a clue. Early intervention and therapy for DS is critical. Trig is not too young to be getting some therapy. Maybe he is getting it, but it doesn't seem likely with his parents doing the campaign thing. Just my $0.02.
I am bipolar and my oldest daughter probably is also. So far she has only been diagnosed as ADHD but I am VERY sure she is Bipolar. I am hoping to get her diagnosed very soon. I just dread what she has ahead of her.
I am bipolar and my oldest daughter probably is also. So far she has only been diagnosed as ADHD but I am VERY sure she is Bipolar. I am hoping to get her diagnosed very soon. I just dread what she has ahead of her.
If she is bipolar and they treat her with meds for ADHD, they will backfire. Be watchful for that. When my son was 4, they actually used that as a method of diagnosis. They said at that age it was very difficult to tell the difference between ADHD and bipolar diagnostically. So they treated for ADHD and if it worked, then great. If it made his symptoms worse, then we would know it was bipolar and would switch to that treatment. It was bipolar, the fallout from the ADHD meds was enough to make a person pull their hair out.
A year later he was having trouble concentrating in school and since then he has also been treated for ADHD as well. Once the bipolar is under control, then the ADHD can be treated with success.
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