This journey of parenting a special-needs child has stretched me in ways I could not have imagined. In the last couple of years in particular, I have learned more about mental health challenges, the educational system, and social dynamics than I ever had before and let me tell ya, it’s all frightening.

People and systems are faulty. Some malicious, some ignorant. It’s a never-ending, ongoing daily effort to seek out truth, implement strategies, and hope for the best. Often settling for non-catastrophic is reason to celebrate.

Where would we be without support. Granted, it’s not as though we have a big social network, or even a little one. I’ve used the excuse of moving across the country as why we haven’t made new friends. The truth is, it’s hard. Even without all the added stuff going on providing for the intense needs of our daughter, any down time is happily spent relaxing in our home with no pressure from others.

I’m not discounting the need for friends. It would be helpful to model this for our kid. I just don’t have the energy. I find most people are draining and don’t understand what we’re going through nor do they want to.

We are beyond fortunate to have a set of parents/grandparents on our side. They may not fully get all the struggles we face, but they are undeniably there with unwavering support, encouragement, and love.

I didn’t expect to have to need others in the way our family does. It’s been a pretty big learning curve. And we’re only a few years into it. We have a long way to go.