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What Do You Do When You Can’t
You just keep trying because you HAVE to!
I’m a single mom to four children aged 13, 12, 10, and 8 (next month the oldest will be 14 and it will all be even numbers again as I prefer it). All of them now have diagnoses.
I have grown accustomed to saying three of the four have special needs. I’m changing that to exceptional needs. It just sounds better, and a bit more accurate.
My oldest two have high functioning autism (they have what used to be diagnosed as Aspergers), my second oldest (my only daughter also has agoraphobia, social anxiety, ADHD, and a mood disorder), and the youngest has several diagnoses (ADHD, Disruptive Behavior Disorder, Adjustment Disorder with Mixed Disturbances of Emotion and Conduct, and acute PTSD). The one that I don’t always consider having exceptional needs has been diagnosed with ADHD and ODD. As of this past academic year, all four are on IEPs at school. So, I also need to just say that all of them have exceptional needs.
You cannot even fathom the chaos of my household. Or maybe you can. In all honesty, even parenting one child with exceptional needs: the flimsy paper plate of what you can manage will be overflowing, folding, and crumbling. On the best days. If you don’t have any diagnoses yourself, your plate may be a little more stable to begin with, but…
