FAMILY AFFAIR Julie Leavitt Wolfe wrote a book about a brother dealing with the
experiences of having a sibling with special needs that was based on her own children,
Ryan and Sydney.
“Wherever I was, I wanted to be in
the other place,” she says. “If I was
with Ryan, I wanted to be with Sydney, and if I was with Sydney,
I wanted to be with Ryan.”
Sydney, now age 7, attends The
Children’s Therapy Center in Fair
Lawn and “is always happy and smiling, and everyone knows her,” Wolfe
says. “She has made a tremendous
amount of progress and has already
accomplished so much more than ever
expected.”
Sydney can now walk with assistance and speak some words. In addition to school, Wolfe takes Sydney for
additional speech, occupational and
physical therapy.
Ryan, now age 11, plays “every
sport imaginable,” which is logistically
challenging, given Sydney’s schedule, says Wolfe, who is still upbeat
and positive. She notes that Sydney’s
unusual schedule actually affords her
more alone time with Ryan.
“Everything takes a lot out of Sydney. She usually goes to sleep around
3:30 to 4:00 in the afternoon after
school and wakes up around 4:30 the
next day. I get evenings with Ryan.”
Things have gotten easier, and
Ryan has grown into his role, expressing concern for his sister and offering
to help his mother.
Wolfe hopes that My Holly will be
used as a parenting tool and will be >
SPECIAL PARENT | 2017 EDITION 19