PERSONAL NARRATIVE
PUBLIC PLACES
The Need to Stay Strong and Courageous
By Emily DAVIDSON
The other day a friend asked me what the hardest thing in my life is when it came
to raising my daughter. Questions like these make me incredibly happy. My daughter, Lexi, is a bit on the unique side in that she has multiple diagnoses. She has both
Down syndrome and West syndrome, paired with a severe cognitive impairment and
autism.
O
ver the years, I’ve decided to make it my
life’s mission to set straight as many misconceptions as possible about my daughter.
Thoughtless statements made from those
misconceptions are brought on by ignorance. Ignorance isn’t to be faulted, it’s to be
corrected.
I want to go on the record briefly in saying that I do
not, by any means, think that I’m speaking for all
special needs parents. Not everyone wants to be an
open book about the most difficult times in their life,
nor should they feel obligated to. This is just me. This
is how I cope. I can’t change the incredibly difficult
things about raising a child with such severe special
needs. I can, however, spread understanding.
So, what is one of the most difficult things about being the parent of a child like Lexi? As I’m sure you’ve
already gathered, my answer was taking her to public places. Every parent out there with a special needs
child understands this, though we all may have different reasons for why it is so. Reasons such as these:
1. My child looks different than other children
2. My child looks the same as other children, yet acts
differently, and people don’t understand why
3. I’m tired of the stares
4. I’m tired of the criticism and advice from other parents who think they know better, but don’t
5. I’m tired of being embarrassed by my child’s behavior
6. I’m tired of feeling guilty for being embarrassed,
because it’s not my child’s fault
7. I’m tired of having to watch my child’s every move,
every single second, of every single day
8. I’m tired of being jealous of other families
9. I’m tired of feeling guilty for being jealous
10. I’m tired of how exhausting it is
11. I’m tired of being exhausted
12. I’m tired of... (Fill in the blank. This could go on
forever)
Autism Parenting Magazine | Issue 44
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