Stoddard Family: May - A Special Month!

May - A Special Month!

Today is the first day of May, and what is so special about the month of May? May is pediatric stroke awareness month. In honor of my son Jackson, a pediatric stoke survivor, I will be focusing on him this month.

I found this on a website and thought it summed up our current life well, and might give you some insight on our life with Jackson.

"I thought I’d shed some light — some humorous, some not so much — on what it’s like to raise a child with special needs. You know you’re a special needs parent when…

…you refer to days of the week not by their names, but by which therapy or doctor appointment you have that day (physical therapy day, speech day, neurologist day, Early On day, etc.)

…you refer to times of day not by the clock, but by which doctor or therapist you’re seeing (Thelma morning, Christina night, Dr. Smith afternoon, etc.)

…your schedule is so busy, you justify serving grilled cheese, fries, and a fruit cup for dinner several times per week because it’s fast and counts as a balanced meal (potatoes and ketchup = veggies, bread = grains, cheese = dairy, fruit cup = fruits).

…”grab your cast and your AFOs” is as common in your household as “grab your coat and your shoes”.

…75% of your regular vocabulary now consists of acronyms (TBI, RH, CP, LH, PT, OT, CHASA, CNS, CT, MRI, IEP, AFO, etc.)

…instead of telling your kid to stop sticking out his tongue, you encourage it because it strengthens the mouth muscles for speech.

…your children think everybody has a team of therapists and specialists at age 2 and are flabbergasted to discover their preschool classmates don’t also share in the joy of take-out on “therapy nights”.

…your child(ren) with special needs is/are more adept at some motor activities than your “typical” kids because they practice doing it twice weekly with the therapist.

…rather than responding venomously to rude stares and snide comments in public, you’ve perfected the art of educating others about your child’s disability.

…every toy and household item is a tool for therapy first and an object for entertainment second.

…you realize that “typical” kids in households with children who have special needs have their own set of special needs their parents must address.

…you’ve signed more “freedom to share information” forms for therapists and agencies than you’ve filed taxes in your life.

…you spend hours handwriting answers to medical history questions and wonder how no one’s yet cornered the market on a one-time, electronically transferable medical history doo-hickey.

…your kid sees his doctors and therapists so frequently, your children wonder why the medical professionals aren’t there on birthdays and holidays.

…you’ve never been more painfully aware of textures in your life.

…you drive fellow patrons nuts at restaurants with your constant reminders for your kid to “use your right hand, Buddy. It works, too.”

…your motivation to enroll your child in team sports is less to foster in him a love of athleticism and camaraderie and more to take advantage of its natural therapeutic value.

…you’ve grown closer to some people in your online support group than people you know personally.

…you live in constant fear for your child. Sometimes it’s great and sometimes it’s small. Sometimes it’s medically related and sometimes it’s socially related. Always it’s real.

…you never realized how good you look in purple (or green or orange or blue or pink or yellow or whatever color your child’s awareness ribbon is) until you stockpiled clothing of that color for awareness month.

…you catch yourself inadvertently stretching your niece’s or nephew’s calf muscles and helping your friend’s toddler balance her gait during visits because performing physical and occupational therapy during everyday activities has become second nature to you.

…you celebrate your child’s achievement of run-of-the-mill milestones as if he’s just climbed Mt. Everest.

…you relish proving the doctors wrong.

…you’ve never learned so much about yourself, your spouse, and your children as you have since starting this journey."

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May - A Special Month!

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