Those Looks

I often hear parents of special needs children talking about the looks they get or things people say to them when they are out in public with their child. I guess that is why there is a market for those really rude shirts that say things like, "I have autism, what's your problem?". For the most part, we have had largely positive experiences with other people. I think, given a chance, most people will be kind and helpful. But there will always be those people who just don't get it- either they don't understand or they just don't want to be understanding. There are intolerant and judgmental people everywhere. It is easy to focus on the negative experiences, but when I look over the course of the last decade, the positive, kind people definitely outweigh the bad experiences. I think the most important thing to have, if you have special needs children, is a sense of humor. And the second most important thing to have is thick skin. You will be embarrassed, daily probably, and as your child grows, the things they do will become more outrageous, eventually it will be very hard to embarrass you. You at least will always have entertaining stories to tell your friends. All children embarrass their parents, just not as consistently as special needs children. Ashley has several times taken her clothes off in very public places. Hailey, one time, through a huge fit because we did not want her to lick the floor of Chuck E. Cheese. Josh has bitten other children and used inappropriate language in different places. How have your children embarrassed you? Originally posted April 2011