Comments on: Hidden Disabilities in the Body of Christ

By: Stiri, AFR « Life Mission

Stiri, AFR « Life Mission — Tue, 10 May 2011 19:37:10 +0000

[...] Sfaturi parentale. Va recomandam un articol care da sfaturi familiilor care cresc copii sau membri de familie handicapati, concret cum sa le asigure o viata plina de demnitate si impliniri personale (link). [...]

By: M. Millard

M. Millard — Wed, 04 May 2011 12:36:58 +0000

I just wanted to say THANK YOU! for bringing these things to the awareness of others out there that see our kids as just unruly children! My sons whole class knows he has autism and they play with him at school, but when I have tried to set up play dates at home for him, the parents get all busy all of a sudden. I feel for that man whose mom threw him a pizza party and no one came. I try to make sure my son does not see these slights made by the ADULTS and shield him from the hurt of it. But it rips my heart out that while these others may be good people, they cannot see all the good in him.

By: Shannon Royce

Shannon Royce — Mon, 02 May 2011 01:12:20 +0000

Thanks for your feedback Tom. Yes, part of the journey of parenting children with hidden disabilities is the misunderstanding of their needs. We really have to depend on that extra measure of grace to raise them unto the Lord – in spite of moments of judgment from some like this teacher. You are right, however, that there are some really great moments as well. And God has a special plan for each of these kids, like he does for their “typical” peers. I am glad your son’s story is going well.

Please share us with others who may still be journeying. Rich Blessings,

Shannon

By: Tom Gilson

Tom Gilson — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 13:27:29 +0000

Thank you for this. I can especially relate to what you say about others not understanding. We could have used your advice and guidance a long time ago.

Our son has had a couple of hidden disabilities, one of them being difficulty with spatial/visual skills. His verbal skills, by contrast, have always been well above average. When he was in kindergarten we were trying to sort all this out. We knew something was different about him, but at that point we didn’t understand it, so we asked the school for help with some specialized testing. His teacher, apparently overly aware of his verbal aptitude, looked my wife in the eye and told her, “Your problem is you just want your son to be perfect.”

A friend of the family, a school psychologist in another city, tested him on her own time and confirmed that he had a rather severe visual processing disability.

I don’t recall what the kindergarten teacher said when we told her that. I do remember what we did. We pulled him out to school him at home, and for months, extending well beyond that school year, my wife worked intensively with him on drawing, pattern recognition, and other visual exercises. He went through hours of OT and vision therapy, week after week for several years.

The story has had a pretty good outcome, as such stories go. We ended up moving to another school district that took his situation seriously and gave him a lot of help. He’s in college now. He still can’t draw very well, but he won awards in high school for his computer-based graphic design skills.

We’re grateful for this, but no thanks go to his first teacher—the one who was blind to our son’s struggles, and thought she saw a character flaw in his mother instead.