Making a Difference

An open letter to my friends;

Parents ~ it starts with us. 

Ethan has had an increasingly difficult couple of weeks at school this year. Yes, I know the year just started, but when you have a child who doesn’t want to attend class, it seems infinitely longer.  For the last few weeks (and even prior to school starting) we have had several painful conversations with Ethan where he has said that the children at school “make fun of him, are mean to him, tell him he has a tiny head, laugh at him, and hurt his feelings.”  It is absolutely heartbreaking dialogue to have with your child.

Before I had Ethan I only knew a handful of people with disabilities.  I wasn’t exposed to it growing up. Very much like Sherwood, I grew up in a community, which albeit wonderful, was not very diverse.  We are afraid of what we don’t understand.  When we received Ethan’s diagnosis of microcephaly I was afraid. When we took him to his medical appointments and under the section reason for visit it listed “mental retardation” I was afraid.  But knowledge is power.

We have all been teased or ridiculed at some point in our lives. Maybe because you were poor and didn’t have a lot of clothes (a painful memory for me,) perhaps you had glasses, or braces, or freckles.  It hurt and it cut deep.  Multiply that times one hundred when it comes to your own child. Worse than having a plethora of medical appointments where your child is constantly poked and prodded, worse than therapy several times a week, worse than not knowing your child’s future.   As parents, you know that seeing your child upset and not being able to do anything is pure agony.  However, in this case, we can do something.

Talk to you kids. It begins with us. Tell your children it is okay to be different. Discuss inclusion and empathy with them.  Encourage them to have a diverse group of friends, to be independent thinkers, to stand up for those who can’t stand up for themselves.  Lead by example.  Start with a simple conversation. Start young.  And repeat.

Your child could be the one to make a difference in another child’s outlook on school or even on life.  Have a question… ask! Need help starting the conversation? I will assist you. Let’s begin to spread the knowledge to our children now!

Thank you, on behalf of Ethan, and all the other children that I know feel the same.