Special Needs Children
Since I am a student through Middle Tennessee State University I
receive emails from various organizations throughout the campus. I just
recently received an email regarding a petition asking for support to
pass a measure that would give parents of special needs children a tax
break, click here for more details.
Until this time I had no idea that parents of special needs children
did not receive some sort of tax break for all the medical and
therapeutic expenses they incur every year. Not only do parents pay
alot out of their own pocket, they also lose time at their jobs just to
take their children to medical and therapy appointments.
Last year one of my required classes focused on special needs children
whether they were just developmentally delayed or severely handicapped.
I can tell you that after taking that course it changed my
attitude, my way of thinking about special needs children.
I cannot imagine how tiring and stressful it is to take care of a
special needs child. I have three children of my own who tire me out
but to have one who depends on you a great deal of the day is
unimaginable.
I also read one moms story about how difficult it is to find childcare
for a special needs child. I have to agree with her. Just for my
son who was considered developmentally delayed with some behavior
issues was exhausting trying to find childcare. As a single mom I
wanted to work to support my children financially and get off of all
government assistance. I ended up having to turn down jobs due to lack
of childcare. It was even more exhausting when you place your child in
Head Start, an organization that specializes in working on childrens
behavior and education issues preventatively and you end up having
problems with them. His first teachers were in their very first
year of teaching and obviously did not have much training dealing with
developmentally delayed children or children with behavior issues, such
as the class I had been required to take (as part of my education
degree). For the first three months of the school year I got called at
least once a week either telling me about Caleb acting up or having to
come and pick him up because they had done all they could. Since
his class was preparing to move back into their regular school setting
(school had been remodeled extensively) I decided to talk with the
director of Head Start. She and I agreed he had to be switched to the
other teachers. After I had the opportunity to meet the new teachers I
felt at ease with them. Their combined experience totalled 25+ years. I
knew they had ways of handling Caleb's behavior issues. So for the
remainder of the school year (7 months) I got called just One time to
come and pick Caleb up. Occassionally I received a phone call but it
was calls I appreciated and were informative.
As I mentioned I cannot even imagine what parents of special needs
children go through other than the ones with developmentally delayed
issues. Obviously they are very strong people willing to take on the
daily challenges of providing the best care possible for their loved
ones. I firmly believe that they deserve tax relief to lessen the
financial burdens they encounter.
I know there are people out there who question why parents would have
ever continued pregnancies knowing that their unborn child has a
handicap. I am not one of them. I do NOT believe in abortions, ever. I
have encountered the possibility of an abortion but I firmly refused
and I do not regret it. Children are children whether they are
healthy and developed completely or disabled in some way. Mothers
love their children from the moment they find out they are pregnant.
Yes, it is devestating to a mother and a father when they discover
their child will be born with a handicap or worse when they are told
the child may die before, during or just after birth. But they
accept what is and what will be.
But also stop and think. Some of these children WERE born healthy and
developed. And for some reason or another they became ill or were in an
accident that left them impaired permanently. Don't you believe the parents deserve the dignity and support of the government?
I firmly believe that parents of special needs children deserve the
dignity of receiving support from the government to lessen the burden
of caring for their child or even children. It's not a hand out to me.
It's support.
I believe in everyone deserving to have a life as best as possible. One
of my greatest wishes is for everyone to have a support system with
whatever is going on in their life. That includes single parent
support, parents of special needs children, parents with children who
have behavioral problems and families who are caretakers of an older
family member.
I am a single mom who has struggled to find support. I called upon my
church, friends, family, local agencies and our government to no avail.
In the end it was my Life Coach and his wife who are now my best
friends. When I lived in public housing I befriended one of my
neighbors who is taking care of her elderly mother in early Alzheimers
among many other health issues. I have seen her break down from being
so overwhelmed. One of my mom's long time friends has a child (now an
adult) with Down's Syndrome. About a year ago he became so ill they
sent him to Nashville nearly 3 hours away to Vanderbilt University
Medical Hospital. She is also a single mom. I cannot imagine what she
was going through. Alice has been teaching as long as I have been
living and being a single mom for just as long.
I have been taught for the last year or so to wake up everyday focusing
on the positives in my life. What I am grateful and or thankful for
around me. Imagine being a parent who treats sleep like gold, a break
like a mini vacation because they never have one or even help that is a
blessing, a miracle.
Show your support now by signing this petition. It's a very quick and painless way of showing your support to your children, someone you know or even don't know, yet.