Reality Check

...When parents learn their child has a disability, they often react to it as if their child is dying a horrible disease. Although the child is alive and well, certain hopes, dreams, and ambitions they had for that child’s future are dead. In order to help their child, parents must grieve, rage, and finally move toward acceptance. This process is mirrored in the child with the disability. Like his/her parents, the child with the disability must find a way to accept his/her unique combination of strengths and weaknesses. The person with the disability must come to the fact that his/her life may never be ordinary, but it may be extraordinary!

Yesterday, I met parents who adopted a young child from an orphanage in Guatemala. They thought they were getting the PERFECT child. However, 2 years later, they find out he has a moderate learning disability.

I found myself choking back tears as I was telling them that their child would never learn the way other children do; that their child would have to be taught strategies to work around the memory and processing centers in the brain that do not function as “normal” people’s do... The parents were devastated. They had a difficult time wrapping their minds around this concept. I think that they were more upset that their child was going to be “labeled” for life (the mom said that)… Which makes sense, but how could they have such a negative outlook? Why not be realistic and deal with the issue at hand? The earlier you intervene, the better of a chance the child has at overcoming the learning disability and gaining appropriate strategies for successful learning…

...How would you feel if you were these parents?