My child is not a bomb.... i promise....
My daughter is not a bomb
she's just a kid
I'm not special, got no extra training... I'm a mom
I know all the other stuff the equipment, the adjustments, the way we adapt things, her way of communication may make it seem like it's more than it is...
But I challenge you to look beyond that stuff ...
I challenge you to focus harder slow down and watch our family together.
I'm just a mom who wants to see her child grow, learn, love and be loved and essentially isn't that what everyone wants for their child??
I'm no different..
Equally Sophia wants what everyone wants...
to be hugged and to be smiled at, to make eye contact, to see you react to her, to hear that you're happy to see her, to play, to eat, to be included, to see beautiful sites, to be part of a group,
She wants to live a life
However not a single one of those things can she do alone . She's got an uphill battle, she needs help, she needs your time, she needs your understanding and she needs your effort.
I guess with time I'm realizing that it's not that she's "different" that really stops her from having those experiences. After 3 1/2 years, building her therapeutic playroom in our home, tens of thousands spend on adaptive equipment her therapies and her medical specialists we realize that we can't do it all and money can't solve this. There's a piece of this that we can't provide .
She needs a community .
she needs a family .
she needs a team .
she needs a foundation.
she needs a place to grow and flourish .
Got a lot of observers, people that wish her well, but that's not enough..
I'm just saying she's not a bomb .....she doesn't need gloves or a back up team. She won't explode or disintegrate. She just needs time and understanding.
Take the time to allow her to get focus on you after you say hello, don't immediately brush her off. Take the time to sit with her, she enjoys your company. Take the time to learn how she plays because she does play games! trust me !
I know it might seem awkward at first but ask her questions. Talk to her. She likes to be spoken to and if you just give her enough time she might respond..
Try looking at it from her perspective....
She reserves the right to be nervous, after all you're big, you do things that she doesn't.
She needs time to feel you out.
Respect her enough to let that happen. Give her time. I know from experience that when you let that happen she will let you in and when she does, you feel like the most special person on earth.
I mean it she's special and she makes other people feel special too.
I see when people are with other kids more "capable" kids they don't think twice. They engage, they play, they get down on their level they talk to them.
When I see people with my kid.... they hesitate, think about it, they say hi they say she's pretty. Talking about her but never TO her and and then they avoid her like a ticking bomb.
She's a child. She's not a bomb.
I'm sorry if I've given the impression along the way that I gave birth to a china doll.
Is she delicate in certain ways? yes.
But essentially she's got 10 fingers, 10 toes, one heart, and two eyes that see the world passing her by
...
