You know what I have realised? In between all the stress of the last couple of years, we still manage to get on well as a family. :-D
If my teenagers choose to skip along the pavement, I will join them. We sit on trains and play 'I Spy' and clapping games. If my daughter cannot reach shelves in the supermarket I will climb them to reach what she was after . . . My children all dress for themselves, not as other people expect; we look very eclectic on days out, lol . . . but they each have respect for themselves and others. They hug in public (and why shouldn't they?!). We've taken to bowing if people stare at us as a group - we have it synchronised. Two able-bodied and two disabled children make for interesting journeys. If my middle son wants to waddle like a penguin for a few minutes, that's perfectly fine, too. It doesn't make him odd or strange or lacking in 'moral fibre'. It's called personality.
So; we manage to carry on even with outside influences making it very hard for MB to receive his education. Even when the girlie has to have help with her skin and cannot reach anything designed for people her age. Even when the eldest and youngest need peace and quiet and simply don't get it. They know that they have support behind them and we're aware that they all look after one another. We're still getting on okay - and that's important.
If my teenagers choose to skip along the pavement, I will join them. We sit on trains and play 'I Spy' and clapping games. If my daughter cannot reach shelves in the supermarket I will climb them to reach what she was after . . . My children all dress for themselves, not as other people expect; we look very eclectic on days out, lol . . . but they each have respect for themselves and others. They hug in public (and why shouldn't they?!). We've taken to bowing if people stare at us as a group - we have it synchronised. Two able-bodied and two disabled children make for interesting journeys. If my middle son wants to waddle like a penguin for a few minutes, that's perfectly fine, too. It doesn't make him odd or strange or lacking in 'moral fibre'. It's called personality.
So; we manage to carry on even with outside influences making it very hard for MB to receive his education. Even when the girlie has to have help with her skin and cannot reach anything designed for people her age. Even when the eldest and youngest need peace and quiet and simply don't get it. They know that they have support behind them and we're aware that they all look after one another. We're still getting on okay - and that's important.