Now, Here I Am

When you know better, you do better. I never thought that I would have a special needs child. I mean, you hope and pray that your baby is healthy, but you just don’t expect Autism. Pre-Asher seems like a lifetime ago. My heart always went out to those parents in the tough situation of helping their special needs child. I knew it couldn’t be easy, but I hadn’t really considered everything they went through. Now, here I am.

What people don’t see is the constant struggle. Parents want their kids to be happy. They don’t want them excluded or not invited. I say parents; I should say I, we, this community of  special needs mommas and daddies. Not just mommas and daddies want these kids to thrive. It affects the entire family. It should also affect the entire community. I know I never paid much attention to what might be needed to be available for these kids to be involved. Now, here I am.

Kennett has a club you may have never heard of before- the Civitan Club. What is this? It is a group of people that want better for our town. They want everyone to have opportunities. They want to fund activities and even playground equipment for special needs kids. They have a Buddy Baseball program and there are plenty of ideas they would like to implement in our town. They don’t focus on only kids with Autism. There are all kinds of kids that want to participate. I never realized there was a need for anything like this. Now, here I am.

April has been a busy, busy month so far. Autism Awareness month is halfway over. Businesses around Kennett have been painting their windows to show support of Autism. They are showing that they thought about our kids. They are showing that they thought about us, the parents. I drove through town today and it made me cry. There are so many businesses participating. I have been relaying pictures to Sarah Hansen, the Civitan Club treasurer. She is making sure to post the pictures on the club’s Facebook page. We want the word out. We want volunteers and we want to do better. I know better now and so do you. You can’t NOT think about it now. You shouldn’t ignore the need. Now, here I am asking for acceptance, love, understanding, and ACTION. Do something.

I have blogged before about the lack of therapy services in our area. Like most children, these children learn from play and experiences. The fun the kids would have attending events or swinging on a swing, designed especially for them, is therapy too. It helps with their social skills, it can be physical therapy, and it is good for their little souls.

 If you would like to join, volunteer, or donate to Kennett’s Civitan Club here is the info:
kennettcivitanclub@gmail.com

If you live in another town, get nosy. See what is available for special needs kids. See what is lacking or how you can get involved. Show support. Your heart will be happy. 💙

“There is no darkness- but ignorance.”

                                                               My personal spokesbaby