This is a message for you parents of a child with a disability.

 

Please know that I love my life. I am grateful to be born different with severe bilateral clubfoot impacting my lower limbs. I didn’t always feel that way. 

Know that my heart is with you because I do understand the struggles and I can empathize with your feelings. 

Please hear me out...as someone born with a physical disability.

 

1. If you view your child’s congenital differences/disabilities as a negative, then your child will too...so learn to leverage these congenital differences and seek to turn the challenges into something positive. This is possible.
2. Don’t beat yourself up. Stop trying to figure out the cause of your kid’s congenital issues. Your child was born different and now we need to move forward.
3. If your kid wants to lead a reckless lifestyle, let the kid be reckless. If you treat your child as fragile, then your child will react accordingly and that’s a real limitation.

 

The challenges your kid will face are very real and sometimes tremendous. But every step that hurts, every laughter at their expense, every missed experience, can be leveraged to build a really resilient, successful, and kind human.