Why You Don’t Have to Be Sorry for Special Needs Parents

In an opinion piece on The Mighty, a website showcasing the stories of individuals with disabilities, mom Kelli Gruen writes about why you don’t have to feel sorry for her just because she has a child with special needs. Her two-year-old daughter has two rare disorders that will affect her for the rest of her life, but Kelli urges readers not to feel sorry for her. It took almost two years for her daughter to finally receive a diagnosis. The diagnosis was helpful to Kelli and her husband, since they finally knew what their daughter’s issue was and could access the proper resources to help her. However, others did not take the news as positively. When Kelli called her family with the exciting news of a diagnosis their response was “I’m sorry.” Although she knows that these comments were not mean-spirited, they were not what she wanted or needed to hear. Her daughter is perfect: silly, kind, fun, smart, and a miracle. So next time you speak to a parent of a special needs child don’t feel pity, or say you're sorry just be supportive. You can read the whole piece here.