Eyes Wide Open

Everywhere I look lately, I am noticing things in a way I never did before.

Is it a child’s recent diagnosis of ADHD? The friend who thinks her son might have Asperger’s? The couple met by chance with a child at 13  struggling with Fragile X?

Or is it that those with “special needs” have become more mainstream media fare?

There is the Temple Grandin biopic airing on HBO, the TV series “Parenthood,” Jodi Picoult’s new novel “House Rules,” and an essay this month in “Harper’s” magazine. All around me are images and stories - some fictional, most real - about parents raising children with special needs.

At times it can be overwhelming, taking it all in. But mostly it is freeing.

I see the look of recognition between grownups over towheaded children. Kindred spirits thanks to an experience so unique, suddenly shared.

It is also empowering. With each encounter, each story, we learn more. Not just about children whose journeys veer from the path followed by most, but about ourselves and strength found in advocating for our young.

Are things so different than in our parents’ day? Are diagnosis such as autism, Asperger’s or Fragile X really new? Or is it really that our eyes, ears, hearts and minds are open now to the fact that there are differences in some children that are really “OK.”

I can see clearly now.

written for http://blog.sacramentoparent.com/