I am a mother and guardian of those with special needs. I can't use the word kids seeing as that wording wouldn't exactly be right, but maybe I should explain.
Kids with special needs, especially those with mental disorders live in a world that is sometimes foreign to them, and that we can only imagine. While my son has been diagnosed with depression, I learned that was nothing like the world of raising those with disabilities that had a bigger affect on their day to day life.
My daughter, Lacey was diagnosed with Autism at a young age, and as having Asperger's Syndrome around the age of three. For those of you who aren't aware, Asperger's Syndrome is a form of high functioning Autism.
From the beginning we knew she was smart. Before she turned four, she was learning to read basic books. Numbers came natural to here, and by first grade she had memorized most of her time tables from 0 to 10. Her vocabulary was small for her age, yet when writing, her vocabulary was much more expansive. She often zoned into a trance-like state, and repitition was a necessity. A change in schedule sent her spiraling out of control, any ability to express herself lost. Hand flapping and rocking were common.
My nephew wasn't diagnosed with autism until his teens, when he was diagnosed with PDD-NOS. At the same time he was diagnosed with PTSD. Due to selective muteness, no one knew how far he would advance mentally and due to his seemingly lack of ability to communicate his IQ was considered low. It wasn't until months of work later we began to see improvement. In a few months he had shown that he could use AMSLANG-american sign language-fluently, and later that he could talk if he wanted. Drawings came to life under his steady hand, sketchbooks filled with drawings of pictures he had seen once then redrawn. His childlike language became closer to the language of a teen his age, though schedules were necessary. Noise and touch sensitivity made things difficult and the barrier in communication was still there. He had words but no way to express them,for when he spoke the words wouldn't come.
I could go on, but that would mean much more explaining, hours worth of reading, and background knowledge or experience with those with mental disabilities to begin to understand, and even now there is so much I don't understand, and can't because my mind isn't wired as theirs is.
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