3 Days Of Encouragement For Parents Of Children With DisabilitiesSample

As a parent of a child with a disability, I’ve found that one of my toughest parenting tasks is helping my daughter make lasting friendships. I never want Grace Anna to have friendships out of pity; I want her to have meaningful connections with her peers. For a while I believed she didn’t bond with others because of her disability when, in fact, it was her lack of interactions.

It was my responsibility as her mom to step outside of my comfort zone and introduce her to people I wouldn’t ordinarily spend time with. I’m an outdoorsy, athletic woman, and I sometimes find it difficult to connect with people who enjoy very different hobbies and interests. I was focusing on the outside—how the girls played or how well I knew their parents. I wasn’t focusing on who these people were on the inside. Instead, I was judging them on how they appeared, which was hypocritical considering that is exactly what I didn’t want people to do with Grace Anna. I didn’t and still don’t want her judged for how she looks or how she does things. 

As much as we may want to do things for our children with disabilities, we also need to teach them how to make friends. Our children need to learn to recognize godly characteristics that are eternal: joy, kindness, courteousness, graciousness, respect, honesty, compassion, peace, and self-control. We should teach our children to possess these traits and look for them in friendships. As the old saying goes, “Birds of a feather flock together.” We want our children to be drawn to godly people whether they have a disability or not. 

Don’t focus on your child’s outward appearance or the appearances of other children. Our bodies are here for a short time, and it is those eternal qualities within our spirits that matter the most. Grace Anna now enjoys a group of friends that she loves dearly and who also love her. They treat her like a little girl and not a little girl with a disability. 

 This month get your child involved in something outside both of your comfort zones. Sit down together and allow your child to choose an activity or event to get involved with. Teach them how to meet new people and how to present themselves. It may not work the first time, but from my experience, children can’t make friends when they don’t have opportunities to meet new people.