For those of you who don't know, my middle child has Sensory Processing Disorder. SPD can be trying at times, limiting at other times, but can also be quite rewarding. I recently viewed some posts on a SPD "support" page from some moms who were very focused on the limitations of their child; comparing them to children of the same age or younger w/o SPD. It seems to me that it is very easy to look at the ways a special needs child does not "measure up" to a child who does not deal with the same challenges. It's easy to point out all the things that they can't do and in the mean time we neglect to praise all the wonderful things that they can do.
My son has a laundry list of areas and skills that he hasn't mastered (and may never master) like other children of his age (holding a pencil, cutting with scissors....). However, he has some skills that children of his age can't come close to and may never be able to do. At the age of 3 my son can tell you ever type of road construction machine imaginable (actually, he was 2 when he first started naming them all). He can point out makes and models of cars as we drive down the road. He knows things that I don't know (his dad taught him). He knows every toy he owns and knows when one goes missing. (My 6 yr old daughter may have a toy missing for months before she realizes it's gone!) The list of his strengths goes on and on.
My point is this: although it sometimes is necessary to make comparisons about your child's mental and physical development don't get so caught up in their shortcomings that you forget to see how special and amazing God made your baby. Every night I pray with my children and thank God for making them just the way they are; special and unique. I want more than anything for my children to love themselves the way God loves them and to see the best in themselves (not their shortcomings). If I focus on their limitations, so will they, but if I focus on their strengths....so will they.
Rant complete. :)
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