Tina M. Abulhassan, author of Life From Cabrini Green to Life in Saudi Arabia- A Real Life Story, shares her experience parenting a child with a disability:
Disability accommodations –
My son was diagnosed with learning disabilities at the age of two. It was brought to my attention that he was not functioning on an average two-year-old level as the other children in the daycare. The daycare did not tell me something I had already suspected at home, the daycare just confirmed by thoughts, just as my neighbor did.
I knew there was something different about my son and his motor, language, and cognitive skills early on when he was around 12 months old. It wasn’t hard to spot when he was around other children his age. Some of the abnormalities I spotted were:
- Not holding his own bottle
- Not crawling, but pulling himself across the floor
- Not walking until 15 or 16 months old
- Not talking in full sentences, but using just one word to describe something at the age of 2 ½
- Not fully potty trained until the age of 4, by this, I mean having multiple accidents
- Not fully understanding simple directions
- Isolating himself
As a mother, I knew I had to speak to his pediatrician. That is when the pediatrician referred me to the ARC (back in 1986 referred to as Association for Retarded Citizens). Just listening to the “R” word broke my heart. As a young mother at the age of 23 (at the time) I felt so alone as if I was a failure at birthing capable children.
The ARC was a wonderful accommodating agency that gave me hope of helping my son get on course to a bright and healthy future. He was placed in a stimulating program that helped him with the skills he needed to succeed as a normal and healthy child. My son is now 32 and still has his disabilities. I believe because he received the proper help needed at a young age, he is considered disabled but high functioning.
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