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When Bad is Good

I think about her a lot. Especially on the days I am forced to function on less than four hours of sleep. She’s the single mom of three children, who takes two buses and one train to a job that pays her six bucks an hour; a job in which she cleans other people’s homes while hers sits in utter disarray. When she’s done sanitizing someone else’s space, she gets back on the train and heads to another job; this one serving strangers hamburgers, fries and compliments hoping that her smile and attentiveness will score her a fat tip to … Continue reading →

Special Needs Adoption

As you may remember one part of the adoption application was to consider what type of child you would consider. You may think that is an easy question, it is actually one of the most complex questions. When you hear the term special needs adoption you may automatically think of a child who has physical disabilities. While children with physical disabilities are special needs children there is also many other conditions or circumstances that would make the child a special needs child. Some of the other reasons that a child may be labeled as special needs are: • If they … Continue reading →

Parents of Special Needs Children Count Their Blessings

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When your child is diagnosed with a special need, it changes you. It strips you of the dreams you had and tosses you into a scary world full of a new vocabulary and a ton of doctors. It makes you doubt yourself and God. But after the dust settles, you begin to grow and learn, and if you’re open to it, having a child with special needs will help you become a more grateful, happier person. You are Stronger than You Think Even wallflowers turn into untiring advocates for their child with special needs. Trying to make sure your child … Continue reading →

A Thanksgiving to Remember

It will be a Thanksgiving to remember for the Reyes family this year. Despite the fact that they lost their home plus all of their belongings in the recent wildfires that scorched thousands of acres in Los Angeles County, mom Jan says the family will be counting their blessings tomorrow. Jan and the rest of her family, including her 7-year-old son Jonathan were able to escape the wind-blown blazes without suffering major injuries. That’s the good news. The bad news is that Jonathan, who has autism, lost every single one of his beloved Hot Wheels. The boy had reportedly spent … Continue reading →

Facing the Fear of Being Alone

We have talked about loneliness now and again here in the Single Parent’s blog. I realize that there are some of us who wrestle with this issue a lot while others of us have either moved past it, or it has never really been an issue for us. Regardless, loneliness can be an issue for a single parent and for many of us, we first have to face our fears—mostly our fear of being and staying alone. My relationship with loneliness has been fairly common—I found that I was much lonelier when I was married or partnered than I ever … Continue reading →

Talking with Children About Special Needs

Many children who are adopted have some special needs. Children adopted from the foster care system may show emotional and behavioral needs related to neglect or frequent separations (although most of these kids do very well, contrary to the media focus on problems). Children from overseas may have a birth defect which is correctable by relatively routine surgery common in this country but not in theirs, for example a cleft palate or club foot. In some cultures facial differences can make life harder and these children may be more likely to be placed for adoption. Parents may consider a child … Continue reading →