TIP of the WEEK: ‘Tis the Season

June 6, 2014

Here we are in June, the season of proms, graduations, and weddings–at least for typical families. For those among us who have children with different needs it can be a season of grief, guilt, and resentment. Many are watching kids grow and leave home to start their lives and get ready for everything that we have hopefully prepared them for. This is not the case for parents of children with PWS. Your kids are not taking that pivotal step into adulthood, they are not leaving home to move into dorms or to start a family.

Our kids will likely always require supervision. We are also facing the fact that full independence is not a probability. This realization is never as daunting as it is when you see kids in their age group meeting these milestones as they embark on the cusp of adulthood. Every milestone before this time has been delayed. It did happen; just not at the typical age. These particular milestones however, may never be met and that realization hits so hard. As with everything your child has experienced, it is all in how you look at it. Maybe your child won’t go away to college–but they will have the opportunity to take college courses. They will have their first job, their first paycheck, boyfriends and girlfriends, and certainly increased independence and adult worthy experiences. It may be “different” but different is still worth celebrating, still important, still joyous and paramount to their growth.

And if you must compare your child to their typical peers then compare the really good stuff. The never ending optimism your kids have, the patience and tolerance for every single person on earth, the unconditional and all encompassing love they have and will always have for you, their parents. You can’t say that for a typical young adult! This can be a time of turmoil and if those feelings come up, let them in, acknowledge them and then let them go. Your child is exactly where they are supposed to be- be proud.

Submitted by:
Patrice Carroll
Manager PWS Services

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