Embrace Your Different Kind of Special

Navigating life when you have a child with special needs is all kinds of challenging. It tests you emotionally, physically, mentally and spiritually. Do you wish you could find something or someone that could make parenting a child with special needs easier?

Over the last 16+ years, I’ve spent countless hours trying to solve the intricate puzzles that my daughter Julia has presented based on her profound developmental delays and complex medical issues. Here are just a few of the issues our family has tackled:

• Medical challenges
• Maximizing Julia’s quality of life despite her limitations
• Vacations that everyone can enjoy
• Family dynamics, like time balancing with four kids
• Home adaptations
• Maintaining careers for both parents
• Education and IEPs
• Planned and unplanned hospital stays
• Managing medications

Now, we’d like to share what we’ve learned. As I started to bring my dream for this community to life, my two youngest children (a tween and a teenager) asked to be a part of it, so we’ll provide both a parent and sibling perspective.

Our vision is for Different Kind of Special is to share our family’s strategies and the lessons we’ve learned so that other families who are facing similar challenges can shorten their learning curve. We’ll make this site a repository of information and resources that empower you to find solutions and strategies that work for you.

But, it takes more than information to navigate the challenges of being a special needs family. We also want this site to be a thriving community filled with optimism and hope, where collectively, we can help another.

This journey that we’re all on isn’t easy. But, we don’t have to do it alone. And, while your journey may not be path you planned for, I hope you can recognize and embrace the opportunity for it to be beautiful, meaningful and filled with joy, in spite of (and sometimes because of) the challenges.

Welcome to Different Kind of Special. We are so happy you’re here.