Unfortunately I am writing another post in anger, but my heart hurts for this family and this child. A mom in one of my support groups told us how she went to pick her child up from school and was told, quite proudly, that the child’s teachers/aids had been able to get the child to eat. To do so they PINNED THE CHILD DOWN, held their chin and forced food in their mouth. The teacher/aid admitted the child cried, but was just happy they swallowed the food…

Breath

The mom informed us that when she went to speak to the teachers/aids they seemed disinterested in the fact that what they had done was ABUSE. In their minds, so long as the child ate, nothing else mattered. They don’t see anything wrong with what they did. These people have to learn they were wrong for one important reason: While they will never do it to this child again, they WILL do it to another child. 

While I am sure this story is far from over it brings me back to a big reason why I write this blog: education.
This blog started as a way for me to update people on Lyra and to vent my own emotions. However, it has become more than that. It has become a way for me to educate people about special needs families. Growing up I was exposed to many children with special needs, but I was still totally clueless until I had Lyra. I had no idea how hurtful people could be. I had no idea how parents truly felt about their special needs children (they are pretty fantastic kiddos). Now that I know, I try to share that with the world. My hope is that it will change how people approach and view special needs families. 

So far 95% of my interactions with people have been positive, and the rude or hurtful things that have been said to me about Lyra haven’t been that bad. The things that have been said were said out of ignorance. My hope is, by writing about Lyra and our lives, that it will change what someone says/does when interacting with our community. While I can’t fix stupid, I can try to educate the ignorant. I do this because it’s not just about Lyra, it’s about the tubie family you run into at the grocery store or in the park.

It’s about more than my child.