I was recently reminded of an exploratory dialogue that is so very helpful when we search for "our people". The ones who value our unique character, talents and traits. One of my favorites for Adults; but especially for Teens. It goes like this: Name your favorite color and your favorite gemstone.... for me that would be a citron colored diamond Think of yourself as that gemstone and how rare that particular gemstone is... (and so much more valuable!). But .. there is a

Parenting a child with special needs is challenging to say the least. Its all the emotions and physical exhaustion you can imagine. However, If you have a child that clearly falls in the category of "special needs", there is a community that is easily identifiable. Which is an ironic thing to write as isolation is a frequent experience for these parents. But in general you are clear that your parenting experience will be different than many who have neurotypical and p