How it Feels to be the Parent to a Different

 How do we come about?     

   Do we come to the World like any other? Why are we called 'different'? Why do people regard us as such? What makes us 'different'? These are questions that probably crisscross the minds of some of these children in our society.

Does one ever predict the coming of such children?

Everyone here knows what it is to expect a child. Both for those who are married and for those who are not married. Having a child is sacred. No matter the means, or circumstances, having a child is sacred. 

Everyone is eager to see a smaller version of him or herself. Everyone is eager to have someone with whom they will say: "This child ressembles you so much!". That's the dream of many as they walk past supermarkets buying baby wears...

When the day of delivery finally arrives, the expectant mother is inbetween 'fear' and 'anxiety'. Everyone is expecting something; the nurses, the doctors, talkless of midwives. In short, the suspense is great. 

When this angel is finally out, it is announced that the mother is delivered of a bouncing baby boy.

How Do You Know?

There is generally a minute of silence in the ward. People are waiting to get the first cry. That first sound that will complete rejoicing- yet the room is quiet. People begin to question, the mother panics: " but what have I given birth to?". Everyone is alarmed, but still, nothing.  And then there are a series of reeducations but still no sound.

You are now compelled by nature to carry your  baby home. You have just had a child with a difference. You've given birth to a star actually! 

The Most Difficult Stage - Acceptance

Once home, one year passes, two, three... There is this natural expectancy that the child will say  that first word. That word that gives one a sense of belonging :"mama" or "papa". You visit neighbours and get their interactions with their kids, very lively but yours is literally catastrophic.

The difference is clear, it is real but you refuse to accept it. When finally on a fateful Christmas afternoon, family comes to visit you, and your child does not interact, he/she is quiet. He/ she cries for nothing, does not play with the others, does not talk, is twisted,...

Then and only then do you come to realize that Indeed you have a given life to a child with a difference!

Conclusion 

 Every child is a gift from the Creator, and should be treated as such- a gift. Many of them are out there, the epilleptic, those for Cerebral Palsy most especially, and many more. It is a reality of life. Having such a child is not nature's punishment, but a task/challenge to take up boldly and accompany them in that till the end.