Supporting an Anxious Child
Overcoming Debilitating Anxiety with Courage A Thirteen-Year-Old’s Success Story One year ago, on my daughter’s last day of 7th grade, and just days away from her thirteenth birthday, she and I were both “facedown in the arena”, our faces “marred by dust and sweat, and blood”. Through laughter and tears, heartbreak and pride, together, she and I courageously pulled ourselves… Read More
Fearing the Future as a Special Needs Parent As my daughter and son grow, I often find myself dreaming of their future. I image them leaving for their first dance, being behind the wheel of the car for the first time, falling in lust (teenage love), throwing their caps in the air at their graduation ceremony, and planning… Read More
Dear [Therapist], We met you for the first time on April 9, 2018, the date etched in my memory forever, as it was the first time that I truly felt understood. Thank you. Without you, I cannot begin to imagine what our life would be like. While physically, I was alive when we first met, I was not living. I… Read More
To My Sweet Boy- An Open Letter to a Special Needs Sibling Dear Son, You are the sweetest 10-year-old and I am thankful every day that I was the lucky mother chosen for you. Your presence is a daily reminder of all that is good in the world. The sweet sounds that come from your lips in the form of… Read More
Dear Sweet (13-year-old) Baby Girl, I so often look at you and ask why? Why were you chosen to battle this beast of anxiety that hijacks you so quickly and frequently? Why was this enormous burden placed on your young shoulders? Why does your infectious laugh and kind heart get trampled by sadness and insecurities? Sadly, I will never… Read More
The Sad Reason I Never Apply Mascara Before School Drop Off Insight into one mother’s daily task of school drop off with her highly anxious kid. My mind is awake long before the alarm chimes. I am far from prepared to face another day, impending doom already settling in. I know I must wake my daughter right away in order… Read More
