This week fellow author Melissa Tagg shared some wonderful news about her brother-in-law and nephew, Chip and Ollie Reece. Chip, dad to Ollie, wrote a book for his son with Down syndrome about a super hero with…you guessed it, Down syndrome.
Evidently, Ollie LOVES superheroes and I bet Ollie already knows he’s living with one 😊
You see, in my twenty years of working with children who have special needs, I’ve met real-life super heroes. People who do extraordinary feats on a daily basis.
People who learn to think super creatively to help their child transition from the car into Walmart
People who are scared of next week but draw on super-human courage to step into tomorrow
People who have to wake up throughout the night well beyond the ‘baby’ days to help their kid out and STILL get up to face the next day.
People who cry themselves to sleep at night because they felt weak, but somehow garner strength to hope in tomorrow.
People who love tirelessly, provide boundaries so their kids learn how to be responsible adults, give with seemingly endless reserves, laugh even when they’re hurting, dream bigger than circumstances, take the stings of reality and bathe them with the balm of possibility.
Superheroes lives among us.
I’ve met them.
I’ve had the privilege of knowing more than one.
They’re parents of little superheroes like Ollie.
Like the ones I’ve had the honor to know throughout my career as a speech-language pathologist and Autism expert.
Many of them found hope and strength in their faith.
Most of them found courage and optimism from their communities.
And they walk among us. Loving their kids. Living their lives. Sacrificing in ways we can’t even imagine to unassumingly inspire. Yes.
I’ve met super heroes.
They’re those people who are helping their children feel like heroes too.
And I’m honored to live and work among them 🙂
is there a LOVE button for this post??? there should be a <3 button!!
I love this, Pepper! Such a great post!