Small Steps- Friendship

Friends

Meghann and her boys

Smallsteps- The online support group for special needs parents and caregivers was held April 4th.

It was another successful night filled with laughs, inspiration and genuine sharing by all who attended. The wide range of people participating allowed for positive and negative experiences to be exchanged about friendship. A father in the group asked some questions that provided a  different perspective on our topic of friendship.

Alexis and Pam
Then....and .....Now

Lisa was the guest speaker for the evening. She discussed her motivation, challenges, and joy for helping her daughter maintain a long lasting friendship.

Lisa’s daughter Alexis traveled 50 miles one way to attend school until she entered high school. Like many parents of special needs children Lisa was concerned that Alexis wouldn’t be able to interact with other children outside of school due to the distance she traveled each day. Alexis managed to put that concern to rest quickly.  It was in the first year of school that Alexis met Pammy. The bond was instant.

Alexis and Pammy were diagnosed with cerebral palsy at a young age. Both girls are non ambulatory and incontinent.  Although Pammy has a limited vocabulary Alexis and Pammy communicate with ease.  The girls challenges have not stopped them or their moms from concentrating on their abilities rather than their disabilities. They do the same activities that other friends do together. They have sleepovers, listen to music, watch television, and frequent  celebrations with families on both sides.

Lisa told the group how she and Pammy’s mom have never let the girls special needs stop them from being friends. They worked together to find solutions to the challenges such as transportation, abilities and distance that they faced getting the girls together. Transporting two wheelchairs at times was tough and as the girls grew older it became more difficult. Together these determined moms figured out ways to bypass those challenges to foster this lovely friendship. The girls have graduated high school and have continued their friendship to this day. Today Alexis is 24 and Pammy is 25 years old. I have a feeling that there are many more exciting and fun memories in the future for these two friends.

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The first Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. the online support group for special needs parents and caregivers meet. The next meeting will be May 2nd.

The online meeting place is called zoom. It is laptop, Ipad or cell phone friendly. There is a one time registration. From that point on all you will need to do is to type in the meeting ID number.

A friend passed this picture onto me. A GREAT way for children with mobility challenges to participate in Easter egg hunts.

I wish I had thought of this when Meg was little. She wasn’t able to participate in Easter Egg hunts since she was in a wheelchair. The kids were always way too fast. I never worried about her not getting enough for Easter considering she always managed  to receive an abundance from my salon customers.

Thanks Connie H. for sharing this photo.