A Special Child is a Blessing

When my nephew was turning two, I got a remark from a distant relative that made me mad. I got so affected that it had changed my life forever. That spat created quite a stir, from then on, our world just wasn't the same perfect one. How do you take care of a special child? I have never had any personal encounter with special children before. But I do remember seeing movies when I was still in college, and I remember that the child overcame his being "different" with the help of his mother.

I also knew that the mind of special children are differently "wired". They are psychologically challenged but I strongly believe they had genius as well. Was it possible that our own family was facing this kind of challenge? I was at a loss for words. I didn't feel adequate with what i knew. But I tried to research as much as I can about ADHD, Autism, Bipolar disorder and other spectrums. I've watched medical programs with topics concerning special children so that I could understand the condition more. The good doctor enumerated and explained fully the 14 or so symptoms of ADHD.

As we went through the list, I got more and more worried because I realized that Kyle had more than 12 of them. Clearly, something was not right. Early intervention became our anchor, and it kept me steady as I had taken the lead. I found it hard to accept that our beloved Kyle has ADHD as later confirmed and diagnosed by two doctors. (I had to get a second opinion because it was difficult to accept, I wanted to be sure.) In my eyes, my nephew was...nay, is--and will always be perfect.

Yes, Kyle also had a gift. For this reason and many more, I thank the good Lord for giving him such talent. He draws well. He's really good in arts. He's won in numerous contests to date, starting at age 4, and he's represented his school and won awards for them. Kyle's gifted with creativity and keen eye for details. And what makes me even proud is the fact that he's in the mainstream, and a star section student at that.

All these years, I was able to learn to accept everything. God indeed has reasons and purpose for all the things that has happened. Although, sometimes I still get frustrated and it's really been quite difficult to handle Kyle's condition, (he has occupational therapy sessions), and despite receiving a lot of flak from other teachers, parents who simply doesn't want to understand or don't have hearts to begin with, I know that the goodness of the heart of a single individual is more powerful than all the evil in this world pooled together.