Special needs brags are not the typical parenting brags. We don't brag because they made all A's in school. We don't brag that they scored a homerun or the game winning play. We don't brag that they were picked as a finalist in a contest or competition.
No. We celebrate the original, the mundane. The things that happen everyday in neurotypical life. The things that don't seem all that special until you take a closer look. Until you see how much work and effort went into that original, mundane thing. That thing that might get a neurotypical child in trouble, but that special needs parents celebrate and celebrate wholeheartedly.
Today Jacob was on red at school, and ended his day on red. But I am so proud of him. Let me explain why. He was doing something he should not have been doing, lifting his desk table legs up and letting them drop. He was warned three times to stop. He did not. He moved from green to yellow. This is when the real triumph kicks in. He began to argue with his teachers. Yes! Argue.
My nonverbal son used his AAC device, aka his voice, to argue. He was able to express himself clearly to others. He told them, no, green. He kept arguing and when they told him he needed to work to get to green, he double downed and said no.
Needless to say, he did not win that argument, but I am so proud of him for having a voice and using it for something that meant everything to him, being on green. Everyone deserves a voice. Even when that voice is a little different. So, yes, my brag is completely different from a "normal" brag. My son argued with his teachers today!
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