Einstein once said, "Any fool can know, the point is to understand."

Historically, I knew we should care for special needs families ~ thankfully a series of events over the past four years has turned that seed of knowledge into a growingunderstanding of the challenges, the joys, and the deep lessons that come from engaging with special needs families.

Below is a quick peek into that journey. To read more just follow the link at the end of this post.

<em>A few years ago my sister adopted a 3-year old little boy that was born addicted to meth.  He had been in and out of foster homes, diagnosed with Fragile X Syndrome, had abandonment issues, and could not speak.</em>

<em>That sister lives in another state and I don’t get to see her often.  When we spoke about her new son’s challenges, the challenges the family faced, (especially during the transition from being a family of 4 to becoming a family of 5) <strong>and in the midst of everything, how precious the sweet moments were and how extraordinary his progress was,</strong> I found myself wanting to I understand more.</em>

<em>Shortly after the adoption, I moved to a new city and met a family with an adult daughter with cognitive challenges.</em>

<em><strong>It was at that time that I realized that although I was always mentally supportive of families and children with special needs and nice to them, I was also uncomfortable simply because I did not know how to fully engage with them.</strong>  Was it okay to ask questions?  Or would that be offensive?  What behavior did you need to accept and love and what behavior should you coach and correct?</em>

<em><a title="What special needs families taught me about comfort zones" href="http://consultgiana.com/what-special-needs-families-taught-me-about-my-comfort-zone/">Click here to read more...  </a></em>