We’re proud of our kids with special needs, right? Guest blogger Steve Harris is proud of his two sons with disabilities. In today’s post he explains why he believes parents of kids with special needs and disabilities often struggle to express that pride in today’s culture.

At the Democratic National Convention last month in Chicago, TV viewers got a glimpse of something special. That moment got noticed, talked about, analyzed, even criticized. (Let’s not get into politics.) What people witnessed was a flash of spontaneous interaction between a parent and child. But not just any child. A child with special needs.

What I’m talking about happened during the acceptance speech of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz. As the cheering crowd welcomed Walz to the podium, there was suddenly a TV screen shot of his 17-year-old son Gus, who we later learned has a nonverbal learning disorder. The young man was laughing, beaming, clapping, and pointing.

“That’s my dad!” Gus exclaimed in a moment of over-the-top, joyous pride.

Walz was asked later what he had felt in that moment. “I am so proud of my son,” he said.

All parents feel pride for their kids or certainly want to. In my book Dads Like Us, I included a chapter about this because families with children who are disabled actually struggle with this. We’re proud of our kids with special needs, but our pride doesn’t fit in normal boxes like academic or athletic achievement. We don’t quite know what to do with the pride we feel or how to express it. We keep it hidden pretty deep.

I am proud of my two sons, both disabled.

They won’t get good grades or attend prestigious colleges. They won’t win football trophies or make big money in successful careers. But, wow, the things they can do! Both have smiles that melt hearts, they show kindness to others, they’ve lived through pain without bitterness or complaint. They aren’t perfect. I’m even proud of their humanness.

Big picture, I am one proud dad.

Maybe this pride thing works best when we look at life through the new glasses of 1 Samuel 16:7.

“…The Lord does not look at the things people look at.
People look at the outward appearance,
but the Lord looks at the heart.” (NIV)

Tim Walz also encouraged parents to hug their kids. We do that with love. We can also say that we’re proud of our kids with special needs and disabilities. They deserve it!

Thanks, Gus, for showing your pride in your dad and for helping us celebrate how proud we are of you and our kids with special needs.

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Photo on the right courtesy of Steve Harris, “My son, Andrew, feeling pretty proud about the fish he just caught!”
Fish Photo by Sebastian Pena Lambarri on Unsplash