Guest blogger Becky Hallberg knows the discouragement felt by parents raising kids with special needs. Especially during the winter when the days are cold, the nights are short, and cabin fever creates a perfect storm of hopelessness and isolation. Today, she offers the perfect antidote to discouragement: celebrating how far your child with special needs has come by taking a look back at the year just passed.

Special Needs Parents: Look Back

The start of a new year is often exciting. There are new plans to be made, new dreams to be fulfilled, and new goals to be achieved. But for those exact same reasons, the start of a new year can also be frightening.

Do you struggle as you look ahead to the new year, wondering how to help your child through the new plans that the year might hold? Are you struggling to even dream new dreams? Does life seem a little too overwhelming? And no doubt a new year will bring some new goals for your child—whether it’s IEP goals or personal goals that you would like to see your child achieve.

How do you juggle all of the “new” in the new year, without feeling completely overwhelmed?

Many times, we are reminded to look forward as we live life. There are plenty of quotes and Bible verses that remind us to move forward.

For us, though, as parents of kids with special needs, life isn’t always “normal” or “typical.” Sometimes we have to forge our own path, or find our own way, especially at the start of a year when things can seem so uphill.

So, what do I recommend? Well, I recommend not doing the norm. As in so many other aspects of our lives, I recommend going against the grain.

At the start of this new year,
Pause.
Breathe.
Look Back.

Yes, you read that correctly:
LOOK BACK.

This is a wonderful time of year to look back at last year and see all the gains your child made.

How do you look back? Well, did you blog? Go back and read through some of your posts from last year at this time. Where were you and your family? How were you coping with life? How was your child coping with life? How were you dealing with your child? What worked? How can you build on all of that for the year ahead?

You didn’t blog? No problem. Are you on Facebook? Did you know that you can look back at different months and see your status updates from those months? Go to your personal page and you should see a timeline, of sorts, on the right-hand side. Click on 2013, and then go back through the months to recap how you managed.

No blog and no Facebook? Are you on any other social media? Can you go back and look through tweets or pins or posts you made? If not, then use this time to just take a trip down memory lane. How did your child’s doctor appointments go last year? Who was an encouragement to you as you shared about your child? What goals do you feel were not met last year? Which goals did your child wildly succeed at?

Take those thoughts—those memories—and consider them. Yes, there were struggles. Yes, there were frustrations. Yes, there were many bumps along the way.

But—moms, dads, caregivers, friends—you made it.

YOU MADE IT!

You were successful last year—and even the year before that. Do you know why?

Because all that really matters is that you and your loved one are here, on this earth, today. You’ve made it here. You’re going to make it through this year, too. If you’re here (at this blog) then you know what a great source of support this space can be.

The year ahead may be full of plans, dreams and goals that need fulfilled. But look back. See how far you’ve come. You can do this. No, you can do this.

Just pause, breathe, and look back. Then, slowly and cautiously, when you’re ready, step ahead.

Welcome to the new year, where you’re always welcome to travel at your own pace!

What Did You See?

What did your look back reveal? How far has your child come? Leave a comment so we can celebrate with you. And check out Becky’s blog, Sharing Redemption’s Stories.

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