I was nineteen years old and I gave birth (unplanned pregnancy) to my son Noah. Noah (now 10) has cerebral palsy and epilepsy.

I did not know that Noah was going to have any type of special needs before he was born. I had a problematic pregnancy that resulted in me being put in the high risk unit of the hospital at about 28 weeks of pregnancy until Noah was born at 34 weeks of pregnancy. Noah was small (4 lbs., 12 oz.) and had some problems breathing at birth. During all the problems of delivery, Noah lost oxygen which we later found out resulted in cerebral palsy.

Noah wasn’t officially diagnosed with cerebral palsy until he was about seven to eight months old; although he had problems from the get go. At nineteen, I hadn’t had a lot of experience with babies. I kind of flubbed my way through parenting. It was trial and error mixed with asking a ton of questions to my mother and other mothers I knew.

Dealing with his special needs was challenging. I already felt a little ill equipped in my parenting skills being a young Mom but I was getting a lot of reassurance from my Mom. The special needs were intimidating though. I was learning a whole new world, language, and lifestyle as the Mom of a special needs kiddo. It was definitely challenging, but not undoable.

Parenting a special needs child has been the most challenging task I have ever attempted, but it has also been the most rewarding. I can not even begin to describe the feelings and love I feel when Noah accomplishes something that doctors said he would never do. Each milestone that he reaches, no matter how late in life or off target according to typical children he may be, is a small victory. I am continually amazed at his zest for life and ability to instantly put a smile on my face.

My biggest piece of advice for anyone facing parenting a special needs child is to seek out other parents of special needs kiddos. I would have lost my sanity if it were not for the other mothers of special needs children that I have befriended along the way. The ones who had children older than Noah were like mentors leading me along the path giving me advice and suggestions that had worked for them and their children.

Photo by Coley

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