Yesterday I left an examination room with my daughter feeling unseen, disrespected and discouraged. After sharing that experience with you, so many reached out to say “I get it,” “I’ve been there,” or “Keep fighting!” Your encouragement, empathy, and witness of our struggle brought tears to my eyes more than once. Thank you for seeing us.
This experience has underscored for me, again, the need we have to meet people where they are. It’s not enough to offer services once x, y, or z criteria are met. It’s not enough to provide, as one articulate friend put it yesterday, “placebo solutions” and kick the can down the road until the next appointment. It’s not enough to abandon parents to themselves to play doctor/therapist/teacher/caregiver/researcher/coordinator. IT’S NOT ENOUGH.
Meet the children where they are TODAY. Do not abandon them or offload their care to someone else because I’m telling you—there IS no one else. I know—I’m Mom and I’m currently wearing all the hats and I can tell you, it’s not working! And according to my inbox full of DMs, Lydia and I are not a one-off case. 💔 So let’s all throw those placebos in the trash where they belong and get some real solutions on the table—today. Let’s each ask ourselves, what is one way that I can meet this child WHERE THEY ARE, today. Because that’s what they really need. Maybe we can’t solve all of the problems. Maybe looking at the whole picture is too overwhelming. Trust me, I get it. But there’s always ONE TANGIBLE THING that can be done TODAY. That’s how we live over here. In baby steps and puzzle pieces. Can you imagine if I had a whole society on board contributing their one puzzle piece a day at a time? How much fuller and brighter and more complete would this girl’s future be?
One thing, where she is, today.