Embracing Challenges, Finding Joy: Navigating Life with a Disability

Having a disability comes with many challenges but can also come with so much joy! Whether you are receiving the diagnosis whether that is before birth, during birth, or it is an acquired disability. Adjusting to life and caring for someone with a disability can have its challenges. Managing the doctor's appointments, all different types of therapy, surgeries, procedures the list goes on.

It is not uncommon to forget life before disability or the hopes and dreams that you had for your child. For the first several months after the diagnosis you are just trying to adjust to the new normal of life. One of the hopes that tends to go away when you find out you will have a child with a disability is the thought of public school.

A lot of children with disabilities are homeschooled for many different reasons which may include their child's physical health, and their, emotional or social needs. While every situation is different and at the end of the day you have to make the best decision for your child and your family.

Often public school is never thought of as an option for a child with a disability, as someone who has a disability who has gone to public their whole educational experience. It has allowed me to make friendships with a wide variety of people. I have gotten to learn to manage friendships with other kids not just others with disabilities. By continuing to be an active member of your community you are exposing the world to people with disabilities, it has also given me the chance to learn to navigate a world that is not designed for me, and I have gotten to learn how to speak up for myself at an early age which will help me in the real world.

Even though it can sometimes be stressful and frustrating the bullying, the adapting, the teaching, and advocating for yourself. I would not change my experience because the people who have come up to me saying that I have not expanded their world will always outweigh the harder moments.

Something my parents always did for me was they opened as many doors as they possibly could from school, sports, or this blog they have always had the attitude of making the best of this life and finding a way for me to do anything and everything I want.

I began to thrive the more and more I got involved because my medical treatment turned into ensuring I could do everything I wanted to do.

Besides school and living a pretty normal life as a teen girl. I have gotten to have some really cool experiences because of my disability. I have gotten to meet and work with Paralympians, ski, compete at para climbing nationals, parasail, and paddleboard, and teach the world about inclusion just to name a few. This is what life with a disability could look like. But that choice is up to you. Whether you see your disability as a limitation or an opportunity.