This Fourth of July I’ve been thinking a lot about the word ‘freedom’ as it pertains to my children with significant disabilities. It’s not flags and fireworks I’m thinking about, but rather the freedom of choice. I want my children to be able to make choices, to live life their own way. I want them to have the freedom to…
• Choose where they want to live and how they want to live
• Choose the type of job they want
• Make choices about the type of social life they want
• Choose their friends, fall in love, enjoy a sexual relationship, and know the comfort and joy of sharing life with the person of their choice
• Speak their minds, have opinions, and have those opinions respected
• Vote
• And the list could go on and on….
In other words, I want them to have all the rights and freedoms that people without disabilities have.
What does freedom mean for your children?
Your list is wonderful! I want all of those things for M too. I think kids with special needs are told what they can and can't do so often. We try really hard to make sure M has the freedom to make many choices in her life since it seems like we have to make so many more choices for her than most kids her age.
ReplyDeleteFreedom is an important thing to think about as a parent.