Spread the word!

I’ve recently become a contributor for The Mighty, a site that posts about life with disabilities and special needs. For those of you who aren’t bloggers, that means that they take some of their favorite special needs posts from my blog and re-post them to reach a greater audience. Recently there’s been quite the controversy going on with the site when they posted something that many found offensive. They have since taken the post down and apologized, but for many, the damage was done.

The whole controversy has highlighted the disconnect between disabled people and the parents of disabled children, which I’ve shared about before here on the blog. Many disabled writers began tweeting and posting with the hashtag #CrippingTheMighty discussing their issues with parent writers, lack of pay, abelism, and more. As the discussion developed, a hashtag has begun in The Mighty’s closed Facebook group for contributors. The hashtag, #WhyIWrite, has united both disabled writers and parent writers as we all share the reasons that we began writing and why we write still. I haven’t made one of these posts yet because I tend to be wordy.. I figured it would be better to turn it into a blog post.

Why I Write

In response to the controversy surrounding The Mighty, I've decided to share why I write about my disabled child, and why I write in general.

I Write For Moms

I write for moms who just received their child’s autism diagnosis and don’t know how to handle it. I write for moms facing Thanksgiving who don’t know how to help their child handle the overstimulation. I write for moms who are overwhelmed by homeschooling. I write for moms who’ve never heard of a global developmental delay with no idea how it may affect their child. I write for moms trying to keep the peace in a split family. I write for moms who don’t know whether or not to support autism speaks (hint: please don’t!). I write for moms who simply aren’t that homeschooling mom. I write for moms who struggle with hearing that their child is disabled. I write for moms wondering how to stay productive while working from home. I write for moms who are ignoring their limits to take care of their children’s special needs. I write for moms on bed rest who feel like the only person in the world stuck in bed. I write for moms wondering if their children’s special needs are their fault. I write for moms who are harassed with annoying breastfeeding questions. I write for moms who are overwhelmed, unsure, and trying to do their very best for their kids, whether those kids have special needs or not. I write so that other moms might find support through something I have to say. I write for all moms, not just moms who have disabled children. I write for moms like me who feel overwhelmed, alone, and outnumbered all at the same time.

I Write For Me

Since I was little writing has been one of my favorite ways to express myself. My very first job was writing ebay product descriptions for my dad’s ebay business. When I became a stay at home mom I felt a little lost. I have always worked, so being home all day suddenly was making me crazy. I started looking for ways to work from home, and very quickly found that not only could I start a blog and do what I love, but people would actually pay me to write. Beyond giving me something to do and contributing to my family’s income, writing brings me joy. When a mom reaches out to me for help starting to work from home or an autistic teen thanks me for respecting the autistic community as a parent, all of the hours spent writing are worth it. I get to share my opinions and thoughts with thousands of readers every month. I have been able to connect with hundreds of bloggers that I never would have met without writing. My life is infinitely better since I found my voice and started writing.

In response to the controversy surrounding The Mighty, I've decided to share why I write about my disabled child, and why I write in general.

I Write For My Kids

I write for all of my kids, not only the two with special needs. I write so that Mr. C will remember why we chose to homeschool. I write so that A-Man will remember I’ve always believed there are worse things than disabilities. I write so that Baby M can look back on 55 thoughts I had while breastfeeding him. I write so that Miss S will know about how we fought to keep her healthy through the Winter. I write so that my kids can look back and see that I found ways to work at home so that I could take them to their therapy sessions every week. I want my kids to know that their special needs never effected our family planning and that I never thought that loving them made me a Super Mom. I want the big boys to know that I did my best to handle holidays with their biological dad without fighting. I want them to read how I tried to see the gifts during our difficult homeschooling seasons. I write so that Miss S will one day read how I fought for a successful VBAC. Years from now I want my kids to be able to look back on my blog posts and read stories of their childhood. Many many years from now when they can’t ask me for advice, I want them to see my parenting advice in these pages.

Writing is what I do. It’s what I love. It helps me connect to other moms going through things that I’ve been through. It helps me feel a little more connected to the world. It helps me store memories for my children. This is why I write. Why do you?

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