Merry Christmas!!

Hey all, as the holidays are rapidly approaching, I wanted to take the time to share some insight. I don’t want this to come off as being rude or pushy. I want this to help inform others to something you might not familiar with when it comes to encountering a special needs child. **Full disclosure, I am no expert in all things special needs. This is just something I know in raising our son and have witnessed with other special needs children. Not all disorders, syndromes are the same, but this is a great rule of thumb for typically developing children and special needs children**

Jackson has severe anxiety, which I have mentioned in previous posts. When he encounters a new person, he is very apprehensive, needs to be held by mom or dad, tears could ensue. He really just needs his space to get comfortable with new surroundings and people. To help you understand how bad his anxiety is, he even has it with me and his daddy at times too. If we go out on a date night…not very often and come home after a few hours, there are times that he won’t leave his sitter’s arms until he feels comfortable again.

Please do not take offense to a child reacting this way. Honestly, think back to when you were child and remember going to Grandma’s house and everyone making a huge fuss over you, trying to hug you, kiss you, 10 people start talking to you at once. It was a lot to deal with the first 5 minutes of being in the house. So, for a child with Fragile X like Jackson, who doesn’t speak yet, please respect those children and give them some time to feel comfortable with you. I promise once they do, you will have some pretty great interactions!

From our family to yours, Merry Christmas! We hope you enjoy the holidays and make some great memories to wrap up the year!