Twice a year we publish Little Rock Special Family, a supplement to Little Rock Family written by and for families who are raising children with developmental and medical special needs.
This magazine supplement grew out of my family’s experiences raising a child with epilepsy and a benign brain tumor. For two years, our daughter Emily battled seizures and endured several surgeries to remove a walnut-sized tumor from her left temporal lobe.
I’m happy to report that she’s been seizure free for five years. Plus she recently had her fifth clean MRI and can now go to an every-other-year MRI regimen. We’re thrilled and relieved.
More often than not, children with special needs have typically developing siblings. This can be a challenge for parents and a strain on sibling relationships. In our case, our son Charles had birthday celebrations marred by seizures and many a family outing cut short due to his sister’s strict medication schedule. At only 4 years old, he spent nights and weekends with friends while we took Emily to appointments and stayed overnight in hospitals for various tests and surgeries.
Charles had to grow up a little bit too fast, but thankfully it never affected his love for his little sister. However, should you find yourself in a different situation, be sure to read our article on balancing the needs of your typical child and the needs of your child with disabilities.
Also in this edition, you’ll read the courageous stories of three central Arkansas families. Terra Long and her son Prince-Miles Randolph share their journey with spina bifida. Mark and Debbie Lewis of Conway open up about their son’s battle with leukemia. And John and Vicky Starling explain the challenges their son Walton is facing while learning to live with childhood apraxia of speech.
Perhaps the most important piece of this supplement is our comprehensive resource guide of local support groups, clinics, medical supply companies and more. You can access it year-round on our website at LittleRockFamily.com. While you’re there, you can read the archives of past editions of Little Rock Special Family and sign up for our Weekly Play Date e-newsletter. You can also keep up with everything your family needs to know via Facebook and Twitter. Just search “Little Rock Family.”
As always, my admiration and respect goes out to those of you raising children with special needs. You are not alone. Lean on each other. Learn from each other. And hug those babies tight.
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