Stages of grief and special needs parenting: Is acceptance all there is?

The stages of grief—the emotional progression following a loss made famous by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross—has often been applied to experience of special needs parenting. To those of you who aren’t raising kids with special needs this might seem really weird or just plain morose, ungrateful or unkind. I mean, nobody actually died, right? But although none …

What’s in a number?

My son celebrates a birthday this month. It is a joyful occasion. Like all parents, I spend the days leading up to it planning surprises, buying and wrapping gifts, reflecting on how quickly the years are flying by. We are celebrating it not once (with cupcakes in bed on birthday morning), not twice (with a birthday …